Opinion

By Kyle KoeppenIt is hard not to run terrifying scenarios in your head after hearing/seeing the horrific event which unfolded at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. An 18-year-old gunman shot and killed 19 children and two adults at an elementary school. According to the publishing company Education Week, this was the twenty-seventh school shooting this year in our country.

Dear Editor:I am not sure why these memories keep coming up, perhaps it is because Memorial Day is approaching or maybe I am getting closer to the six foot hole at the end.  We owe a debt to those who have raised their right arm and taken the oath of enlistment or officer’s oath of commission.   Anyway this incident occurred North of 50 years ago at Webb Air Force Base, Big Spring, Texas.

Dear Editor:I am writing in response to the recent backlash that letters written to our library board from concerned citizens, Brooke Kruckenberg and Deb Hesson, have received.As a racial minority raising a multi-racial family in a community where racial minorities make up less than 5% of the population, I know firsthand the desire for diversity, inclusion, and representation.

Dear Editor:Reference :   Opinion : Letter to the Editor: DOD IG report to Congresshttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/u-s-military-leaves-bagram-airfield-hands-it-afghans-after-n1272958 https://www.axios.com/2021/08/15/taliban-bagram-prisoners-releaseTo those who do not follow all the threads to opinion pieces.  I offer the following.  Please read this article.

To the editor: I am writing in response to the May 17, 2022 article titled Displays, Transparency and Library considers Litigation for Future Remarks. I have serious concerns with the inaccuracies portrayed about the library operations, library staff, and board, but also about the library collection itself. Having a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Studies, extensive experience as a public librarian for over 22 years, and now as a law librarian for the last three years, I feel compelled to step in and clear up some misconceptions that have been circulating about our public library and to offer my own insight into a conversation that seems to spin more and more out of control.

In small-town politics, and with its first in the nation status for caucuses, Iowans are probably more likely to get involved in their politics. As I sat in on the Republican candidate forum on Saturday morning for the Senate District 42 candidates, I found myself passing out grades as each speaker answered questions and I was left with a few conclusions.

Dear Editor,As someone who grew up in Iowa, I am appalled at the persecution that you and a group of “Christian” community members have launched against the director and staff of the Vinton Public Library. This is not the Christianity that I was taught!I have read and reread your blog, Ms. Kruckenberg and Ms. Hesson’s comments/requests and Ms.

Dear Editor, On May 18th this AM Representative Mike Gallager (R) Wisconsin speaking on Fox News reported testimony from the Department of Defense Inspector General to the Foreign Services Committee that:1.        5,000 prisoners located at Bagram Air Base were released in the summer of 2020 and later more were released that fall.  Note Joe Biden was President; this release happened on his “Watch”.

Dear Editor, This spring, Benton County and rural Linn County Republicans face a situation again that we faced just two years ago: a contested senate primary. Due to redistricting, Benton County and some areas of Linn County now fall within newly drawn Senate District 42, leaving us with a new open seat. In the words of Michael Scott, ‘the dictionary defines superlative as of the highest kind, quality, or order; surpassing all else or others; supreme’.

Dear Editor:Here are some of the facts about this pro-abortion bill that failed in the United States Senate:This bill would have legalized abortion up to the moment of birth.It does not protect religious institutions, like Catholic hospitals, from having to perform abortions.This bill goes FAR beyond Roe v. Wade.It would take away states' rights to legislate on abortion.