The first day of fall doesn’t show up on the calendar until Sept. 22, but the transition from summer to autumn has already begun. School is back in session, vacations are wrapping up, and there is a fall feeling in the air. Meanwhile, out in the garden, we are also seeing changes. 
 
See the full column in the Sept. 2 Advance.
 

In the fifth chapter of the gospel according to Matthew (and the sixth and seventh chapters too), Jesus preaches a major sermon (aka the Sermon on the Mount) It’s pretty lengthy by Jesus” standards (and you thought your pastor was the only one who preaches long sermons!) Verses 3-12 of chapter five are known as the Beatitudes. There are nine of them in total, each of them beginning with “blessed are.” (some translations word it “happy are”) 

Paul Harvey’s approach to the news was beloved by those who favored his plain-spoken use of words to make one clearly understand a situation.
While most folks will remember his “the rest of the story” segments as his signature signoff, there is another statement he frequently used to introduce a particularly difficult segment. It was simply this: It is not one world.
 
Read the full column in the Aug. 19 Advance.

While Danielle Trussoni’s spellbinding novel The Ancestor could be categorized as a mystery, further definition remains, well, something of a mystery. 

To the editor:
“Money doesn’t grow on trees.” This is a common saying from parents to children. Or perhaps it’s not as common as one might think as shown by our Senate and Iowa’s own Senator Grassley voting for a “bipartisan” (HR3864) $1.2 trillion (that’s trillion!) infrastructure bill. Senator Grassley was one of 18 Republicans to vote for this economically disastrous bill. Here are just a few reasons we should be outraged at this bill:
 

The Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office 1440 Citizen of the Month for August 2021 is Chuck Redemske of Algona. Chuck was nominated because of his “calm, confident, and professional personality” both as a nurse and as a trainer for those in the medical and first responder profession.
 
See the Aug. 19 Advance for more on this story.

Going to the Iowa State Fair is always a treat. I love seeing the biggest and best of what our great state has to offer. You can experience everything, from seeing the biggest boar in the swine barn to the largest pumpkin to eating the craziest corndog. 

 ....  I am thankful to have learned and progressed in all of these valuable skills through my internship and time here at the Kossuth County Advance. However, I am most thankful for the environment that my coworkers created.  ....
Read all of Elyse Gabor's thoughts about her summer internship with the Kossuth County Advance in the Aug. 12 edition.

... Common sense in America is an endangered species. It is threatened with removal by passionate groups who not only don’t want to hear a rational argument, but their own persona cannot withstand the expression of such and meet it with immediate allegations of discrimination or hate or even violence. ...
Read all of Brad Hicks's On the Side in the Aug. 12 Advance.

... I especially remember when Don would plow the garden in the early spring. He plowed it using a pair of horses, one white, one brown – Sam and . . . um . . . I can’t remember the brown horse’s name. It was magical for a six-year-old to watch the steady gait of the horses with Don walking slowly behind them. He would wave at me every time they came to the end of a row and I would wave wildly back, calling out the horses’ names as they lumbered by.

... We had driven about 7,000 miles so far on that trip and saw almost no accidents until that day when we saw four, that served to intensify my caution behind the wheel.  At about noon, we stopped at a campground to take a hot shower. The shower was small and the water was solar heated in a black hose spread out on the roof, unique. We managed to finish before the hot water ran out. ....
Where was Jim? Check out his travelogue column in the Aug. 12 Advance.

... As I reflect on my responsibilities to my newborn daughter as her Christian father and my responsibilities to the children and adults of my congregation as their pastor, I think back to a sermon I preached two years ago on the first day of Sunday school. The sermon was titled: “So, whose job is it?” The gist of the sermon was that when it comes to the rearing of children in the Christian faith, we often see this as the job of everyone except ourselves.  ...

You don’t have to be in Iowa for long to recognize that in this state, we love our corn. Although 99 percent of the corn fields in Iowa produce field corn, sweet corn and popcorn are also available locally. 
At the Kossuth County Farmers Market we are fortunate to have a local popcorn grower amongst our vendors. 
 
Get the full Farmers Market report in the Aug. 12 Advance and every week.

... As the car came upon me, the driver just in the nick of time returned to the correct lane. And, then, the driver gave me a dirty look and a gesture that was uncalled for. I had done nothing but be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  As I drove by I was confused about what had just happened.

... Television runs college football. It has since the 1980s when the College Football Association was formed as a way for schools to get more games on television and not be limited by the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s limitations on televising games. The schools wanted more games on TV because they wanted the money and exposure. A struggling startup sports network called ESPN was new on the scene and looking for content.