I grew up in Algona, Class of 1954. I was so sorry to learn of your recent tornado. Algona is such a wonderful town and you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Just over one-third of the hotel-motel sales tax revenue collected in Algona is designated for uses other than community attractions or tourism. Twenty percent goes into the general fund and 15 percent goes to the Algona Area Economic Development Corporation to assist with personnel costs.
It is hard to estimate what could happen here in the coming years, given the expected release of a movie about the Algona Nativity Scene. Were it a couple of decades ago, a film about such an occurrence would draw people from far and wide to check it out for themselves. Tourism would explode, and all of our venues would benefit. In a pandemic world filled with people who prefer virtual realities in their living rooms, it’s a tougher call.
With the holiday season upon us, giving to those we care about most is at the forefront of our thoughts. For many, this also includes giving to causes we are passionate about as nonprofits in our community need charitable support to address ever-growing local needs.
Doing the dishes was a nightly task in my childhood home and one that my siblings and I argued over each evening. Who would clear the table? Who would wash the dishes? Rinse them? Dry them? Put them away?
No matter what community in which one lives, there is almost always one constant complaint: There is nothing to do around here.
Let us amend that statement here and now. Instead of that statement, we should be inquiring: What is there to do around here that I heard about but never did?
The battle over whether rural Kossuth County residents should be forced through eminent domain to accept the construction of a carbon pipeline across their properties is real-time battle between personal property rights and the argument such an installation serves the public good. The proposed public good is ethanol. The question is: Is ethanol worth it.
After spending the night off the beaten path parked at a Red Cross station near the outskirts of Paris, we had a simple breakfast of coffee and the special sweet waffles Guido’s mother had made and sent with us.
By Kathie Obradovich, Editor in Chief, Iowa Capital Dispatch, copyright-Iowa Capital Dispatch
Iowans turned out in better-than-usual numbers for last month’s city and school board elections. It’s always encouraging to see improvements in voter participation.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, attributed the higher turnout to increased voter engagement in local issues.
