I’ve written before about how much I loved to walk to, and through, Riverview Cemetery from our house. Those walks ended abruptly when a patch of ice rudely sneaked under my foot, causing me to land in a snow drift, staring at the sky. I adjourned to St. Cecelia Church then for my walks. It is lovely there, quiet, peaceful and, best of all, no ice. Or wind. Or rain. However, the church now is closed and locked, as are so many places during this pandemic.

The volunteer hosts at the Camp Algona Prisoner of War museum sometimes get that response. Why would the U.S. government spend $1.3 million to build a prison camp for 10,000 German prisoners in Algona? Even for those who don’t know our history, that’s a legitimate question. Why would the government do that?

100 Years Ago: Caucuses preliminary to the Republican county convention to be held at the court house Saturday, April 17, will be held in all four wards of the city next Wednesday evening between 7 and 8 o’clock. A feature of this year’s caucuses is that women are invited to attend and take part.
See all of Gene Miller's Out of the Past column in the April 9 Kossuth County Advance.

Preserve. Document. Enrich.
These title words are the key elements of the Kossuth County Historical Society’s motto: Preserving the Past, Documenting the Present, Enriching the Future. With these ideals in mind, the society has been and is a thriving entity for Kossuth County.

 
Read more about everything the Kossuth County Historical Society does in the April 2 Kossuth County Advance.

Over the past year, 354 Northwest Iowa RSVP volunteers served 29,690 hours in our communities.
 
See the full column and salute to volunteers in the April 2 Kossuth County Advance.

....
I enjoy going to the grocery store. I see people. I read labels – another story for another time. In general, I make a game of getting the best deal. The last few weeks, my grocery shopping observations have changed dramatically.
 
Beer display grows

The modern, beautifully landscaped building on the northeast corner of the Kossuth County Fairgrounds is the home of the Kossuth County Agricultural and Motorsports Museum. This facility was constructed almost a decade ago. Several individuals had the foresight to memorialize and preserve the rich agricultural and automotive motorsports history of this area.

This is such a sad, tragic time, it’s hard to know what to write about. I ache for all those affected by this virus, those who are sick with it, those who have lost loved ones and those who are losing their livelihoods because of it.
 That said, I think it’s important to try to find a little humor to brighten our spirits, if only for a little while.

Lu Verne is agitated over recent discoveries about Kossuth’s cowboy evangelist, A.S. Finnell. He opened up at Clarion some five or six years ago, then went to Goodell, and finally landed at Lu Verne, where he left his wife and a young child and also two children by a former wife. However, out in California, Finnell’s lying divorce scheme will likely land him in the penitentiary.

When I was asked to review “An American Bum in China,” I agreed. What I received in the mail was a relatively small volume, 4-by-7 inches and 114 pages, not including prologue.
I don’t hold a book’s length alone against it, though. John Steinbeck’s “The Red Pony,” just 100 pages, is one of his greatest works. So, length is not a problem.

Whether you believe the COVID-19 coronavirus is really a big deal or not is now a moot point. Simply put, it is.
Late last week, the Centers for Disease Control suggested people should be in gatherings of no more than 250 people.  By Sunday, the suggested number was 50. Monday afternoon, President Trump suggested people stay away from groups of more than 10.

Q: What do Iowans need to know about protecting themselves from the coronavirus?

The story centered on a woman's efforts to reduce her carbon footprint. For those of you who don't know what that means, it's the trendy way of saying you don't want what you do to put as much pollution into our atmosphere. That's a noble cause in my book. I prefer breathable air.

Thank you for the opportunity for us to present what Bancroft has to offer for a possible ambulance hub for the northern part of Kossuth County ....
Bancroft attended the county supervisors meetings on Feb. 11 and Feb. 18 to present what we have to offer in terms of building, equipment and staff. On Feb. 20, Bancroft ambulance and city were asked to answer the following three questions from the EMS board member, Kyle Stecker.
Read more in the March 12 Kossuth County Advance.

One of the fun things about my gig of volunteering to rock (and change and feed) babies at Bear Care, the day care center at Seton School, is being exposed to what today's parents are naming their children.
There's not a single Tom or John or Ed (all of my Kelly uncles' names) to be found. Instead, today's infants sport much more imaginative, colorful names.
Read the rest of Molly's Ink Spots in the March 12 Advance.