Visiting the elaborate Baptistry of St. John

150 Years Ago

Of Memorial Days past and present

With the tragedy in Texas still so fresh in our minds, and our feeling of helplessness when we think of those grieving families, it’s hard to try to write a light-hearted column. However, as I’ve said before, if I can make just one person smile, then perhaps that will justify my taking up space on the planet. So here goes.

Mosquito free !

As warm summer weather arrives, we know what comes along with it — mosquitoes. Now there may be someone reading this who actually likes mosquitoes, but I don’t. I don’t like the buzzing and, as a fair-skinned Irishman, I don’t like the biting. They apparently like me, and I want to end the relationship. Sound familiar?

School Shootings

Dear Editor,

In the aftermath of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller from San Antonio said “ We make arms sacred and with a these same arms kill people.” When asked about republicans being pro-life he said it is inconsistent to “ protect the baby in the womb and then kill it when it’s 9 years old.” The Archbishop said politicians use a very narrow minded view on their base to gain support.

By Rev. Patrick Mostek, Assistant Pastor, Grace Church, Algona

There is Power in 

the Word of God

Roe vs. Wade doesn’t make murder safe

By Barb Smith

City of Algona

Emerald Ash Borer moves in Iowa

City of Algona to activate tree management plan

The City of Algona Tree Board will activate a plan this summer to remove ash trees from City property and work with residents to either remove or treat ash trees in the right of way. 

By Jim Sloter

By Michael Tidemann

 “Would you believe in love at first sight?” 

 That’s the question posed on the cover of Jeff Mitchell’s heartwarming novel, Stone City, set in the iconic Grant Wood hill country of eastern Iowa. Mitchell, former dean of industrial technology at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and currently an educational consultant, has always lived in the Stone City area, the subject of a Wood painting. 

By Brad Hicks, publisher

General’s orders

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer around these parts. Kids are out of school. Trees have canopied. Mosquitos are alive. Spring’s winds die. June’s stormy nature erupts on waves of humidity. Boats, balls in the gaps and crooked golf shots are launched. 

By Gene Miller - Out of the Past

150 Years Ago

NOTICE. -- The citizens of Kossuth county are requested to meet at the Court House in Algona on Saturday the 25th inst., at 2 o’clock P. M. to consider the Rail Road interests of the County. By Order of Committee.

125 Years Ago

Rev. John Koopman - Pastor, Peace Lutheran Church, West Bend

Let the children come to me

By Shane Goodman

For many of us, a good night’s sleep isn’t as easy to come by as it was when we were younger. On the occasions when I would sleep late in my youth, my father would tell me, “You must have needed it.” He must have been right.

I still need more sleep. We all do. So what helps you get to sleep? And what keeps you awake?

By Jerry Yocum

POW Museum

Algona, you have done it again!

The ‘proactive’ spirit of the Algona area was evident again in the planning and building of the Camp Algona Prisoner of War Historical complex. On Friday, May 13, 2022, a chamber of commerce coffee was held at the city airport, location of Camp Algona during World War II. The 287 acre location was a military facility that housed 10,000 prisoners of war from April of 1944 to February of 1946.