Lately, I have been feeling uneasy about St. Patrick’s Day. When I was a kid, I was so proud of being Irish. I would tell perfect strangers that my family came from Ireland. On St. Patrick’s Day,...

One of the things that has irked me in this current legislative session has been the state house trying to overstep local control or even parental controls in their legislative decisions. Especially...

Mount Vernon’s mayor Tom Wieseler and farmer and school board member Tim Keegan were featured in a bit of reporting from CBS Evening News this past week on the impact tariffs and this ongoing trade...

The House Budget resolution that passed two weeks ago had big cuts and big tax breaks when budgets are set for next year. It contains huge tax breaks for the richest 1 percent, those who annually earn...

Dear Editor. We need help. If anyone has a child from 0 through 5 in the area (zip code 52314 and 52253) they could be receiving a free book a month through our partnership with the Dolly Parton’s...

The Challenger explosion is one of our country’s defining moments. It was so shocking that when the topic is brought up today, people remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard...

Another year, another Progress special section is printed. As always, the special section tries to highlight the business in Mount Vernon and Lisbon who have had changes this year, celebrating an...

As American democracy dissolves before our eyes and we seem to be on the verge of war with, uh, Canada, Iowa legislators turn their attention to the pressing matter of (I am not making this up) stopping...

My winter coat has had a minor tear along a seam near the right pocket since earlier this winter. I noticed it when I first picked it up at the beginning of winter. And I probably should have grabbed...

Spring is coming. How do I know? I just got my first seed catalog in the mail. If you too are interested in planting seeds then you should visit Cole Library’s Seed Share located on the first floor. What...

Five things I accomplished last week Dear [email protected], You asked for 5 things that I accomplished this last week. I did a lot more than this but you asked for just FIVE, so here goes: 1. I sat...

The past month has feltlike a bad dream, except that we’ve been living through it. Each day we’ve experienced new Executive Orders, cuts to various programs, announcements that a geographical area...