Many people would rather get their teeth drilled than discuss economics. If you are one of them, dial up your dentist, because today’s topic probably will make you uncomfortable. Some politicians...

At the beginning of the school year, we set out a list of goals for the community and projects to be tackled. Here’s how the community did on those goals. New superintendent at MV schools The Mount...

Brain rot. Sure, you laugh. But if brain rot was not a real thing, then why did Oxford University Press choose it as their word of the year? What is brain rot, you ask? Well, if you have to ask, then you...

I remember the day Mom tried to explain to us four constantly ravenous children, the concept of leftovers. She took a deep breath as if preparing to parse some impenetrable theological question. “Leftovers...

We understand that maintenance on train tracks needs to happen. Like roads, they’re used almost every day between Mount Vernon and Lisbon, and we’ve gotten used to the whistles of the trains as...

I’ve been playing the “is it cold enough to turn on the heat inside my apartment yet?” game the past few weeks. Part of that is my Midwest stubbornness of “it’s not December yet, turning...

This December, unwrap the gift of generosity by lending an arm to spread holiday cheer. Phi Lambda Xi of Cornell College is hosting a blood drive with ImpactLife on campus on Wednesday, December 11...

want to mention one group that helps make this area such a great place to live, and that is the Mount Vernon Lisbon Community Development Group (MVL-CDG, or CDG). For those who don’t know, CDG is one...

In today’s rapidly changing economy, traditional pathways to education and employment are evolving, and Kirkwood Community College is at the forefront of this transformation. In addition to offering...

Sometimes the most sensible thing to do is…do nothing. Take the city of Iowa City. For the last few years, I have been raking my leaves to the curb in the hope that this time, they will send their...

There’s a lot to be thankful for in our communities this year. One of the big ones for this newspaper is Mount Vernon beginning the first steps on investigating a possible child care addition to the...

Last June my husband and I were able to visit Gettysburg, Penn., and walk the battlegrounds from the Civil War. To call it sobering is an understatement. The Battle of Gettysburg resulted in 51,000 casualties,...