I remember not too long ago on my way home home from the Independent office each evening walking past the RLC office building on Fifth Street and noticing lots of activity. People walking in and out of the entrance on many evenings. I could see through the windows along the suite occupied by ...
When you look at the calendar, it seems like time is flying — not only in weeks and months, but definitely in years. This September will mark twenty-five years since the terrorist attacks on 9/11, a day that reshaped our nation and the lives of countless service members and families. In our work serving veterans in this area, the passing of time becomes very real. We are still meeting a surprising number of Vietnam Veterans who have either not been to the office for many years or have never stepped into the VA system at all. It amazes us because so much help is available, and it ...
Under normal daily circumstances most people aren’t inclined to give advice because they don’t want to seem like a “know it all”. The graduation season in May is often an exception to the rule, especially for people my age and older. We enjoy seeing grandchildren of relatives and close friends take an important step toward being an adult. We want to help them in a small way. For that reason we will sometimes say a few words about our own experiences in life, things we’ve learned over the years. There’s a scene from the 1967 movie The Graduate in which a graduation ...
It is that time of year where we are going to a lot of open houses celebrating graduations. I have listened to many warm, funny and nostalgic stories of senior years in high school. That took me back to my last year of high school, which totally revolved around sports, since that was my ...
As we enter the final month of the 2025-26 school year, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our Marshall community. Even though we’ve faced challenges this year, our students, staff, and families have shown remarkable resilience, collaboration, and joy. We are closing out a very successful year—and there is so much to celebrate across every building. Preschool and early childhood center Our youngest learners have had a month full of connection and celebration. We welcomed grandparents and special grownups for Goodies with GrownUps, a special morning of sharing stories, ...
You might think that a town with a name like Orange City would have vast orchards of citrus trees, but you would be mistaken. So much for truth in advertising. This isn’t terribly surprising given that Orange City is in northwestern Iowa, far from the citrus-growing region. But Orange City makes up for it with vast numbers of tulips. The large number of bulb-based flowers in Orange City might cause you to think that the town is closely associated with Holland, and you would be correct. One out of two isn’t bad. Orange City celebrates its Dutch heritage with their annual Tulip ...
