“Unusual weather we’re having, ain’t it?” – the Cowardly Lion, upon awakening to a snowstorm after a poppy party in the docudrama “The Wizard of Oz.” We denizens of the prairie know that you don’t have to go somewhere over the rainbow to enjoy — or endure, depending on your ...

The call rang out from one side of the lake and was echoed from the other by a different set of voices as I finished off the morning’s work at the lake cabin. Having been a long winter, I had seemingly for just a second forgotten what the loud warbling was going on between the two sets of ...

You know, even in times of trial and tribulation, there's joy to be found. It had been a bit of a downer day so I went for a stroll. I knew a new store that featured items for men was holding a grand opening, so I decided to see what it was all about. And I'm darn glad I did! As I viewed ...

Eric Miller with Suite Liv’n sent me an email a couple weeks ago inviting the Independent to cover a community outreach event involving apartment residents. The email stated that volunteers would be gathering to paint small flower pots and then add the soil and seeds. The pots were ...

Pam and I have a nice house. It’s one of those old farmhouses that’s been remodeled a hundred different ways. Since the kids left, it’s just Pam and me. And a few thousands of ladybugs. Several times a day, I go around the house sweeping ladybugs into a dustpan and tossing them outside. ...

I had an interesting experience this week on Monday morning, one that involved a wide panorama of Midwestern history. I was part of a bus tour group that went to the Gold Star Military Museum at Camp Dodge west of Des Moines, Iowa. The stop was the last segment of a three-day mystery tour ...