To the editor: We enjoy reading about the Mount Ayr business men and women. I would like to add to the article about Mary Kathryn Gepner. In the school year of 1999 – 2000, when she taught at Abraham Lincoln School in Council Bluffs, Mary Kathryn was awarded Teacher of the Year. Jim and Donna…

To the editor: I would like to thank the staff at the Record News for their community-based features including last week’s story about the Mount Ayr Public Library. We have received a number of positive comments. Friday, the library was the meeting place for Dr. Jennifer Drinkwater of Iowa State University, an Extension Community Art…

To the editor: Iowa’s excellent public education system drew my wife and me back home in 1991. We’ve seen the communities our schools help create. As educators, we know what excellent education looks like. The Republican plan for private school vouchers will not encourage that excellence. In Iowa, private schools do not report on academic…

To the editor: Last year, the American people rejected extreme election deniers up and down the ballot. But we were unable to win every fight, and a tremendous threat to our democracy remains: the MAGA Republican majority in the House of Representatives. According to the Washington Post, over 70% of all House Republicans are themselves…

To the editor: The Ringgold County Conservation Board wishes to express its appreciation to County Conservation Executive Director, Kate Zimmerman. Kate has been the main catalyst for improvements to our parks for the last 12 years. Her enthusiastic and professional dedication to our county has been tremendous! Dragoon Trace Center, Liberty Lake, Picnics in the…

To the editor: In a glitzy ad campaign, a folksy Governor Kim Reynolds is trying to sell her so-called School Choice plan of tax payer funded “vouchers” so parents can send their kids to private schools. It is hard to see how the citizens of Ringgold County in the Diagonal and Mount Ayr Community Schools…

To the editor: It is generally accepted that all politicians lie but since 2016 we have seen lying raised to an art form. On a Meet the Press Interview, January 22, 2017, Kellyanne Conway defended Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s false statement about the attendance numbers of Donald Trump’s inauguration. Chuck Todd asked Kelleyanne to explain…

THE BLESSINGS OF CHRISTMAS What are the Blessings of Christmas — New doll, new skates, a sled? What are the Blessings of Christmas – Some blankets, or sheets for our bed? What are the Blessings of Christmas – An appliance, a toy, a tart? Or—is I the JOY of giving That only comes from the…

To the editor: WAKE UP AMERICA II Joe Biden and his Chinese partners are rapidly destroying America’s middle class. Joe has purposely created high inflation, economic slowdown, a badly weakened US military divisiveness among Americans and a huge sovereign debt crisis. The Chinese are getting huge dividends on their investments in and corruption of the…