March 29, 2024

‘Hug your loved ones tightly’

It’s tough when you lose a friend way too early in life.

My wife and I grieve from a distance with some friends of ours who lost their wife, mother, grandma, etc. recently. The funeral was Saturday and inclement weather hindered us from going, and that doesn’t make things any easier.

I may have written before that we go to family camp each summer at Okoboji. There’s a large group of about 40 of us who go the same week and this friend was part of that group. Needless to say, when we go at the end of June this year, there will be a void, there will likely be tears shed, and it’ll be tough. But it’s right where we’ll need to be: together.

Hug your loved ones tightly, friends. This person who passed away — her name was Pam — was remembered with words like kind, compassionate, friendly, grace-filled. These are all things I aspire to be. Her two daughters, son and husband, left behind to grieve, have resolved to live their lives the way Pam would have taught them to. I am resolving to live life that way as well.

Chiefs

I was hoping for a rematch of Super Bowl I, but alas, it didn’t happen.

Oddly enough, Super Bowl I was 20 years before I was born, but it was the Packers against the Chiefs, with the Packers winning that 1967 game 35-10.

My favorite team, the Packers, I didn’t really think they were actually that good this year. They caught breaks here and there and had flashes of brilliance with a new, youthful head coach named Matt LaFleur. A division championship and conference runner-up finish is pretty darn good.

I saw a meme online today that showed a pie chart with red, gold and navy blue. The red was those happy the 49ers are in the Super Bowl, the gold represented those who were happy the Chiefs were in the Super Bowl and the navy blue represented those who are glad the New England Patriots didn’t make the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, I have to admit I chucked a little bit. I’m happy to have midwestern ties in the big game we have to wait awhile for now.

Community building

I’m excited to be able to rub shoulders with people who care deeply about their communities this Thursday and again next Monday.

This Thursday is the Midwest Partnership Annual Dinner. Members of our staff are attending and it will be fun to hear about the revamping of uptown Casey, a story that was big right before I got here, I believe.

This coming Monday, if weather permits (last year it was postponed because it was extremely cold — hopefully not this year), Greenfield Chamber/Main Street and Development will have their Annual Meeting at Hotel Greenfield. Again, there should be some great content from that meeting we’ll have in the newspaper about people doing great things for their community and the surrounding area. It takes an army to make a community like this!

The List

It’s a pretty quiet time, overall, for the newspaper. There’s always news going on and always business clients who have needs we can help them with, but it’s pretty quiet compared to the holiday season we got out of recently.

Despite all that, I’ve still got a list of things on my mind. So, here it is:

1. We’ve printed in this week’s newspaper Rep. Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II’s legislative newsletter since the session opened Jan. 13. It’s an exciting time for lawmakers as things are ramping up at the Capitol.

2. It’s an odd time since there’s snow on the ground, but we’re saluting the year-round efforts of corn producers in this week’s newspaper. There are many facets to this industry that comes from the No. 1 grain Iowa farmers produce. It has so many uses. Thanks to Ted Wallace, who works in the seed industry, for talking with me this week about that facet of corn. It’s very fascinating. Check out the story on pages 8 and 9 and a bridal section in this week’s newspaper as well.

3. A huge thank you to those who have to work in conditions like we had last Friday. I know the Greenfield Fire Department was called at least once during the slick conditions and there’s snowplow drivers and others who have to be out in it. It wasn’t nice, but it’s really nice to know there are people like these who are willing to put their lives on the line to help others get to where they need to be. I have a feeling we’re not done with that type of weather.

Quote of the Week: How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose if there were no winter in our year." - Thomas Wentworth Higginson