Columns/Opinion

David Phillips: National Night Out helps us know each other, because it’s not a given

Published by tlittle@bluffco... on Tue, 08/13/2019 - 3:02pm

You wouldn’t think small towns would need to participate in the annual National Night Out, an annual event across the nation to bring neighbors together to foster a true sense of community. After all, small towns have always been known as true communities where supposedly everyone already knows everyone else.

Letter: Revamp America’s health education

Published by tlittle@bluffco... on Tue, 08/06/2019 - 10:09am
Medical insurance and healthcare continues to be a main topic of American conversations. Our lives are all we really have and good medical care is imperative to preserve our lives. 
Americans must have a dual effort when it comes to healthcare. We need a good plan for covering the expense involved in medical care. Secondly we need a prevention plan. 

David Phillips: Quest for knowledge doesn’t constitute an endorsement

Published by tlittle@bluffco... on Tue, 08/06/2019 - 10:07am

When this column touches on President Trump, there is usually some criticism from his supporters, which is understandable. It is good to hear alternative opinions even if they aren’t for publication.

However, after the column two weeks ago questioning why Trump isn’t running on his economic record, instead focusing on threats, namely immigrants, one reaction intrigued me. An online commenter implied that the column endorsed tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who has some interesting ideas about what he feels is the real threat to jobs — automation, not immigrants.

David Phillips: Cigarettes changing, but consequences for smokers remain the same as always

Published by tlittle@bluffco... on Wed, 07/31/2019 - 3:49pm

Smoking rates in Minnesota have been declining for decades, but the tobacco industry keeps finding ways to entice people to use tobacco. One innovation is e-cigarettes, also known as e-vaporizers, which are battery-powered devices people use to inhale an aerosol that typically contains nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals.

Letter: Military celebration was moving part of 2019 Fillmore County Fair

Published by tlittle@bluffco... on Tue, 07/30/2019 - 3:45pm

To the editor:

The 2019 Fillmore County Fair started with a very moving and memorable military celebration on Tuesday, July 16, to recognize the reconstruction of the 100-year-old World War I Memorial entrance at the fair grounds. The entrance was first used on Aug. 26, 1919, to welcome home the soldiers from WWI where 48 Fillmore County soldiers had lost their lives.

David Phillips: ‘Challenge of our time’ not so easy to identify

Published by tlittle@bluffco... on Tue, 07/23/2019 - 2:40pm

The exchange between letter-writers in the Bluff Country Reader on President Donald Trump’s lies and other polarizing traits may be interesting, but it is unlikely to change anyone’s mind about the man holding the highest office in the land. That’s because one statement by Trump that rings true today is when he told a crowd in Iowa on the campaign trail in 2016, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and wouldn’t lose any voters, OK? It’s, like, incredible.”

Doris Schuck, 80, once of Lanesboro

Published by tlittle@bluffco... on Fri, 07/12/2019 - 8:09am

Doris Marie Schuck, 80, of Parkersburg, Iowa, and formerly of Lanesboro, died on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, at the Creekside Living Cottages and Villas, in Grundy Center, Iowa, from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. 

She was born the daughter of Merlin Daniel and Thelma Margarette (Fielder) Hickey on Oct. 11, 1938, in Grinnell, Iowa.  She received her education and graduated from Dike High School in 1956.  She attended Pitzie’s Beauty School in Waterloo, Iowa.

Letter: It is time for a national moral revival

Published by tlittle@bluffco... on Fri, 07/12/2019 - 8:06am

The last week in June I was on Washington Island to hear Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove speak about reclaiming our moral imagination as people of faith. The forum is an annual event sponsored jointly by the Wisconsin Council of Churches and the Christian Century magazine. I knew it would be a challenging presentation. Wilson-Hartgrove issued a call, a national call for moral revival.

Letter: You’re invited to a (big) Lanesboro party

Published by tlittle@bluffco... on Wed, 07/03/2019 - 9:22am

When the popular American humorist Dave Barry turned 50 he listed 25 things he learned in his first five decades. Number 10? “There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 11.”

Well, I don’t agree with Dave Barry. Most people don’t. Especially the good people of Lanesboro, Minnesota, who this year are making a very big deal about their town’s birthday. Why shouldn’t they? It’s not every day that someone turns 150!

David Phillips: Freedom comes with responsibility

Published by tlittle@bluffco... on Tue, 07/02/2019 - 10:52am
An old refrigerator stood in the parking lot of the rural recycling drop-off center on the edge of Spring Valley Friday. The door was ajar as trays spilled out and food containers, such as mayonnaise jars and salad dressing bottles, littered the ground around the unit.
This could be another story about idiots who think it is perfectly OK to dump their unwanted items anywhere as long as it is off their property. However, the thing that struck me about this incident was the response of local citizens.