It often seems impossible to truly appreciate what went into being a newspaper reporter 80 years ago.

We here in the newsroom sometimes laugh at how the editor's of papers big and small back then seemed almost expected to battle it out on their pages with an editor at a competing publication or a lawmaker from a rival community.

Wild times.

But wordsmiths of that day also steered their mastheads through serious times when readers needed it most.

Most of the sold-out crowd at the Roof Garden Saturday night was already in the Christmas mood. I, unfortunately, hadn’t gotten that far yet. However, the Jazzed up Big Band got me there in outstanding fashion.

Jazzed Up plays every Tuesday night during the summer at the Roof Garden, so I was looking forward to their fifth annual Christmas show. These are outstanding musicians individually, so when you put them all together on one stage, you will hear some fantastic music.

Q: Why is U.S. border security in shambles?

When I was elected to serve Iowa’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, I promised that I would be a strong voice for our families, farmers and rural main streets and equally transparent with and accessible to the people I represent. By officially completing my third annual 36 County Tour, I have upheld that pledge, had many invaluable discussions with Iowans and transformed our priorities and values into sound policy and legislative victories.

The story of Thanksgiving is deeply rooted in themes of gratitude, forgiveness and hope. It's a tale of resilience, perseverance and the power of human connection.

Q: How do DIR fees drive up costs for prescription drugs?

By Carol DeSchepper - Spiritual director, First Lutheran Church

Listen, I hear someone is shouting, ‘Make a highway for the Lord through the wilderness. Make a straight, smooth road through the desert for our God. Fill the valleys and level the hills. Straighten out the curves and smooth off the rough spots. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all people will see it together.’  Isaiah 40: 3-5

We just called it the sunscreen song, and we thought it was hilarious.

This was back in the days of Y2K, when young people like my friends and I kept a blank cassette tape handy in case we wanted to copy a favorite tune when it came on the radio or in case a new chart topper was worth capturing.

Such was the sunscreen song.

I recently received an email from someone that had some statistics that were quite startling. A poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute shows that 71 percent of Americans believe that democracy is at risk in the United States.

Q: What's your message for Iowans this Thanksgiving Day?

Agriculture is the economic engine of Iowa, the livelihood of farmers and their families and the lifeblood of our rural communities across the 4th Congressional District. Our producers work long hours in all types of weather conditions to grow the food and produce the fuel that our country and the world depend on. Their hard work is the reason that Iowa remains the breadbasket to the world and that our district in particular leads the nation in corn, pork, egg and biofuel production.

Landowners targeted for eminent domain by Summit Carbon Solutions won several substantial victories in recent weeks, but the fight is far from over. Our celebratory high-fives must wait. Summit is wounded but remains a very real threat to the private property rights of thousands across Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

I would like to thank the community members that supported me during my candidacy for the Spirit Lake Board of Education. The past six weeks has been a very revealing time. I don’t regret running because I believe having a contested election brought some things to light. And while it’s easy to talk about all the positive things in our district, it’s a lot tougher to talk about the real and relevant issues our district is facing. Here’s a start:

One of the best pieces of advice I took away from the state newspaper convention a couple years ago was to be open to changing your mind on any issue you might write about on the opinion page. Granted, my bench of opinion columns seems to get shallower year after year (in favor of better byline news pieces, of course) but I think this is one of those times.

The rationale behind Iowa’s professional licensing laws is simple: People in certain professions and skilled occupations are required to hold state licenses to work in Iowa. This is to ensure they meet the minimum standard of training and skill necessary to serve consumers safely and effectively. But a state government policy change leads me to wonder whether our state officials have lost sight of their obligation to act in the best interests of the public.