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Opinion

35445

The Elbert Files: Letters from 1930

My cousin Naomi handed me copies of 31 letters during her father’s 100th birthday celebration on June 7. The pages chronicle a three-month trip to the West Coast that our grandparents, Leslie and Esther Everly, …

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Guest opinion: The time has come for Central Iowa Water Works

Submitted by: Jay Byers,president and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, and Steve Gaer, former West Des Moines mayor and COO of R&R Realty Group

We live in a community experiencing significant momentum. Central Iowa continues …

35425

On Leadership: The leader as chief wellness officer

For years I worked at companies where leaders and employees alike were expected to get the job done at all costs. Pushing yourself to extremes was valued and rewarded as a sign of dedication and …

35421

The Elbert Files: Fruits and vegetables

Problems facing fruit and vegetable growers present a unique opportunity for Iowa manufacturers of specialty farm equipment, including Deere & Co., Pella-based Vermeer Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing in Sheffield, among others.

Before I explain, here’s …

35409

The Elbert Files: Field of suckers

I’m one of those guys who had a hard time walking out of the theater the first time I saw “Field of Dreams.” I wasn’t prepared for the flood of emotions at the end of …

35388

The Elbert Files: Bad water

Iowa’s waterways are in worse condition than most of us realize.

A study by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources earlier this year said as much, although the implications of its technical findings were difficult …

35376

On Leadership: Invest in tomorrow’s leaders today

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with some of our team members for a report-out on leadership training they’d received over the last year. I listened intently as one individual described some positive …

35368

The Elbert Files: Empty robes

I bought an iced coffee at Ritual Cafe and headed into the Pappajohn Sculpture Park to read “You Know Me Al,” Ring Lardner’s series of short stories about an early 20th-century baseball pitcher. The book …

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Guest Opinion: What’s love got to do with work?

In the early 1980s, Tina Turner recorded “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” It became her first and only Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single. It is a catchy tune, but what’s love got …

35354

The Elbert Files: Interest-rate hiccups

Are we headed into a recession?


That’s a natural question when inflation rises as quickly as it has in recent months, but not one that can be easily answered.  


You might as well ask about …

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