By CHUCK OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, Feb. 5, 2019 — Iowa just lost one of its best citizens, Mark A. Wampler. And he was one of my best sources over the years, too. Wampler, who lived in rural Slater in central Iowa but hailed from Allerton in south central Iowa, knew everybody who was anybody in this…
By CARLA OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, Jan. 25, 2019 — In late December, I reported that I was most likely going to do some “spot radiation” under the direction of Dr. John Triantafyllos (fondly known as “Dr. T.”), a radiation oncologist at Iowa Methodist Medical Center’s John Stoddard Cancer Center in Des Moines. And that’s exactly what…
By CHUCK OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, Jan. 22, 2019 — I followed last Friday’s inauguration of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg fairly closely, even though I stayed here at the farmhouse as ice, snow and bitter cold blew through west central Iowa. So, thanks to you in the media for all the…
CHURDAN, Iowa, Dec. 3, 2018 — What a fine late-afternoon of music on Sunday, Dec. 2, at historic St. Patrick’s-Cedar Oratory in the northwest corner of our Greene County. The All Strings Attached Orchestra & Choir from neighboring Carroll presented its annual Christmas Cantata, this year titled “Sing Joy To All The World,” arranged by Lloyd…
By CHUCK OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, Jan. 2, 2019 – There are 70 million Catholics in the U.S. – I’m one of them – and nearly all of us are trying to make our own peace with the horrendous clergy sexual abuse scandal that is threatening the future of our church, not only in this country…
By CHUCK OFFENBURGER COON RAPIDS, Iowa, Nov. 13, 2018 — The lights are burning late at night this week at the “River House” in the wild, wooded and wondrous Whiterock Conservancy southeast of this western Iowa town. Zack Jones, artist-in-residence the past three weeks, is getting ready for a show this Saturday when he’ll share…
By CARLA OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, Dec. 30, 2018 — I write this column from our farmhouse living room, where I’m also admiring the most perfect Christmas tree. Seriously, the best one ever. It has ornaments that tell my whole life story – going clear back to my childhood and through the years of the best…
Douglas T. Bates III, great friend of Chuck Offenburger since their college years, was asked to preach the sermon on Sunday, Oct. 21, at the United Methodist Church in the middle Tennessee town where he was born, raised and now lives in semi-retirement. He’s not a member of the Methodist Church anymore, or any church,…
By CHUCK OFFENBURGER JEFFERSON, Iowa, Dec. 3, 2018 — We lost one of our longtime leaders of business and community here last week when Dean McAtee died at 86. He became a wealthy man by building McAtee Tire, Inc., into a company that at one time had dealerships in Jefferson as well as eight other…
By CARLA OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, Nov. 7, 2018 — Why is cancer so devastating, over and over again? My friend Faith Ferre died a few weeks ago and I’m just able to start talking about it. In June of this year, Faith was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that had metastasized to her spinal…
