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A new high point for women’s sports in Iowa. And who was it who said a younger Caitlin Clark was “such a hotdog this is not going to turn out well”?

By CHUCK OFFENBURGER IOWA CITY, Iowa, March 18, 2023 – There are some of us old-timers who thought we’d seen girls’ sports – and maybe even women’s sports – get about as big as they were going to get back in the late 1960s and 1970s.  That’s when the Iowa high school girls’ state basketball…

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Out in Greene County, Iowa

The Juarez family’s brief stay in Greene County. Diversifying & growing is a real challenge.

By CHUCK OFFENBURGER JEFFERSON, Iowa, March 8, 2023 – We thought we were doing all the right things in trying to help the Juarez family find food, a home, jobs and to start settling-in here. Then they left. No phone call, no text, no email, no written note.  And there’s been no contact from them…

MARY RICHE

Our columnist was “a little showgirl right from the start.” How she became a musician.

By MARY RICHE DES MOINES, Iowa, March 1, 2023 — I don’t have family dishes or silverware that were passed on to me by my parents.  I was given a stack of sheet music, mostly hymns for the piano, because my parents Verda and Frank Riche witnessed music pouring out of me from the time…

MARY RICHE / Poem

A February reflection: Come on Mother Nature! All of us in Iowa wait for your magic.

By MARY RICHE DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 4, 2023 — I’m happy that the seasons change in this state, and I have spring fever.  It’s that time of the year. I’m full of anticipation, even excited. I was thinking about that on a recent sunny morning, but still a cold morning, and here’s what came…

MARY RICHE

A New York City trip helps her identify a theme for her 75th year: “Spunk and sass!”

By MARY RICHE DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 19, 2023 — I love celebrating my birthday. And I like the pivot point of a birth date, giving me reason to reflect on the past year while dreaming about the year ahead.   On my birthday in late 2021, there was absolutely nothing, not even a distant glimmer,…

Their New York City trip reminded him of the “dream assignment” of his career, back in ’78.

By CHUCK OFFENBURGER DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 1, 2023 – As my wife Mary Riche has reported elsewhere, we recently spent five days in New York City – an experience that was my gift for her 75th birthday.  It was as fabulous as you might imagine.  We saw “Music Man” and “Funny Girl” on Broadway. …

February 1, 2023 in OFFENBLOGGER.

Doing baseball in Cuba, a year from right now! A Cuban writer and I hope to work together.

By CHUCK OFFENBURGER DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 19, 2023 – It was cold, gray and snowing in Iowa as I started writing this.  The weather forecast was for up to a foot of snow in parts of the state.  Mid-January. A perfect time in Iowa to, uh, be in Cuba.  Know what I mean? In…

January 19, 2023 in OFFENBLOGGER.

RIP for a classic Iowan, Stephen Molle of little Cooper: Soldier, farmer, family man, real citizen.

By CHUCK OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, Jan. 8, 2023 – When your 97-year-old neighbor dies and you find yourself sitting in church at his funeral thinking “I want to be like Stephen Molle when I grow up,” that’s a pretty good measure of his life. Hundreds of us have been remembering and sharing our stories about…

January 19, 2023 in OFFENBLOGGER.

A photo feature from Mary Riche using her new iPhone camera: “5 Drips & a Red Bloom”

PHOTOS BY MARY RICHE DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 21, 2023 — There was a beautiful snow Wednesday evening into Thursday morning.  We got four inches on our patio in Des Moines, eight inches around our apartment in Jefferson and nearly a foot in areas on to the northwest. That made Mary Riche decide to spend…

January 18, 2023 in Feature Photo.

Is it lame to use a column to send holiday greetings and recap our Christmas travels & fun?

By MARY RICHE DES MOINES, Iowa, Dec. 30, 2022 – My husband Chuck Offenburger and I received so many wonderful holiday cards, photos and letters with personal messages that, yes, it seems a bit lame to send holiday greetings and recap our Christmas travels and celebrations in a column.  I’m hoping you’ll indulge me in…

December 30, 2022 in MARY RICHE.

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