The long and bloody history leading to the war in Gaza brings to mind ancient Greek tragedies, in which the characters were helpless against fate, the laws of the universe, and their own mistakes. A similar feeling of tragic destiny hovers over Israel and the Palestinians. It arises in their case from human nature — and economics.

The USDA released the first insights into net farm income expectations for 2024. The report anticipates a decrease from 2023’s forecast of $155 billion to $116 billion – a drop of nearly $40 billion, or 25.5%, and the largest recorded year-to-year dollar decrease in net farm income.

As Christians, we must condemn “Christian Nationalism” as a distortion of the Gospel of Jesus and a threat to American democracy.

In 2011, I compiled a lengthy feature on declining enrollments in northwest Illinois and the impact it was having on participation in sports.

The long and bloody history leading to the war in Gaza brings to mind ancient Greek tragedies, in which the characters were helpless against fate, the laws of the universe, and their own mistakes. A similar feeling of tragic destiny hovers over Israel and the Palestinians. It arises in their case from human nature — and economics.

In 2001, I participated in Illinois Farm Bureau’s inaugural Market Study Tour to China. Our group visited a training kitchen where chefs were learning recipes featuring U.S. beef and pork products. In the kitchen’s cooler, I discovered the pork was from a facility in Waterloo, Iowa, where many of my own hogs were processed.

Yep, legislators are back at it in Springfield working on legislation that may or may not see the light of day. As usual they will be racing to get their bills filed by the filing deadline, then the speakers in both chambers will decide what does get assigned to committee, and what doesn’t (that’s known as killing the bill).

Not much to write about this week, as I’ve been away from the sports scene while cloistered at Bishop Lane Retreat House during a three-day gathering of Christian men. By cloistered, it means leaving phones, watches or any other attachments at home.

As part of the federal Inflation Reduction Act the USDA is awarding grant monies for a new Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

Among Ogle County high schools, Forreston and Oregon are joining Byron and Rochelle in the sports hall-of-fame business. Both schools are looking for nominations in first-ever induction classes.

Thank you to the Ogle County Board for declaring Ogle County a non-sanctuary county for immigration.

These days with all the new pronouns, changing definitions of things I’ve known for decades and misinformation peddled by “social influencers” it’s hard for anyone to define anything anymore. The only social influencer I ever knew in my life were called mom and dad, and dependent on their mood at the time or their answer truly influenced your social life.

I would happily vote for a sales tax increase to benefit the schools if you would just word the proposal correctly to avoid the typical bait and switch scheme.

I read with sadness and dismay in the March 25 edition that the Ogle County Board has decided to make Ogle County a non-sanctuary county for immigration. I suppose because of how politicized the whole immigration issue has become in our country.

While we wait for the weather to warm up for spring sports, let’s review the NCAA basketball tournament, or “March Madness”, as they call it, although the IHSA claims to be original coiner of the term March Madness.

On the eve of Tuesday’s primary elections, let’s step away from high school sports and get into politics and its relationship to sports as a whole.

The most powerful nation in the world fails again and again, like a giant in chains, at the most basic tasks of government.

We’ve all read stories or seen videos of the immigration influx at our southern border. To date over 7.6 million have crossed our border in the past three years.

It’s a wrap for the Illinois high-school basketball and fans can now devote their attention to the NCAA tournament. It used to the IHSA tourney extended into the college post season and attendance suffered because of that.

The Byron boys basketball team shined when the lights were brightest, joining the football team downstate on a championship quest. The Tigers shot lights out in a command performance win over upstart Chicago Latin in the super-sectional.

A lot has changed on our Ogle County farm since I first started helping my dad take care of the pigs over 50 years ago. Gone are the open sheds and large pens for our pigs of multiple sizes and ages — pens where they were exposed to the weather as well as disease.

We have known Chad Horner for many years and want to voice our support for him as the next Ogle County coroner. 

I first crossed paths with Christie 35 years ago, and my life has been immeasurably blessed since. Together for 32 years in marriage, we've reached a depth of understanding that only decades of companionship can offer.

As spring election season is upon us, we want the citizens of Ogle County to know we formally support Dan Janes' candidacy for Ogle County Board member, District 5.  

Christie Cox is someone you need to know about if you're in Ogle County. She's running for  coroner, and she's not just about business as usual. Christie wants to shake things up, bringing in new tech and learning opportunities to the office. It's her vision for a better future that really grabs your attention.