Column

Kyle Troutman: Pick up a whistle!
I got my first job at 11. Well, I suppose it wasn’t technically a job. They say do the things you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. At that age, the thing I loved most was soccer.

Sheila Harris: Take it or leave it
In spite of Russian trolls and slanted algorithms, some food for thought can be harvested from Facebook.

American Insights — Dakoda Pettigrew: Born of promise and protest
On Wednesday morning, August 14, 1765, Andrew Oliver awoke to find himself hanging in effigy from a Boston Liberty Tree.

Publisher’s View — Kyle Troutman: Big change, bigger benefit
A big change is happening today. After years — more than a decade — of offering a 100% free website, as of this morning, original content comes at a premium.

American Insights — Dakoda Pettigrew: Joseph Warren’s last stand
He could hear the cannons roar in Boston as he lay in bed, frozen by a headache. He hadn’t slept in days. His body wanted to rest.

Kyle Troutman: Charting new territory
As we wrap up the first week of 2026, there’s a pep in my step. Maybe it’s enjoying the last bit of fall weather brightening my days. It could that the kids went back to school this morning and routines can fall back into place. Or, better yet, it’s more likely I’m excited about what’s to come in the next 359 days.

Jon Horner: Creating opportunity together — A new year’s vision for our community in 2026
Here we stand at that annual strange feeling each year as we start to say goodbye to the year before, reflecting upon what has filled the past 365 days of our lives and beginning to see the possibilities which come with the shifting of the calendar to a new year.

Dakoda Pettigrew: American Insights — Liberty or death
He rose, a Baptist clergyman recalled, “with an unearthly fire burning in his eye.” It was Thursday, March 23, 1775, and the fate of American liberty was on the patriot’s mind. To Thomas Jefferson, he was “the greatest orator that ever lived.” To Roger Atkinson, a spectator, he was “a son of thunder.” To his enemies, he was an insolent traitor to king and empire, a man as infamous for his utterances as the Apostle Paul when he stood on Mars Hill and preached to the people of Athens.

Kyle Troutman: It’s a wrap
As 2025 comes to a close, we always take a look back at the top stories of the year in news and sports with our annual top 10s, but in this column, I’m divulging what caught the most attention from you — our readers.

Dakota Pettigrew: American Insights — The Greatness of Jimmy Carter
The train carrying the president-elect sped into Union Station at 3:45 p.m. To Woodrow Wilson’s surprise, few people had gathered to welcome him to the nation’s capital. The Washington Post reported, “It was a strange greeting for the man who is to rule the destinies of the nation for the next four years.”

