Chuck Offenburger

EASTER, 1861, RIPPEY, IOWA: With the Civil War starting less than two weeks later, what must people in this pioneer settlement have been hearing and thinking when they gathered for Easter services 165 years ago? Read it right here: bit.ly/4cnyGHn.

In this holy season, our columnist asks, “What prayers work for you?” He is sharing his “most reliable prayers” right here, and he asks that you share yours, too, from whatever religion or philosophy. Read it free right here: bit.ly/4bJPaba.

Iowa used to be famous for its 6-on-6 basketball, but it has long since played 5-on-5. Nebraska is now trying 4-on-5 and look what it’s done for them.

What’s the worst basketball team ever in Iowa? Well, our hoopsters the “RAGBRAI All-Stars” never won. But we were playing against local superstars — like Jan Jensen, Lynne Lorenzen, the Washington IA Demons boys state champs. We ALWAYS lost! Read it here: bit.ly/4stczoF.

LESSONS FROM WRITING ON THE ROAD: A lot of my best journalism work has happened when I was reporting while traveling. I want to help young newsies at my alma mater experience that, so I’ve launched a new fund to help them. Read it right here: bit.ly/4rwnCfe.

Great to tune in to my first VandyBoys game this baseball season and hear “The Whistler” again. He’s still got it!

A report from “The Elders” — my sister Chris Werner & I are the last of the siblings in the Offenburger clan. We were just together for another family funeral. It’s an odd feeling for us being the oldest now, especially when we really were the youngest: bit.ly/4cTCT6b.

Where Iowa multicultural leader Sara Monroy Huddleston came to us from: After attending Sara’s daughter’s wedding in Merida, Mexico, I came home with new understanding of, and appreciation for, Sara’s heritage and talents. Read it right here: bit.ly/4kPIbl7.

Anybody found the Iowa State women’s basketball game against Arizona State on TV?

Back where my newspapering began: A funeral on Saturday, Feb. 8, brought me back to my hometown of Shenandoah IA. The visit let me prep for a conversation another “newsie” and I promised about our journalism careers. Read about it right here: bit.ly/45V4DTW.

Losing childhood friends is so hard: Bob Longman, one of my neighborhood besties in Shenandoah IA, a high school classmate and forever “an adventurer,” led me through so much. Pancreatic cancer took him Friday, Jan. 30. Read my tribute free, right here: bit.ly/4qfE4Aa.

Our columnist, like other Baby Boomers, is sometimes said to be “stuck in the ’60s,” meaning their heyday in the 1960s. Lately he’s been just as stuck in the 1860s, helping with a Greene County IA project honoring forgotten young Civil War veterans: bit.ly/4qYOdT7.

RIP to the “Dean of Scribes” from “Sportswriter U,” as many know Vanderbilt. Bill Livingston, for 34 years the lead sports columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, died Friday at 77. He was one of our best. My tribute to my longtime friend & colleague: bit.ly/3YvJjjM.

They were pioneer kids in the first school in Greene County, Iowa, 165 years ago. Then their 2 instructors and 32 of them — boys or just older — marched into Hell on Earth. Students of today decided it’s time to honor them. You can help us: bit.ly/4qX22RB

How did Vanderbilt accomplish its amazing football overhaul? Iowa native Rod Williamson, for 33 years was Vandy’s athletics spokesperson, tells the story of the bowl opponent of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Read it free, right here: bit.ly/3Li4pyS.

@margotfos @diegopavia02 How have I missed that you have named a favorite squirrel after Diego Pavia?

Diego (the squirrel, that his) has been my buddy since August 2024, visiting regularly when we are home to get peanuts, cashews and walnuts. Named him after @diegopavia02 when he went off against VaTech on 8/31/24.

Does Diego the Squirrel know something we don't?? #2Turnt #HEI2MAN ⚓️👇🏽🐿️ @diegopavia02 @VandyFootball @vucommodores

Vanderbilt U, which faces Iowa in the Dec. 31 ReliaQuest Bowl, is not one of those SEC football factories. Rod Williamson, the native Iowan who long was Vandy’s sports spokesman, explains my alma mater in a new column especially for readers in Iowa: bit.ly/4jgSkGX.

When Terry Branstad received the Iowa Award: There was a whole lot of emotion in the rotunda of the State Capitol on Dec. 11 for a celebration of one of our all-time best Iowans. Read my reflections about the ceremony & his career, right here: bit.ly/4qaHTqC.

@CollegeFBonX Vandy!

Which of these teams would you WANT to see in the playoffs?

@HeismanTrophy I want to vote for #DiegoPavia