Iowa

The Budget newspaper brings stories from around the world • Iowa Capital Dispatch

Published

6 months ago

May 1, 2024

The Budget newspaper brings stories from around the world • Iowa Capital Dispatch

In these days of digital newspapers, I find The Budget delivers a comforting, hefty thump when it lands in my rural mailbox. The Budget, published since 1890 out of Sugarcreek, Ohio, brings 50 to 60 paper pages of news from every Anabaptist community in the world, including Amish, Mennonites, and Brethren.

It boasts “50,000 Readers each week in Plain Communities across the Americas.” The “scribe” of every community reports the weather, the comings and goings, the births and deaths, and the illnesses and recoveries of their group — plus any other anecdotes that might resonate with these far-flung readers.

With the news comes inserts advertising everything from harmonicas to wellness centers where “brain scanning, rife scanning, and microscope blood analysis” is offered. Individual ads hawk the necessities of Amish life: horseshoes, hoop house covers, trampoline parts, and pain-relief supplements. And yet another section includes feature stories and national news — the opening of an Amish quilt show at the Smithsonian Institute, volunteer work drilling wells in Haiti, and lectures on the odyssey of some Mennonites who fled Prussia, where they were forbidden to own land, to settle in Russia, then eventually in Mexico.

The Anabaptist diaspora kicked off in 18^th century Europe and spread all over the world, but the majority of the communities settled in the United States. A quick glance at The Budget finds columns from Pennsylvania where the Amish first fled from persecution, to Alabama, to Kentucky, to Montana. Predominantly, the Amish, a sub-group of the larger Mennonite umbrella, left the Swiss/Alsace region of Europe to find the religious freedom to practice their beliefs that rejected infant baptism, military killing, and swearing oaths of allegiance to the state.

This week’s Budget column from Fredericksburg, Ohio began with a description of the eclipse:

Screech owl hooted. In the Speelman Bottom 18 deer came out to feed. The eclipse goggles were great. But our youngest one was worried the birds will become blind since they don’t have the convenience of these glasses. Our oldest Hershberger in church wondered if the hens will lay twice since it was expected they’ll go roost.

Then at the end of this column, another animal became a main character in a story about a benefit auction:

The auction seemed well-attended with some high-priced items, which is good. One of my uncles deemed it wise to check on buying a tall night-stand, there at the auction for his wife’s side of the bed, giving her a convenient spot to park her glasses and dentures, instead of on the floor. Recently, one morning they searched high and low around the bed for those teeth of hers. Bed cover shaken, nothing. In the living room underneath the recliner they were found then, all honor to the house pup … Teeth got thoroughly scrubbed!

Ad from The Budget newspaper. (Photo by Mary Swander)

But it was the wind that carried the theme of the rest of this week’s paper. A scribe in Albia, Iowa, thanked the previous owners of their farm for the plantings that block the fierce spring winds:

Andy and Millie, I don’t know if you read these or not, but we’ve often been thankful for the plants and trees you planted, now for our benefit. Also, the evergreen wind block on the north–that is a real blessing in good old IA! Smile.

In contrast, in Nashville, Arkansas, the scribe didn’t have such a good experience with the wind:

Later Mon. evening a thunderstorm from the south brought several gusts of wind. A neighbor was burning brush behind Grace Point Mennonite Church and the wind caused it to spread and put the building in danger. Our fire department responded to the call and soon had it under control.

Then wedged into the right-hand corner of the next page of The Budget: a story of a visit to the Schlabach’s former family home near the village of Jessberg in Hesse, Germany. The family had once occupied a house that now stored bagged fertilizer and garden supplies. Two hundred years before, the Schlabachs had left everything behind to set sail for the United States:

The Schlabach family had boarded the ship “James von Bremen” at the port city of Bremen on the Weser River on April 19, 1820. Due to “adverse winds and storm,” which prolonged the ocean crossing to three and a half months, it was not until the 15^th of August that the ship first touched shore at the harbor in New York.

In the end, it’s the columns of the scribes in international locations that most interest me. I followed the Waterford, Ireland community throughout the pandemic, intrigued by the lockdowns there, the quarantines, and the romance between a member of the community with a man in the U.S. I traced the travels of the prospective groom. He had to bring proof of vaccination from the United States, then isolate once he had arrived in Waterford before he could be married to his beloved.

I saw the war in Ukraine through the eyes of communities in Suceava, Romania who ran medical supplies through Moldova into their ravaged neighboring country. The Mennonites drove trucks toward Odesa, risking their lives, bombs and missiles dropping around them. A Feb. 14, 2024 entry again reported on this Mobile Medical Team:

The first week they worked in several villages in the Mykolaiv region that was very destroyed. Last week, the team spent about 2 days working in the Chernihiv region, which is very near the Russian border. These villages were not as destroyed as the one in Mykolaiv since the 2 opposing armies only traveled through them and did not clash there.

The team enjoyed their time with the believers in these areas. These people have lived through so much. The one family stayed in their homes during the occupation. One day, a Russian tank came barreling up to their house. The boys stepped outside and raised their hands to show that they were not armed. The soldiers rushed out of their tank and did the same. It is comical to think about but sad to realize the tremendous fear that war brings into people’s hearts.

And finally, the Christian Aid Ministries scribe in Jerusalem dramatized the tremendous fear that lives in the hearts of those in Gaza and Israel. On January 31, 2024, she wrote:

. . . Fifty miles from here, the conditions in Gaza continue to worsen. I hear it by the news and from bits and pieces of information from Palestinian friends who have family in Gaza. Daily, and especially at night, I hear the low rumble of fighter jets overhead. The sound is not terrifying, but it is a reminder that one more bomb will explode in Gaza.

On Feb. 21, 2024, the Jerusalem scribe wrote :

Since the bombardment, 1.9 million Gazans have been internally displaced. Some shelter in makeshift tents. Some have sought asylum in Australia and other countries, but most do not have the $5,000 fee needed to get through the border. The Christian family that we know by name has spent the past months in schoolrooms at the churchyard. Most days are long days of boredom, but a sniper can show up at any time, bringing moments of terror. .

Six Gazan babies, each with a caretaker, have been in Bethlehem since the war began. They have fully recovered from their open-heart surgeries, but now cannot return to their families in their war-torn homeland.

Then this week, the Jerusalem scribe continued:

What a difference a day makes — or maybe a night. Our thoughts had been about the war in Gaza. That changed late Sat. night and early Sun. morning when more than 300 drones and missiles were fired from Iran towards Israel – 1,100 miles from their launch points. Most of them were taken down before they reached Israel, but there was plenty of missile activity about the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

I was awakened about 1:30 a.m. with the whistle of the warning siren and the boom of intercepted missiles. I wasn’t frightened. I was saddened. Neighbors were watching the drone and missile activity from their rooftops. . .

Today is a balmy spring day with not a cloud in the sky. Schools and offices are closed, but the shops are open. Ben Gurion airport was closed for a few hours last evening but is open today. I still have a ticket to fly to the States on the 16^th because of an expired visa. I trust for no more missile activity so that the airport can remain open.

This country certainly needs your prayers.

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Iowa

What We Learned: Iowa Hawkeyes

Published

45 mins ago

October 14, 2024

Press Room

Well, that was something.

Saturday’s trip to Iowa looked more like a Field of Nightmares for the Huskies, as they were physically overmatched by both of Iowa’s lines on offense and defense, losing 40-16. Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Mistaken Identity

Coach Fisch said last week in the locker room before the Michigan game that “this is the game where we establish our identity”. They then went out and did just that, or so we thought. Then they ran into a black and gold buzzsaw.

Make fun of Kirk Ferentz all you want, the Drive for 325 was my favorite storyline of last season. But man…

He’s been there 26 years for a reason.

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

As I said before the game, Iowa is going to drag you down to their level and beat you with a frustratingly effective run game, all the while controlling the ball and wearing down their opponent. They did just that against the Huskies, with Kaleb Johnson rushing for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 carries while also catching a touchdown from Cade McNamara, who was 8/14 for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Iowa passing offense was efficient and effective when they needed to be, and Iowa’s great play on offense was due to a very cohesive and physical offensive line, which only gave up 1 sack compared to the Huskies giving up 4. The Hawkeyes were able to capitalize often, only punting twice on the day as they scored 40 points. This is how it feels to be bludgeoned repeatedly for 4 quarters.

The Huskies, however, were a different story.

Despite outgaining the Hawkeyes 393-328, an opportunistic, physical defense got to Will Rogers early and often, forcing Will Rogers to lose a fumble in the second quarter and get intercepted in the third, an interception which was entirely his fault. And despite two drives of 14 plays each to open the game, with each of those going over 7 minutes, they only resulted in 7 points. The Huskies 3rd down performance was also a factor as they went 5/15 on third downs. This underlines the struggles we’ve had all year with leaving points on the scoreboard despite moving the ball fairly well.

Some of that is due to Coach Fisch’s game management issues, illustrated most clearly in this game by his insistence on using Demond Williams in place of Will Rogers in the red zone in the first quarter, even after a false start penalty moved the Huskies from the Iowa 11 to the Iowa 16. You’d think that’d change his calculus a bit, but apparently not, as Demond stayed to finish the drive where a Grady Gross field goal was blocked.

This stands as the worst loss of the season to this point because it proves that even as we triumphed over Michigan last week, Iowa reminded us of what it’ll take to be competitive in this conference going forward. And we have a long way to go. So I say this:

Jedd, what kind of team is this? Is this a passing team? A run heavy team? Because as it stands right now, I don’t think we know. And we need to pick a lane if we want to be competitive, both this season and the next. Because we don’t have an identity right now! Iowa does, and that was the difference on Saturday! As former UW QB Brock Huard said on Saturday on the Fox broadcast, this is the difference between 25 years of continuity with Iowa and 6 months of continuity with the Huskies. But that doesn’t make our identity issues less prevalent, or this loss less demoralizing.

Special Teams Miscues

Going into the game, we had known about the Huskies’ struggles with special teams. But this game brought said struggles into sharp relief. The kick coverage is a glaring issue, as Kaden Wetjen, Iowa’s kickoff and punt returner, averaged 23.3 yards per kickoff return and notched 37 yards on his lone punt return in the second quarter, setting up Iowa with great field position on a drive in which they scored a touchdown. It’s something that you don’t notice until you’ve been given a reason to, and it’s an issue that special teams coordinator Jordan Paopao needs to confront, and clean up quickly. And yes, we need to talk about Grady.

It seems that he’s got the yips, as he hooks every field goal kick slightly, despite nailing them in practice. It also seems as though he struggles with the finer details of his kicks, as this is the second week in a row that he’s had one blocked, but that could also be due to Iowa getting past UW’s blockers. Plenty of stars have struggled with the yips in the past, but this is getting to the point where every drive is 4 down territory, and as a play caller, the lack of a guarantee of points on any given drive would make you anxious. What really makes me feel bad is that Grady is a great guy, and it hurts me to write this. But it is another issue that this team must fix, in a year that is full of them.

Get Right

This year, the roster has turned over a lot. We know this, we knew it coming in. But as the injuries have piled up, the cracks in the depth of this team have started to show. Sure, building a cohesive offensive line from scratch was never going to be easy, but this line is thin. Drew Azzopardi, the sophomore tackle, played the most snaps (82), and recorded a PFF grade of 32.2 out of 100 in overall blocking. Soane Faasolo played 56 snaps and recorded a grade of 29.2 overall. This could be due to Iowa being just physically better defensively, but when you’re getting consistently beat, and you have no other options due to injury, it’s obviously an issue of team health, which is why Coach Fisch stressed that “We need to get healthy this bye week. We need to get all of our offensive and defensive linemen back, and we have to go on the road and play another good Indiana team.”

Taken in sum, this is most definitely a team in a rebuilding year, but this performance is something that’s sad to see as a lifelong Husky fan. Thank goodness for the bye week, because it doesn’t get any easier from here.

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Iowa

Iowa Will Be Coming into Spartan Stadium Hot

Published

8 hours ago

October 14, 2024

Press Room

Iowa Will Be Coming into Spartan Stadium Hot

As Michigan State prepares for its upcoming matchup against Iowa, the Hawkeyes’ recent victory over Washington, with a decisive score of 40-16, serves as a stark reminder of the competitiveness and unpredictability of college football.

Washington, having recently defeated Michigan, the Spartans’ next opponent following Iowa, demonstrated their prowess and potential. However, Iowa’s ability to dominate in that game indicates the challenge that Michigan State will face when it takes on both Iowa and the Wolverines back-to-back.

In order to emerge victorious against Iowa, Michigan State must effectively utilize its running backs and establish a strong ground game. The Spartans have a rich tradition of powerful running, and this season is no different.

A solid rushing attack can not only control the clock but also open up the passing game for quarterback Aidan Chiles. With Iowa’s defense showing its capability to stifle passing attacks, a commitment to the run game will be crucial in keeping the Hawkeyes off balance and creating opportunities for big plays.

Chiles, who has shown promise as a young quarterback, will need to limit mistakes and turnovers during these crucial games. Iowa’s defense is known for its opportunism, and any unforced errors could be detrimental. He must focus on making smart decisions under pressure, ensuring he doesn’t force throws into tight coverage. Additionally, maintaining composure and being decisive in Chiles’ reads will be essential as he navigates what will surely be a challenging defensive scheme.

As Michigan State looks ahead to its subsequent game against Michigan, the need for a solid performance against Iowa cannot be overstated. Establishing a rhythm on the ground will be key, allowing the Spartans to build confidence and momentum heading into the rivalry matchup. Should they succeed in this endeavor, it could set the stage for a thrilling matchup against a team that has already proven its mettle earlier in the season.

Saturday’s game against Iowa will be a litmus test for Michigan State. By leveraging its running backs and ensuring Chiles plays within himself, the Spartans can craft a game plan that not only seeks victory against the Hawkeyes but also builds a foundation for success against Michigan the week after.

The importance of this strategy cannot be overstated, as Michigan State aims to solidify its standing in a challenging schedule ahead.

Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.

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Iowa

Fatal crash on I-35 in Iowa

Published

16 hours ago

October 13, 2024

Press Room

NORTHWOOD, Iowa (KTTC) – One person is dead after a single-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon in Worth County.

According to Iowa State Patrol, around 1:45 p.m., a vehicle was traveling southbound on Interstate 35 in Worth County near the 208-exit ramp. The driver lost control of the vehicle, went into the median, through the cable barrier and struck the bridge pillar.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

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