For eight years, I  trained tigers for a living.  Most people think this is done via brute strength.  The traditional image of a big cat trainer features a brawny man with a chair and a whip and maybe a pistol at the ready.  As a small, nonvilolent vegetarian woman whoRead More

An Ames church became the victim of criticism after throwing a LGBT+ friendly Halloween party in October. The Ames United Church of Christ’s party was called “Drag-O-Ween.” Pizza was provided and activities included crowning a king and queen as well as a gender neutral ruler.  A vlogger called Activist MommyRead More

   “Men are pigs and women are sheep.” This was a favorite saying of a man I worked for for just under a decade. We worked for an industry that is a sort of subcategory of the entertainment biz, training exotic animals for appearances in movies and television and performingRead More

Dr. Jane Martino, professor of psychology at the DMACC Boone campus, agreed to be interviewed about the recent viral video of her on the condition that I brought my kids along. As soon as my three sons and I walked in she was putting things into their hands and encouragingRead More

 Textbooks are expensive. Long gone are the carefree days in public school when books were provided in class. In college, you need to find your own.  Sometimes one needs to purchase a gigantic, heavily-bound tome, but it is not unusual to have to buy a bundle of loose pages sealedRead More

“I rescued him.” How many times has a dog owner said these words to you? These days people feel very confident that the only way they should obtain a dog is to rescue one. A person who is concerned with maintaining the moral high ground would never buy a pupRead More

One of the nation’s foremost historians spoke to a packed crowd as part of Constitution Day at DMACC Ankeny, Monday Sept. 18, in Building 5. Eric Foner, professor of history at Columbia University in New York City, is an expert on the Civil War.  He has written numerous books onRead More

Did you know that if you take six credits or more you have access to free membership at Trail Point? As a person who fits into this criteria, I decided to check it out. Here’s what I learned: Signing up is shockingly easy. I just walked up looking confused andRead More