Chuck Offenburger

Iowa writer

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

Here they come again! “The Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey,” made up of Greene County High School students paying tribute to a Civil War troupe from here 165 years ago, will be marching in the Churdan Day parade this Saturday, June 6. The parade starts at 10 a.m.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

The columnist is a “celebrations” kind of guy. And now there’s a new one upon us: “America 250 Iowa.” Yes, our society is seriously divided right now. But taking time to celebrate our common heritage & accomplishments might help. Let’s make it memorable: https://t.co/Ai0LA1LyDn.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

The Civil War’s “Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey” are coming home: Memorial Day this year, May 25, will be very different in the Old Rippey Cemetery in southeastern Greene County, Iowa. History will come alive! Read it right here: https://t.co/xhjPPmFZSV.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

Roadtripping with Terry Branstad: The former Iowa governor & U.S. ambassador had an almost constant smile during the day-long outing to visit a highway dedicated in his honor, and his obvious happiness “meant the world,” one friend said. Read it here: https://t.co/HHDGCjv04o.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

On the Governor Terry E. Branstad Highway — you may know it as Iowa Highway 9 in North Iowa — at midday today. Branstad and a van load of friends gave him his first trip on his highway since it was dedicated in December.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

Away we go to North Iowa! Former Iowa Gov. & US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad is helped into a van in Des Moines this morning. Destination: Winnebago & Worth Counties so he can get his first look at a 36-mile section of Iowa Highway 9 since it was dedicated it in his honor.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

Columnist Chuck Offenburger & another Shenandoah High grad Roger Scarbrough, an international business leader, were named “Alumni of the Year” in their ol’ hometown in southwest Iowa recently. It was an evening that was both spirited & spiritual: https://t.co/bwQMPOe4fe.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

A “Jesus guy” vs. a “squish” for Iowa governor? Conservative Republican Adam Steen is running strong in Greene County. So when he stopped in again on Friday, I wanted to get a good look and hear him out. Here’s what I learned: https://t.co/6SvPpwpWJW.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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: https://t.co/fC815W7azK.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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: https://t.co/yHblLs5q42.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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: https://t.co/U028669XVW.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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: https://t.co/BLYLa7oYNK.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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: https://t.co/KKYzKi7qak.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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: https://t.co/9dZ0iELWsP.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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: https://t.co/OHfq2mrQua.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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: https://t.co/X58yFpd2LK.

[Chuck Offenburger @chuckoburger]

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: https://t.co/kxiB69gLOk.