Hearts.

Last week, several members of our newspaper team at Nelson Media Company traveled to Des Moines for the Iowa Newspaper Association convention. It was a full day of networking, learning, and talking — nonstop — about newspapers.

This was the first year I’ve ever attended the convention.

And honestly, it will be the last year I ever miss it.

Every Feb. 2, we gather around a famous rodent in Pennsylvania and pretend his shadow can tell us how much winter we have left. As a former meteorologist, I’ve never put much stock in a groundhog forecasting our future. Atmospheric science is a little more complicated than that.

If you would have told me in mid-October that I would own a Mitchell County newspaper—with a physical location, a growing staff and a strong foundation built around a paper that was, frankly, way down in the weeds—I would have told you there’s no way.

And yet, here we are.

For the first time in more than 50 years, humanity is preparing to leave Earth orbit and journey back toward the Moon.

Next month, NASA plans to launch Artemis II, a 10-day crewed mission that will carry four astronauts around the Moon and safely back to Earth. If successful, it will mark the first time humans have traveled beyond low Earth orbit since the Apollo era ended in 1972.

That fact alone should give us pause.

In my television days, I interviewed—or sat in on interviews with—people many would recognize instantly. Names like Ginger Zee. Terry Bradshaw. Jon Taffer. Those conversations were exciting, memorable, and part of the job.

But for all the interviews I’ve done, there was one arena I had never truly stepped into: politics.

I think playing cards is one of the first truly fun games many of us learn as kids. Long before video games, apps, or streaming services, there was a deck of cards on the table. Card games teach problem-solving, strategy, and basic math, but they also tap into something deeper — that natural competitive itch most of us carry. And whether you’re a kid or an adult, that part never really goes away.

One of my favorite things on this planet includes my family, a fresh pair of comfortable socks and a good book.

If Santa kept a list of favorite places to fly on Christmas Eve — and there’s a good chance he does — Osage would quietly rank near the top.

Not because it’s flashy. Not because it’s big. But because it’s easy, familiar and welcoming in the way only a small town can be when the lights are on, the streets are quiet and everyone knows Christmas is about to arrive.

This year, the weather is helping.

For those who don’t know me all that well, I am both not a creature of habit and very much a creature of habit.

Sports have a special way of bringing people together. Many of us can point to moments from our childhood—whether it was a last-second basketball shot, Friday night lights, or cheering in the bleachers with neighbors—that created memories we’ll carry forever. Athletics shape character, teach teamwork, and give a community reasons to celebrate.