The Marvel Cinematic Universe is, without question, one of the most generally popular things on the planet.
Of course with everything popular, there's going to be people that reflexively decide to dislike it. Maybe there's a genuine dislike or maybe they're just contrarian.

As you go out shopping in preparation for Trick-or-Treaters, pick up an extra pumpkin, some teal paint and a couple different treats.
The Teal Pumpkin Project is a way to show Trick-or-Treaters with a food allergy that a house has non-food options. This is a simple and affordable way to make sure all children have a safe and fun Halloween.

Democracy requires citizen participation. The more folks get involved, the more gov-ernment represents all of us.
Butler, Cerro Gordo and Franklin counties are home to 47,261 ‬registered voters. How many of them can we get to vote in this fall’s local elec-tions?

What does civil unrest have to do with a virtual card game?
That's the question Blizzard Entertainment tried to find a satisfactory answer to last week, with little luck.

We saw on the news that there was a storm off the Mex-ican coast. That, and a north-east breeze would produce perfect waves at Trestles, a surf spot on private federal land called Camp Pendleton. (Yep, private federal land.)

Age of the Geek Column: OK, here's the column I intended to write last week. After all, you didn't really expect me to spend two weeks in Japan and not come back with tales from my travels.

This space has been used before to commend various organizations throughout the community for working together for a common goal. Today is no different.

Alternative Column: My friend Dirk and I were hitching up Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa when two guys in an El Camino pulled over. We hopped in the back and soon discovered the driver was inebriated to the point that he was visiting all four lanes ran-domly, and with us on board. So far, the other cars were dodging us but we bailed at about 35 miles per hour.

Age of the Geek Column: By now you probably know the legend of Carson King, the 24-year-old college football fan whose chance encounter in front of a camera transformed his joke fundraiser for beer money into a real multi-million dollar fundraiser for a children's hospital.
It was the feel-good story of the year and obviously merited a profile on King by the Des Moines Register.
And, by now, you know what happened next.

Editorial - The calendar has turned over to October, which means this month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Even in smaller communities such as ours, breast cancer and cancer as a whole has touched virtually everyone’s lives. Some of us have battled it ourselves while most of the rest of us have friends, family and neighbors who have. It does not discriminate who it affects.

As the town turns red and black this week, we’re reminded of the pride schools bring to a community.
Homecoming Week is underway at Hampton-Dumont-CAL. Students have already hit the town, painting windows with messages of support for athletic teams, conducting pep rallies and presentations and will continue to do so up until kickoff at Friday’s football game against Clear Lake.

This space has been used to laude community organizations for determination and stick-to-it-ness.
In recent years, we’ve seen individuals and organizations team together to fund raise and raise awareness for causes meant to improve the community. We’ve seen those efforts lead to splash pads, events and other causes that prove why Franklin County is a safe, successful place to call home.

I'm writing this on the 18th anniversary of Al-Qaeda's at-tack on the World Trade Cen-ter. Yesterday John Bolton resigned or was fired. Who's to know which when the words come out of the mouth of a politician? I stopped be-lieving them when they said to hide under our desks to sur-vive an atom bomb back in the 60s.