Brian Gongol
Eye-popping aerial photos of the flooding in the Missouri River basin
Just another attempt to grasp the magnitude of the disaster
North Liberty: From tiny town to booming suburb at breakneck speed
Note that the most important challenge facing the town -- which more than doubled in population over the last decade -- was keeping up with infrastructure requirements. They aren't sexy, but roads, sewers, and water lines comprise the single most important category of necessities for any community. Without them, there's no point to putting in parks or even good schools. The very basics of modern life are often overlooked, but they're completely and totally essential to keeping a city afloat.
There is no "poop fairy"
People don't always realize it, but their animal waste is just as hazardous to public health and water supplies as human waste. When it's left on the ground, it makes its way -- untreated -- to streams, creeks, rivers, and lakes. Nobody would do that with their own waste, so they shouldn't do it with that of their pets, either.
Humanitarian emergency in Africa
It's the driest year since 1951 in parts of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Uganda, and 10 million people need help. Almost all food crises -- including this one -- are magnified by political problems. There's enough food in the world to go around, but food also makes a convenient weapon with which to wage war, which is what's happening in Somalia, for instance.
