Along Our Way Randy Bunkers, co-owner with his wife Phyllis of the Bunkers Dunkers Bakery on the east side of the courthouse square in our county seat town of Jefferson, has just turned 60 years old. On Saturday, January 14, the Bunkerses celebrated with free ''donut holes'' – the little balls punched out of their famous glazed donuts – and free coffee for much of the morning, and the place was packed. Everybody was telling their favorite ''Bunkers Dunkers'' stories. [FOR A STORY & THE PHOTOS IN IN LARGER FORMAT, CLICK HERE.] A conversation LIVING WITH CANCER with the Offenburgers Chuck Offenburger was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins follicular lymphoma cancer on July 10, 2009, had six months of chemotherapy & started a maintenance program. Carla Offenburger underwent surgery on April 26, 2010, for removal of a jaw tumor which was found to contain adenoid cystic carcinoma cancer. She underwent six weeks of follow-up radiation in June and July, 2010. Since then she has returned to good health, but she continues to have close medical observation. Two days after Carla finished radiation, Chuck noticed a pain in his left hip, and within days, a small mass near his tailbone was diagnosed as more aggressive large-cell lymphoma. In the fall of 2010, he underwent intensive chemotherapy, and had a stem cells transplant in November, with follow-up radiation in January, 2011. Since then he's been doing well, too, but continues to have regular check-ups. We post updates frequently here, including brief insights from Chuck, Carla and at least one of you readers. “Chuck, in the past year, I’ve seen you with long hair, no hair and now this short hair. This is best.” FOR THE LATEST UPDATE, CLICK HERE. What's the deal with the black & white saddle shoes? Click here for the story of our farm in Greene County, Iowa. Here's looking at life at Simple Serenity Farm We've had very little snow so far this winter. Saturday morning, January 14, brought a reminder of just how pretty a light snow can be. Just over an inch fell in the wee hours, and the countryside was beautiful at wake-up time. Click here for larger format Earlier photos in this series Chuck Offenburger's latest book on sports legend Gary Thompson ''GARY THOMPSON: All-American'' is the new, 352-page biography of one of the state's genuine sports icons. From 1950-'53 Gary Thompson led the Roland Rockets to high school sports glory in basketball and baseball, giant-killers from one of Iowa's small schools. Then he led the Cyclones at Iowa State from 1953-'57, becoming the college's first two-sport All-American. He's had major success in broadcasting and business, from his home base in Ames. And he and his wife Janet have a family as solid as they come. "I'm the luckiest guy around," Thompson says. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS Our Partners & Patrons Iowa Hall of Pride Sam's Barber Shop Douglas T. Bates III, Attorney KMA Radio's ''Chuck & Don Show'' The Monks of New Melleray Abbey RELATED LINKS About Offenburger.com Biographies Want to Reprint? Want Updates? ARCHIVES Chuck Offenburger's columns Christie Vilsack's columns Carla Offenburger's columns Carla's book reviews Guest Columns Life at Offenburgers' Simple Serenity Farm   --2003-2005   --2006-Now Our Iowa News Digest Along Our Way	Jared Strong's Columns David Yepsen is leaving Iowa, so we re-tell the story of how he became a top U.S. journalist By JARED STRONG February 8, 2009 JEFFERSON, IOWA In 2005, a young reporter interning with us at Offenburger.com wrote a full profile story on Yepsen, who was born and reared here in Greene County. Since Yepsen is leaving the Des Moines Register to direct a public affairs institute in Illinois, we republish that 2005 story to remind all of Yepsen’s own inspiring career story. ''Oh, we will fight, fight, fight for Iowa State, and may her colors ever fly'' ...oh, whatever By JARED STRONG June 30, 2005 COOPER, IOWA The ISU intern @ Offenburger.com will soon be departing Simple Serenity Farm. But to complete the summer internship, which is required for graduation, this student must learn his school’s fight song and sing it – in tune! Marrying into a family which was heavily impacted by Iowa's 1980s Farm Crisis By JARED STRONG June 27, 2005 ATLANTIC, IOWA The Jordans’ story, in fact, became nationally known when the family’s plight was featured in the acclaimed 1996 documentary “Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern.” It's the story of way too many Iowa farm families. Learning from David Yepsen how an icon of journalism and politics got his start in Iowa By JARED STRONG June 23, 2005 JEFFERSON, IOWA The nationally-known political columnist of the Des Moines Register is a native of Jefferson, Iowa, our county seat town, which has an unusually strong heritage in journalism. So, our young reporter did a roots check. A high school reunion ended as a learning experience, not a trip down memory lane By JARED STRONG June 21, 2005 ATLANTIC, IOWA At reunions, people catch-up with friends and reminisce. But this trip back home to Atlantic, Iowa, afforded a unique opportunity to learn about a classmate’s past, which was unknown to many who spent years with him. A first-year Dem from Muscatine sheds light on the trials and tribulations of legislating By JARED STRONG June 16, 2005 COOPER, IOWA Nathan Reichert is the first Democrat in 40 years to be elected to the State Legislature from his district. He comes from a long line of Muscatine Democrats, and learned some valuable lessons in his first year at Iowa’s Capitol. One man's trash is another man's treasure. But at what point does a car become a piece of trash? By JARED STRONG June 13, 2005 COOPER, IOWA This 1988 Honda Civic has been reincarnated twice now, brought back from the dead by a faithful owner. But this begs the question of how many more times it should be revived before being taken to the junk yard. XBox warriors are crashing this year's Bell Tower Festival. But don't worry, they'll play nice. By JARED STRONG June 9, 2005 JEFFERSON, IOWA Those looking for a different avenue for adventure at this year’s Bell Tower Festival in Jefferson will be able to compete in a futuristic “Capture the Flag” game. Grab the flag and get it to your base, but don’t get shot, bludgeoned or blown up. Tim Gallagher, a rising star as a SC Journal columnist, has 'em all talking in ''Siouxland'' By JARED STRONG June 6, 2005 MOVILLE, IOWA It’s a fascinating and sometimes frantic life for Gallagher, as he balances the demands of the job with being a devoted husband and father of five busy kids. At work, he has become the face of the Journal. One small town, a giant rooster, talkative folks: A good place for a young reporter to learn a lot By JARED STRONG June 2, 2005 GLIDDEN, IOWA Our journalism intern finds out how being curious can open a whole new world of reporting in a small Iowa town, like Glidden. Community newspapering, he now realizes, could be as satisfying as the Big Time. He's discovering what role the groom plays in the planning & preparations for the big wedding By JARED STRONG May 30, 2005 ATLANTIC, IOWA His automatic response each time he’s asked his opinion: “That’s a good idea.” After saying that the other day, he then learned he had just said yes to lavendar bathroom décor – not that there’s anything wrong with that! The noise, dirt, skill (and beer) are all part of the spectacle of car racing on Iowa dirt tracks By JARED STRONG May 26, 2005 BOONE, IOWA It may still be viewed by some as a redneck sport, but racing is packing-in the crowds at about 50 tracks around the state for 100 mph fun. In the pits & shops, high technology has turned mechanics into absolute wizards. Five years at Iowa State U., and I just now find out about the nude run across campus? By JARED STRONG May 23, 2005 AMES, IOWA Nearing graduation, I decided to take stock of all the Cyclone student traditions, and wow! I’ve missed or botched a bunch of them. One tip for incoming ISU frosh: Don't wear an Iowa Hawkeye T-shirt to class. A head-turning new business ''catches people like flies'' in the small Iowa town of Churdan By JARED STRONG May 19, 2005 CHURDAN, IOWA We’ve all loved hot rods at some point in our lives, and you can now see a lot of them on display in this west central town (pop. 420). An entrepreneur has moved in from Hawaii with his love of hot cars and Iowa’s cool people. My afternoon at the Methodist Friendship Tea in little Cooper was a real slice of Iowa life By JARED STRONG May 16, 2005 COOPER, IOWA In a tradition that stretches back 50 years or more, the crowd – mostly women – gather for friendship, food and fun. And no one got ''antsy.'' This is an Iowa that not many my age have experienced. Is there any hope for my generation?   Or, are we a sorry bunch of belly-achers? By JARED STRONG May 12, 2005 COOPER, IOWA For the current generation of young Americans, the perks of growing up in a time of great economic prosperity may have some unforseen consequences. But, is this generation all that much different from previous ones? His unusual path into journalism now brings an Iowa State U. reporter to us @ O'burger.com By JARED STRONG May 9, 2005 COOPER, IOWA He thought he'd be spending life as a computer geek until he started writing letters to the editor of the Iowa State Daily. Then he graduated to op-ed columns and, before he knew it, what ho! He was hooked!