 Meredith Hines-DochtermanMeredith Hines-Dochterman is a multimedia journalist focusing on food and community features. Meredith previously worked at The St. Joseph News-Press in St. Joseph, Mo.; The Messenger in Fort Dodge, Iowa; and The Aledo Times Record in Aledo, Ill. Her work has been honored with awards from the Iowa Newspaper Association, the Missouri Better Newspaper Contest, the Missouri State Teachers Association and the Illinois Press Association. She was a 2004 recipient of a Journalism Fellowship in Child and Family Policy from the University of Maryland. An Iowa native, Meredith graduated from the University of Iowa. |
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Sky high: Skydiving an adrenaline-filled, peaceful experience
BROOKLYN — Theresa Rensimer looks out the plane window, watching the fields below grow smaller. She nudges Craig Ziegenhorn. “Thank you for doing this,” she says. On a recent Saturday, the couple was among nearly three dozen people crowded into the hangar at Skydive Iowa. Some were there for the adrenaline rush or to conquer [...]
Climbing back on the bandwagon
Confession. I have stopped tracking my grocery costs and writing a weekly menu. I blame the craziness that is the end of the school year. Both kids have had art shows and final concerts, Girl Scout meetings and tests to study for. I see summer on the horizon. I am ready! With the last day [...]
Where does the time go?
I have had a night meeting, assignment or interview nearly every night this week, so my time in the kitchen has been limited to packing Emma’s lunch in the morning to unloading the dishwasher at night. How it still manages to get full with the kids fending for themselves (hot dogs, peanut butter sandwiches and [...]
Cedar Rapids board approves teacher raises
CEDAR RAPIDS — At Monday night’s board meeting, Cedar Rapids school board members approved a 3.69 percent “total package” increase in pay and benefits for the district’s 2012-13 teachers and nurses. That’s just slightly below the Iowa Association of School Boards’ statewide average of 3.7 percent. “We have to remember that we’re a district of [...]
Got a minute?
I don’t know about you, but I’m dragging by the time Thursday rolls around. Three days of waking up at 5:15 a.m., getting the kids off to school, work, evening activities and chores has taken its toll. By Thursday, all I want is to sleep. For some reason, though, I’m always better on Friday morning. [...]
Roughing it
With summer just a few weeks away, my mind turns to camp. I loved camp when I was little. Well, I loved the second half of camp. The first few days of any camp session usually found me homesick (my mom still has the “Please come get me” letters to prove it), but after I [...]
Everybody Eats: Even picky eaters can find love in a salad
When I was little, my mom would occasionally not make dinner and we’d have French night instead. This consisted of French bread, cheese and fruit; an incredibly simple meal that pleased everyone — especially Mom. Cooking every night for a family of eight is a thankless job. I only have four people in my family, [...]
Muffins are a tasty way to say ‘thank you’
I’ve been on a muffin kick lately, but since I end up giving away most of the muffins I make, it’s a good thing. Today it was muffins for my daughter’s elementary schoolteachers in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week. Whoever came up with Teacher Appreciation Week certainly knew what they were doing, scheduling it for [...]
Weekend reading
Image courtesy of amazon.com We are supposed to have a rainy weekend ahead of us; the perfect time to curl up with a book. Continuing my sporadic books-for-foodies book club, I present Erica Bauermeister’s “The School of Essential Ingredients.” Can food spark a memory? That’s the theme of Bauermeister’s book. This fun read follows the loves [...]
An apple for the teacher
My brother-in-law is officially a teacher. Even better, he’s an English teacher. (As an English major, I am excited about this on so many levels.) We invited Mike and my sister, Alex, over for dinner this past weekend. We dined on spaghetti Carbonara, bruschetta and apple pie. OK, the pie didn’t go with the Italian [...]
