How to contact me: beth.dalbey@patch.com
Beth Dalbey, a longtime award-winning community journalist, is Patch’s national editor. She has been with Patch since 2011 when she launched sites in Iowa and provided national Iowa Caucus and swing-state general election coverage. She worked as a regional manager before moving to the national desk in 2017. Throughout her time at Patch, she has reported and written about local topics of national interest and is currently focusing on exclusive Patch content, including Block Talk, an only-on-Patch neighborhood etiquette column for which readers supply advice.
Dalbey and the newspapers she has edited have earned numerous awards for news, feature and government coverage, editorial and column writing, and overall general excellence from the Iowa Newspaper Association, the National Newspaper Association and the Associated Press Media Editors. In 1992 in Iowa, she led the weekly Dallas County News to win the INA's prestigious Newspaper of the Year award, competing against metro newspapers many times its size. She was the youngest recipient ever of the INA’s Distinguished Service Award in 1994. At Patch, she received the Todd Richissin Award for Excellence in Reporting and Writing for the “Menace of Bullies” project.
In Iowa, Dalbey’s byline has also appeared in the Fairfield Daily Ledger, where she was editor for five years; and in the Des Moines Business Record, Cityview, dsm magazine and other publications under the umbrella of Business Publications Corp., where she was the editorial director for several years. Dalbey also freelanced for the Des Moines Register and other print and digital publications
Dalbey grew up in Missouri and majored in journalism at Northwest Missouri State University. Except for a three-year stint as communications editor for a scientific institute doing ape language research, she has spent her entire career in community journalism. At the former Great Ape Trust of Iowa, she wrote about the world-famous resident bonobos Kanzi and Panbanisha.
Brood XIV, among the largest of the 17-year cicada broods, may contain rare blue-eyed bug. Or, cicadas may be the entrée for your next meal.
National Donut Day, always observed on the first Friday in June, was established in 1938 as a tribute to the volunteer “Doughnut Lassies.”
The aurora borealis, which danced Sunday and Monday in some southern states, may make an appearance again.
Millions of Ford, Lincoln and Toyota vehicles have been recalled due to crash risks, and kitchen faucets are found to leach lead.
Talking sometimes can reveal problems and a community-based solution, but additional steps may have to be taken.
COVID-19 cases are rising again as a new variant begins to circulate in some parts of the world, including in the United States.
The penny is a cornerstone of American currency since it was first minted in 1793. Soon, the Treasury Department will stop making them.
Staff cuts at National Weather Service offices create an imperfect storm amid an increase in weather extremes fueled by climate change.
These fast-food restaurants and steakhouses have deals celebrating America’s favorite sandwich on National Hamburger Day.
What ‘No Tax On Tips’ Would Mean For Restaurant Workers
If you are a regular at this store, don’t plan it as your go-to place for last-minute items for Memorial Day gatherings on Monday, May 26.
Dogs, even grown and older dogs that didn’t get obedience training as pups, can and should be taught not to bark, readers told Patch.
Special protocols apply when flying the U.S. flag on Memorial Day to honor military personnel who lost their lives serving their country.
Some price increases could take effect yet this month, a number of companies told investors in a recent round of earnings calls.
This happened when Florida man’s wife began singing ‘Click Click Boom’ as he showered; Chicago classic “baptized in gravy” in nod to pope.
The “reasonable compromise” allows high-risk groups to get shots while data is gathered on the benefit of the vaccine to healthier people.
Gen Z workers, who are projected to make up 30 percent of the U.S. workforce by 2030, are clear about what they expect in a job.
A listeria outbreak that has sickened 10 people tied to sandwiches sold to retail stores, hospitals, hotels, airports and airlines.
Visitors to national parks and monuments may see visible changes due to downsizing, bigger, longer-lasting effects may go unnoticed.
Sometimes, it seems as if dog owners are impervious to the sound of their pups’ barking, yipping and howling. Their neighbors? Not so much.
