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.
The full pink moon isn’t the only reason to look up at the heavens in April. Lyrid and Eta Aquariid meteors are also flying this month.
Party City and Forever 21 are among the stores going out of business in 2025. Venerable brands Americans grew up with shrink but hang on.
An Easter retail blackout doesn’t include all the major grocery and supermarket chains. A hardware chain will be open for do-it-yourselfers.
Lawsuit alleged fuel pumps on some vehicles disintegrated, sending metal shards into the fuel system, causing “catastrophic engine failure.”
A small private college with an enrollment of less than 1,000 is the hardest college in the United States to get into, according to Niche.
The life-threatening group A strep, or GAS, infections rose the most in adults, and people experiencing homelessness reached a global high.
Some cheeses have been recalled because they may contain listeria bacteria. Thousands of trucks and SUVs were included in four Ford recalls.
The tariffs are expected to have a wide effect on items in Americans’ pantries, closets, vanities, liquor cabinets, toy chests and garages.
How can you know before you sign the contract or lease what kind of people you’ll be living around?
![What Makes A Good Or A Bad Neighbor? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20250403/084145/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2400265701___03203806521.jpg)
Egg prices are coming down, but they’re still expensive. Some people are dyeing marshmallows and potatoes for Easter.
![Are High Prices Scrambling Your Easter Egg Dyeing Traditions? [Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/790386/20250403/064749/styles/patch_image/public/egg-inflation-birdflu-easter-shutterstock-2581742811___03184421211.jpg)
Retaliatory tariffs spark fears of a global war that will throw the United States into a recession or a period of ‘stagflation.”
The 10 public and 10 private schools on Forbes’ “New Ivies” list have acceptance rates varying from 6 percent to 50 percent.
Employers were already turning away from Ivy League schools before the Trump administration began an assault on decades-old DEI policies.
Elon Musk tops the Forbes 2025 World’s Billionaires list, followed by U.S. tech giants Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Larry Ellison.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, and The Farmers’ Almanac share predictions for summer weather.
Highlights are the full pink moon, shooting stars with long-lasting glowing trains, and distant galaxies in a Hubble night sky challenge.
If the neighbor intends to spread gossip, that’s a different story. Shut that stuff down from the start by saying you’re not interested.
![Don’t Hide From Chatty Neighbors, But You Can Deter Them [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20250328/050040/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1625898283___28165223639.jpg)
A $12 painting may be a Renoir; $770,000 in diamonds in man’s poop returned to Tiffany; couger and panther babies in Michigan and Florida.
![Man Dies Of Rabies After Organ Transplant [Weird News & Oddities]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/ap/790386/20250328/113953/styles/patch_image/public/ap271485941844-1___28113432423.jpg)
Weather balloon launch sites are cut to absorb staff cuts at NOAA. And that could affect the accuracy of forecasts as storm season ramps up.
The partial eclipse will be visible in 13 U.S. states, though the amount of the sun the moon will cover varies widely in the viewing area.
