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.
It’s normal to feel discombobulated in the days after daylight saving time begins and sunrises and sunsets move ahead one hour, experts say.
When everyone else maintains lawns at a certain standard, including by using chemicals, is it inconsiderate to let dandelion seeds fly?
![Spring Lawn Care: Chemical Control Or Let Weeds Grow? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20250305/014324/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-588851984___05134034581.jpg)
Read these poignant notes to their younger selves from Patch readers in commemoration of National Women’s History Month.
Tariffs sparked concerns of a North American trade war that already has shown signs of pushing up inflation and hindering economic growth.
Homeowners don’t have legal rights to the street parking in front of their homes, but ignoring their emotional claim is rude, readers say.
Concern is rising the new Health and Human Services secretary will undermine the scientific basis for vaccines.
About half of readers responding to Patch’s informal survey say it’s safe to fly, but only a fourth trust the government to keep skies safe.
The father of a toddler born with the computer-generated name of Unakite Thirteen Hotel while in foster care fights for her legal existence.
![A Baby Named Unakite Thirteen Hotel [Weird News & Oddities]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/790386/20250227/060430/styles/patch_image/public/unakite-thirteen-hotel-shutterstock-2288052715___27180350297.jpg)
Two-year-old Unakite Thirteen Hotel’s dad calls her and has been working for two years to change her name and get a Social Security number.
For Catholics and some other Christians Tuesday is a last chance to cut loose before the beginning of Lent and the holy season of Easter.
Safe-water advocates have “real concerns” landmark health protections for drinking water will be significantly weakened and rolled back.
Venus, Mars and Jupiter will shine brightly, while Saturn and Mercury will be harder to see. Uranus and Neptune are also in the parade.
With barely a vote to spare, the House passed a GOP budget blueprint for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in spending cuts.
A total lunar eclipse will cause the moon to turn blood red in March.
A privatized Postal Service or one in which mail delivery is politicized may not be held to the same requirements for universal service.
Federal agencies have announced a slew of recalls over the past two weeks. Here's what you need to know to keep yourself safe.
![Several Types Of Seafood Recalled Over Health Risks [Recall Roundup]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/790386/20250221/033020/styles/patch_image/public/product-recall-graphic-1___21152702552.jpg)
The odds a newly discovered “city killer” asteroid will hit Earth are about 1 in 32, but the threat could rise and fall over seven years.
Yeah, yeah, it’s a public street and fair game for parking, but is it OK to be territorial about the spots in front of your house?
![OK To Be Territorial About Parking In Front Of Your Home? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/790386/20250220/094612/styles/patch_image/public/block-talk-on-street-parking-shutterstock-2474179563___20214418711.jpg)
After a string of high-profile crashes and unrelated Federal Aviation Administration firings, how comfortable are you boarding an airplane?
![Have Recent Crashes Shaken Your Confidence In Flying? [Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/ap/790386/20250220/071416/styles/patch_image/public/ap25037781609891___20190828608.jpg)
Start out in the “Danish Capital of America” in NorCal and finish by watching whales and their calves in SoCal as they head north to Alaska.
