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 uptick in measless — 125 case so far in 2024 — has been linked to international travel. Most of the cases are among unvaccinated people.
New Department of Transportation final rules mean automatic refunds for “significant” delays and lost luggage and require more transparency.
If you’re planning to experience America on a summer road trip, these food picks provide a sense of place — or they’re just plain weird.
The FDA said remnants of the virus were in highly sensitive tests, but is confident the virus was killed in the pasteurization process.
Students, some as young as 15, in a New Jersey college’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Bootcamp, helped unlock the mystery.
Students, some as young as 15, in a New Jersey college’s Investigative Genetic Genealogy Bootcamp, helped unlock the mystery.
People really do leave everything but the kitchen sink in Ubers; some other people are traveling to see cicadas, whose butts may fall off.
![Did One Top Cop Really Glitter Bomb Another? [Weird News & Oddities]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240419/044029/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2053710044___19163729647.jpg)
When close neighbors start their circular saws and drills and begin pounding hammers at daybreak, do you fume or admire their ambition?
![When Is Too Early For Power Tools On Weekends? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240419/094842/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1737338216___19094633545.jpg)
“I’m fine with no frills and willing to ‘not’ pay for them,” one reader said. Others are glad they can afford to fly on major airlines.
![‘Greyhound Bus’ Of Airlines: Is Budget Carrier Worth It? [Flightmares]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/790386/20240418/055317/styles/patch_image/public/202208-ped-southwest-airlines-schiavone___18174712700.jpg)
The restaurant’s limited-time endless shrimp promotion was added permanently to the menu in June, resulting in Q4 losses of $12.5 million.
The Lyrid meteor shower has a history of producing bright fireballs that blaze across the sky and are bright enough to penetrate moonlight.
Seven people in a dozen states have been sickened in a salmonella outbreak federal health officials say is linked to Infinite Herbs basil.
People leave meditation crystals, pet turtles and slabs of meat in Uber cars (those aren’t the weirdest things in the lost-and-found box).
Love ’em or hate ’em — and there are legions on both sides — two broods of periodical cicadas emerging this year make a loud impression.
A periodic comet that comes around every 71 years is getting brighter as it races toward the sun; meteor showers are back with the Lyrids.
Budget airlines can save money — or costs can add up with fees for seat assignments, priority boarding, carry-on bags, beverages and snacks.
![Are Low-Cost Air Carriers Worth The Headaches? [Flightmares Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240412/050109/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1080761981___12170036968.jpg)
When neighbor kids overstay, there may be a reason. When it comes to setting boundaries, “you don’t,” one reader said. “Just enjoy the kids.
![Neighbor Kids Won’t Go Home? Real Advice From Parents [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240412/030905/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-71425417___12150400447.jpg)
A cicada emergence veteran eager for this year’s dual emergence admits “those suckers used to headbutt me. But I love those clumsy bugs!”
Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Dairy Queen, IHOP, McDonald’s, Panera and Starbucks are among fast food chains freshening their spring menus.
People have shown in the past they’re willing to do almost anything to acquire a Stanley, which officially drops Mother’s Day cups Thursday.
