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.
Mid-century modern conversation pits are making a comeback as people seek deeper connections and respite from a digitally driven world.
Mid-century modern conversation pits are making a comeback as people seek deeper connections and respite from a digitally driven world.
Mid-century modern conversation pits are making a comeback as people seek deeper connections and respite from a digitally driven world.
Even people living far outside the ribbon of states from Texas to Maine experiencing totality in the April 8 eclipse need eye protection.
Cicadas have a nasty surprise, cops say diner got naked over “too hot” wings, brain tapeworm is more than a headache and more freaky things.
People in the eastern U.S. are already sneezing, and allergy sufferers across the country could be in for months of misery.
Responsibility follows trash, right? You might think. Or do you and your neighbors owe it to each other to pick up trash when you see it?
![Who Cleans Up Neighbor's Spilled Trash? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240321/031816/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2184636045___21151644752.jpg)
As airlines navigate higher labor and fuel costs, a loophole allowing them to avoid taxes on baggage check revenue may also be a strategy.
![As Airline Luggage Fees Take Flight, Do You Take Issue? [Flightmares]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/790386/20240321/113224/styles/patch_image/public/012024-ped-linthicum-md-bwi-airport-baumgart-05___21113042880.jpg)
Researchers think the phenomenon of confused fish swimming in circles until they beach themselves and die may be linked to an algae toxin.
Electric and hybrid vehicles were already a “political football.” New EPA rules aim for 56 percent electric vehicle sales by 2032.
Linked to international travel, U.S. measles cases reported in the first three months of the year exceed the total number of cases in 2023.
During the Gilded Age of architecture, wealth was often on display in opulent mansions rowhouses of industrialists and politicians.
During the Gilded Age of architecture, wealth was often on display in opulent mansions rowhouses of industrialists and politicians.
During the Gilded Age of architecture, wealth was often on display in opulent mansions rowhouses of industrialists and politicians.
Self-checkout lanes are popular with many consumers, especially GenZ and Millenials, but are also an opportunity to cheat, one expert says.
Book challenges at public libraries increased 92 percent in 2023, while library challenges increased 11 percent.
Dogs do need room to romp, but unleashing them on daily walks in the neighborhood and parks is dangerous, entitled and rude, readers said.
![Leash Your Dogs; Not Everyone Loves Them Or Their Slobber [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240315/114228/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1337012390___15114007484.jpg)
The Farmers’ Almanac said in its early summer 2024 outlook that most — but not all — of the country will experience a hot, muggy summer.
As an El Niño climate pattern falls a part, cooler, wetter weather associated with La Niña could bring relief to allergy sufferers.
The only risk factor for a 52-year-old man with a tapeworm brain infection was how he cooks America’s favorite breakfast meat.
