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.
From American folklore come persimmon and woolly bear caterpillar readings to forecast winter. What do knives, forks and spoons even mean?
Could you live in a 400- or even a 750-square-foot tiny home? These tiny homes have more storage than you may imagine.
The Biden administration announced $500 million in grants to cities outside of where the technology industry is largely concentrated.
No, really. The puppy whined, her new human comforted her, and the flight attendants, one in a cat costume, decided they had to go.
Grammy winner Lauryn Hill makes memories with kids at alma mater; love story behind sale of America’s oldest log cabin; Dairy Queen save.
If their parents don’t intervene, what do you do about kids whose loud tantrums drive fellow passengers to the same meltdown they’re having?
![What Do You Do If A Kid On A Plane Won’t Stop Shrieking? [Flightmares]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20231020/111934/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-773989927___20111113859.jpg)
The Nothnagle Log House selling price of $262,000 is far less than Doris Rink had hoped for. That’s the cost of love. It won’t be bulldozed.
Is it OK for kids to trick or treat when they’re 17 or 18? What about 15 or 16? Or is this a Halloween ritual for the under-9 crowd?
![How Old Is Too Old To Trick Or Treat? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20231019/114136/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1183817920___19233333170.jpg)
The pandemic spurred a “great reshuffling,” with employers losing 1.9 million workers since 2020, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report shows.
Shovels and umbrellas may see heavy use in parts of the country and drought conditions may ease, according to NOAA’s latest winter forecast.
Readers unapologetically defend candy corn as the quintessential Halloween treat, and healthy snacks may be more of a trick than a treat.
Robert Owens was stripped down to his underwear and socks, facedown in the grass. Police don’t suspect foul play. His sister wants answers.
Mansions have every conceivable amenity, and some you may not have thought of, such as an etched-glass elevator with an underwater scene.
The flight from Panama City, Panama, had been in the air for about an hour when a discovery in the bathroom prompted an abrupt turnaround.
A Savannah man knew a “super speeder” ticket would cost him, but $1.4 million? It wasn’t a typo, court officials assured him.
Car thefts and carjackings were up 10.9 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively, according to the FBI’S 2022 report on crime in America.
The Orionids hit Earth’s atmosphere at about 41 miles per second. Meteors that fast can create glowing trains and fireballs.
November, October and December are the most dangerous months of the years for deer and other animal collisions, insurance data shows.
Rite Aid said it has obtained $3.45 billion in fresh financing for a restructuring plan to cope with sagging sales and opioid lawsuits.
Listen to your body; one cat changes a runner’s course, another comes home after 11 years; newly discovered snail is a Parrothead.
