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 Palm Springs Aerial Tramway goes from hot to cool in 10 minutes, Joshua Tree enchants, and a drive up the Pacific Highway covers it all.
Because many people recover from salmonella infections without medical care, the true number of people sickened may be higher, the CDC said.
Modern architecture — influenced by greats like Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry, I.M. Pei and others — skips unnecessary embellishments.
The Delta Aquariids could be a bust, but conditions look good for the Perseids, which NASA calls “the best meteor shower of the year.”
No one’s sure why Otter 841 is behaving aggressively, but the Santa Cruz sea otter may be having hormone surges associated with pregnancy.
Is dropping the bag of poop in the first available trash can a reasonable thing to do? Or is it enough that dog walkers bother to bag it?
![Is It OK To Put Dog Poop Bags In A Neighbor’s Trash? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20230721/110736/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-429281740___21110353361.jpg)
There’s no escaping Mattel’s Barbicore pink, even if you don’t see the “Barbie” movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
Shark bites decline — along with an alarming drop in the population of the apex predators, which play a critical role in marine ecosystems.
The Biden administration calls it a “student loan safety net.” Opponents call it a backdoor attempt to make college free.
The Prairie State isn’t as flat as you may think, as you’ll find on the road to Galena or Starved Rock State Park, which has 14 waterfalls.
It’s pricey to convert to energy-efficient ground-source heat pumps, but the investment has already been made at these three homes.
Readers in Chicago, New Jersey, New York City, Detroit and elsewhere claim the best franks in Patch’s National Hot Dog Day survey.
Health officials are interviewing people who have had cyclosporiasis illnesses to find out what foods they ate before they got sick.
“Theater-splaining” sports; kids win with “downstairs” deodorant; 115 million-hear-old dinosaur bones a paleontologist’s dream come true.
If you’re still in bed at 8, are you the problem? Do climate and gig jobs change weekend power tool rules? Is dawn to midnight OK with you?
![How Early Is Too Early To Use Power Tools On The Weekend? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20230714/105014/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-160848248___14104421211.jpg)
June was the 12th consecutive month that consumer price increases have slowed, and they’re at their lowest point since early 2021.
No one — neither consumers, merchants nor UPS itself — benefits from a strike by the 340,000 delivery drivers nationwide, experts say.
For National Hot Dog Day, we want to know where to find the best hot dogs in America. Defend your choice in the “wiener wars.”
![Regional Hot Dog Styles: What City Has The Best Wieners? [Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20230712/012849/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-150836276___12132351915.jpg)
“Fall” for Niagara, obviously, but also the Finger Lakes. Get “salty” in Syracuse. Drive the length of Long Island. Peace out in Woodstock.
White board and batten vertical siding, large black frame windows, gables, metal roofs, front porches and shutters define modern farmhouses.
