WASHINGTON DC (February 10, 2020) — Prepared floor remarks by Senator Charles "Chuck" Grassley on the retirement of Evelyn Birkby:
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Today, I’d like to pay tribute to a remarkable Iowan. She’s one of the longest-serving newspaper columnists in America.
She has an uncommon work ethic, having never missed a deadline in seventy years.
Her weekly commentary in the Shenandoah Valley News blanketed her close-knit community in Southwest Iowa for seven decades.
At age 100 years young, Evelyn Birkby, mother, farmer’s wife, “radio homemaker” for KMA Radio, columnist and author, is retiring.
Her readers will miss her byline and storytelling. Her neighborly columns about ordinary life in Rural America brought extraordinary joy to generations of Iowans.
