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.
A cup of coffee may buy the Wi-Fi, but how long does it buy the table? Is it OK to take your laptop to the coffee shop and stay for hours?
![Coffee Shop Etiquette For Remote Workers Who Stay For Hours [The Question]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20260918/035545/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2838464277___18155229412.jpg)
Recalls also include hand soap that may be contaminated with bacteria, electric blankets and heating pads responsible for dozens of burns.
The First Amendment protects plenty of bad manners. Patch readers debate what to do when political yard signs turn ugly.
The Fed doesn’t set the mortgage rate, currently around 7 percent. Continued concerns about inflation are keeping it high.
Companies increasingly leverage AI to boost productivity, even as human employees work longer hours for reduced pay, bill sponsors say.
Congress can address costs, illegal conduct, competition, and supply, but it cannot vote grocery prices back to pre-inflation levels.
With rabies cases up, health officials say it’s vital to know what to do after a bite or scratch to prevent a nearly always fatal disease.
House Speaker Mike Johnson calls it “a creative idea” that will need Congressional approval; other lawmakers call it a bribe for votes.
Free speech can get salty at the property line. What can be done about political signs that provoke and offend? Your kids see those, too.
A no-shoes rule may keep floors clean, but readers say hosts should tread carefully when comfort, health and dignity are at stake.
![Take Off Your Shoes, But Don’t Make Guests Bare Their Soles [The Question]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20260911/034031/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2003106188___11152810127.jpg)
See the weirdest news this week on Patch.
![Is This Bigfoot Or A Skinny Dipper? [Weird News & Oddities]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/127196/20260911/050931/styles/patch_image/public/weirdnews-sept___11170906643.png)
Traditionally reliable New England should see vibrant fall foliage, but drought and wildfires may mute autumn colors elsewhere.
The mosquito season doesn’t wind down until after the first hard frost, but a warmer El Niño winter could help some survive until spring.
U.N. warns “the world is in the danger zone of extreme weather” and NOAA updates its predictions as the Pacific continued to warm in August.
The AI boom is pushing data centers into more communities, forcing a reckoning over what residents will tolerate — and who should pay.
Other food safety updates include mangoes that may be contaminated with salmonella and frozen berries with E. coli concerns.
Retailers’ moves come after the Supreme Court said the Trump administration couldn’t use emergency economic powers to order tariffs.
With block parties, readers draw a line between building community and surrendering free time to bounce houses, potlucks and forced fun.
Premium tissue relies heavily on Canadian softwood pulp, and experts say the fallout could reach both wallets and bathroom comfort.
Removing shoes indoors is customary in many cultures, but the request can leave some guests feeling exposed or uncomfortable.
![A Shoes-Off House Rule Can Put Guests On The Spot [The Question]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20260902/055025/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-688349953___02174840783.jpg)