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.
E. coli, salmonella and other issues prompt food recalls; a lounge chair poses an amputation threat; and plush toys contain asbestos.
Of the two definitions of a blue moon, this one — the second full moon in a calendar month — is the more common.
Porch chats, block parties and back-and-forth favors once defined neighborhood life. Now, even small connections feel harder to find.
Consumers feel squeezed by higher gas prices, rising grocery bills, and more expensive health care. How is your budget changing?
![As Food And Gas Costs Rise, How Is Your Budget Changing? [Patch Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20260527/041306/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2359189757___27160553023.jpg)
What’s the best way to deflect nosy questions and set boundaries without being rude — or over-explaining yourself?
![How To Shut Down Nosiness Without Being A Jerk [The Question]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20260527/114104/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1973829677___27113909278.jpg)
With year-round daylight saving time, winter sunsets in much of the country would occur after 5 p.m.; sunrises would be as late as 9 a.m.
Some cellphone etiquette guidelines should be obvious, such as not using them in restaurants, stores and public bathrooms, readers said.
![Cellphone Etiquette Doesn’t Allow These Rude Habits [The Question]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20260522/043415/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1977846431___22162612231.jpg)
Parrot saves family from fire; woman gives birth in night court; car that hasn’t moved in years gets $50 ticket; world’s oldest oak spared.
As National Burger Day approaches, cattle ranchers are having a moment. So are consumers who are paying for it.
More flags than usual will fly this Memorial Day Weekend as America gears up for its 250th anniversary. How to display the flag matters.
Memorial Day shopping this year may look less like a spending spree and more like a values test.
With one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year approaching, some stores will have reduced hours on Memorial Day.
A survey suggests the American neighborhood remains important but no longer plays a central role in everyday social life.
Dogs and cats on the loose can put neighbors in a tough spot. Should they intervene or call the pound?
NOAA said El Niño conditions emerging faster than expected may escalate into a historically powerful “super” event by the end of the year.
Waymo recalls entire fleet due to potentially deadly software glitch; cream to treat common skin disorder may cause staph infections.
The use of smartphones in social situations is increasingly a flashpoint in manners, but it also raises privacy concerns.
![The New Cellphone Etiquette: What’s Considered Rude? [The Question]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20260514/090137/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1597222678___14205939247.jpg)
A deadly cruise ship outbreak has revived pandemic fears, but scientists caution the public against overreacting to the rare virus.
The Riley’s Way Foundation’s Kindness fellows address food insecurity, the STEM gender gap, AI fakes, civic engagement and other issues.
Do you help find the owner or call the pound? Your instinct may be to help, but that’s not always the safest way to proceed.
