It was Christmas Eve. The gifts were laid beneath the Christmas tree at the home of Merlin and Nelda Powers in Urbandale. But the family’s holiday celebration ended abruptly that day in 1968 …

A few days ago a team effort by U.S. military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel seized Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and took them into American custody. …

I’m writing today with a heavy heart but a clear purpose because I am tired and deeply concerned: our rural communities are facing a healthcare crisis, and we need help — especially when it comes …

One of the most under-reported stories of 2025 — the departure of more than 20,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture employees — finally surfaced just before the quietest, most unwatched news …

Those with high hopes for a two-party system in Iowa must put their minds and means on reaching rural voters. We had a balanced government a decade ago, before shelled-out river towns went …

Days removed from the winter solstice, when Iowa’s nights are the longest, we have another example of the absence of sunshine in Iowa government. And this example shows why the Legislature has much …

As we step into a new year full of resolutions, imagine a healthier home, safer children and pets free from toxic risks, all starting with your lawn. With so many new goals, I am writing because one …

In my column last week I discussed five of 10 people I much admired in 2025: Liz Cheney, Art Cullen, Jose Andres, Audi Crooks and Volodomyr Zelensky. Here are the other five (taking some license for …

Mark Twain would have loved this. The story goes that Twain, arguably America’s greatest writer and humorist, was the originator of the witticism “Figures don’t lie, but liars do …

State and local officials in Nebraska are giving Tyson the business after the giant meat packer announced plans to shut down the Lexington beef plant and put 3,200 people out of work. Tyson …

The American writer James Agee, together with photographer Walker Evans, in 1941 released “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,” a book documenting the lives of impoverished Southern sharecroppers …

I became a widow at age 38 when my son was 7. Solo parenting is hard, but thanks to the Affordable Care Act I’ve been able to work part-time from home in a way that makes our lives work pretty …

Iowa is a national leader in wind production, and that leadership has brought real benefits to rural counties like Adair and Howard. As local governments work to stretch limited budgets to keep …

2025 was arduous and is good to have behind us. The fever might have broken. Trump was raving mad on TV last week, almost spitting into the camera. This just days after saying that he doesn’t …

Thank you for the great coverage and photos of the high school sports. I subscribed to the Cherokee Times to use the photos and articles about my …

What makes freedom of speech so difficult to understand and accept? That question came up at Sunday's discussion at the Des Moines Valley Friends Meeting. The Friends invited me to speak at the …

There was so much blarney and puffery flying around the Cabinet Room during the Dec. 8 White House farmer/rancher gathering that it became impossible to tell fact from fiction. For example, in …

For too long, higher education in Iowa has drifted from its core mission: preparing a highly skilled workforce and anchoring talent in our communities. This next legislative session, we have a clear …

Roughly 43% of U.S. adults identify themselves as politically independent. However, according to Gallup polling, only around 7-12% of Americans are considered “truly” independent, which means …

Donald Trump’s second presidential term is nearly a year old now, and his Republican Party maintains control of both houses of Congress. Americans have had ample opportunity to weigh the pluses and …