On the farm of my youth, our full-time field worker, Jackie, didn’t say much. When he did, however, he often offered creative euphemisms and descriptive epigrams. A favorite, for example, was if it …

I am weary of the constant chaos and the negative tone that has come to dominate our political conversations. Neither has led to effective governance, and both have left many constituents …

Gov. Kim Reynolds can put up her pointy-toe cowboy boots and reflect on 10 years of solid damage done under the golden dome. She might not be remembered as the worst. The Iowa History Journal …

Finally, after a late-night session, the US House voted 224-200 last week to approve a five-year farm bill just three years behind schedule under Republican control. The bill heads to the Senate, …

I. Years ago, poet Linda Pastan wrote: “Isn’t this what life could be: a walk before breakfast with the sea opening its chapters of water and light. . .” It …

Americans have rarely faced the facts about the role of national theft in the history of their nation. From the time of the first Europeans’ arrival in North America, the newcomers employed theft …

Paying an out-of-state vendor millions of dollars to do what the State Auditor’s Office can do at a fraction of the cost — literally about five cents on the dollar — isn’t efficient: It’s a …

You’d think that the three extra years Congress has taken to update the 2018 Farm Bill might mean it stumbled upon solutions to today’s falling farm income, sagging ag exports, the need for more …

My name is Don Johannsen. I am a landowner in Cherokee County directly affected by the proposed 1,070 mile Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline in Iowa. Over the last five years, Summit and the Iowa …

Every morning a new horror hatches such that you forget the day before, or the year before, with its daily minor cataclysms. Trump is on the computer holding a machine gun warning Iran that they …

Buena Vista County Republicans noted with some disappointment the no-shows at a candidate forum the local party sponsored at Buena Vista University on Saturday, April 18: US Senate candidate Ashley …

I finally met Byron of Byron’s fame. You know, the quirky music venue in Pomeroy, a sleepy northwest Iowa town, like so many others, towns that once supported their own school systems and sports …

I had a commentary on foreign policy on my mind for this week. I still do. But it can wait. The attempted attack at the White House Correspondents dinner in Washington last Saturday can’t. …

The maddening part of today’s fertilizer crush is not the steep price spikes that hit U.S. farmers immediately after the Trump Administration went to war with Iran Feb. 28. Nor is it that …

We are now into overtime as last Tuesday marked the 100th day and the scheduled final day of the legislative session. We continue working on big issues and important bills, and we are excited for the …

Brother Bill and I joked that we felt like Jake and Elwood seeking out Sister Mary Stigmata as we approached Mount Loretto, the Dubuque motherhouse of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed …

You could put up $80 million worth of hog buildings in Cherokee County and the board of supervisors might just as well go howl at the moon trying to block it. But if that $80 million is for solar …

Anyone who spends time doing kitchen prep has favorite tools or appliances, and no two people’s will be the same. Three of mine are so low-tech as to be laughable, but I would be lost without them. …

Come July, Iowa employers may want to add an ominous warning on their job application forms: tell a lie and you could go to jail. That’s right — no more puffing the resume with false degrees …

As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday this year, it seems worthwhile to consider how closely we’ve hewed to the Founders’ vision for their new creation, and likewise how far …