Fog set thick outside while serotonin ran thin inside on this early March morning of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in Iowa. If I had the gumption I would go jump in the lake. It only gets worse …

The world bears less of a burden with Iran’s supreme leader and his ruling junta dead in the rubble. Israel and the United States joined forces to decapitate the leading sponsor of terrorism in the …

The Iowa Legislature is at it again, trying to eliminate publication of legal notices in newspapers. And it will cost Iowa’s citizens way more money than it saves. Republican sponsors say it …

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that the very rich “are different from you and me.” While that quote comes from a short story, his novel, The Great Gatsby, fully embodies that observation. We …

When it comes to the First and Fifth Amendments, I’m a Jeffersonian Jeffersonian. The amendments are two of the ten in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. Thomas Jefferson didn’t write …

March is when most people’s thoughts turn to spring and most farmers start looking forward to another productive year of growing food, feed and fiber. Until then, though, there's weather to …

My hope is that by sharing these stories, we can all get to know our community a little better. I feel thankful to have met so many amazing people in the Storm Lake area who are working hard to build …

During his interminable State of the Union address, President Trump included reference to waste, fraud and abuse. Of course, such mention was opportunistically political, containing recurrent …

“In a perfect and just America, who possesses the greater political power — the rich and wealthy or the language contained within the U.S. Constitution? Answer: The U.S. Constitution, namely, …

Last week was the seventh week of the legislative session. We are past the first funnel and the week was filled with floor debates. Last Monday we passed SF 2219 with a vote of 46-0. This bill …

One of the major issues in the transportation arena over the past year has been the proliferation of deadly accidents across the country involving people who somehow have gotten Commercial Driver’s …

Belle Plaine farmer Zach Lahn caught the nation’s attention last week talking up conservation agriculture with none other than Tucker Carlson, who was too far over the line for Fox News and is an …

Leading legislators bent on hobbling Iowa’s community newspapers so they can keep the public in the dark are lurching forward. A bill to eliminate public notices from newspapers cleared the Senate …

I had a big response to my column last week, “Scooping the loop,” from my high school days in the 1960s. I had a good vantage point to watch loop scoopers. Twice a week I perched high above …

I hang up the phone, and it hits me again. Even with certain limitations on my time and wallet, I enjoy a lot of privilege in life. The person I spoke with is an alumnus of my workplace, Buena …

F Bombs! Every time I hear one it’s like a bolt of lightning piercing every nerve throughout my body. The sound of one, almost anywhere, any situation, or from any human just shockingly …

We all need reminders now and then. Some of us believe there is only one correct way to think and speak and act in these United States of America. But that is not true. Americans are not …

After observing the City of Storm Lake’s clever machinations over the last few months, I have formed an inescapable conclusion: Our highly paid city hall apparatchiks are only consolidating and …

To public officials and political candidates of all stripes: enough already with the foul language. nnGovernment leaders since the founding of the United States have used off-color words. …

George Orwell’s 1984, a dystopian classic novel, is a staple in American high school English and social studies curriculums. 1984 is taught in 9th or 10th grade and used to introduce themes of …