A few scenes exploring want and abundance. I’m not thankful in all of them. Scene I. When I was young, the cornucopia was ubiquitous, and the symbol is still in use, but it …

Most of the top leaders of both political parties converged on Washington’s National Cathedral a week ago to honor the memory of former Vice President Dick Cheney at his funeral service. As …

At 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 3, exactly eight hours and 40 minutes after walking into our apartment in Kyiv, Ukraine, my wife sat comfortably in the dentist’s chair. Why did I know to the minute how …

While Congress spent most of the fall perfecting the useless art of finger pointing, the ag economists, farm finance experts, and ag policy wonks at farmdocDAILY kept grinding through the …

Several university leaders have expressed shock when actions by Donald Trump and his 2.0 administration officials have gone directly counter to what he and his appointees supposedly learned during …

My name is Bryce Hogrefe, and I am in the second period Rooted class at Storm Lake High School.  Plants are the milestone of Storm Lake and many places like Storm Lake. Not only do plants …

Northwest headwinds buffet Iowa Republicans a year out from the 2026 midterm elections: Farmers are under stress, grocery prices are high, our rivers are fouled, and voters want better. The GOP …

Any reform plan offered by Gov. Kim Reynolds demands skepticism and invites dismissal, especially since she will not run for re-election next November. Reynolds hung her hat on Medicaid …

We have a lot be thankful for as we celebrate Thanksgiving next week. At the Times Pilot, we’re especially thankful for all the generous readers who have helped clothe deserving kids through …

I grew up in Hospers, Iowa, on Highland Avenue, three houses from the northern edge of town. Our paved road stopped just beyond Reinders’ house, but a dirt road, bending sharply to the east, …

Thanksgiving gets short shrift these days. The Christmas commercialism colossus, burgeoning every year, now occupies a super-sized chunk of November that used to be the province of the …

When the recent Powerball jackpot was around $1.8 billion and the cash value was $820 million; had I won, as many do, I fantasized as to how I would spend it. First of all, I would invest it to …

Thank you to area residents and businesses who stepped up to help our neighbors in need during the recent federal government shutdown. The donations of food were abundant. The monetary …

Some years ago, about 40 I would guess, one of the major coffee companies had a commerical that their coffee was for people who like to drink coffee “hot as fire, black as …

The House of Representatives took all of October off. In fact, the GOP-led chamber has only worked 14 days since July 25. As Congress sat idle, hardworking Americans faced rising health care costs, …

As the White House fought not to pay Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to 42 million Americans, it already had ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reopen nearly 2,100 Farm …

Over the last few years, Iowa has taken major steps to strengthen its laws against human trafficking — the crime of exploiting people through force, fraud, or coercion for sex or labor. We have …

Iowa has reeked for several weeks as an armada of honey wagons sprayed their brown bounty on black dirt, followed by the white anhydrous ammonia tanks. They’re everywhere as I traveled …

Don’t expect too much from President Trump’s announcement last week that the Justice Department is launching probes into price-fixing among big beef processors, namely Tyson, JBS, …

My bride Mary and I celebrated our 40th anniversary on Oct. 19. That isn’t remarkable; lots of people celebrate 40 years of marriage. But our wedding happened to occur at the same time as the …