As I write this column on Sunday, October 12, the United States government is still shut down. Federal employee are not getting paid. No, wait, that’s not quite true. MOST federal …

When I walk, I like to git ‘er done. No shillyshallying, no ambling, no strolling, no sauntering, no rambling. Git. ‘Er. Done. It’s not that I count my steps; I don’t. I just …

The nation’s founders got right to the point when they laid out how to treat the First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, the press and the rights of people to assemble and to petition the …

You may have noticed in the Sept. 19 issue Opinion section of the Times Pilot our annual report of newspaper circulation and ownership. It’s required of all publications every year by the U.S. …

We approach the November municipal elections colored with the fact that Storm Lake cannot afford to keep up. The city council had to beg off from a $300,000 state grant to replace blowers at the …

Back and forth all over Iowa I trundle hawking my book — "Dear Marty, We Crapped In Our Nest." Everywhere I go one message emerges: We want our good old Iowa back. That is moderate, …

A couple weeks ago it looked like nobody wanted to run for mayor of Storm Lake. Mayor Mike Porsch began to think he might have to forgo retirement. He had put the word out a while ago that he did not …

People across America are getting more upset and nervous every day about where life is heading here. What does it take to make a nation happy? It turns out that Finland may have the answer. The …

Science and art are often competing interests but not at Lakeside Labs, not for the three days of talk, laughter, and camaraderie at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat. …

The lesson of the hot stove emerged again last week. That is the lesson toddlers learn early and smart ones retain for a lifetime. Touch something hot and you know not to touch it again. …

Kathy and I returned last Friday from three days in the Black Hills, communing with two of my graduate school former housemates and their spouses. It’s a reunion that takes place somewhere in …

Former Iowa Speaker of the House Linda Upmeyer recently touted on these pages the positive trajectory of rural healthcare in our state under Republican leadership. But here’s the rub. …

Hey, Iowa. We are 49th in the nation for economic growth, and 48th in income growth. You know that because you already feel it. What you cannot feel, though, is we are also facing a high risk of …

The Trump Administration is digging two huge holes at the White House: one for the construction of the executive mansion’s massive new ballroom, the other to bury the export-dependent U.S. …

What is the Page Program? Each year the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives and Legislative Services Agency employ high school juniors and seniors to serve as Pages for the legislative …

Rob Sand appears to be in tune with a wide swath of Iowans who aren’t happy with the way things are going. Substantial crowds are showing up across the state to hear the state auditor …

Most Storm Lakers already know that I have officially started a write-in campaign for Mayor of Storm Lake. But I think it’s important to follow through with a little more explanation about why …

We’re grateful that Charles Hernandez stepped forward to run for mayor of Storm Lake in the Nov. 4 election. Mayor Mike Porsch has decided on a well-earned retirement but nobody filed …

While we were in Northern California last week for our son’s wedding, we spent a day on a wine-tasting event in Napa, the center of America’s wine country. I am not a wine …

I spoke to two groups in recent weeks, and people at both gatherings wanted to know about the work of the organization I lead, the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. If I had known then what I …