It had been months, but I sent another letter to Randy Feenstra, my Congressional Representative (I-04), and he once again added me to his email list. I don’t usually read his missives, but a …

American pundits are prone to designate their immediate time period, whenever it happens to be, as a “turning point.” When the political situation balances on a knife’s edge, as it …

During Hitler’s reign and now under Putin, people were, and now are, encouraged to spy on their neighbors and colleagues at work and report them to the government. In Eastern Europe, during the …

The non-partisan Common Sense Institute Iowa recently issued a report on our state’s worsening “brain drain.” The data are alarming. In 2024, among the 50 states, Iowa had the seventh highest …

The month of August is widely recognized as the ideal time for relaxation and rejuvenation. America’s 435 House of Representatives started their summer recess on July 25 while our 100 …

On the southern Illinois farm of my youth, August always meant heat, humidity, and the best food of the year. While we rarely suffered silently through August's steamy weeks, we usually ate our …

We’re walking across the Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge over the roiling muddy river in downtown Des Moines when Sarah Booz says she is bailing if the midterm elections go sour. She has …

It isn’t often that over 1,000 Iowans will gather on a summer’s Monday evening to learn about nitrogen, phosphorous and water. Something is in the air. People filled Sheslow Auditorium at …

President Donald Trump seized control this week of the Washington, DC, police force, ordering the military and FBI to patrol the streets to stop a supposed crime wave in our nation’s capital. …

Lyman Dillon resides in the dusty recesses of Iowa history for his role in 1839 in one of Iowa’s earliest infrastructure projects. Dillon’s work also figures indirectly in a …

If you’ve ever watched “Better Call Saul” (a great show, by the way), you’ll remember that the main character, Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman, had a brother, Charles …

The Democratic presidential nomination appears to be wide open today. No shortage of obvious hopefuls, with another batch who are probably mulling it over. More will pop their heads up in the weeks …

For sure, 60th high school class reunions are special events.  Quite possibly, a 60th is more significant than a 50th or 40th reunion because the number of potential attendees would have …

Kudos to Joan Zwagerman’s Aug. 8 column about the current state of political differences. In another life, when I had an op-ed column years ago, I wrote that a centrist movement …

In late July, Spencer Hospital hosted a meeting called Cancer in Iowa: 99 Counties Project. The question was asked, “What is the state doing?” Great question! Let’s dig into …

Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns has called public broadcasting the “Declaration of Independence applied to communications.” Acclaimed travel writer Rick Steves has called it …

Contrary to popular belief, economists don’t read tea leaves, and most — like the rest of us — wouldn’t know a tea leaf from a spinach leaf. Economists do, however, …

Dolores came down from the attic with a handful of albums from a collection of hundreds and the suggestion that we should get rid of them. Dylan. Van Morrison. The Allman Brothers. The Stones …

Storm Lake City Hall is stonewalling us so hard on basic public information it makes one think that an attempt is being made to obscure poor management. The city now demands a fee for access to the …

Interest is running high for the 13th running of “Storm the Lake,” the Hy-Noon Kiwanis Sprint Triathlon/Duathlon set for Saturday, Aug. 16. As of Monday this week, there were 91 …