Iowa’s pork consolidation started in earnest about 50 years ago when swine started to move indoors. In 1976, Iowa had an estimated 60,000 hog farms producing 15 million head. Today, according to …

“The Odyssey” is one of the most-hyped movies in years. We’ve been hearing about it for months, and it finally opened last weekend in Storm Lake and across the nation. The three-hour epic …

In his first stab at the presidency, DJT’s rallying cry was “Build the Wall”, and it was an effective campaign to stoke fear of “other” people. The man who would later become the 45th …

When District Judge Adria Kester studied at the Drake University Law School, she must have opted out of the “Law of Holes” coursework. I have written before about the first Law of Holes, in …

On June 26, I gave a presentation on media literacy at Iowa Boys State. During each of my eight presentations, I asked the audience two questions: Where do you get your news, and do you trust it? …

I have always thought that the lasting and enduring postage stamp of the Storm Lake public education system in the 1970s and 1980s, was its four elementary schools: North, South, East and West. From …

I want to invite everyone to join me on Aug. 11, at 5 p.m. at the Expo Center in Spirit Lake for the Dickinson County Sizzler for a supper and presentations by many candidates for the Nov. 3 …

One fist of iron, the other of steel If the right one don’t get you then the left one will — from “Sixteen Tons” as sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford That’s the challenge the …

Too many officials in the Trump Administration and several farm state Capitol Hill leaders believe that just saying something is true makes it true.  For example, on June 24, the White …

Imagine 1,500 foreigners showing up in rural Iowa who can’t speak English, are pacifists, refuse to take loyalty oaths, live communally with no pay, and shun social convention. Arrest them! …

With hope for the holidays in his heart, Sen. Chuck Grassley predicted — when the Storm Lake Times Pilot prodded — that a farm bill should pass by Christmas. It is three years overdue already. A …

Storm Lake’s Star Spangled Spectacular, Iowa’s biggest Fourth of July event, had another successful celebration of our nation’s birthday Saturday. The Big Day was kicked off by the Big Parade …

It must be a sign of desperation. Obviously, the president hasn’t stirred enough outrage in hurling the word “socialist” around. He wants you to be afraid, very afraid, and the s-word wasn’t …

Whether you work for the federal, state or local government, you best just accept that blame and criticism go with the job and move ahead. Decatur County Attorney Alan Wilson learned that lesson …

Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of Iran, vows revenge on the “criminals” who assassinated his father, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had led Iran for 36 years. It must be assumed …

So the National 250th Birthday celebration was a flop. You must have been watching the main media networks who did not carry Trump’s Washington, D.C., 11  p.m. address or the national …

I’m old enough to remember when Congress — like most Americans — worked during the summer. Sure, the pinstriped, air-conditioned gang took a few weeks off every August but they usually …

“No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law” (Appropriations Clause, Article I, Section 9, Clause 7, U.S. Constitution). Congress’s “Power of …

Midterm elections are less than four months away. Many Iowans are concerned that these elections may be tampered or interfered with, especially since the last person responsible for trying to …

In a column published in May 2025, we wrote about the allegations contained in a lawsuit filed by a former certified nurse aide at a nursing home in Fonda. The suit was filed against the Fonda …