With Donald Trump bellering about immigrants poisoning our blood, it is hard not to approach 2024 with a measure of fear and a dash of loathing. The New Year rings in with the Iowa Caucuses just …

When we think about gifts at Christmas, what usually comes to mind are Legos, video games and dolls. When I was a kid the gifts trended toward electric trains, sleds and bicycles. But Christmas …

I really should not be surprised by some comments that represent what passes for civic dialogue in Iowa these days.   The latest example leaves me shaking my head, not just at the events …

Donald Trump promises not to be a dictator except for “day one.”  He implies he just needs one day to “close the border” and “drill, drill, drill” for oil. But closing the border …

You may have seen a few articles or heard of the issue of Iowa’s chronic absenteeism. But what is it? Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 or more of school days for any reason, …

We’re giving away our freedom in bits and chunks. In Ottumwa, they’re banning books from the schools but won’t reveal the list. In Kansas and Alabama, police raided newspaper offices to shut …

Donald Trump repeats that he wants to be a Dictator on Day One, starting with immigration. He has pledged to ship out undocumented immigrants (many of whom work in Storm Lake). He has pledged to jail …

Driving the 80 miles from Storm Lake to ancestral Algona makes me queasy for all the black dirt exposed to the elements, running into Pilot Creek on the north side of Rolfe, and the West Fork of the …

On Dec. 14, Sen. Claire Celsi, ranking member of the Iowa Senate Oversight Committee, called upon Chairwoman Amy Sinclair to schedule an Oversight Committee meeting to, in a bipartisan way, discuss …

“The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son.” — Ezekiel 18:19 The U.S. Justice Department has developed a pretty strong …

After being re-elected to the Iowa House of Representatives (2009) I met newly elected Iowa Senator Kim Reynolds where some of us bipartisan “veteran” legislators were giving advice to newly …

Drip, drip, drip, the facts drop in about how the city and county have bungled their finances over tax increment financing. The county misplaced the TIF funds while the city wasn’t watching, and …

We welcome back from retirement Tom Grau as he joins Storm Lake United as membership coordinator. SLU has had some rough sledding the past few years. Grau is an old hand who should bring some …

Norman Lear, one of the most influential producers in television history, died last week at the age of 101. His groundbreaking comedies dominated the airwaves in the 1970s and 1980s, including …

Iowa farmland increased in value. Again. After two years of record net farm income. Blame President Biden for all this bad news. Indeed, we do. Under President Trump, we had a trade war with China. …

City leaders in Davenport have forgotten that city government there belongs to the people. It does not belong to the folks who were elected to city offices. This reminder is necessary because a …

Since announcing my first run for Congress in January 2022, I’ve spoken with many Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and Independents alike. One of the greatest concerns among them all is the …

If you love Storm Lake, you are a Beaver. We are Beavers even though we never took a class at Buena Vista University. BVU is Storm Lake and vice versa. You cannot separate the two. Buena Vista is an …

Dolores crosses the threshold into Medicare with her birthday on Friday wondering how deductibles play out and why a certain prescription is one-tenth the price in Canada. She has held home and …

The U.S. House last Friday voted 311 to 114 to expel Republican member George Santos. It was only the sixth time in the history of the House that members have taken such an action. Republicans split …