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The assassination of Charlie Kirk set off a national convulsion, as it should. It’s horrible. Frightening. It is not a civil war, which is vital to keep in mind. Kirk’s murder is part of a long history of political violence in America. Tragically, it’s why Lincoln and Kennedy are two of our most beloved presidents. Kirk is revered by millions as a martyr for the conservative cause and for the courage to speak. He understood the danger. Anyone who steps up to the podium in this country exposes themselves to violence.
President Trump and his aides blamed “left wing” ideology and vowed to stamp it out. Trump was grazed by a bullet last year at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. When a Democratic state legislator was assassinated recently by a right-wing survivalist in Minnesota, the president said it would have been a waste of time to phone state officials to offer his sympathy.
Ours is a violent nation. American history is riddled with assassinations. Perhaps the first was David Ramsay, a member of the Continental Congress who was murdered in 1815 by a madman Ramsay had treated as a doctor. Four American presidents have been assassinated. President Reagan was shot but survived. Several members of Congress and state officials have been murdered. Tom Vilsack became mayor of Mount Pleasant when the sitting mayor was assassinated during a city council meeting.
Kirk’s murder blew up social media. People could not help but to expose their thoughtlessness and fervor.
Local and state officials have fired public employees who made stupid or malicious remarks about Kirk’s death. Kirk was an advocate for free speech, even offensive speech — he called Martin Luther King Jr. a “terrible” person. When you cannot marshal the facts against your adversary, you attempt to muzzle them or even grab a gun and kill them. What is all the argument worth?
This is not about left or right. The suspect is a 22-year-old vo-tech student reared in a Republican household in St. George, Utah, where he learned to shoot at the hand of his father. The suspect reportedly took on a leftist point of view recently, and told his family that Kirk was coming to Utah and that the suspect didn’t like him. That does not make for a conspiracy. He is a deeply disturbed, chilling lone wolf without a shred of empathy, it appears.
It was further revealed that the suspect was living with a male who is transitioning to female. This adds more fodder to the online lunacy.
The fact is that Republicans and Democrats have been dying because it is so easy and indefensible for lunatics to get a gun. How do you keep a grown man in Utah from having a bolt-action high-powered rifle?
Politicians have urged the public to temper its speech in the wake of the shooting. At the same time, many are targeting political ideologies as illegitimate and certain people as enemies. The killing is feeding a call — made by President Trump, no less — for the prosecution of prominent liberals like former President Obama or financier George Soros. It is more likely that the United States is drifting toward authoritarian rule than it is a civil war. Trump already is using fear of violence to consolidate his power. Kirk’s death amplifies what Trump is trying to accomplish.
Kirk is held up as a First Amendment champion. It would dishonor his legacy to gag dissenting points of view, no matter how provocative. It would be the height of cynicism to use his death to tamp down democracy and freedom.
President Trump promised as the central part of his campaign that he would immediately bring costs down. In August, prices went up 2.9% over the same point last year. Food prices were up 3.2% thanks primarily to tariffs — coffee prices soared in August, up 21% from last year. Gasoline prices are rising. Housing costs remain stubbornly high.
Trump has been harassing the Federal Reserve Board to lower interest rates, but that is difficult when he imposes steep taxes on trade. He should focus more on his own fiscal policies and spend less energy trying to fire Federal Reserve Board members.
While prices are rising at the grocery store, they are soft to declining for Iowa farmers. Corn is below the break-even point. China refuses US soybeans. This is bad as the Republicans need to hold every Congressional seat they can. Farmers are banking on huge bailouts heading into the 2026 midterm elections. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said maintaining farm income in the face of tariffs was her priority when appointed. Trump used the Commodity Credit Corporation to deliver tens of billions in bailouts to agribusiness and farmers during his first term, when he started the trade war with China.
Rep. Ashley Hinson touted the president’s endorsement in her announcement that she will run for the US Senate seat being vacated by fellow Republican Sen. Joni Ernst. Hinson made clear that she is running as the MAGA candidate. That means taking on Trump’s baggage as Iowa’s economy lags.
The midterm elections favor Democrats as prices rise while job numbers are unimpressive. Hinson will have to convince Trump to pump a huge amount of money into the Iowa economy well before November 2026. He promised to take care of Iowa. So did Rollins. It would help if they could pass a farm bill that is already two years late.
The state’s largest employer is laying off workers. Farmers are losing money. Hamburger is high. A lot has to turn around for Trump to maintain a firm grip on Congress with a limp economy like this.
The Storm Lake City Council must comply with the Iowa Open Meetings Law and notify the public when council members meet. The council scheduled without full public notice “pop-up” meetings with various groups to hear candidly what they say they might not hear in normal public meetings. This violates state law.
Mayor Mike Porsch indicated that notice of future meetings will be made. He said that such a notice is not needed if no actions are taken. That is not what the law says. The law requires that the council notify the public at least 24 hours in advance of a meeting.
The city manager has tried to hold public information close to the vest, and now encourages the council to hold meetings without notice. She is not acting in the public interest. Neither is the city council when it should know better.
Renters who fear their landlords may speak in private with building inspectors, who can make these concerns known in detail in public to the city council while protecting privacy. That is simple professionalism. The city council should not meet in secret. It is getting bad advice.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is doing a great thing by creating research endowments for graduate students at the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory on West Lake Okoboji. “It’s an investment not just in science, but in the future health and sustainability of our lakes, rivers, and watersheds,” said Mary Skopec, director of the Lakeside Lab, which is a collaborative effort of the IDNR and the state Board of Regents.
The fellowship is named after longtime fisheries biologist Edward Thelen. Graduate students will study topics such as fish population dynamics, invasive species management, water quality monitoring and watershed health. All of these topics are of vital interest in Storm Lake, which we hope could attract research interest as well. It will directly benefit regardless.
The program is funded by private donations. We’re sure that Skopec would be glad to her from anyone who would like to contribute for the sake of saving our increasingly challenged lakes and rivers.
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