The offices of the Des Moines Register’s opinion staff were mostly empty when my telephone rang late one afternoon about 15 years ago. The guard at the lobby security desk said two men were …

We all need reminders now and then. Some of us believe there is only one correct way to think and speak and act in these United States of America. But that is not true. Americans are not …

It’s funny how a government body can learn and teach an important civics lesson in the time it takes a student to go from kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2012, the Atlantic Community …

My ancestors trace their roots in America to before the days the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. You may have seen my distant cousin, Joseph Hewes, in the massive …

January ended with a notable week for federal courts because of the voices of its judges. Judges in Minnesota and Texas spoke with clarity in these troubled times. In between them, a longtime …

The 2025 college football season is in the history books. The season ended with last week’s national championship victory by Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and his Indiana University …

Truth should be measured by evidence, not by political allegiance. nnCan’t we all agree on that? With that in mind, a useful question for citizens and journalists to ask at times like this is …

It was Christmas Eve. The gifts were laid beneath the Christmas tree at the home of Merlin and Nelda Powers in Urbandale. But the family’s holiday celebration ended abruptly that day in 1968 …

Days removed from the winter solstice, when Iowa’s nights are the longest, we have another example of the absence of sunshine in Iowa government. And this example shows why the Legislature has much …

What makes freedom of speech so difficult to understand and accept? That question came up at Sunday's discussion at the Des Moines Valley Friends Meeting. The Friends invited me to speak at the …

There seems to be a lack of consistency — if not outright contradictions — in the president’s messaging on drug trafficking into the United States. Recent news headlines bear …

While the text of the Iowa Constitution lacks the prominence of that adopted by our nation’s Founding Fathers, people from Ackley to Zwingle and points in between should track down a copy and …

Events last week in Chicago and Washington and at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport provide stark reminders that our nation’s leaders have seemingly forgotten a biblical command around for …

As Iowans headed to the polls this week to elect local school board members, they faced an issue beyond the usual ones of taxes, student achievement, teacher pay, curriculum and enrollment. This …

Not surprisingly these days, free speech on college campuses is back in the headlines. That makes it worthwhile to highlight the seven-page policy the Iowa Board of Regents wrote to proclaim how …

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 …

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. …

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 …

During decades as a journalist, I had countless conversations with interesting people — future presidents, wannabe leaders, governors, business executives, religious thinkers, crooks, and …

Even the best salesman would struggle explaining away the reasons for the latest contradiction from the president of the United States. He believes crime in Washington, D.C., is so out of …