A Jan. 9 Iowa Appeals Court decision could bring a major change to the conduct of meetings by Iowa's local government bodies, including county supervisors, city councils, and school boards. The …

This year marks the centennial of the notorious Scopes trial. The trial played out in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, and addressed the question whether a state could ban the teaching of e - - - - - - - - …

Each of us probably has a list of family members and friends to whom we give gifts at Christmastime (and sometimes on other special days as well, like birthdays.) It’s a heartwarming tradition, …

A share of Iowa’s Republican electorate appears ready to abandon Senator Joni Ernst in favor of a more Trumpian replacement in the 2026 Iowa Republican primary election. It’s yet another …

President Joe Biden’s recent pardon of his son Hunter Biden has reignited the debate over the presidential pardoning power. And argument over this constitutionally protected prerogative of the …

Remember the “Grandfather’s Clock” song? How the clock kept accurate time for the old man’s entire life? “Ninety years without slumbering, tick, tock, tick, tock?” …

A list of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for Cabinet positions suggests strongly that he envisions the U.S. Cabinet playing a very different role from those that key appointees have …

I played a role in a movie three weeks ago, without even so much as a screen test. Well, technically speaking, I suppose, I didn’t actually debut on the big screen. It was more of an …

What effect will the 2024 election have on the immigration situation? I’m writing this column on Sunday before the Tuesday election, so I don’t know its outcome. But the outlines of …

Last Sunday, at a concert Kathy and I attended, one of the introducers referenced countries where political campaigning lasts only a few months. The audience erupted in applause. By all …

Pundits are fond of saying that elections are about the economy, and people’s relationship to it. “It’s the economy, stupid” and all that. It may be true - but there’s …

Monday, Oct. 14, the state of Iowa observed Indigenous Peoples Day (traditionally   called Columbus Day), in recognition of the roles native tribes have played in the state’s history and …

Last Monday, October 14, the state of Iowa observed Indigenous Peoples’ Day (traditionally   called Columbus Day), in recognition of the roles native tribes have played in the …

Where are today’s Menachem Begins and Anwar Sadats? Or Yitzhak Rabins and Yasser Arafats? Without leaders of their stature and their willingness to compromise for the good of their people, …

Most Americans believe in democracy - or say they do. The United States operates as a representative democracy. That means we elect leaders to do the work of governing, and we get to vote for those …