In my column last week I discussed five of 10 people I much admired in 2025: Liz Cheney, Art Cullen, Jose Andres, Audi Crooks and Volodomyr Zelensky. Here are the other five (taking some license for …

Mark Twain would have loved this. The story goes that Twain, arguably America’s greatest writer and humorist, was the originator of the witticism “Figures don’t lie, but liars do …

State and local officials in Nebraska are giving Tyson the business after the giant meat packer announced plans to shut down the Lexington beef plant and put 3,200 people out of work. Tyson …

The American writer James Agee, together with photographer Walker Evans, in 1941 released “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,” a book documenting the lives of impoverished Southern sharecroppers …

I became a widow at age 38 when my son was 7. Solo parenting is hard, but thanks to the Affordable Care Act I’ve been able to work part-time from home in a way that makes our lives work pretty …

Iowa is a national leader in wind production, and that leadership has brought real benefits to rural counties like Adair and Howard. As local governments work to stretch limited budgets to keep …

2025 was arduous and is good to have behind us. The fever might have broken. Trump was raving mad on TV last week, almost spitting into the camera. This just days after saying that he doesn’t …

Thank you for the great coverage and photos of the high school sports. I subscribed to the Cherokee Times to use the photos and articles about my …

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 was so much blarney and puffery flying around the Cabinet Room during the Dec. 8 White House farmer/rancher gathering that it became impossible to tell fact from fiction. For example, in …

For too long, higher education in Iowa has drifted from its core mission: preparing a highly skilled workforce and anchoring talent in our communities. This next legislative session, we have a clear …

Roughly 43% of U.S. adults identify themselves as politically independent. However, according to Gallup polling, only around 7-12% of Americans are considered “truly” independent, which means …

Donald Trump’s second presidential term is nearly a year old now, and his Republican Party maintains control of both houses of Congress. Americans have had ample opportunity to weigh the pluses and …

When the legislature returns to Des Moines in 2026, one issue will cut across every community and every income level: property taxes. Whether you live on a farm, in a small town, or in a growing …

It’s time to deliver for working Iowa families. That means all legislators working to find common ground and move past nearly a decade of single-party policymaking that has left too many Iowans …

Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell’s decision to accept Penn State’s head football coaching position devastates Cyclone fans, gladdens Nittany …

The Cherokee County Fund Drive is in the final month for this years campaign. We represent nine Non Profit Organizations in Cherokee County whose purpose is to serve residents in the county according …

To truly experience the Trump tariff rollercoaster, hop on the ear-popping ride American cattlemen, meatpackers, and U.S. beef eaters have been on over the past few …

Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. Farm subsidies, that is. They distort markets, suppress diversity, and create winners and losers. We can’t get by without …

Rising electricity costs are becoming a prickly issue in politics. Higher rates and costs were a major issue in recent state and local elections nationwide. Data centers and cryptocurrency are …