First, a little Trump-USDA history. After U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers “published and funded objective analyses of issues such as climate change, the efficiency of food …
Please excuse my slutty self-promotion, but a book by Art Cullen will be released in late September. Dear Marty, We Crapped In Our Nest: Notes from the Edge of the World is scheduled to be …
Mike Porsch is a good guy. Straight and honest. Diligent. Friendly. Porsch has served as mayor of Storm Lake for eight years, and for eight years before that he was a city councilman. Porsch is …
American pundits are prone to designate their immediate time period, whenever it happens to be, as a “turning point.” When the political situation balances on a knife’s edge, as it …
This is the final month for Governor Reynolds’ Healthy Kids Iowa program. Since June, the state has been providing a food box per school-age child each month — instead of …
The month of August is widely recognized as the ideal time for relaxation and rejuvenation. America’s 435 House of Representatives started their summer recess on July 25 while our 100 …
On the southern Illinois farm of my youth, August always meant heat, humidity, and the best food of the year. While we rarely suffered silently through August's steamy weeks, we usually ate our …
We’re walking across the Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge over the roiling muddy river in downtown Des Moines when Sarah Booz says she is bailing if the midterm elections go sour. She has …
It isn’t often that over 1,000 Iowans will gather on a summer’s Monday evening to learn about nitrogen, phosphorous and water. Something is in the air. People filled Sheslow Auditorium at …
Lyman Dillon resides in the dusty recesses of Iowa history for his role in 1839 in one of Iowa’s earliest infrastructure projects. Dillon’s work also figures indirectly in a …
The Democratic presidential nomination appears to be wide open today. No shortage of obvious hopefuls, with another batch who are probably mulling it over. More will pop their heads up in the weeks …
Contrary to popular belief, economists don’t read tea leaves, and most — like the rest of us — wouldn’t know a tea leaf from a spinach leaf. Economists do, however, …
Dolores came down from the attic with a handful of albums from a collection of hundreds and the suggestion that we should get rid of them. Dylan. Van Morrison. The Allman Brothers. The Stones …
One of the frustrations of being a **former** newspaper editor is no longer having a few dozen reporters to pursue answers to questions going unasked and unanswered each day. Two of my go-to …
Do elected leaders grow to covet great power once in office, or do they assume power already coveting it? And what about those who resist the siren song of power, and instead choose to serve their …
Five years ago I stopped a long tradition of turning this space over to readers who disagreed with me. Most of those columns, offered twice a year, featured correspondents who verbally took me to the …
Raising a family is no easy task, but it shouldn’t bankrupt you. As both a parent and grandparent, I’ve seen how much harder it is for Iowa families to afford housing, groceries, and …
When Kim Reynolds gave her big annual speech at the beginning of the year, she told Iowans that “the condition of our state is strong” and that “childcare has been a longstanding …
Chuck Grassley has a case of the fleas from sleeping with dogs. The senior Republican senator from Iowa intimated at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting July 30 that President Trump had hurt …
Water quality and cancer are emerging as central issues in Iowa politics, and should lead the debate in the 2026 midterm elections. More people are paying attention to our polluted water and the fact …