We’re on the road again with cinematographer Jerry Risius, not quite gypsies, trying to find out what grinds Iowa’s gears. Jerry and I toured the state from Alleman to Algona making …
Martial law was imposed last weekend on Los Angeles when President Trump ordered in the California National Guard to disband lawful protests over the deportation of Latino immigrants. The military …
Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” focused on manners and goodness, two virtues sometimes forgotten today. Shortly before the novel was published, our Founding Fathers settled …
Iowa’s DOGE task force, a Governor Reynolds’ creation channeling the 2025 federal DOGE Department headed until recently by Elon Musk, last week discussed the possible consolidation of …
In 1957 I was 12 years old. It was a beautiful summer night at the Little League ballpark, now named Jim Reese Field, next to East School. The lights were on. Fans lined the fence and filled the …
As a life-long marketer and consumer behavior professor, it’s interesting to observe how people’s opinions change as details of an issue become more apparent. Behavioral change — …
Despite all his accolades and achievements, Dwight D. Eisenhower remained modest and plainspoken. “The proudest thing I can claim” he noted after his triumphant return to the U.S. from …
The woman on the phone from the Mayo Clinic was growing exasperated as she ran through how to sweep up my medical records. “So, you got the CT scan in Storm Lake? And the hormone therapy …
The future of every Iowan’s right to own private property rests in the hands of Gov. Kim Reynolds. At question is whether the governor will sign HF639 into law to curtail the use of eminent …
Joni Ernst is a US senator because she understands Iowa voters and speaks their language, cynical as it is. She castrated pigs. Gonna make ’em squeal in DC. Roast and ride a hog. Wear bread …
If an opinionated old guy from southern Iowa delivered the recent commencement address at the United States Military Academy, my message would have contrasted with the one given by another …
Donald Trump got it half right about the recent omnibus tax-plus-everything else bill that the U.S. House passed on Tuesday last week. It’s big, but it ain’t beautiful. The bill …
For U.S. farmers and ranchers, Thursday, May 22, was right out of a Dickens novel: It was the best of days and the worst of days. Early — and I do mean cow-milking early — that …
In April, I met Nancy, a parent of a disabled child enrolled in Medicaid. With tears in her eyes, Nancy shared her story with me of her family being forced to deal with roadblocks and red …
“Not sure, we’ll have to wait and see” is a typically Midwestern way of declaring Hell No. What’s the weather have in store? Not sure, we’ll have to wait and see. …
Unless the senate steps in and imposes order, Congress is on track to cleave the coalition that has supported the farm bill and permanently weaken the crop safety net. The Big, Bad Bill passed the …
Last week, the Pentagon accepted the emir of Qatar’s gift of a Boeing 747, a $400 million bauble donated for our president to enjoy by a monarch whose family has ruled the tiny Mideast nation …
Luke 10:30: King James Version, (KJV): A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half …
On Feb. 21, 2018, this space outlined my assessment of Congress’s meandering approach to the overdue 2018 Farm Bill. Don’t just polish the badly tarnished 2014 Farm Bill, I urged; write a …
As of May 1 — 101 days into Trump 2.0’s administration — the highly credible Bloomberg News reported over 328 lawsuits have been filed challenging Mr. Trump’s executive …