Nobody likes to lose, least of all Chris Jones. He thought he could beat incumbent Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, a Republican. Jones lost by six points. The former Simpson College baller left …

Our long national nightmare is over. The elections are finished and now we’ll find out if all those nasty ads made a difference. All politicians claimed they were bipartisan. We’ll see if they …

It’s November, and I’m still riding my bicycle to work. Iowa Congressional hopeful Joe Mitchell boasted to the president recently that Iowans don’t ride bicycles. Huh. I guess that makes me a …

Iowa voters have spent this fall hearing two men who want to be the next governor call each other rich, rootless and dishonest. What Iowans have not seen, however, are documents that would settle …

“There’s Got to Be a Morning After” — 1973 hit song, sung by Maureen McGovern (no relation to George McGovern) I’m writing this column before Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. That’s by …

This letter is being composed on Election Day. The ballot boxes are still open; no ballots have yet been counted. However, this life-long Republican has committed the ultimate act of rebellion. …

Music has always been a staple of my life. I can remember being a little kid and listening with my parents to such names as Frank Sinatra, The Association, Neil Diamond and Neil Sedaka. For those of …

On Friday, Dec. 18, 1981, I was a 5-foot-5-inch point guard for the Storm Lake Tornadoes 10th grade boys basketball team, and for approximately two hours, I was Caitlin Clark before there was Caitlin …

Tomorrow is the day I am not going to do anything, nada, zilch, nunca, zip, naught, nil, all smoke, a real goose egg, no finger lifting, zero, bupkis, diddly-squat. The day is going to be a real …

A bag of groceries does not help someone who cannot get to the place where it is being handed out. That simple fact sits at the center of a meaningful Storm Lake effort. Iowa Public Radio …

Iowa schools participating in the National School Lunch Program are invited to apply for a new competitive subgrant opportunity, supporting nutrition education and expanded use of fresh foods that …

What a relief! The torrent of malicious TV ads faded to black with the election. Kim Reynolds will not be governor; Democrat Rob Sand will be. Josh Turek will help put a check on President Trump as …

It’s been a tough 10 years. Trump. Covid. More Trump. A decade of decline for Iowa — dead last in mental health beds and women’s health care. Next to last (chasing Mississippi) for economic …

Moderation is all we ask. Iowa has been under one-party rule for over a decade. It shows. We have become meaner and poorer. Our schools are weaker. Regulations are spurned as the rivers run toxic and …

Mary and I spent the past week driving to the east coast and back. We visited our daughter and her husband in northwest Indiana and our son and his wife in Washington, DC. Like so many of Iowa’s …

“CBS Sunday Morning” was in full swing for Halloween on Oct. 25, running a segment on ghost building signs. Ghost signs are found on the sides of old brick buildings where the business names …

Government of the people belongs to the people.   So, it should come as no surprise that one of their most frequent concerns is how government spends taxpayers’ money. Those concerns …

Certain admirable qualities have identified the United States for many, many years: prosperity, power, creativity, entrepreneurship, world leadership, personal freedom. You can probably name others. …

Throughout the past few months, if not years, the Storm Lake Times Pilot has criticized the county on the lawsuit between the City of Storm Lake and Buena Vista County concerning tax increment …

Remember the good old days when you bought something and it was actually yours? You bought computer programs and you could use it basically forever, or at least until your needs changed. Now, it …