Punxsutawney Phil, the shadow-obsessed groundhog, and Glenn “GT” Thompson, the chairman of the House Ag Committee, have something in common: both reside in Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional …

“The Rock Island Independents had a mighty fine line,” the Republican senators sang at the bar. “I may be right and I may be wrong but you're gonna miss me when I'm gone.” So they pushed …

Sen. Lynn Evans should be commended for trying to get a school budget number out as soon as possible as superintendents try to set their own budgets next month. Evans chairs the education committee, …

During a visit to the Chicago area over the weekend we attended the opening day of the Chicago Auto Show on Saturday. My son-in-law Branden and I needed something to do while our wives went shopping. …

Grandchild Number Three arrived in dramatic fashion — on greased skids, as it were. That baby wasted no time barreling into the world two weeks early. Talk about speedy delivery, but everyone is …

My ancestors trace their roots in America to before the days the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. You may have seen my distant cousin, Joseph Hewes, in the massive …

Local writer Rick Wimer underwent surgery for a knee replacement last month, and all went well. But before going under the knife, he shared this: Today is the 23rd of January; now 24th, now …

“Words, words, words, I’m so sick of words!” Eliza Doolittle rebelled. Henry Higgins recreated her as a “lady.” What was her privilege?   It was education. Eliza was taught to speak …

Standard majority rule now governs state income tax decisions in Iowa. The state’s constitution requires that five procedural steps be taken to change that. Three of those steps have already been …

If growing corn is a religion among Midwestern farmers, its Vatican is somewhere in central Iowa. That fact was confirmed in late January when a Des Moines-based ag consulting firm released a …

As funnel week approaches, it is important that legislation begins moving forward, and we keep making progress on the issues Iowans have brought to us over the last several months. Last week the …

Attorney General Brenna Bird announced on Jan. 29 she has filed a lawsuit against 18 Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and insulin manufacturers asserting they manipulated and inflated insulin prices …

Rural Iowa schools are deeply committed to maintaining quality education, but they must continually navigate the fiscal pressures of shrinking enrollment and stagnant local tax bases. In some …

Kim Reynolds has occupied the spot as the most unpopular governor in America nearly as long as Terry Branstad wore a mustache in Terrace Hill. She ran up a whale of a deficit and is skedaddling after …

The First Amendment to the Constitution is first for a reason: It is the fundamental building block of freedom. Our basic freedom is under withering attack as federal agents shoot and gas peaceful …

For the past 35 years I have written an annual accounting of the state of affairs of this newspaper. As I have noted each year, we do this to maintain the trust of our readers, since the founders of …

I used to read like a house on fire. Then cable TV appeared, and the banquet of classic movies lured me in. The internet continued to diminish my once-robust reading habit, and social media …

Ten years ago on Jan. 7 Ofelia Valdez, now Ofelia Rumbo, of Storm Lake, stood up at a campaign rally for GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz at King’s Pointe. She identified herself as one of the …

January ended with a notable week for federal courts because of the voices of its judges. Judges in Minnesota and Texas spoke with clarity in these troubled times. In between them, a longtime …

Laws and leaders that ban diversity, equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices of public institutions, and even try to extend the ban to the private sector, argue that DEI potentially discriminates …