President Donald J. Trump loves to point out that farmers “love” him. The November 2024 election results prove it’s no boast. In fact, while the then-former president beat Vice President …

Monday, Jan. 12, was the first day of the second session in the 91st General Assembly. Looking ahead, we are looking a little different. New members, new leadership, new positions. I am no …

So I’ve become that grumpy old man. Not funny like Walter Matthau. Just grumpy. Curmudgeonly, somebody said. Shrill. I wake up PO’d. It’s hard to stay in good humor when dawn breaks to a …

President Trump said we invaded Venezuela not so much over the drugs or democracy but for the oil. We left the drug runners in charge of the country with gunboats moored offshore ready to invade …

In 1997 the motion picture “Wag the Dog” focused on a President of the United States who was in big political trouble after having inappropriate relations with a minor girl. To quash the bad …

Until 2015, I shied away from political news. Growing up, I paid scant attention to history, civics or government classes. They didn’t land in a way that connected with anything real in my life. …

It was Christmas Eve. The gifts were laid beneath the Christmas tree at the home of Merlin and Nelda Powers in Urbandale. But the family’s holiday celebration ended abruptly that day in 1968 …

A few days ago a team effort by U.S. military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel seized Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and took them into American custody. …

I’m writing today with a heavy heart but a clear purpose because I am tired and deeply concerned: our rural communities are facing a healthcare crisis, and we need help — especially when it comes …

One of the few stances I was on board with from our current president was “No New Wars.” I am deeply disturbed, and have been for a long time, with the actions of this administration against …

Today, a grave and illegal line was crossed — and it did not make the United States safer or stronger. The U.S. carried out an unauthorized act of war by bombing another country’s capital, …

Should Iowans really be so concerned about Artificial Intelligence? Yes, but why? Physicist Frank Wilczek provides us with a straightforward observation on why: “What worries me is not so much …

One of the most under-reported stories of 2025 — the departure of more than 20,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture employees — finally surfaced just before the quietest, most unwatched news …

Those with high hopes for a two-party system in Iowa must put their minds and means on reaching rural voters. We had a balanced government a decade ago, before shelled-out river towns went …

We can hope for 2026. Be realistic, but good risings could be just over that horizon. Wish might be a better word than hope. We wish for your health and prosperity, for peace and friendship among …

As we consider New Year’s resolutions this week, I’d like to suggest that in 2026 we all try to be more generous, not just financially, but spiritually as well. This came to me last week, …

Many things can go wrong with holiday plans. This year, wow, yes. Weeks ago, I locked my car keys in my car using the auto-start. I always keep car keys in my purse, but I threw my purse in the …

Days removed from the winter solstice, when Iowa’s nights are the longest, we have another example of the absence of sunshine in Iowa government. And this example shows why the Legislature has much …

My next experience with fishing wasn’t until around 1975. I was working in property management and living in San Jose, Calif. A former work associate from Madison, Wis. on his way to do some …

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 …