The Christmas tree was a scrub cedar hacked from the edge of the woods that bordered the farm. Big-bulbed lights, strung in barber pole fashion, generated almost as much heat as the nearby …

Public reaction to to the assassination of a health insurance executive in New York was as shocking as the murder itself on a sidewalk outside a hotel. The suspected assassin, Luigi Mangione, 26, has …

Color photographs in newspapers are common today. Each issue of the Times Pilot includes dozens of them. But when I started out in newspapers over 52 years ago, color news photos were rare. They were …

When and why did the United States turn into such a cesspool of hatred? Some people may disagree with that characterization. But events last week have or should put those questions front and …

At home My mother was born in 1924 in Orange City, Iowa, and her first language was Dutch. If you know anything about Orange City or Sioux County, you know the Dutch influence is ever-present. …

Bird flu is back, if it ever left. It was unfamiliar to most of us back in 2015, when it wiped out five million chickens at Rembrandt and hundreds of thousands of turkeys. Two commercial poultry …

Tom Vilsack deserves a better exit interview than what he gave to Politico’s Jonathan Martin last week. Vilsack came across as irritated, which is familiar enough. The Democrats lost rural …

Grandfathers and clocks have a lot in common. Remember the “Grandfather’s Clock” song? How the clock kept accurate time for the old man’s entire life? “Ninety years …

While the president-elect continues to nominate prospective members of his incoming administration, the outgoing Congress faces a hectic sprint to complete a long list of unmet legislative duties …

Face the Nation recently asked whether Syria might become the first real Arab Muslim democracy in the Middle East today (Dec. 8, 2024). Probably not. Not even “democratic” Israel …

We should take some measure of hopeful relief that the City of Storm Lake and Buena Vista County have started talking about a settlement of their lawsuit over distribution of tax increment financing. …

After winter gave me a good hard slap on the face this week, with the promise of more to come, I decided I’d find things to look forward to. First of all, there’s football. This …

Many people would rather get their teeth drilled than discuss economics. If you are one of them, dial up your dentist, because today’s topic probably will make you uncomfortable. Some …

You tell me that law is above freedom of utterance. And I reply that you can have no wise laws nor free entertainment of wise laws unless …

Zionists believe that Donald Trump is “good for Israel.” Trump has loose lips and an unhinged mind, signaling no difference between Biden and Trump. They're as George Galloway declares, …

Remember how they told you over and over that everyone is equal under the law? Not true. Donald Trump should be in jail but instead is about to reoccupy the White House. His sentence on 34 felony …

First chance I got following a tooth-pulling the Monday before Thanksgiving, I spat out that chunk of gauze and fired up a smoke. Then I checked instructions for post-extraction care: DO …

A list of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for Cabinet positions suggests strongly that he envisions the U.S. Cabinet playing a very different role from those that key appointees have …

Dear Mr. Cullen: Thank you so much for your Nov. 26 editorial “How Far Right Can Iowa Go?” You expressed exactly our opinion of Indiana’s state government. Your narrative …

President-elect Donald Trump tagged Iowa’s three leading export customers — Canada, Mexico and China — with tariffs because immigrants and fentanyl are flowing into the United States. …