Commentary
Celebrating the people behind an Iowa community’s living history
They held a garden party. I didn’t go. Not because I did not want to see old friends, but I wasn’t invited. I could have gone anyway, and I would have been welcomed. I, however, would have felt like the kid who showed up for the first two practices for football, dropped out and then […]
The 100 deadly days of summer: New Iowa law ramps up risks for teen drivers
Summertime! Last day of school! Graduation parties! Cookouts! Camping! What a great time to be a young teen enjoying the roller coaster rush into summer. Getting that first paid job is a summer rite of passage. It’s been an age-old ritual for many teens to impatiently wait to work until they’re issued a driver’s license […]
To preserve our justice system, we need to accept outcomes we dislike
Most people go through life never stepping foot inside a courtroom. Most people, that is, except for attorneys, judges, journalists, the few of us chosen to be jurors, and an even more select group, those who are accused of crimes. If I were talking now with my dear parents, may they rest in peace, I […]
Caring for your loved ones is the nursing home industry’s business, not its concern
The Biden administration recently finalized a rule that would require nursing homes in America to have a minimum level of staff on duty at all times. As advocates for consumers in nursing homes and other settings for over 18 years, we see the rule as necessary, achievable, and long overdue. It will allow nursing home […]
These people aren’t serious about our most basic enterprise: food
Politicians do not appear to be serious about passing a new five-year farm bill before the November elections. The House Agriculture Committee controlled by Republicans last week on a 33-21 vote recommended a bill to the floor that is dead on arrival in the Senate. The bill will cut nutrition benefits by $27 billion, which […]
Iowa GOP reaction to Trump verdict misses the key point
Iowa’s top Republicans were unanimous in reacting to the guilty verdict against Donald Trump on Thursday. Not a one declared he was innocent. Did you notice? Sure, they all complained the trial was a sham. They criticized the judge and the prosecutor. They said the case was politically motivated. But none of them declared in their statements that Trump was innocent. Trump claimed he did nothing wrong. […]
Ernst seeking third term in U.S. Senate, but open to role in a Trump cabinet
CARROLL — Two-term U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Red Oak Republican and the first female combat veteran to serve in the Senate, says she will seek a third term in 2026. In an interview in Carroll with Iowa Mercury and the Carroll Times Herald following an economic-development event on Wednesday, Ernst, 53, left the door open […]
Iowa’s ‘garden of stone’ welcomes a hero
ADEL — It was probably appropriate Larry Walters was laid to rest by his friends on a windy day. All the flags at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery seemed to stand at attention, shoulders to the wind and completely unfurled, in tribute to a guy who stood tall and proud in his service, in and out […]
New welcome signs promise ‘Freedom’ but don’t match Reynolds’ unwelcoming agenda
The Iowa Department of Transportation’s contract lettings for May 21 included one project that repeats six words over and over: “Welcome to Iowa, Freedom to Flourish.” The contract is for signs at 53 of 62 state border crossings. Three entry points along the Mississippi River don’t have signs, Carter Lake is omitted, and the four […]
Justice’s distress signal should distress us all
Here is a tidbit from my years as a newspaper reporter and editor: I never voted in a primary election, never attended the Iowa caucuses, never stuck a candidate’s sign in my yard, never had a bumper sticker on my car, never signed a petition, never donated to a campaign. When Sue and I married, […]
Hy-Vee closings hit working-class neighborhoods hard
It certainly made the news. Last week, the Hy-Vee grocery store chain announced it is closing stores in three eastern Iowa communities and recently reduced operating hours at a fourth store in Des Moines. Waterloo’s Logan Avenue store will shut down June 23. The supermarket chain says all employees will be offered jobs at other […]
Who are you? Issues of identity run deeper than politics
The philosophy of identity differs from the politics thereof, as people typically see themselves in a mosaic shaped by culture, ethnicity, generation, family and religion, among other dynamics. One of the foremost theorists on personal identity and diversity is John Locke (1632-1704), a British philosopher, Oxford academic and medical researcher. His philosophy of natural law […]