Commentary
Ron Steele: 50 years on the air – and firmly grounded
WATERLOO — Ron Steele has been all about the job for 50 years. He’s also been all about family. It’s why he’s been at KWWL-TV in Waterloo 50 years. He’s been that good that long and found balance and dedication to his work and his family staying in a relatively small TV market. “The reason […]
Controlled burn at Cedar Bluffs aids prairie reconstruction
Violet the Dog and I spent yesterday morning observing a controlled burn at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area. Chris Clingan, director of Mahaska County Conservation asked me to to tag along if I wanted to—and I was delighted. After a recent excellent volunteer training by Mahaska County Naturalist Laura DeCook, I’m the official volunteer park steward. […]
Immigrants are not the problem. Don’t believe the propaganda.
My folks floated over the pond with the cattle down below in steerage. One was an indentured servant, another a prison guard, others were among an army of Irish who helped drive the Native people off the Mississippi River near Dubuque to claim the lead mines. Still another branch settled the sloughs around Emmetsburg about […]
Two-year-old law prompts big expansion in health care and benefits for veterans
Right wingers are trying to convince you Joe Biden is stealing from veterans to help illegal immigrants. It’s a lie, and Joni Ernst is in on the scam. I’ll explain why this is BS shortly. But first, it’s important to understand that over the past year and a half, claims at the federal Department of […]
Colder winters in Iowa actually prove that global warming is a reality
The No. 1 argument climate-change deniers use to “prove” that global warming is not happening is the fact that there have numerous examples of historically low winter temperatures in the United States in recent years. How can our planet be warming if the winter temperatures are falling? Read on. This past January, the lows at […]
Warmer weather at Okoboji: What it means for the lakes and those who use them
The ice on Spirit Lake went out this year on March 3. That is the earliest ice-out day in the 77 years the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has been keeping records. From 1944, when the record-keeping began, through 1981, the ice went out in the latter half of April about once every third or […]
The 2024 election promises dystopia in the age of AI
Many Americans are concerned about the upcoming election, anticipating a grim future if their nominee fails to secure the 270 electoral votes to become the 47th president of the United States. Political parties are playing on those fears, using the latest technology. Artificial intelligence has long been associated with doomsday in dystopian novels, including the […]
Blue Missouri leader tells rural Iowa Democrats: Don’t talk about Biden
Even with strong job growth, infrastructure development, including boosts to ag regions, and other financial metrics trending positively, President Joe Biden is struggling to break through on the economy with voters — a fact former presidents Obama and Clinton delved into last week at a record-breaking New York City fundraiser for the president’s reelection. Instead of […]
It’s time Davenport leaders put down their shovels
City officials in Davenport have managed to accomplish the impossible this year: They have brought Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature together to agree on something. The two parties have bickered over topics like changes to the Area Education Agencies, liability protection for farm chemical manufacturers, making birth control pills available without a prescription, and […]
New report: Trump trade plan to cost American families $1,500 apiece.
Iowa’s congressional delegation has been screaming for months about inflation. Of course, they blame President Joe Biden. However, a new study warns that Donald Trump’s plan for a universal 10% tariff on all foreign imports would raise taxes on the typical American household by $1,500 a year. Don’t expect Iowa’s congressional delegation to object. If the […]
We must advocate and litigate our rights to a healthy environment
Iowa’s environmental movement might be compared with the civil rights efforts of the 1950s and 1960s, with the general public gradually coming to the realization that they have a fundamental constitutional right to clean water, clean air, and a healthy environment. Citizens are, indeed, being affected by an issue once dismissed as somebody else’s problem. […]
‘They feel seen and they feel validated’
When Kathy Bresnahan attended a Title IX celebration at the University of Iowa last year, various Hawkeye women’s teams and athletes were there too. But it was one athlete in particular who made the biggest impression on the crowd. Basketball star Caitlin Clark was rushed by those in attendance, who wanted to pose for photos […]