I was in Eagle Grove last week. Like many travelers in Iowa, I stopped at Casey’s before leaving town. Eagle Grove is a meatpacking community, and many jobs are held by Hispanic men and women. …

Gov. Terry Branstad was frustrated eight years ago with what he believed was the inability of officials to tell the public why a government employee was fired or resigned under pressure When the …

I have been kicking myself since being reminded that procrastination comes with a price. This lesson arrived the week before Christmas when I spotted a small obituary in the Bloomfield Democrat. …

A public policy dispute over plans for about 1,000 miles of carbon dioxide pipeline across Iowa took a concerning turn last week. The pipeline company’s latest tactic demonstrates why Iowa …

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 center …

I was asked to speak last week at the annual conference of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. My remarks boiled down to a simple message: The public needs more information *about* their …

Last week, I bumped into an Appanoose County woman I have known for several years. She thanked me and the nonprofit organization I manage for shining the spotlight on the actions of Centerville …

A family acquaintance was on Vice President Dick Cheney’s Secret Service detail during George W. Bush’s presidency. His Christmas photo one year was a portrait of him, his wife and Cheney …

Talk about lousy optics — and I am not referring to out-of-style eyeglasses. Public perception is the topic for today. There were a couple of recent news nuggets that illustrate in different …

Thirty-three years ago on a snowy Friday in November, the nightmare of mass school shootings shocked Iowa like it has never been shocked before. It was 3:40 p.m. A former University of Iowa graduate …

During the 40 years I was a newspaper editor/manager, I strived to ensure the staff incorporated context into their articles. Sometimes, in a journalistic shorthand, that was described “the …

Some memories stick with you — like that August day around 1960 when my parents loaded my two brothers and me into our Dodge Coronet and headed to the Iowa State Fair for the first time. Our …