Iowa taxpayers provided about $104 million last school year directly to parents choosing to send their K-12 children to private schools.  The price tag for these education savings accounts, or …

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 …