Here we go again. If the University of Iowa and Iowa attorney general’s office get their way, a legacy gift from a grateful and accomplished graduate will no longer help students like him. The graduate, Ezra L. Totton, was an esteemed chemist during the latter half of the 20th century. ...

Ashley, North Dakota, is a small farming town where the local diet leans hard on sausage, deep-fried chicken and strudel. It has something of a medical center, but the nearest trauma hospital able to handle the most serious injuries is almost four hours away in Fargo. Yet the elders in ...

For years, Congress and elected officials across the country have sidestepped one of the clearest economic problems facing working families: the minimum wage no longer keeps pace with the real cost of living. Today, even full-time work at the federal minimum wage doesn’t pay enough to rent ...

We’re not southern enough to be yes, ma’am or no, sir, but I try to nudge manners into my kids’ daily interactions with strangers. Today, I nudged him when I saw two women cross the parking lot and asked him to open the restaurant door. One of the women was older and one much younger, ...

I came across a salient quote attributed to Nelson Henderson during a recent YMCA conference I attended. It read: “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” How are we planting those metaphoric trees to positively affect generations to come? ...

Acouple months ago, one of the stories on Channel 13 News caught my attention. In front of the Des Moines City Council was a group of parents who had something to say. What they told the City Council that there was “nothing to do in Des Moines for kids.” I’m not joking, DES MOINES! ...