Does this sound familiar? It may not sound familiar if you don’t live near Indian Country. I live in Tama County, Iowa. Tama County is home to the only federally recognized tribe in Iowa. I have heard this statement or something like it many times since I have lived in Tama County. What ...

I hurt my knee taking a step onto a riser in a performance at my kids’ elementary school the other day. I’m not sure yet how serious the injury is, but it’s the kind of incident that makes you feel about 100 years old and like a complete moron. I mean, who gets hurt taking the stairs? ...

Historically, Congress would pass a Farm Bill every 5 years with bipartisan support. Unfortunately, we are now nearing a decade since the last Farm Bill and Iowa farmers need Congress to act now more than ever. The Farm Bill strengthens American agriculture, protects our farmers, and supports ...

Iowans deserve access to the best quality health care at the lowest possible cost. This week, I was the floor manager for a major health care reform bill toward that end, and it passed unanimously. HF 2635 works to remove administrative and regulatory barriers so our hard-working health care ...

The Times Republican and I have agreed to do a column in the TR. I’m planning on doing a column every two weeks for the weekend edition. So, what to write about? After thinking a bit of what should be in it and still be interesting, I have ideas, lots of ideas. I think I will bring you ...

We have entered “debate season” in the House chamber. Each day this week we caucused on a long list of bills, then debated them on the House floor, sending over 80 of them to the Senate. One significant bill that we passed late last week was House File 2565, creating a Human Trafficking ...