×

Columnists

When agriculture is strong, Iowa’s economy is strong

Iowa’s economy is built on agriculture. What happens at the farm gate ripples through our entire state. When farmers are doing well, Main Street businesses thrive, equipment dealers stay busy, manufacturers expand production, and rural communities remain strong. When agriculture struggles, ...

Selling US security: A Trump family business

The U.S. makes artificial intelligence chips so special, so advanced, that the Biden administration limited their export for national security reasons. They didn’t want them to get into the hands of China or Russia. But days before Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term, go-betweens ...

Hearing the voices of America

January ended with a notable week for federal courts because of the voices of its judges. Judges in Minnesota and Texas spoke with clarity in these troubled times. In between them, a longtime Iowa federal judge’s voice fell silent after a quarter century of delivering justice, along with ...

Momentum grows to be Public School Strong

I don’t think I could’ve been happier seeing recent news that Urbandale, South Tama, and Cedar Falls school districts passed Public School Strong resolutions. Cedar Rapids was a week before, and they joined Albia, Belmond-Klemme, Decorah, Bennett, and Keokuk who passed resolutions late last ...

Don’t abuse the word ‘protest’

Alex Pretti wasn’t killed while “protesting.” This is a common description of what he was doing on a Minneapolis street the fateful morning when a confrontation with federal immigration agents ended in his tragic shooting. But if Pretti had been a mere protester, he’d very likely ...