After Christmas is over, and the sunrises start getting earlier and the sunsets later in the Northern Hemisphere, there are still two months of scarce daylight and lowering skies ahead. Here’s a suggestion for how to fill the gloomy hours with uplift: read. Read some great books, returning ...

In the course of his losing race with the teleprompter during his Oval Office address on Dec. 17, President Donald Trump returned to a theme that obsesses him — respect. Even before his entry into politics, Trump was convinced that “weak” leaders including Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Obama ...

This year, working with President Trump, I was laser-focused on lowering costs for Iowa families, farmers, seniors, workers, and small businesses after four years of the Biden administration’s disastrous economic policies and skyrocketing inflation. As the only member of Congress serving on ...

You, editor, asked for a “last hurrah” column as the outgoing mayor. Parting is such sweet sorrow — that’s a lot of alliteration. Here ‘tis, mostly in lists. Challenges Tornado, derecho, COVID pandemic, Legionnaires, legislative cutbacks, the loss of three top level city staff, ...

There is a doctrine in Catholicism that not all souls are prepared for heaven at death, and that some must undergo a spiritual purification in a state or location that the Catholic Church calls “Purgatory.” There are a number of biblical references that undergird the notion of Purgatory, ...

North America’s boreal forests are crucial for wildlife and the climate, but we’re literally trashing them to make pulp for toilet paper and other disposable paper products. Companies are clear-cutting a million acres a year, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense ...