×

Columnists

Protecting the 340B program

Iowa has 82 Critical Access Hospitals, the second highest in the nation. Critical access hospitals (CAHs) are healthcare facilities that offer inpatient, outpatient and emergency services. Located mostly in rural areas and typically have a maximum of 25 beds. A high percentage of these ...

In a gloomy winter, read a classic book

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 ...

Respect or Fear?

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 ...

Making life more affordable for Iowa families

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 ...

A last hurrah

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, ...

What ‘A Christmas Carol’ taught me about Purgatory

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, ...