I have a story about Rob Reiner. But it doesn’t take place in L.A. or on a movie set. It was here in Iowa. In 2004, I was working as a writer and editor for the Times-Republican in Marshalltown. It was my first job out of college, and definitely not the kind of job where you expect to ...
Roughly 43% of U.S. adults identify themselves as politically independent. However, according to Gallup polling, only around 7-12% of Americans are considered “truly” independent, which means they do not lean toward either the Democratic or Republican Party. This small group of genuine ...
What makes freedom of speech so difficult to understand and accept? That question came up at Sunday’s discussion at the Des Moines Valley Friends Meeting. The Friends invited me to speak at the gathering that coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Dec. 15, 1975 bombing of the Friends ...
“Just FYI if you’re seeing the news right now, I’m totally safe,” a son enrolled at Brown University texted me. “I’ve been home for a few hours now and wasn’t there when stuff started to happen. Seems to be some crazy shooting near brown.” What?! I turned on CNN and saw the ...
In the course of my 32-year law enforcement career, I came to understand community safety as the reason law enforcement work truly matters. That may seem obvious, but at this moment, it’s worth looking at why it’s so important — and what community safety really means. I became a ...
For too long, higher education in Iowa has drifted from its core mission: preparing a highly skilled workforce and anchoring talent in our communities. This next legislative session, we have a clear opportunity to bring reform by allowing community colleges to offer a limited number of ...