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The Farm Bill can help keep family farms alive

No matter which way you slice it, the farm economy is in a challenging place right now. Farmers are running the numbers on their operations, and many are coming to hard conclusions: even after a good season, the numbers aren’t adding up. Fertilizer costs are up. Fuel isn’t coming down. Equipment payments aren’t stopping. And the margins, that keep a farm in the family, keep getting thinner. For many folks, that means it’s time to start evaluating their options. Not to get rich. Just to stay afloat. One of those options is putting solar panels on a portion of the farm acreage. ...

It’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up

Here’s betting District Judge Adria Kester does not read the Aspen Daily News. That Colorado newspaper’s front-page slogan declares, “If you don’t want it printed, don’t let it happen.” What happened to Judge Kester occurred outside of her usual venue — the 22 courthouses of north-central and northwest Iowa where, until recently, she served as chief judge of the Second Judicial District. It happened when that Boone County resident found herself on the other side of the law, as a criminal defendant. Now, she is keeping the story alive by filing a civil lawsuit seeking ...

Forget the rainbow, let’s taste the vinegar

My mind wanders, and sometimes I just follow behind it, seeing where it goes. Driving to the gym recently, I debated bringing in my water bottle before remembering there was a water fountain inside. I started thinking about the person who designed the fountain itself, about the mechanics of the water arcing upward at exactly the right angle, about the pressure required to make it work, and the decision to replace the old metal push button by the spout with a broad bar easier to press. Someone had to solve those problems so the rest of us could take a drink without giving it a second ...

Delivering year-round E15 as Renewable Fuels Month ends

May is Renewable Fuels Month – a time where we can recognize the Iowa farmers, producers, and innovators who power America with homegrown energy while strengthening our economy and national security. Representing one of the largest biofuels producing districts in the nation, I have ...

Cheerios Contaminant

I like Cheerios, the plain kind, not Honey Nut, although they’re okay. I’ve been eating 100% Whole Grain Oat Cheerios for years. Not with sugar, either. (As a kid, we were allowed one spoonful of sugar.) Cheerios is my favorite cold cereal, or food in general. It’s healthy for you, I ...

Lights! Camera! Apgar! The legacy endures: Generativity in action, Part 2

In anticipation of the Apgar Family Water Plaza opening on June 6 at 11am in the Linn Creek District, this is part two of the second of three articles documenting the legacy of the Apgar Family in Marshalltown. For 3 generations the family documented, and therefore preserved, key moments in ...