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Clean water needs to be a focus point this legislative session

Iowa is an agricultural state and plays a major role in feeding America and the rest of the world. Iowa has the best soil in the world. We need to value the impact that agriculture has on our economy and Iowans who are involved in that industry. We must realize that we have work to do in water quality for the benefit of all Iowans. Having an abundant supply of clean water will determine our economic growth for the decades to come. We have all heard about the high nitrate levels that were found in our water supply. There has been plenty of finger-pointing on who is at fault. Iowa ...

The wind effect, tax relief for Iowa schools

Rural Iowa schools are deeply committed to maintaining quality education, but they must continually navigate the fiscal pressures of shrinking enrollment and stagnant local tax bases. In some counties, a steady fiscal boost has arrived in the form of tax revenue from local wind energy projects, which can fund school facilities and other infrastructure improvements while also offering tax relief by lowering the general levy rate. Unfortunately, the strength of this tax benefit is largely misunderstood. Iowa’s educational funding system equalizes per-pupil spending through the general ...

What defines me

When I was in the throes of cancer treatment and so miserable with nausea and the lower GI’s, I ran across this aphorism: “What Cancer Cannot Do! Cancer is so limited...It cannot cripple Love; It cannot shatter Hope; It cannot corrode Faith; It cannot destroy Peace; It cannot kill Friendship; It cannot suppress Memories; It cannot silence Courage; It cannot invade the Soul; It cannot steal Eternal Life; It cannot conquer the Spirit. Author Unknown” I printed this maxim and posted it within easy sight of my recliner where I spend a goodly amount of time on the pity pot. Then I ...

A year of putting Iowa farmers first

Since January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump has been working around the clock to put American Farmers First after inheriting one of the toughest farm economies our country has faced in decades. Here in Iowa, farmers and ranchers know the challenges firsthand – rising input costs, volatile markets, extreme weather, and years of policies that prioritize bureaucracy over producers. This year, President Trump and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins have worked at record speed to deliver real relief and long-term reforms, working hand-in-hand with the Farm Service Agency ...

President Trump is delivering for Iowa

On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States after a historic, landslide election victory. He won every swing state, won the popular vote, and won Iowa for the third time in a row. More than 77 million Americans made their voices heard at the ballot box that they were fed up with open borders, high taxes, and weakness in the White House under the Biden administration. One year later, President Trump has kept his promises to put America First, end the chaos that engulfed the Biden era, and deliver real, conservative victories for Iowa ...

250 years of presidential scandals: Time to remodel politics

During 250 years of America’s existence, whenever a scandal involving a U.S. President occurred, the public was shocked and dismayed. When presidential scandals erupt, faith and trust in America – by its citizens as well as allies throughout the world -- is lost and takes decades to redeem. Below are several of the more prominent presidential scandals, followed by a suggestion as to how `We the People’ can make America truly America again like our founding fathers so eloquently established in the constitution. Warren G. Harding’s oil and infidelity scandals In 1922 President ...