In my role with Central Rivers Area Education Agency, I get a front row seat to the hard work our local teachers and administrators are doing every day. Our local schools are stretching every dollar in their budgets to make sure that our children get the highest quality education possible in a ...
Fourteen years ago, I wrote a column about a tip jar in Cleveland and how the managers took all the money in it instead of giving it to the workers who had earned it. Fourteen years later, I could still write that column about tip jars in too many restaurants and party centers across the ...
Amid the brouhahas about the Nunes memo and immigration, an item from Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago Business caught my eye. Demographers crunching census data estimate that Chicago’s black population fell to 842,000, while its white non-Hispanic population increased to 867,000. National ...
Marla and Carla Seifkas were twins who were a year older than me. They attended the Leslie Country School which was about two miles from our adjoining farms. The year they went to “Primary” (as kindergarten was called in those days), their parents would often take me with them when they ...
On Sept. 13, 2013, Rockwell City Police Officer Jamie Buenting died in the line of duty. He was shot during an overnight standoff at 502 Pleasant St. by Corey Trott, of Rockwell City. Trott was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for that murder. The City Council in Rockwell City tried ...
So apparently this is now Republican Party doctrine: You can’t trust the news media. They’re biased. You can’t trust the CIA. They’re hacks. You can’t trust the Justice Department. It’s unfair. You can’t trust the FBI. It’s disgraceful. But you can trust Donald ...
President Trump is the leader of America’s conservative party. Yet not even his allies would describe him as a conservative in the tradition of Robert Taft, Russell Kirk or William F. Buckley. In the primaries of 2016, all his rivals claimed the mantle of Mr. Conservative, Ronald Reagan. ...
I learned that in truth, no matter how meticulously I sort through my memories, I simply cannot conjure one single fond recollection of Valentine's Day. Such a cruel celebration. I recall its horrors from all the way back in the first grade when after school I sorted through my little bag of ...
Doritos made news this week after it was detailed the brand is reportedly experimenting with a “lady-friendly” version of their signature chip, designed to be quieter to eat, less messy and packaged to fit primly in a purse. They’ve received quite a bit of backlash but all I can think of ...
This week the House Republicans released their plan for the fiscal year 2018 budget adjustment that ensures our spending aligns with the actual revenue coming in as House Study Bill 648. These adjustments total roughly $34 million in reduced spending. If the current revenue estimates for the ...
Dear Dave, My wife and I have $72,000 in debt from student loans and a car loan. We’re trying to pay off our debt using the debt snowball system, and we each make about $45,000 a year. She’s a teacher, and she’s planning on going back to school for her master’s degree, but she’s ...
It’s been 185 years since land that is now the state of Iowa was opened for settlers. The America of the 21st century is far different from the nation presided over by President Andrew Jackson in 1833. There is, however, one constant feature for Iowans — agriculture is at the very heart of ...
U.S. stock markets plunged, then surged, and then plunged again this week, in a wild whipsaw that left market watchers breathless. The selloff has largely been attributed to fears about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, a move that could hurt corporations’ profits, but much of the ...
Week five is coming to a close. Legislators have been extremely busy trying to get constituent bills through committee to meet funnel requirements. The funnel deadline is next Friday. Here is a brief description of high interest bills passed through committee in the Senate: • Senate File ...
Washington is debating the significance of the memo released by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, but this much should not be debatable: The effort by the FBI to prevent its release was scandalous. The ostensible reason for suppressing the memo was that it was classified. But ...
Valentine’s Day is coming up, so today I have some sweet treats in anticipation of the holiday. There’s also a cookie recipe for one. Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts 2 c. whole pitted dates 1 c. roasted almonds 1/2 c. chocolate chips 1 Tbls. peanut butter In a food ...
Iowa House Republicans have advanced a bill that would outlaw “sanctuary cities” and withhold state funds for any city or county that doesn’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities. We speak as two police chiefs — from Storm Lake and Marshalltown — who make Iowans’ safety ...
Marshalltown city is one step closer to finalizing their budget for the next fiscal year. I have repeatedly asked that the city no longer levy the $582,000 in their city budget since that will in the future be collected by the new E911 commission tax levy. Maybe I have not been clear in my ...
On Sunday, I attended the Super Bowl, along with my father, my business partner and the president of our company. It was an amazing event. That wasn’t just because the game was terrific — although it was. It was because for all the competitive fire, for all the passion and excitement, one ...
I find myself asking President Trump and Republicans the same question that Joseph Welch asked Sen. Joe McCarthy during the Army/McCarthy hearings in 1954: “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” President Trump questioned why the United States would accept more immigrants from Haiti and ...