It was with a sinking heart that I read Joni Ernst’s letter in Monday’s paper. While she addressed some real issues in agriculture and interstate commerce, her argument did little to advance her case. Joni is right when she says that asking farmers to make expensive adjustments to their ...
Many of us start our morning with a cup of coffee (or several). It’s easy to take for granted. But where does it come from? Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, but it was first cultivated commercially in 15th century Yemen. In fact, the word “coffee” is derived from the Arabic qahwa, ...
It feels strange talking about the world’s richest man, only 53 years old, in the past tense. But that somehow seems appropriate for Elon Musk, who weeks ago was considered Donald Trump’s co-president. Now he’s clearly falling off that high perch, just as Tesla, his star asset, reports ...
When lawmakers return to Washington, D.C. from their April recess, I don’t have a good feeling about what’ll come next. They’ll begin the process of budget reconciliation, and it doesn’t bode well for rural America. Just look at the budget resolutions they passed before leaving ...
As we approach the second anniversary of a tragedy that shocked the people of Davenport and brought national attention to the issue of building safety, government secrecy continues to cloud public understanding of just what happened and who to hold accountable. The tragedy occurred a few ...
One of my personal hopes in the indecent case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was kidnapped by ICE and sent illegally to an El Salvador prison, is the knowledge that some Marshalltown elected officials oppose this decision and support the 40 percent of Hispanic residents who live here. Garcia ...