A couple of years ago on a day the Iowa legislature announced a $70 million surplus I sent a letter to my legislator in each political party. I requested them to pass a bill to eliminate property taxes for the elderly living in their homes when they reach age 65 or else reduce the amount ...

Letter to the Editor, Farmers, Ranchers, Landowners, and anyone interested in the consequences of government officials making decisions that harm others, Eminent domain is the process used to take your private property to be used for what the government determines to be more beneficial. It ...

Most people take for granted that grocery stores will always be full of food. But when foreign nations reduce trading with America and weather disasters decimate crops, the nation’s food supply will be in peril. American agricultural dominance dominance has steadily eroded. Its share of ...

It’s been brought to my attention that elected officials are being far too silent when it comes to supporting our law enforcement professionals during this period of civil unrest and protest. The point is well taken, and I intend to change that right now. We the citizens of this great ...

When I was a young boy, I tried to look ahead in time to what I would become. In 1942, with poverty and war the world over, I was wishing for peace and a good job. Because of my youthfulness it was difficult to see past my years and into the future; perhaps most of it was wishful thinking. ...

Last week, Senator Ernst bemoaned the lack of support by Democrats for the Republican Policing bill in the U.S. Senate. Democrats said it didn’t go far enough - it didn’t require anything, merely recommended, suggested, encouraged. You know, the same policy that has the U.S. suffering from ...

Eminent domain is the process used to take your private property to be used for what the government determines to be more beneficial. It is what the Iowa Utilities Board has proposed through a rule change, Docket NO. RMU-2020-0028, to make the process of building more industrial wind sites and ...

As we’ve closed out a busy planting season and the legislative session, some harsh economic realities have set in. Agriculture in particular, a sector that employs one in five Iowans, has been hit hard. Half of the biofuels industry was forced offline, which sent shockwaves through our ...

The recent T-R front-page article entitled “Show of support — citizens gather for Marshalltown Strong CommUnity event,” states that the organizers “sought to start a conversation about the issues of police brutality and systemic racism”. There are currently more than 800,000 sworn ...

Thinking of those whose lives have been forever impacted through recent events. The pendulum swings back and forth testing the limits of its momentum, but eventually it finds its resting space. It is with the same patience, wouldn’t you agree, truth can be found. Sometimes ...

We recognize that many are hurting and angry in the face of dual challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the scourge of social injustice. Our condolences and prayers go out to those that have lost their lives, too early, due to injustice. And also to those working to ensure the public ...

It became evident early in the coronavirus virus pandemic that older adults and those with certain medical conditions are at higher risk for complications and death, and that nursing home residents are particularly vulnerable. The Iowa Veterans Home has been able to limit the impact on our ...

Reading the “Marshalltown Police Leading The Curve” article June 11 reminded me of my letter to you last year disapproving the public art rocks set for placement at the new Marshalltown Police and Fire Station. In that letter I stated that the hundreds of thousands of dollars allocated ...

June 15 to 19 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Week. Throughout the week, communities in the USA and all over the world will sponsor events to highlight the growing tragic issue of elder abuse. The United States Administration on Aging estimates that as many as 1 in 10 older Americans are ...

Even though JCPenney filed bankruptcy, you’d think the mayor and city council would have done something to keep the Marshalltown store open. Penney had wall-to-wall clothes, shoes, jewelry, a catalog department, beauty department, etc. I can’t believe Marshalltown couldn’t do ...

Police Chief Mike Tupper is owed a great debt of gratitude by all Marshalltown citizens. How lucky we are to have a thoughtful, intelligent, professional servant leader as our chief of police! In addition to running a professional and effective department, it is evident that Chief Tupper ...

Minimum wage in Iowa in $7.25 per hour. Surrounding states — South Dakota, Illinois and Minnesota — have raised minimum wage, but Iowa’s wage remains stagnant. Other states acted to increase because as inflation continues to rise, the minimum wage has not changed. Our legislature has ...

After viewing the video on television of the policeman putting his knee into the neck of a handcuffed George Floyd in Minneapolis until he died from suffocation, I was shocked and wanted the police officer to face the appropriate charges. I believe the majority of the country likely felt the ...

Ever since Adam and Eve’s failure in the Garden of Eden, humans have had to work with emotions that were not there in creation’s beginning. Sin allowed Satan to offer his violence as an alternative to God’s love. All kinds of feelings emerged. It was God’s love against the hostility of ...

Dean Fisher effective in the Iowa house? Why didn’t he convince fellow Republican then governor Terry Branstad to keep the state juvenile home open in Toledo, Iowa? Branstad closed it down. Dean Fisher wasn’t effective in keeping it open.