My new friend, Betty Lou, started a book club, and she asked me to join.
Opinions
With just over a month left in session, there’s still time to make some progress on the issues important to Iowa. I share the frustration of so many Iowans who are exhausted by the divisive politics pushed by too many at the State Capitol this session.
While not every controversial bill will be...
What separates average-to-good Iowa towns from thriving ones, former Governor Terry Branstad often said, is the presence of locally owned banks and a dedicated community newspaper.
Community newspapers are a big part of what makes Iowa, well, Iowa.
And that’s why it’s so troubling that some in...
“More Useful”
I spent last week trying to be useful.
I volunteered for a writers’ conference in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where my husband, Peter, and I stay. I love writers’ conferences. I love that people will travel from far away just to talk about writing, to meet other writers, to learn...
I’ll be honest, it was a tough week at the State Capitol. For lots of Iowans and for me, too.
The GOP leaders of the House and Senate decided to push through a host of anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been introduced this year to send to the Governor. Some of the bills they approved included a new...
Some members of the Iowa Senate do not think that public notices published in newspapers remain relevant and necessary. A bill filed in the newly formed Technology Committee just over a week ago moved through committee in two days and last week moved through the Ways & Means Committee in one...
Dear Editor,
My name is Matt Morrical, and I know it’s a new name, and that makes sense, since I’m the new Library Director at the Lake Mills Public Library. Last week, the City Council held a Townhall Meeting asking what everyone thought should be done with the gutted building that was the Truman...
Q: What’s your opposition to the Biden administration’s student debt forgiveness policy?
A: For starters, the Biden administration’s nearly $1 trillion plan is fiscally irresponsible and follows a trail of partisan binge spending that will make it even harder for the Federal Reserve to rein in...
“Mr. Muscles”
My husband, Peter, is learning Spanish his own way.
I do Duolingo online. It is free. It is easy to do. The whole thing is designed like a game, and dancing animated creatures hop up and down and celebrate every time I get five answers in a row correct. This shouldn’t matter to me—...
When we’re all at the State Capitol, it sometimes feels like we’re in a big bubble. In today’s hyper-partisan political environment, it isn’t always easy to figure out which bills are important to Iowans and how many are just driven by the politics of the day.
To sort it all out, I try to...
“Just the facts, ma’am,” was the infamous introductory phrase Sgt. Joe Friday would use when interrogating a witness in the whodunit TV series Dragnet. Jack Webb (1920-1982) played Sgt. Friday during Dragnet’s 1951-1959 lifespan.
Dragnet’s civil servant show often dealt with complex social issues...
