Opinion

POLITICAL VOICES: Iowa Republicans focused on practical solutions to rural health care problems

Published by admin on Wed, 10/08/2025 - 1:24pm

I have spent decades in health care, both in clinical settings and in policymaking, and one thing has become crystal clear to me: the best solutions for rural Iowa’s health care challenges come from Des Moines – not Washington, DC.

POLITICAL VOICES: Good health care policy isn’t fixing things that aren’t broken

Published by admin on Wed, 10/08/2025 - 1:22pm

 

A cardinal rule as elected officials is not to break things – as in, if it isn’t broken, don’t “fix” it – not unlike the medical profession’s Hippocratic oath: first, do no harm.

Our state faces multiple self-inflicted healthcare crises that result from ignoring that rule.

 We have the second highest cancer rate in the nation and are one of just two states with a rising rate of new cancers.

Urgent Policy Action Needed to Keep U.S. Soybean Farmers Competitive

Published by admin on Wed, 10/08/2025 - 1:10pm

 

Oct. 2 marked the six-month anniversary of Trade Liberation Day. Milestones are often worthy of celebration, but here in Harper, Iowa, where I’ve farmed for more than 40 years, there’s little cause for cheer.

 The mood in rural Iowa — and across much of farm country — is one of anxiousness and frustration. Normally, those feelings are tied to weather delays that slow harvest.

Don’t go backward on how we fight violent crime. We know what works

Published by admin on Wed, 10/01/2025 - 1:04pm

The rhetoric over crime feels as if we’re strapped in a DeLorean and hurtling back to a dangerous future.

We’ve landed back in the late 1980s-early 1990s, an era bookended by two pieces of legislation that led to mass incarceration and huge racial disparities in sentencing: the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 and the 1994 crime bill. Fear of “superpredators” — later debunked as myth — drove policies to treat juveniles as irredeemable adult criminals. Instead of Willie Horton, now there’s Decarlos Brown Jr.

Pay close attention to registration, mail-in ballot deadlines this election season

Published by admin on Wed, 10/01/2025 - 1:04pm

In odd-numbered years such as 2025, the November election is specifically for cities and schools. This election is less publicized than a general election, and therefore, the turnout is much lower than an even-numbered year general election.

Part of the reason for the lower turnout is most likely due to local races not having large campaign budgets to advertise on television and social media platforms. There is usually less campaign signage as well.

College journalists face dilemma reporting visa holders’ names and photos

Published by admin on Wed, 09/24/2025 - 2:10pm

Back in the day when newspapers I worked at published a daily police log, we often we got calls from people who ended up there. Their pathway to the log included shoplifting, drunken driving, simple assault, things like that.

The call went something like: Please don’t put my name in the paper. If you do, I will be fired. Or, my wife will find out. Or, in the case of college students, I won’t get into law school or medical school or get my first job after I graduate.

Get outside and enjoy the changing of the season

Published by admin on Wed, 09/24/2025 - 2:06pm

It always amazes me how quickly the signs of autumn appear once the calendar turns to September and the sun and heat of the day slip below the horizon just a little earlier every evening. Maybe you’ve noticed how fast the fields of beans are turning yellow, how the once-green stands of corn seem to dry and brown almost overnight and how the leaves on many trees are already beginning to change color and drift to the ground, one by one.

MLB benefits from return to Field of Dreams, baseball fans do not

Published by admin on Wed, 09/17/2025 - 10:34am

Ordinarily, my column is devoted to government policies and politics as they affect Iowa.

However, as regular readers know, I love the game of baseball. And, on occasion, baseball references will make their way into my writing. This is one such occasion.

If you’ve come here for Iowa politics, however, please don’t turn away. I believe there is a political component to this story. And, later in this column, I will tell you about how, on a different topic, top Iowa Republicans are turning on one of their own. But first, baseball.

A man you’ve never met had advice you should never forget

Published by admin on Wed, 09/17/2025 - 10:32am

During decades as a journalist, I had countless conversations with interesting people — future presidents, wannabe leaders, governors, business executives, religious thinkers, crooks and ordinary folks who made a difference in their own corners of the world.

With soldiers headed to our cities and chaos in our nation, now is a good time to remember one difference-maker. My memories of Wade Meloan remain sharp almost 50 years after I met the retired druggist in the Mississippi River town of Oquawka, Ill., just upriver from Burlington.

Letter: I’m planting seeds for God to grow

Published by admin on Wed, 09/10/2025 - 12:38pm

To the editor,

Christians are called to be witnesses for Jesus. 

Prior to being reborn (John 3:3), I don’t recall anyone reaching out to tell me about the saving grace of Jesus Christ (John 14:6). I pray to be busy about God’s business. There are so many lost that will perish if they don’t know that Jesus died for us all. 

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