All my life, I’ve been a deep thinker. For whatever reason, I play with thoughts and ideas more than is probably necessary. I replay memories in my head — both successes and utter failures — trying to learn from them. With life moving at a rapid pace lately, I’ve found myself staying ...
That damn socialist mayor out in New York threatened to hike property taxes by 9.5% unless he can ram through a wealth tax. Wait a New York minute: Property taxes on our humble metal shed along Railroad Street shot up more than 70% this year. Potholes pock the streets and we can barely afford ...
A recently released U.S. House farm bill proposal underinvests in proven solutions farmers rely on to cut fertilizer waste, protect drinking water and reduce climate pollution, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). With mounting financial pressures on farmers, lawmakers should ...
The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a special and unique place in northernmost Alaska that supports calving caribou, denning polar bears, migratory birds that visit every state in the U.S., and is a sacred place of the Gwich’in people. However, it is also thought to ...
I started my career in rural Iowa in 1974 as an English, speech and reading teacher. Our students were top performers and the state’s education system was the gold standard. Educators and public schools in general were revered and respected by their communities. We didn’t have a lot of ...
So often in our lives, we settle for surface-level interactions. We nod, we smile, we move on. We keep things pleasant. We keep things easy. We keep things safe. But lately, I’ve been thinking about what happens when we don’t. In my life as of late, various situations (some I’ll ...
Well, I suppose it had to happen some day. I wasn't looking for it but now it's been thrust upon me and there's not much I can do about it. It's a heavy burden, I know, but I have broad shoulders, (plus about everything else being broad also), and it will be dealt with in a mature, sensible ...
This week the House introduced House Study Bill 696 dealing with welfare reform. This bill aims to protect the integrity and sustainability of Iowa’s public assistance programs so it can provide proper care for the Iowans who really need it. It does this by empowering disabled Iowans. It ...
Tama County Public Health & Home Care is more than a department—we are a lifeline for our community. Today, some people are asking whether Home Health should continue in Tama County due to our budget. But they have not talked with us, learned what we do, what revenue we bring into the ...
January 2026 has come and gone and cold temperatures are here, per normal Iowa weather. The Supervisors had our organizational meeting to start off the year, and I will continue to serve as Vice-Chair. The Boards I will represent for Tama County are the following: Tama County Economic ...