Fifty-three years ago, I was a high school kid in southern Iowa who knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life: I wanted to be a journalist.The first step on that journey occurred when I walked into the offices of the Bloomfield Democrat and introduced myself to Gary Spurgeon. He was the ...
In many ways, Tama, Iowa, population 2,775, is like many other similar-sized towns around the Midwest. For example, it has its fair share of challenges, from attracting and maintaining retail businesses downtown, to keeping up with an aging housing stock as values decrease and its population ...
The share of the U.S. population with incomes below the poverty level dropped between 2017 and 2018 the fifth consecutive annual drop, according to new American Community Survey (ACS) estimates released today. The 1-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau s 2018 ACS show declines in ...
Iowa's policymakers and business leaders agree: the state's economy needs more skilled workers. One area of regulatory reform state leaders should look at to address this problem is changing our occupational licensing requirements. Reducing onerous occupational licensing regulations in Iowa ...
When we visit with constituents, some of the most common and persistent consumer complaints are about those irritating and sometimes frightening robocalls that we're all bombarded with day and night.Robocalls are recorded messages from scam artists to unsuspecting consumers. The scammers often ...
The pulp, paper and print industry is one of the lowest contributing industrial sectors to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at only 1% of emissions worldwide,[1] but consumers don't know it.A recent consumer survey commissioned by Two Sides showed a disconnect between consumer perceptions ...
(Lenexa, Kan.) - At an event in Washington, D.C., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Department of the Army Assistant Secretary for Civil Works R.D. James announced that the agencies are repealing a 2015 rule that impermissibly expanded the definition of ...
With the school year back in full swing, this is a great time to talk about the importance of parent and community involvement in our local schools. Researchers, educators and policymakers alike have all noted the importance of parent involvement as a key factor in helping students learn at ...
There's a day, a week or a month for everything these days. Some designations, of course, are more important than others. A designation I hope all of you will heed is this September's National Preparedness Month.No one wants to believe something terrible will happen to them. But sometimes it ...
We knew it was coming. A push to build a new school, or to completely remodel the middle school. It was easy to see was coming last winter when the district paid someone $12,500.00 to come in and find all the faults with the buildings we have. They even managed to find that the new elementary ...