If you ate today, filled up your gas tank, or got dressed – you have a farmer to thank. Last week we celebrated National Agriculture Week, and the whole country rightly spotlighted the farmers and ranchers who feed and fuel the world. But saying thank you is far from enough – the best ...

The legislature continues to bring bills to the floor and pass House bills to the Senate and Senate bills to the Governor’s desk. Two significant bills signed into law this week by the governor were the “Bathroom Bill” that prohibits persons from using the facilities that don’t ...

The last two years have been full of changes for me - both huge and incremental. Many of my readers have accompanied me on my journey, and for that I’m forever grateful. It’s been fraught with grief, and sadness and even, at times, despair. And then again, hope and growth. But ...

Have you ever lost something and cannot find it? Most assuredly, as soon as I buy a new pair of socks, one of the pairs comes up missing in the wash. I rummage through all the clothes thinking it was hung up in the armpit of a hoodie or static clinging to the back of a dress shirt, but ...

My husband and I raised our kids in the land of hockey. This column is not about hockey. I realize hockey isn’t a thing or perhaps not as popular in some (warmer) climates, but for many years, for us, hockey was a large part of life. If nothing else, it got us through the cold ...

This week we entered into the Debate phase of the session, sending bills to the Senate and a few to the governor’s desk. This week, Iowa House Republicans passed Senate File 75 to establish licensure in Iowa for Rural Emergency Hospitals. This bill was a priority bill for the Republican ...

“Just the facts, ma’am,” was the infamous introductory phrase Sgt. Joe Friday would use this 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 ...

It's been a busy first month of session and we've gotten a lot of feedback from Iowans. While vouchers have dominated the communications we've received from constituents so far, we've gotten a lot of feedback on other issues like property taxes, medical malpractice, and book bans. If there is ...

For farmers across the country, the first months of a new year mean thinking about planting their next crop. For many, it also means thinking ahead to the deadline to sign up for federal crop insurance. Generally, federal crop insurance refers to a set of programs available for agricultural ...

(January 27th, 2023) It’s good to talk to people. As I make the telephone rounds, the topic that comes up most – along with the Steering/Executive Committee discussion the woeful state of our rural Democratic party in this state. IT’s down so far (you could see it coming), that some ...