×

Editorials

Pray for divided government: Iowa can’t stand another four years of zealotry

2025 was arduous and is good to have behind us. The fever might have broken. Trump was raving mad on TV last week, almost spitting into the camera. This just days after saying that he doesn’t want Somalis living here because they are garbage. It was astonishing to hear even this president ...

Ringing in America250

As we wind down the year, America is winding up to celebrate an important milestone in our nation’s history. On July 4, 2026, the United States of America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding. When the clock strikes midnight on December 31, America inches closer ...

Where the wind blows: Wind development’s impacts on rural infrastructure

Iowa is a national leader in wind production, and that leadership has brought real benefits to rural counties like Adair and Howard. As local governments work to stretch limited budgets to keep roads drivable, bridges safe, and parks well-maintained, wind energy tax revenue has become a ...

Woodpeckers great and small

WOODPECKERS have unique habits that place them into a category of avian critters who conduct their life and food gathering abilities in similar fashion. Scientists place them in the family named Picidae. All have strong claws, short legs, strong stiff tail feathers to help them climb trees and ...

Farmers know that we were better off

Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. Farm subsidies, that is. They distort markets, suppress diversity, and create winners and losers. We can’t get by without them. Nearly 70% of farmers surveyed in the 2025 Iowa State University Farm and Rural Life Poll agree that ...

Q&A: Shoppers Beware of Online Scrooges

Q: How concerned should holiday shoppers be about counterfeit products? A: Unfortunately, the season of giving is prime time for rip-off artists to worm their way into the wallets of American shoppers during the holidays. As co-chair of the Congressional Trademark Caucus, I lead an annual ...

District 53 Newsletter: Dec. 5, 2025

One of the issues the Iowa House Republicans have been working on for several years now is the issue of school and public libraries providing material, mostly books, that rational people would consider pornographic. In past years we have passed legislation barring our public schools from ...

Tama County teamwork

With winter approaching, the work on Salt Creek Wind Phase I is winding down. You may have noticed less activity in that area. I was notified that the last turbine in Phase I was raised last week. During our negotiations with NextEra Energy on Phase I, David Turner and I met with Kimberly ...

Iowa Republicans buck up against a cold wind

Northwest headwinds buffet Iowa Republicans a year out from the 2026 midterm elections: Farmers are under stress, grocery prices are high, our rivers are fouled, and voters want better. The GOP controls the statehouse, the governor’s office and the entire congressional delegation. The ...