Opinion

Berkley was a true friend for 44 years. Berkley embodied in every way, both public and private, the essence of a good and decent and caring person. We sat side by side for 10 years on the House Agriculture Committee, and no one fought harder or cared more for the wellbeing of farm and rural families. He raised the specter of global warming long before it became widely acknowledged...

For hundreds of years and many wars, American soldiers have dealt lethally in combat against our enemies. Sadly, there have been instances when a few misguided warriors have committed crimes against non-belligerents, which in order to maintain discipline, military justice demanded punishment for the offending soldiers...

Last week the serial anti-Trump letter writer postulated that this time they have the goods on President Trump to impeach him. The Democrats have wanted to remove Trump from office ever since he was elected. First it was the Russian puppet hoax. When they couldn't get the job done by themselves, they called for a special prosecutor to launch a two-year $40 million investigation staffed by Democratic attorneys and FBI investigators. ...

What should we think when the October National Geographic tells us the last northern white male rhinoceros has died? The dogma of grinding the rhino's horn into dust, then boiling the dust in water for a cure of impotence, has caused the wholesale slaughter of the rhinos — based upon a lie...

Over the last several weeks farmers, homes and businesses who use propane for heat or to dry their corn have been experiencing a shortage due to significant transportation issues. This shortage is the product of a "perfect storm," of a late planting season this spring, early winter weather conditions and high demand for petroleum products throughout the Midwest...

During this season of Thanksgiving, Americans gather with friends and family to count our blessings. Blessed to live in the land of the free and home of the brave, we give thanks to the courageous sons and daughters who put their lives on the line to secure freedom and liberty from one generation to the next...

At the end of each year, the Dickinson County Trails Board goes through strategic planning that involves consideration of trail development and maintenance priorities. The process also includes going through what grants the board will apply to which projects. DCTB will be taking on several projects next year that comprise a substantial extension of the rail trail Tatonka Ska Trace and filling in a number of gaps throughout the Iowa Great Lakes Trails system...

First and foremost, I hope you and your families a very happy Thanksgiving. We have been entrusted with so much in this great country and state. I am thankful for my wife and family and the greatest nation on Earth. I recently traveled to China to discuss trade and other important issues that will affect Iowa. ...

Giveaways could be tricky attempts to get your money or your information Social media giveaways attract lots of “likes” and “shares”— and why not? Everyone loves a free shot at winning a valuable prize. Cars, tiny houses, vacations and other prizes are popular giveaways on social media. But before you click on that giveaway, check it out. It could be a scam, or at least, an attempt to collect your personal information. Instead of winning a prize, you could lose money and security...

Get out your ear plugs, because I'm about to toot my own horn again. Don't say I didn't warn you. As I've mentioned before, this paper participates in the Iowa Better Newspaper Association's annual competition. As great as winning those awards is, the true purpose of the competition is to cultivate — you guessed it — better newspapers in the state of Iowa. ...

Chief Justice Mark Cady passed away Nov. 15, 2019, from a heart attack. He was 66.  Chief Justice Cady of Fort Dodge, was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 1998. The members of the court selected him as chief justice in 2011. Chief Justice Cady was a real judge. And I do not mean that he sat in a stuffy robe, on a high pedestal, with a wig, banging a gavel around. He was a real Iowan. A worker-bee, approachable and one of the people. Just as a judge ought to be...

Serving and honoring those who have selflessly served us and this nation through military service is important. The sacrifices our service members and their families make on our behalf is great and their efforts deserve our continuing respect and admiration...

In 2017, the Iowa Legislature passed HF 566 which merged municipal, school districts, community college districts (merged) and area education agency boards into one date. According to a fiscal note published by the Legislative Service Agency over the prior four municipal elections the voter turnout was 21.3%. During that same time, the voter turnout for the school board elections was averaged out to 6.5%...

It's too big, folks. The mental health situation is too big to condense into a column for you. Earlier this year, our family of papers did an entire series on mental health in northwest Iowa, and the beast is rearing its head again...

Every year Bob and Delna Mulhair spend their time here at the Great Lakes walking two miles a day as they journey every trail in the area throughout the season. This includes road shoulder trails around Big Spirit Lake along with non-trail areas like Francis Sites and sidewalks along Hill Avenue. ...

On Oct. 9, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) issued a press release announcing that this state agency is proposing administrative rule changes that would elevate the standard of care for companion animals in all licensed commercial facilities in Iowa.   ...

When Iowa attorney Stephanie Kozlowski began representing juvenile delinquents in court, she had no idea it would lead her to become a foster parent. She saw kids were entering the criminal justice system in many cases because of the challenges they faced at home. She also saw a significant need for foster parents and adoptive families in her community, caused largely by the opioid and meth crises. Stephanie knew she needed to get involved...

Halloween admittedly snuck up on me this year. I typically have a personality for my All Hallow's Eve column picked out well in advance of the especially spooky celebration. Not this year. This year, I gave it no thought, until just a few days ago. So I am forced to rummage through the leftovers of the dollar discount costume shop in the back of my own mind for the column's costume this year. Let's take a look...

A sudden shake woke me from the deepest of sleeps. "Matt, my phone says there is a severe thunderstorm approaching, what should we do?" I popped up from my sleeping bag, still in a daze, mind suddenly racing. Where am I? Who is this person? A thunderstorm? Does that mean a tornado? Holy crap. Am I gonna die? What is happening?...

I didn't know Heath Huberg personally. I only knew knew him through the stories I read and the things his friends told me. I know he was an accomplished singer from the Lakes Area. I know he was married with a young daughter. I know he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. I know all this because I wrote a piece about Heath and a fundraiser his friends organized after his diagnosis. So I felt truly saddened when his obituary came across my desk this week...

Last week was the October Administrative Rules Review Committee. I have the honor of chairing the committee that meets once a month to review rules put forth by the Executive Branch. This committee sees a wide variety boards, commissions, departments and agencies — and subsequently sees a wide variety of issues. This month, rules relating to the disinterment of human cremains were of particular interest...

On Monday Oct. 14, the three-member Revenue Estimating Conference held its fall meeting to revise state revenue projections for the current fiscal year (FY 2020) and the next budget year (FY 2021). Unlike most previous meetings, the REC had to find common ground between significantly different projections coming from the Legislative Services Agency and the Department of Management...