Whenever you begin a project that is years in the making, costs lots of money and tons of personal time, you keep your eyes fixed on the finish line. You know the community will appreciate it. All along the way, the group creating the project are dogged by the “we don’t need this, our ...

Political campaigns should be about ideas, leadership, and the future of our communities—not personal attacks aimed at families and small businesses. Recently, Annette Sweeney and her campaign chose to distribute misleading and negative mailers throughout Senate District 27 targeting me, my ...

I am disturbed by the recent spat of columns written by Mark Rohde challenging and undermining traditionally held Christian beliefs. He seems convinced that he alone is capable of going back into the Scriptures to find their *real* meaning, saying to 2,000 years of Christians looking over his ...

Lawmakers are now investigating toxic gas emissions from animal farming, including ammonia pollution that threatens nearby communities (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Feb. 17, 2026). For residents living near these facilities, this isn’t new—it’s daily life. We often talk about ...

June 15, 2026, is World Elder Abuse Day. Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging joins communities worldwide to raise awareness and highlight solutions to this systemic social challenge. As Americans, we believe in justice for all, but we fail to adhere to this value when we allow older members ...

“Folks, the fleecing is occurring in plain sight,” wrote Joni “Make ‘em squeal” Ernst in a column in the T-R of May 26th. You may have wondered, as did I, why Donald Trump and his family has not been awarded her Squeal Award every month since his inauguration. Why hasn’t she ever ...