Not a month old, the second Trump presidency is barreling toward the decline that big-mouth leaders have been sending their countries for centuries. Theodore Roosevelt warned of such dangers. Speaking at the 1901 Minnesota State Fair, he famously shared the African proverb, “Speak softly ...

If you opened up the backpack of a student in our middle school or high school today, you would still see many of the same things that have been carried around in school backpacks for years. There’s most likely some folders, a notebook or two, a few pencils and pens, some old wadded up paper ...

Iwas in Eagle Grove last week. Like many travelers in Iowa, I stopped at Casey’s before leaving town. Eagle Grove is a meatpacking community, and many jobs are held by Hispanic men and women. As I waited with my coffee in the check-out line, I was behind a Hispanic man whose hands showed ...

I hate trampolines. Not because I consider the weird faces you make in midair unbecoming, not because I have a problem with spring-based athletic activities and not because I’m an enemy of fun in general. I mostly blame my hatred on my kid’s friend — or my kid’s friend’s dad, to ...

On Wednesday Jan. 22, I voted for, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed, the Laken Riley Act, which included my legislation with Senator Joni Ernst – Sarah’s Law – as an amendment. This important bill now heads to President Trump’s desk for his signature and will truly save ...

The Iowa legislature seems to be in full swing now. The state Senate and House have Republican supermajorities, the largest since 1970, so this is their legislative session to be had. Seeing as how many of them represent folks like me in rural Iowa, I sure hope they don’t forget about us and ...