Posted April 29, 2015in Political Mercury
The expansive, seemingly borderless roam of Northern Minnesota is the setting for “Heart of Wilderness,” an independent film that explores a claustrophobic blue-collar marriage strained by broken promises, deception and sheer isolation. Travis Wallien, a grit of a man, finds himself on the wrong, but winning, end of a drug
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Posted April 22, 2015in Political Mercury
When Bill Northey reads about California’s historic water-shortage problems he thinks of cows. Not cows for California. But cows for Iowa’s dairy industry. Northey, Iowa’s secretary of agriculture, tells Political Mercury that he’s been having conversations with Iowa ag businesspeople about possible ways the Hawkeye State could take advantage of
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Posted April 15, 2015in Political Mercury
A fantasy sports gaming bill that has passed the Iowa Senate could open opportunities for casinos to arrange for daily contests with cash payouts — on football, basketball, baseball and other athletic competitions — at their venues if the measure becomes law. The leading advocate of the bill — Senate File
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Posted April 08, 2015in Political Mercury
There’s an old saying about men older than 40 who have never been married: either they aren’t attracted to women at all, or they like women too much. Aging player or gay? That’s the question. Of course, there are other categories that explain advanced-age singledom: career firsters for one, or
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Posted March 31, 2015in Political Mercury
In what is widely regarded among insiders as something of a political man-made earthquake, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to select a transgender running mate for her gubernatorial bid, a bold stroke sure to sew discord in an increasingly fractured Republican Party, but a decision Reynolds insists is essential
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Posted March 25, 2015in Political Mercury
As it turns out, in all this nonsense about a rural-urban Iowa civil war, “them” is actually “us.” Carroll’s Kuemper Catholic High School Alumni Director Sharon Olerich reports that there are 992 graduates of the western Iowa school living in Des Moines and its immediate suburbs. Kuemper holds an annual Des Moines
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Posted March 18, 2015in Political Mercury
A collection of more than two dozen advocates — ranging from elected officials to business owners to economic-development leaders — took the case for the complete four-laning of U.S. Highway 30 across the state to the Iowa Department of Transportation recently. The question-and-answer session with DOT Director Paul Trombino comes
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Posted March 11, 2015in Political Mercury
The difference between an 18-year-old fresh-faced freshman and a 21-year-old senior in college is the most profound I’ve experienced in a work, social or living arrangement. The first is a boy. The second is a man. Yet, the two coexist in American college fraternities. Which is great for mentoring, role-modeling
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Posted March 04, 2015in Political Mercury
Newly installed U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Red Oak Republican, breaks with many conservatives in agreeing with President Barack Obama on a highly controversial element of White House-directed immigration reform. Ernst says she doesn’t think undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children should be deported. They should
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Posted February 25, 2015in Political Mercury
It’s a line of a questioning most pro-life candidates don’t like. Count our new U.S. senator among them. When asked, they often claim they never thought about it, that they don’t answer “hypotheticals.” Should people who have abortions or doctors who perform them be fined — like we do with
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