Posted December 06, 2023in Political Mercury
Six-year-old Hayes Hofmeister of rural Cedar Rapids, a Springville, Iowa, farm kid, can’t stop talking about Josh Turek — “that guy in the wheelchair” — the one who plays basketball and has Paralympics gold medals. The one who inspired him at Camp Sunnyside. Born with Spina Bifida, Hayes, a bright-eyed kindergartener,
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Posted November 01, 2023in Political Mercury
It’s the defining issue in Iowa. Heartbreak in rural towns. Heave-ho construction in the suburbs. Framing it further, we are talking about rural decline versus the explosive growth in certain corridors, the economically bulging Des Moines suburbs and the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids corridor. But it is such byzantine business that
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Posted October 04, 2023in Political Mercury
Republican presidential candidate Doug Burgum, a North Dakotan with rural roots, says energy independence and strategies to develop a strong economy are central features of his campaign. What’s more, the North Dakotan says he understands rural America as well as anyone campaigning for the Oval Office. “I’m just a small-town
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Posted September 06, 2023in Political Mercury
Life at its best — the growth of family, development of friendships and pursuit of professional passions — is about addition, not subtraction. That’s the mindset I walked away with after a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) event at the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, a learning experience led by Des
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Posted August 02, 2023in Political Mercury
A pastor and businessman from Texas, with roots in Georgia, is pinning his presidential bid on a Christian ethos of bringing divided people together on common issues. Ryan Binkley, a Republican, thinks the appetite for hopeful leaders remains strong in the nation. His inspiration comes from an abiding Christian faith,
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Posted July 05, 2023in Political Mercury
Twenty one years ago, Chuck Offenburger and I had ringside seats for a rare and fascinating journalistic forum: the now late George “Lefty” Mills, the legendary Des Moines Register reporter, the late Bob Beck, the former publisher of Centerville’s Daily Iowegian, a towering figure in journalism and Republican politics for decades, and my
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Posted May 31, 2023in Political Mercury
There is, of course, only one Tom Harkin, a retired U.S. senator who constructed a legislative and political legacy few Democrats in Iowa — and indeed the nation — have. For two generations in Congress — 40 years in the U.S. Senate and House — Harkin, always mindful of his
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Posted May 03, 2023in Political Mercury
Hawaii is Barry Obama’s home state, and Illinois is Senator Barack Obama’s home state, but Iowa is President Obama’s home state. One of the last questions I asked President Barack Obama during an interview in his first term was this: Would he consider locating his presidential library and museum in
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Posted April 05, 2023in Political Mercury
Labor leaders, parents and Council Bluffs community members say proposed radical changes to Iowa’s child-labor laws would redefine what it means to be a kid in the state, placing young people in jeopardy while driving down wages for adults amid the tumult of a worker shortage. From Keokuk to Council
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Posted March 01, 2023in Political Mercury
The Republican candidate for governor of Arizona in the last cycle, Kari Lake, an embattled and ascendent conservative with a rocketing national profile, pulled a crowd in Ankeny on Feb. 11 that had the feel of a White House-run event. The former Iowan said she’s not running for office, but
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