Confusion results from differing applications of teachers’ rights
The nation’s founders got right to the point when they laid out how to treat the First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, the press and the rights of people to [...]
Read More →
Posted October 13, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Posted October 07, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Toddlers know, so why can’t school officials learn?
The lesson of the hot stove emerged again last week. That is the lesson toddlers learn early and smart ones retain for a lifetime. Touch something hot and you know [...]
Read More →
Posted September 30, 2025in Stray Thoughts
More questions than answers educates no one
I spoke to two groups in recent weeks, and people at both gatherings wanted to know about the work of the organization I lead, the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. [...]
Read More →
Posted September 09, 2025in Stray Thoughts
A man you’ve never met had advice you should never forget
During decades as a journalist, I had countless conversations with interesting people — future presidents, wannabe leaders, governors, business executives, religious thinkers, crooks, and ordinary folks who made a difference [...]
Read More →
Posted September 02, 2025in Stray Thoughts
President stays on sidelines after school kids are shot
Even the best salesman would struggle explaining away the reasons for the latest contradiction from the president of the United States. He believes crime in Washington, D.C., is so out [...]
Read More →
Posted August 27, 2025in Stray Thoughts
It’s time for government to learn why ‘more light, less darkness’ needed
Government regulates business to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public. That is the theory behind enacting and enforcing regulations, and it is a commendable mission. But, too [...]
Read More →
Posted August 11, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Some local officials just plow ahead with secrecy
Lyman Dillon resides in the dusty recesses of Iowa history for his role in 1839 in one of Iowa’s earliest infrastructure projects. Dillon’s work also figures indirectly in a modern-day [...]
Read More →
Posted August 05, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Lots of unanswered questions need answering
One of the frustrations of being a **former** newspaper editor is no longer having a few dozen reporters to pursue answers to questions going unasked and unanswered each day.Two of [...]
Read More →
Posted July 28, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Demolition reflects poorly on Iowa officials’ stewardship
My family has called Davis County home for 185 years, all the way back to when William D. Evans and William Henson climbed down from their wagons in 1839 [...]
Read More →
Posted July 21, 2025in Stray Thoughts
When waste-cutters miss what looks like, umm, waste
Andy McKean is a charming country lawyer from Anamosa. He grew up in New York and was drawn to Iowa by his family roots. He has owned a bed-and-breakfast, called [...]
Read More →
