Sunday, October 26, 2025

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Posted October 13, 2025in Stray Thoughts

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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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.  [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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