Posted January 05, 2026in Stray Thoughts
It was Christmas Eve. The gifts were laid beneath the Christmas tree at the home of Merlin and Nelda Powers in Urbandale. But the family’s holiday celebration ended abruptly that day in 1968 when the Powerses’ 10-year-old daughter Pamela disappeared from the YMCA in downtown Des Moines while the family
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Posted December 31, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Days removed from the winter solstice, when Iowa’s nights are the longest, we have another example of the absence of sunshine in Iowa government. And this example shows why the Legislature has much to do about openness and accountability when it convenes on January 12. A court decision last week
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Posted December 16, 2025in Stray Thoughts
What makes freedom of speech so difficult to understand and accept? That question came up at Sunday’s discussion at the Des Moines Valley Friends Meeting. The Friends invited me to speak at the gathering that coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Dec. 15, 1975 bombing of the Friends meeting
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Posted December 02, 2025in Stray Thoughts
There seems to be a lack of consistency — if not outright contradictions — in the president’s messaging on drug trafficking into the United States. Recent news headlines bear out the disconnect between what the president says and what he does. One thing is certain: Donald Trump’s mixed messaging is
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Posted November 24, 2025in Stray Thoughts
While the text of the Iowa Constitution lacks the prominence of that adopted by our nation’s Founding Fathers, people from Ackley to Zwingle and points in between should track down a copy and give it a read. Buried away in the document adopted by Iowa voters in 1857, they will
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Posted November 11, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Events last week in Chicago and Washington and at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport provide stark reminders that our nation’s leaders have seemingly forgotten a biblical command around for the ages. It is one Robert Ray followed during his tenure as Iowa governor, which ended some 42 years ago.
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Posted November 04, 2025in Stray Thoughts
As Iowans headed to the polls this week to elect local school board members, they faced an issue beyond the usual ones of taxes, student achievement, teacher pay, curriculum and enrollment. This year, school board and administrators’ performance and trustworthiness were front and center in some school districts. And on
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Posted October 28, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Not surprisingly these days, free speech on college campuses is back in the headlines. That makes it worthwhile to highlight the seven-page policy the Iowa Board of Regents wrote to proclaim how it values and protects freedom of expression at the three state universities. Before getting to that, it is
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Posted October 13, 2025in Stray Thoughts
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 assemble and to petition the government. They used only 45 words, without asterisks. Their simple words should lead to simple
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Posted October 07, 2025in Stray Thoughts
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 not to touch it again. Educator Ian Roberts delivered a new rendition of the lesson over the past fortnight. Time
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