The governor has to follow the law, too
When the Iowa Legislature wrote the state’s public records law 50 years ago, lawmakers wanted to guarantee that anyone could obtain copies of state and local government records that are [...]
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Posted October 27, 2020in Stray Thoughts
Posted October 19, 2020in Stray Thoughts
UNI student leaders missed important lesson
There is a significant disconnect right now at the University of Northern Iowa. We think of colleges and universities as places where people come together to learn, to discuss and [...]
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Posted October 12, 2020in Stray Thoughts
Just leave arrests for law officers
My closest friend spent his working life in law enforcement. He handled everything from minor traffic violations to homicides, with assorted robberies, break-ins, vandalism and domestic assaults in between. Sadly, [...]
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Posted October 06, 2020in Stray Thoughts
2020 has shown us why America needs journalists
There is one week set aside each year to salute newspapers for the important role they have played in our nation, a role that goes back to the beginning of [...]
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Posted September 28, 2020in Stray Thoughts
The president’s taxes and so much more . . .
The events and issues of the past couple of weeks have been swirling around in my head like Toto, Dorothy and the debris picked up in that famous Kansas cyclone. [...]
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Posted September 22, 2020in Stray Thoughts
‘Principles’ shouldn’t be a matter of convenience
One of my co-workers at the Des Moines Register was Gene Raffensperger, an excellent reporter with a delicious sense of humor. When Raff was working on a dull story, he [...]
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Posted September 15, 2020in Stray Thoughts
We should not just accept deaths like these
Twenty years ago, when the death of 2-year-old Shelby Duis outraged Iowans, I was confident the Spirit Lake tragedy would soon bring change to our state. I probably was naive. [...]
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Posted September 08, 2020in Stray Thoughts
Iowa should look at another Vision Iowa
There was a milestone of note recently, and it is a shame there was not a big public celebration. Twenty years ago, Gov. Tom Vilsack and the Iowa Legislature had [...]
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Posted August 18, 2020in Stray Thoughts
Today’s leaders could learn from Terry Branstad
Regardless of what you think of his political positions, Terry Branstad knew instinctively what being governor entailed. A core duty is looking out for people when they most need help [...]
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Posted August 04, 2020in Stray Thoughts
What ‘Ricky’ would say about the Kodak deal
I’m giving away my age — or maybe some indication of the amount of stuff tucked away in my cranium. One of the useless tidbits stored there was a comment [...]
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