Posted October 27, 2020in Stray Thoughts
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 not designated by statute to be kept confidential. There is no asterisk in the law. There is no exemption saying
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Posted October 19, 2020in Stray Thoughts
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 deliberate ideas, and to strengthen their thinking skills. But that has not occurred this month at Iowa’s third-largest university. The
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Posted October 12, 2020in Stray Thoughts
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, Denny has been gone for three years. Among his family’s treasured possessions are his sheriff’s badges, the shoulder patches from
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Posted October 06, 2020in Stray Thoughts
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 these United States. This year, however, waiting until October 4-10 and National Newspaper Week has been difficult, because the coronavirus
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Posted September 28, 2020in Stray Thoughts
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. Here are some thoughts from that vortex: HOW DO YOU COMPARE? People were buzzing Sunday night over news reports dealing
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Posted September 22, 2020in Stray Thoughts
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 often would announce to colleagues, “We’re going to need another tanker of Murine. I’ve got an eye-burner here.” Raff is
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Posted September 15, 2020in Stray Thoughts
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. In 2016, when Natalie Finn, 16, was found near death in a middle-class neighborhood in West Des Moines, I was
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Posted September 08, 2020in Stray Thoughts
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 the foresight to create a program that has brought important changes to communities large and small across Iowa. The program
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Posted August 18, 2020in Stray Thoughts
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 after a disaster. Branstad’s skill, and the skill of local officials, too, was on display in the summer of 1993
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Posted August 04, 2020in Stray Thoughts
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 Ricky Ricardo supposedly made on the “I Love Lucy” show 60 years ago: “Lucy, you’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!”
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