A lawmaker’s blatant overreach as he ignores Iowa law
At least one member of the Iowa House appears to live by the mantra “Do as I say, not as I do” as he demands access to sensitive personal information [...]
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Posted May 05, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Posted April 29, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Governor should not referee what is, or is not, secret
Give Governor Kim Reynolds credit for consistency. When it comes to wanting to hide details of possible misstatements or misdeeds, she treats Lutherans and atheists alike. Soon, Iowans may learn [...]
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Posted April 22, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Debris in Davenport is gone, but the secrets remain
As we approach the second anniversary of a tragedy that shocked the people of Davenport and brought national attention to the issue of building safety, government secrecy continues to cloud [...]
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Posted April 14, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Important reminder: Free speech includes right to criticize government
A constitutional showdown taking shape in southern Iowa’s Decatur County could put taxpayers on the hook financially to defend the county’s efforts to silence a critic of public officials there. [...]
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Posted March 31, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Friends should not treat each other this way
Growing up in the 1950s, Evans family vacations seem typical by rural Midwest standards: car trips to the Ozarks, the Black Hills, Nauvoo and New Salem in Illinois, or St. [...]
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Posted March 25, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Iowa school shows leadership that others lack
As the president, governors and legislators elevate the stress and anxiety in higher education in the United States by seeking to change how colleges and universities operate and what they [...]
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Posted February 24, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Transparency is never partisan, especially with tax money involved
Iowa taxpayers provided about $104 million last school year directly to parents choosing to send their K-12 children to private schools. The price tag for these education savings accounts, or [...]
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Posted February 03, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Bird calls or dog whistles: What our attorney general is doing
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird again tried to put herself in the national spotlight last week as leader of a group of Republican attorneys general who fixed their sights on [...]
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Posted January 27, 2025in Stray Thoughts
Encouraging mercy is not un-American
I was in Eagle Grove last week. Like many travelers in Iowa, I stopped at Casey’s before leaving town. Eagle Grove is a meatpacking community, and many jobs are held [...]
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Posted January 20, 2025in Stray Thoughts
IPIB needs to stand firm for transparency
Gov. Terry Branstad was frustrated eight years ago with what he believed was the inability of officials to tell the public why a government employee was fired or resigned [...]
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