Teachers, parents, the public still want answers
It has been months since a 17-year-old Perry High School student walked out of a school bathroom and began shooting toward students who were having breakfast before heading to their [...]
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Posted June 10, 2024in Stray Thoughts
Posted June 04, 2024in Stray Thoughts
We need to accept outcomes we dislike
Most people go through life never stepping foot inside a courtroom. Most people, that is, except for attorneys, judges, journalists, the few of us chosen to be jurors, and an [...]
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Posted May 13, 2024in Stray Thoughts
Live-streaming gov’t meetings should be the norm
You don’t often hear anyone extol the benefits of the Covid pandemic. But I did few weeks ago — when I stood before the Storm Lake Kiwanis club and talked [...]
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Posted May 07, 2024in Stray Thoughts
There’s no room for violence in the First Amendment
The events of the past six months in Israel and Gaza have me wishing it were possible to have just one more lunch with a friend who died four years [...]
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Posted May 01, 2024in Stray Thoughts
Gov’t officials forget, again, they work for us
The Legislature took an important step last week in voting to toughen penalties for state and local officials who violate a key government transparency tool, Iowa’s open meetings law. Unfortunately, [...]
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Posted April 15, 2024in Stray Thoughts
Our grammarian governor plays politics with words
“Unsustainable” is a fascinating word, especially when it is used in government and politics. Merriam-Webster, the dictionary folks, tell us unsustainable means something cannot be continued or supported. But in [...]
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Posted April 01, 2024in Stray Thoughts
It’s time Davenport leaders put down their shovels
City officials in Davenport have managed to accomplish the impossible this year: They have brought Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature together to agree on something. The two parties have [...]
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Posted March 25, 2024in Stray Thoughts
It’s time for leaders to address ‘the Big C’ in Iowa
No problem is so big that we can’t run from it — or at least avoid thinking about it. That’s human nature. There are many concerns that should command our [...]
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Posted March 18, 2024in Stray Thoughts
These government officials did whaaaat?
What were they thinking? That is a question I ask myself a lot lately. Those were the first words out of my mouth when the Manhattan district attorney had to [...]
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Posted March 11, 2024in Stray Thoughts
Regardless of party, irresponsible is still irresponsible
Like many people who call this state home, I have long taken an interest in the careers and achievements of people who have gotten their start in Iowa. As a [...]
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