Currently, only two Amtrak passenger trains serve Iowans. The Southwestern Chief that goes from Chicago to Los Angeles just clips Iowa with one station in Fort Madison. The other train is the California Zephyr that passes through southern Iowa with stations in Mount Pleasant and a few other ...
Monday, Jan. 20 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Besides being a day off for schools and federal and state employees, the most significant part of this day is to volunteer. Use this day as a chance to serve the community. Serving one’s community by volunteering is essential to creating a ...
Reading about the recent round of layoffs at John Deere’s Ottumwa plant got me thinking about the future of farming and the critical role of farm policy. Nearly 2,000 Iowa workers laid off in the past year is a lot of job loss, but sadly not terribly surprising. Last year was difficult for ...
Rural communities are seeing a boom in renewable energy development. Whether it’s wind energy or solar energy, communities reap the benefits from increased tax revenues, new job creation, and local lease payments. Better yet, communities can unlock additional benefits through Community ...
Tonight, I made mac and cheese with broccoli and Spam for my family. It’s basic poor people fare, the food I grew up with. Cheap carbs, cheap protein, and the most common of frozen veggies. But here’s the thing – this food is delicious. And my boys grew up on it. And after a long week of ...
The press had fair reviews of Jimmy Carter upon his passing – third quartile of past presidents, A+ for post-president contributions, wonderful person, smart, and marginal political savvy. I liked him, as did most citizen voters. The people wanted change and distance from Washington politics ...
Our lexicon has lost the word farmer. During my farming career, I felt like myself as a farmer, but elsewhere, I was looked at as a grower. I was only growing corn, soybeans, and a few cover crops, but it still felt weird. The continuation of the siloing off of livestock and grain enterprises ...
Q: What’s new on your plate in the U.S. Senate in the 119th Congress? A: Voters in the 2024 elections delivered a fresh mandate to Washington, D.C., returning President Trump to the White House and putting Republicans in control of both houses of Congress. That means the U.S. Senate will be ...
Alaska’s Izembek National Wildlife Refuge – one of the world’s most important migratory bird staging and wintering habitats – is under attack. For many years, a way to connect the remote community of King Cove to Cold Bay, a larger town with an all-weather airport and better medical ...
What America needs are small businesses. Whatever part of the economy, small businesses should have a stake in the game. No matter the amount of small business Saturdays, small businesses matter. Be it a boutique, grocery store, pharmacy, farm, or what have you, supporting local entrepreneurs ...