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Editorials

District 53 Newsletter: Dec. 5, 2025

One of the issues the Iowa House Republicans have been working on for several years now is the issue of school and public libraries providing material, mostly books, that rational people would consider pornographic. In past years we have passed legislation barring our public schools from ...

Tama County teamwork

With winter approaching, the work on Salt Creek Wind Phase I is winding down. You may have noticed less activity in that area. I was notified that the last turbine in Phase I was raised last week. During our negotiations with NextEra Energy on Phase I, David Turner and I met with Kimberly ...

Iowa Republicans buck up against a cold wind

Northwest headwinds buffet Iowa Republicans a year out from the 2026 midterm elections: Farmers are under stress, grocery prices are high, our rivers are fouled, and voters want better. The GOP controls the statehouse, the governor’s office and the entire congressional delegation. The ...

Thanksgiving Day, A Day for Unity in America

Thanksgiving Day took root in our nation’s history as a “day of public thanksgiving and prayer” when George Washington issued a proclamation in 1789, calling upon freshly minted Americans to celebrate ratification of the Constitution and coalesce around the bounty of hard-fought freedom. ...

Support and celebrate small businesses this holiday season

This holiday season, will you shop at one of the 33.2 million small businesses that make up 99% of all businesses in the U.S? Up and down rural main streets in rural America, shopkeepers are readying their stores for the season. Business owners are stocking special gifts and rolls of wrapping ...

WWBRD? What would Bob Ray do?

Events recently in Chicago and Washington and at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport provide stark reminders that our nation’s leaders have seemingly forgotten a biblical command around for the ages. It is one Robert Ray followed during his tenure as Iowa governor, which ended some 42 years ...

Brass Tacks from Rural Iowa: Washington Could Learn from Us

It was maybe a happy coincidence last week that while I was following the news about Trump’s soybean deal with China that I also happened to tune into the Iowa Farmers Union (IFU) weekly “lunch and learn” on Facebook. Amid so much uncertainty, not just for farmers but all of us in rural ...

Q&A: Spotlight on Soaring Farm Input Costs

Q: Why did you hold a Judiciary Committee hearing to examine consolidation in the farm sector? A: As the only grain farmer in the United States Senate, I’m honored to advocate on behalf of family farmers who are wrapping up the harvest season and looking ahead to next year’s crop. Today ...

Building a grid to power future demand and economic opportunities

In recent years, the U.S. has shifted to using a wider mix of energy sources located across the country. These resources help make our electric grid stronger, keep power flowing during disruptions, and create new jobs and business opportunities. However, a sharp increase in energy demand is ...