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Opinion

Brass Tacks from Rural Iowa: The worst of the worst?

Editorials

Leading up to last year’s election, then candidate Donald Trump campaigned heavily on deporting immigrants on a massive scale. It’s something he’s followed through on, regularly claiming that his Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency would target “the worst of the worst.” ...

Q&A: Federal Boost for Rural Health

Editorials

Q: What is the Rural Health Transformation Fund? A: Congress approved this summer a historic $50 billion federal investment to rebuild rural health infrastructure that was included in the health and tax bill President Trump signed into law on July 4. The Rural Health Transformation Fund is ...

Iowa’s AEAs: Doing what matters most for Iowa’s kids

Editorials

For nearly 50 years, Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) have provided a wide range of services designed to help students succeed. What made AEAs unique was the way we connected general education supports with special education services. This “braiding” of services meant that teachers, ...

Dengler Domain: Morg’s

Local Columns

A couple weekends ago, after an evening celebrating my aunt’s birthday followed up by staying at the Isle Casino Hotel, my wife and I lost a mere $12. Gambling has never stuck. Too scared to play the card games and too bored while playing the slots. After staying in the lovely Isle Casino ...

Q&A: Stop Government Shutdowns Once and For All

Editorials

Q: Why did you reintroduce your Prevent Government Shutdowns Act? A: The Constitution assigns to Congress the power of the purse. That keeps the federal purse strings in the hands of lawmakers elected by the people to represent their views and values. The federal budget operates on a 12-month ...

Brass Tacks from Rural Iowa: Back in Session

Editorials

School is back in session, and so is Congress following their month-long recess. There will likely be talk and drama over the coming weeks about passing a budget to avoid a government shutdown. But I’ll be keeping my eye on two bills that could have much bigger (and longer lasting) impacts ...

Q&A: Never Forget 9/11

Editorials

Q: What’s your message on the anniversary of 9/11? A: This year marks 24 years since 19 hijackers boarded four commercial airliners in the early morning hours on Sept. 11, 2001, to commit acts of terror on U.S. soil. The terrorists commandeered the airplanes to launch suicide attacks ...

Running The Race This Fall Season

Local Columns

I love fall …September always feels like a HUGE CHANGE in the calendar – schools are all back in session, amusement parks are closing for the season, football is in the air, Walmart and Target have jumped into Christmas crazy mode and you can get pumpkin spice EVERYTHING. Fall seems to ...

Heather’s Highlights: County Government and You, August 2025

Local Columns

Happy Labor Day and start of the school year! I cannot believe August is over already. The summer months seem to go by so fast, but the cooler air is refreshing and finally a slow down on lawn mowing. One of the main topics discussed by the Board of Supervisors in August was the Salt Creek ...