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Local Columns

Cinching the purse strings

My predecessor in Iowa’s Third Congressional District was known as “a watchdog to the Treasury.” During 13 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Harold Royce (H.R.) Gross kept a tight-fisted grip on the federal purse strings, pulling no punches on pork-barrel ...

Is this Heaven? No, it’s Fort Dodge.

This time of year, Fort Dodge fills with the sound of cheers, the smell of concession stand grub, and the electric feeling only a state tournament can bring. For a few days, our community becomes the heart of girls’ high school softball in Iowa. I love it. There’s something special about ...

Eliminating $9 billion of waste in Washington

Over the past decade since my fellow Iowans sent me to Washington to make the big spenders squeal, I’ve been exposing waste, fraud, and abuse almost too insane to believe. This week, I was proud to see some of that work deliver a win for Iowa taxpayers. Both the Senate and House passed the ...

Keeping deadly drugs out of our communities

On Wednesday July 16, I had the privilege of being at the White House when President Trump signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law. Joined by families who have tragically lost loved ones and children to an overdose, the ceremony was a sobering reminder that too many Americans – especially young ...