Across Iowa and the nation, hospitals are facing a critical shortage of type O blood. This shortage is especially concerning because O-negative blood is the universal donor type – it can be used in emergency situations when there’s no time to determine a patient’s blood type. Meanwhile, ...

Recently, I was visiting with an older gentleman friend about what I should write about next. From across the table, a woman offered, "Farming." When I looked back, my friend looked me square in the eye and said, “Yep.” He knows I don’t come from a farming background, but we've had long ...

As president of Iowa Central Community College, there is not a single day that passes without a business owner or community member asking me how we can increase the number of people in the skilled workforce that our region, state, and nation so desperately depend on. On Nov. 4, our region ...

Recently, a story was published reporting on the statewide measure of success for Iowa public schools. The School Performance Profile is a mathematical formula that creates a standard score based on standardized test scores, reading and math proficiency scores, student attendance, and a number ...

The same Washington politicians who were whining about DOGE laying off unnecessary bureaucrats just a few months ago are now exposing who is and isn’t an essential employee by shutting down the government. The Schumer shutdown has sent home 750,000 federal employees deemed non-essential, ...

What are the odds that a couple celebrates 60 years of marriage in the same year they both reached 80 years of age? Infinitesimally slim, to be sure. Joan and Tom Tibbitts celebrated both milestones earlier this year, but a third milestone number they achieved turns out to be the most ...