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Local Columns

The power in giving back to your community

Throughout our lives, from childhood to adulthood, community is an essential part of everyday existence. Sometimes, we don’t see or fully understand its impact, and sometimes we may think it is irrelevant. But for both rural towns and larger cities, community is vital in ways we can’t ...

Ernst: In celebration of Iowa agriculture

In Iowa, agriculture connects us all. Those of us who live on farms, in rural communities, and even in cities across our great state, are fortunate to have a deep-rooted understanding of all our farmers do to make sure folks have food on their tables, gas in their tanks, clothes in their ...

House addresses eminent domain, distracted driving

We have now been here for 11 weeks, and this session has 16 weeks. Which means we have five left before per diem runs out. This week has flown by. I spend most of my time in meetings now. I’m working on several bills that we meet on daily so we can have enough votes to get it off the House ...

Homegrown Iowa biofuels support American energy dominance

Domestic energy production is a critical component of both our short- and long-term economic growth, bolsters our national security, and strengthens our international competitiveness. From getting to work and heating and cooling homes to keeping the lights on and growing crops, our families, ...

Colorectal cancer in Iowa: A concern for our communities?

March marks Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, a time to highlight the impact of colorectal cancer in our state and encourage screening to save lives. Colorectal cancer remains the third most common cancer diagnosed in Iowa and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths, with an ...

Lincoln’s Law smells like a rose in 21st Century

Eight score and two years ago, President Abraham Lincoln signed the False Claims Act into federal law. The anti-fraud tool, enacted March 2, 1863, became known as Lincoln’s Law. Our 16th president embraced meatier measures to go after fraudsters bilking the U.S. Treasury during the Civil War. ...