Local Columns

33 trillion reasons to restore fiscal responsibility in Congress

Roughly three months after our country exceeded $32 trillion in debt, we have surpassed another grim milestone and broken another unfortunate record. Our national debt has officially eclipsed $33 trillion, which is now the highest debt burden in American history. To put this figure into perspective, every single American – all 340 million of us – shoulders nearly $100,000 of this debt. Even worse, at a time when our federal budget deficit is projected to double to $2 trillion this fiscal year, there is no indication that this amount of debt is the ceiling. The Congressional Budget ...

It’s easy to register to vote in Iowa

Iowa is a national leader in voter participation and registration. As Iowa’s State Commissioner of Elections, I want to see every eligible Iowan to vote, and it starts with voter registration. Iowans have a lot to be proud of when it comes to civic engagement and voter participation, and we honor these achievements throughout the entire month of September, which is nationally recognized as National Voter Registration Month. Today, approximately 90 percent of eligible Iowans are registered to vote. In last year’s midterm election, more than 1.2 million Iowans voted – the second ...

For the Farm Bill, Washington needs to listen to Iowa

I always look forward to the Iowa State Fair as an opportunity to celebrate the role Iowa plays in providing the world’s food, feed, fiber and fuel. As general manager of one of Iowa’s agricultural cooperatives, NEW Cooperative headquartered in Fort Dodge, my favorite fair attractions tend to be of the agricultural variety, but it’s not lost on me that fair week was also a hotbed of political activity. I believe it is incumbent upon those who campaigned on these historic heartland fairgrounds to listen to us Iowans — farmers, businesspeople, local leaders and ag educators ...

All I can say is thank you

Just over a week ago, the Manson Northwest Webster school community lost a longtime beloved music educator with the unexpected death of Brad Bleam. It has taken me the better part of a week to formulate the words to describe what this man has meant not only to me, but to the Manson ...

Listening to Iowans in all 99 counties

I come to report to you on some of the activities I did during the August break and what Iowans were telling me. On August the 29th, I completed my annual 99 county meetings for the 43rd year in a row. My decades-long practice is a part of my commitment to the people of Iowa to keep in touch with them, because representative government is a two-way street. Those of us elected to the Senate and the House are one half of the process, and my constituents are the other half of that process. Holding at least one Q&A in every county, every year is one way that I foster dialogue. ...

Injured in 2 falls, Daryl Beall works to get his life back