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Lives impacting lives

As of 2026, LifeWorks has been serving individuals with disabilities for 60 years. It continues to make a big difference. Anniversaries shouldn’t just measure years, but their impact too. I’ve been reflecting on LifeWorks’s impact, especially because March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month. Yes, services impact individuals, but what about the staff? What lessons have been learned? What perspectives have shifted? A sample of just eight employees told quite a story. (To protect the confidentiality of individuals served, names of individuals have been changed to either ...

The architecture of liberty: returning to our educational roots

Every day, I find myself returning to a single, grounding philosophy: Know where you have come from, know where you are, and know where you are going. It is a simple compass, but it is the only way to ensure we aren’t just drifting with the political winds of the day. When we apply this to public policy, we must start with the most fundamental building block of a free society: education. There is a vibrant debate in our country about who “owns” education. Is it the federal government? The state? The district? To answer that, we should begin by looking at our “Supreme ...

John Perkins’ legacy – helping save St. Edmond Catholic School

The legacy of John Perkins can be seen and heard at St. Edmond Catholic School on every school day as 800 students from pre-kindergarten through high school file into classrooms each morning for another day of learning. In the wake of Perkins’ death Feb. 9 to cancer at the age of 76, ...

Your newspaper has a vital role in the community

Your local newspaper, The Messenger, has historically been a little bit of everything from a news and information perspective. It has always provided local news that is uniquely sourced, but it also offers ample amounts of state, national, and world news. It publishes television listings, comics, business and stock news. It reports local high school sports, college sports with an emphasis on Iowa universities, and professional sports. As media has fragmented and evolved, national and world news are available in many forums, including broadcast media, national talk radio, and the ...

State Senate moves to address illegal immigration

This week the Senate passed several common sense proposals aimed at addressing illegal immigration. One of the first bills we passed was Senate File 2203, which requires the secretary of state to verify that those on voter registration lists are United States citizens. Last year, the secretary of state’s audit of the voter registration list found 277 non-citizens were registered to vote and 35 non-citizens had successfully voted in the 2024 general election. This bill is one more way we can help secure Iowa’s elections and ensure Iowans can have confidence in them. The bill ...

Grant Wood memorialized Iowa’s heritage

For 46 years in a row, I’ve traveled across our state to meet with Iowans in every county, every year. Each time, I learn something new in the county I’m visiting and enjoy getting a first-hand look at high-quality goods and services made here in Iowa. Some things never change, such as Iowans’ productivity and humility. Iowans don’t brag enough to showcase the innovation, pioneering spirit and community vitality that’s part of our heritage, anchoring our economy and enriching civic life. A century ago, a native Iowan captured the essence of self-reliance intrinsic to closely ...