On April 4, U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Gary Peters (D-MI) announced the formation of the first-ever Motorcycle Caucus in the United States Senate. The life-long motorcycle riding senators will serve as co-chairs of the caucus, and will advocate for a multitude of issues on behalf of both motorcycle riders and manufacturers.
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
Eulogy for a poet
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Bev Lehman 1929 -2017 These lines by Bev Lehman, who died at the age of 87 on March 26, 2017, are vintage Bev – observant, thoughtful, truthful and wry.
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Brian Phillips
Grades up and discipline issues down I write very few letters to the newspaper, but this has been one of those school years that is the best on record in my seven years as high school principal here at Greene County High School. Perhaps Ms. Green put it best at a recent school board meeting when the high school presented…
Read MoreThe Behn Report
March 31, 2017 This week was a little quieter as we did a mix of floor debate and committee work. This was the second funnel week of the legislative session. Much like the first funnel, we need to get bills out of committee for them to be considered for the rest of this session. This deadline moves the process along…
Read MoreClean air and water? Or not?
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Why would the Republican Administration want to cut billions from the Environmental Protection Agency? Its Clean Water Act of 1972 has managed to clean up dead lakes, polluted rivers and trashed canals. I remember how appalled we were back then to learn of lakes that caught fire, rivers full of dead fish, ponds harboring amphibians…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Dale Hanaman
Letter to the editor, On Wednesday (3/29) I heard on NPR that President Trump is establishing a Commission on Addictive Crisis due to the overwhelming opioid epidemic in our nation. Also noted were 91 deaths daily due to opioid addiction.
Read MoreRon Wagner draws
Click here to enlarge.
Read MoreBehn report
March 24, 2017 This week we passed a series of bills on the floor. Next week will be our second funnel week in the Legislature. The second funnel is when Senate bills need to be out of House committees and House bills out of Senate committees in order to be considered for the remaining weeks of this legislative session.
Read MoreQ & A with Sen Chuck Grassley – National Ag Week
Mar 17, 2017 ~with U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley Q: Why is National Ag Week a good reminder for Americans to appreciate how food gets to their tables? A: Americans enjoy the most wholesome, affordable and abundant food supply in the world. According to the USDA, the share of disposable income Americans spend on food has fallen from 17.5 percent to…
Read MoreThe Behn Report
In the Legislature, March 17, 2017 On Wednesday, March 15, Iowans recognized Canada Day at the Capitol. Andrew Leslie, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs for the Canadian Parliament, visited the Iowa House and Senate, along with Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall. Mr. Leslie spoke about the importance of strong US-Canada relations and growing trade between Iowa and Canada, adding that the trade is…
Read MoreRon Wagner draws
Ron Wagner pays tribute to the late Chuck Berry. “Chuck meant a lot to me,” Ron said. Click here to enlarge the art.
Read MoreA quiet Irish hero
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I just finished a strange and difficult book; wondrous, too. It is a novel published nearly 20 years ago — The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty by Sebastian Barry. It is a long and arduous tale about an Irisher born in 1900 who lived through the troubles of Ireland’s independence from Britain, became a seaman in…
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