Opinion

  Hearing the voices of America   By Randy Evans   January ended with a notable week for federal courts because of the voices of its judges.   Judges in Minnesota and Texas spoke with …

  The more birthdays you have…   By Arvid Huisman   Years ago, a somewhat wise person told me the more birthdays you have, the longer you live. This came to mind recently when I celebr…

  Iowa State fumbles with public records   By Randy Evans   The 2025 college football season is in the history books.   The season ended with last week’s national championship victory …

  Love truth, but pardon error   By Arvid Huisman   During 30-plus years in the newspaper business one of my greater fears was typographical errors.  Many years ago I wrote a tongue-in…

  COUNTRY ROADS: Old friends and pizza   By Arvid Huisman   While I sometimes can’t remember where I left my wallet, I can remember many incidents from my childhood quite well. There’s…

  Guest Column: ‘A Song on the End of the World’   By Clare Culver   In 1944, Czeslaw Milosz wrote a poem in Warsaw, Poland. “A Song on the End of the World.” It was the year of the Wa…

  COUNTRY ROADS: Sit right down and write a letter   By Arvid Huisman   Back in 1935, when Fats Waller recorded “I’m Going to Sit Right Down and Right Myself a Letter,” he had no idea …

  Stray Thoughts: Who deserves sympathy should not depend on politics   By Randy Evans   Truth should be measured by evidence, not by political allegiance.   Can’t we all agree on that…

  STRAY THOUGHTS: Police video case is wrapped in important legal principles   By Randy Evans   It was Christmas Eve. The gifts were laid beneath the Christmas tree at the home of Merl…

  Oom-pah-pah   By Arvid Huisman Though I regret the embarrassment this may cause my loved ones, I must make a confession: I love polkas. In my youth, polkas were considered “square.” …