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Fish passage project: A first of its kind
More than a century ago, Robert Coker traveled to Keokuk on a cold, windy day in late April. A scientist at the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries Biological Laboratory at Fairport, Iowa, Coker had come to examine conditions at what was known then as the Keokuk Dam. The dam and hydropower project, an engineering marvel that […]
Congressional Republicans save biofuel credits; put U.S. economy at risk
As expected, Iowa’s congressional delegation voted for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt ceiling bill Wednesday, and it barely survived, 217-215. The House plan, if it ever were to be enacted, would do little to improve our government’s fiscal health. The federal debt would still rise to 106% of Gross Domestic Product over the next decade […]
Republican caucus bill is offensive. Democrats should ignore it.
I have some advice for the Iowa Democratic Party: Tell Bobby Kaufmann to buzz off. Or, if you’d like, substitute a different four-letter word. Either way, he deserves it. Kaufmann, a Republican state representative from Wilton, has proposed using the power of the state to dictate the inner workings of the opposing political party. Specifically, […]
It’s baseball’s Opening Day, when the world starts spinning again
The kid was 9 years old when he saw his first baseball game. Living in a rural northeast Missouri farmhouse, he jumped off the school bus each day and ran home to catch the last innings of the 1971 World Series on TV. Jim Palmer’s high leg kick and Brooks Robinson’s mastery of third base […]
Iowa joins red-wave exodus from multistate compact seeking accuracy of voter lists
Iowa is joining a number of other Republican-led states in moving to pull out of a multistate organization that works to improve the accuracy of voter rolls and increase voter registration. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, announced last week he was taking the step to separate from the Electronic Registration Information Center, […]
Trump may be betting too much on the farm
So, Donald Trump thinks playing the farm card is his ace in the hole in Iowa. He might want to rethink that hand. At the Adler Theatre in Davenport this week, Trump targeted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for opposing ethanol and the former president claimed to be the savior of the American farm. “How could a […]
Federal government approves $31 billion railroad merger
The federal Surface Transportation Board has approved the $31 billion merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern railroads, saying Wednesday the combination will reduce travel time, incentivize investment and enhance efficiency while providing safety and environmental benefits. The STB said that while approving the merger, it also is imposing a number of conditions and […]
The woke war on your 401(k)
First, they came for your kid’s school. Now, it’s your retirement money. The woke mob, it seems, is everywhere. Luckily, Republicans are manning the ramparts. The latest battlefield was Congress, where last week the GOP came to the defense of your 401(k) by mounting a courageous attack against the U.S. Department of Labor’s radical new rule, […]
Nikki Haley’s age test for politicians may not play well in Iowa
Nikki Haley says politicians over the age of 75 should have to take mandatory mental competency tests. And soon, she’ll be in Iowa, where nearly 230,000 people fit into that 75-plus category. In fact, of the 50 states, we rank 13th highest in our share of people 75 and older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. […]
Demolition of the I-74 Mississippi River bridge is a big, complex task
For years, people in the Quad-Cities have awaited demolition of the old Interstate-74 bridge between Bettendorf and Moline. It’s not that people here hate the bridge, although the narrow road width and nearly non-existent shoulders gave some drivers the shakes. It’s just that its demise would mean the new bridge, in the planning stages for decades, would be […]
Analysis of proposed rail merger confirms noise concerns but says environmental effects are minor
There was a dose of news over the past week in the ongoing saga over the Canadian Pacific railroad’s plans to merge with Kanas City Southern. The $31 billion merger would create a single line connecting Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, but here in the Quad-Cities – as with other communities – it would significantly […]
Civil rights group objects to using federal COVID aid for jails
The American Civil Liberties Union is asking the Treasury Department to take a harder line on states and local governments using federal American Rescue Plan Act money to build and expand correctional facilities. One of the projects it cited is in Scott County, where local officials had previously considered using the federal money for a […]