Author
Essential workers deserve more than ‘thank you’
Editorial cartoonists — the outstanding ones, like the Des Moines Register’s Frank Miller and Brian Duffy — have a marvelous ability to express a point of view with only a few words and a skillfully drawn image. When I was the Register’s opinion editor, Miller’s most famous cartoon hung next to my desk. It was […]
It’s time to rethink Iowa’s business incentives
The coronavirus crisis has exposed the financial vulnerabilities of countless Iowa businesses. Whether we like it or not, it will be touch-and-go to see how many come through this intact, how many will end up as shadows of their former selves, and how many will disappear. It’s implausible that businesses will pick right up where […]
Public health ‘rock star’ from Iowa gives us straight talk
In the world of contagions, epidemics and vaccines, there are not many true rock stars. There is, of course, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. His face is recognizable worldwide from his television briefings on the coronavirus epidemic sweeping the globe. Another is Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of […]
Bail out the Postal Service before cruise lines
It’s quiz time. Which arm of the federal government has the most contact with ordinary Americans, people like you and me? Is it the Internal Revenue Service? Social Security Administration? The Food and Drug Administration? Or the Department of Agriculture? Nope. Not that one. Not that one, either. None of those. The arm of the […]
Amazing heroes in the fight against coronavirus
One of my memories, one that had been tucked away back where the cobwebs congregate, is from that day in 2004 when the oldest Evans daughter graduated from Saint Louis University. The graduates crowded onto the arena floor for the commencement ceremony. They were grouped by their areas of study — business, education, arts and […]
Information is as vital as face masks during COVID crisis
We have all become acutely aware in the past few weeks why masks and face shields, respirators and ventilators are so important for hospital workers and their patients. The supply is not keeping up with the need, and that could have dire consequences for the doctors, nurses and patients. Likewise, the coronavirus crisis has underscored […]
Legislature needs to fix the cost barrier for public records
There is a retired businessman in western Iowa who bristles every time he reads a newspaper article from somewhere in our state about government officials who have misused their government credit cards for unauthorized purchases. This man is worried such abuses could be happening at the local county hospital since top administrators were given credit […]