The Iowa City Press Citizen —-   “We look stupid.” That’s how, back in December, state Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, described Iowa’s reluctance to pony up a $20.6 million match to claim an $87 million 2010 federal grant and finally construct the long dreamed-of passenger rail line from Chicago to Iowa City — and eventually [...]

By Quad-City Times —-   Our Founding Fathers never fathomed this one. Our federal government’s systemic analysis of private business records from American phone companies is being described as the most grievous assault on personal rights, and the most effective tactic against terrorism. At our federal government’s request, Verizon, and presumably other communication firms, have [...]

By The Des Moines Register —- It’s easy to forget that Sen. Chuck Grassley was deeply involved in crafting the health reform law. As one of the “gang of six” senators in 2009, he spent months in bipartisan negotiations about how to cover millions of uninsured Americans. Yet he is better remembered for criticizing health [...]

By The Sioux City Journal —-   In its history, no elected state leader has impacted Iowa quite like Terry Branstad. More than four decades after winning his first political race for the Iowa House at the age of 25, the 66-year-old Branstad remains a powerful political figure. Seemingly retired from public office in 1999 [...]

By The Des Moines Register —-   Police have long used scientific tools to identify criminal suspects, ranging from head measurements and mug shots to fingerprints. Today’s law enforcement agencies have something that’s considered unsurpassed: a person’s DNA. A DNA test run on a bit of body tissue or body fluid collected at the crime [...]

By The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier —- Mother Nature has a way of straightening herself out —- sometimes at our expense. After a year of severe drought, we go through one of the wettest months of May in local history. While it did not approach the record flood levels of 2008 in most cases, there was [...]

By The Sioux City Journal —- Among the many positive steps taken by the Iowa Legislature this year was providing funding to staff the $5.3 million addition to the Iowa Department of Corrections Residential Treatment Facility at 515 Water St. The addition has been empty since it was completed and dedicated last year because the [...]

By The Des Moines Register —–   The Iowa Division of Banking exists to help ensure Iowans have access to safe banking and financial services. That is an important function of government. It also makes sense that this division is responsible for licensing accountants and real estate brokers. But why does it house a licensing [...]

By The Quad City Times — The Iowa Legislature’s 2013 session is being heralded as a model of compromise with key property tax, education and health care reforms coming together after hours for hurry-up confirmation votes. The promising results emerged from an Illinois-like legislative sausage grinder, resolving big issues in closed caucuses, then dumping the [...]

By Iowa City Press-Citizen —- Iowa has been spared much of destructive weather that has stormed through the nation over the past few days. And that leaves us in a better position to help those in Oklahoma and other places who have not been so lucky. The search went on Tuesday for survivors and the [...]