Objects of art are closer than they appear. Yeah, I know — nobody’s talking about objects of art this summer. Well, except for the Iowa City Summer of the Arts people, and the Riverside Shakespeare...

The U.S. Supreme Court has declared a California law banning the sale of violent videos unconstitutional. Although the rationale would be different, how about going further and declaring laws banning the...

On July 7, 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed the free-speech rights of public-school students in Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser, ruling that public-school officials could punish a student...

As the deadline for increasing the debt ceiling nears, Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley is one of few congressional Republicans considering reasonable measures rather than knee-jerk partisan antagonism. One...

Given the glut of economic rhetoric, you would think that Republican candidates for the next president of the United States took pledges to speak of nothing besides the economy, stupid — or maybe traditional...

The Johnson County Courthouse cuts a majestic figure over the Iowa River. In the past year, though, the large steps and central tower have been covered by a network of scaffolding. The Courthouse is undergoing...

As you can tell by the title, this is definitely not a shameless attempt by me to gain followers on Twitter. The point of this column is to spread the word: Twitter is the bomb. I know what you’re thinking....

For years, officials in both Iowa City and Johnson County have acknowledged the need to provide affordable housing for lower- to middle-income individuals and families in the area. But while many have...

Rick Santorum is sounding a bit like Barack Obama. Sure, he included the requisite references to “our resource-constrained environment,” but when I spoke with the former senator (and current 2012...

The Competitive Enterprise Institute has issued its 2011 report, Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State, which examines the growth and effect of regulations on the...

On Tuesday night, the Iowa City City Council was set to vote on the next phase of building a levee to protect the Idyllwild neighborhood from floods similar to 2008 levels. But the City Council delayed...

You are freer today than you were at the beginning of the legislative session. While a handful of bills garnered the lion’s share of attention this past legislative season, lawmakers in Des Moines passed...