Don’t know much about U.S. history and politics? You’re not alone. These usually stale and erudite topics have been increasingly relegated to the academic realm, the sole bastion of scholars in endless...

I was hopeful, maybe naïvely so. While Terry Branstad wasn’t my first choice for governor, his record on higher education wasn’t abhorrent. And Chet Culver, the equivocating embodiment of milquetoast...

Over the past week, Wisconsin public employees have flocked to Madison to protest Gov. Scott Walker’s budget-repair bill. Teachers have walked out of their classrooms, senators have fled the state, and...

YES Revamp our electoral system? It might be better than you think. Eleven years after an election that went with the electors (and ultimately, the Supreme Court) instead of the popular vote (and gave...

Some students at the University of Iowa are fortunate enough to be unaware of Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty is the former governor of my home state of Minnesota and a 2012 Republican presidential hopeful. He’s...

Imagine a readily available source of energy that could produce electricity for our homes and businesses, right where we live and work. Solar energy could be the next new engine of job creation for Iowans,...

During a time of supposed fiscal austerity, Gov. Terry Branstad is asking all Iowans to make financial sacrifices — except, apparently, himself. Branstad is collecting a $52,000 pension in addition...

Based strictly on the government photograph of Sen. Mark Chelgren, R-Ottumwa, you may assume he is the epitome of self-satisfied idiocy. His eyes narrowed, his lips pursed smugly, Chelgren looks as if...

You’ve probably seen the images coming from Wisconsin: The Capitol’s rotunda filled with protesters, hanging off balconies; people struggling to move through crowded hallways. Tens of thousands of...

The outcome of the 21-ordinance vote left many Iowa City denizens unhappy, including business owners, bar employees, and — most of all — University of Iowa students, who have expressed frustration...

You’ll be happy to know that U.S. House Republicans have killed a Democratic measure to halt the Defense Department’s financial support of NASCAR. And also killed funds for a peace institute (also...

The recently proposed federal budget for fiscal 2012 has caused quite a stir. And for good reason — $3.7 trillion is no small chunk of change. But as lawmakers debate how to bring that number down, a...