For a moment, I thought of what she might have been like at 6, sitting on the edge of the paper-covered table in the doctor’s office waiting for the needle prick. She laughed nervously and tossed her...

The glitz and glamour that was supposed to enter Iowa after the state began handing out tax credits to the film industry has hit a standstill. An internal audit of the program found glaring problems with...

Twenty-five years ago, NBC took a risk. In late September, the network launched a half-hour situation comedy about a prosperous, well-educated family whose children actually listened to their parents...

Africa and the United States may be on the verge of a new partnership, not one of dependency and aid but one of shared ideas, vision, and investments that increase our mutual prosperity. To begin this...

The state Board of Regents indicated at its Sept. 17 meeting that it is considering pay-for-performance bonuses for the three state universities’ presidents. UI President Sally Mason’s bonus, for...

The results of human action are, as we all know too well, often confusing and generally unpredictable. The Law of Unintended Consequences, as it’s known. Which is good news for writers, because —...

The recent news of the overworked Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Department highlights the brutal truth that reality is nothing like an episode of “Law and Order.” The department has experienced...

I hate politically correct orthodoxy, that reflexive tendency to corral thought and language into neat little “good” and “bad” boxes. To me, it’s a kind of social disorder, a self-imposed censorship...

The UI is going through tough times. The economic recession has wreaked havoc on the university’s finances. It has cut deeply into the state’s budget, and that, in turn, has sliced through the UI’s....

Of all the poisonous, ugly, and intellectually vapid controversies ginned up in my lifetime, the current breakout of St. Vitus’ Dance over the “racist” opposition to Barack Obama may be the most...

In our first 100 days, the Obama administration has presented a comprehensive education agenda — from the cradle through college — that protects children and jobs in the short term and invests in...

College costs are going up, but students may soon have some help in making it more affordable. The U.S. House is expected to vote today on a bill that could greatly increase financial aid for students....