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Ending with a Whimper   The federal government remains closed today. Actually, being closed today was by design, it being the Veterans Day national holiday and all.   But the other six weeks...
Jeff Stein Nov 11, 2025 kanzilyou / Depositphotos.com
Numbers Game At the start of each month, the Office of Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate issues a report indicating how many people are registered to vote in Iowa, and what political affiliation they'...
Jeff Stein Nov 10, 2025 visuals / Unsplash
Assault by Sandwich   You might recall that when federal officials were put on duty to clean up Washington, D.C., one Justice Department attorney who was out for a late night snack took the sandw...
Jeff Stein Nov 07, 2025 spaxiax / Depositphotos.com
Election Aftermath   It's hard for Republicans to spin the results of Tuesday's elections. The few statewide races were blue sweeps in places like New Jersey and Virginia, and even though Democra...
Jeff Stein Nov 06, 2025 tony4urban / Depositphotos.com
Going Postal   The U.S. Postal Service has been having a hard time making ends meet for quite a while. It's not made better by the advent of electronic technology, and private package delivery se...
Jeff Stein Nov 05, 2025 BillChizekPhotography@gmail.com / Depositphotos.com
Political Alliances   If you are looking for consistency of positions, or frankly honesty, you should avoid looking too closely at political speeches and campaigns.   Witness the rush-to-the...
Jeff Stein Nov 04, 2025 DonkeyHotey / CC
Election Day Approaches Tomorrow is election day; here in Iowa, that means municipal elections for things like city council and mayor, school board elections, and the occasional bond issue. But in oth...
Jeff Stein Nov 03, 2025 olechowski / Depositphotos.com
Trick or Treat   This is Halloween, and regardless of how you feel about the day, it's going to be an expensive one.   The National Retail Federation's annual consumer survey says Halloween ...
Jeff Stein Oct 31, 2025 Robert Taylor / CC
Full Shopping Bags   For all the talk about a tight economy, we Americans are apparently looking forward to dumping some cash on holiday gifts again this year.   Gallup conducted its first s...
Jeff Stein Oct 30, 2025 beatabecla / Depositphotos.com
Making it Official   Iowa fourth district congressman Randy Feenstra made it official yesterday morning, formally kicking off his campaign for the Republican nomination for governor in 2026. &nbs...
Jeff Stein Oct 29, 2025