Posts by sjames1
Political Voices
Perspective from Party Leadership Iowans Deserve Clean Water — And We’re Making Progress It’s Time To Pass The Iowa Healthy Water Act By Mike Naig, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Every Iowan deserves clean, safe drinking water. That’s not negotiable. It’s fundamental to our health, our communities, and our quality of life. As Secretary of Agriculture,…
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Perspective from Party Leadership An All-Iowa Problem, Requiring All-Iowa Solutions Cancer in Iowa: Turning Data Into Action and Hope By: Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner Recently, my colleague, Senator Catelin Drey, rose on the Senate floor to announce she had been diagnosed with uterine cancer. Catelin is an otherwise healthy woman in her 30s. Her…
Read MoreA Message From Your INF President
Carl Vieregger, Associate Professor of ManagementDrake University In 2025, the Iowa Newspaper Foundation focused on deepening relationships, expanding into new spaces, and strengthening the pipeline of future journalists and newspaper leaders. Through increased engagement on high school and college campuses, innovative new programs, and continued investment in signature professional development initiatives, INF advanced its mission…
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Perspective from Party Leadership When Agriculture is Strong, Iowa’s Economy is Strong By: Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig Iowa’s economy is built on agriculture. What happens at the farm gate ripples through our entire state. When farmers are doing well, Main Street businesses thrive, equipment dealers stay busy, manufacturers expand production, and rural communities remain…
Read MoreA Message from Your INA President
As we begin 2026, I’m excited to invite you to join us at the upcoming INA Convention & Awards Ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 6 in Des Moines. This year’s convention – themed “Shaping the Future of Local News” – promises to deliver a powerful and motivational message at an important time for local journalism and community newspapers.…
Read MoreEnter ISWNE’s 66th Annual Golden Quill Award Contest
The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE) is accepting entries for its annual Golden Quill editorial writing contest. Deadline is Feb. 2, 2026. Entries should reflect the purpose of the ISWNE: Encouraging the writing of editorials or staff-written opinion pieces that identify local issues that are or should be of concern to the community,…
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Perspective from Party Leadership Time to Deliver for Working Families By: House Democratic Leader Brian Meyer & Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner It’s time to deliver for working Iowa families. That means all legislators working to find common ground and move past nearly a decade of single-party policymaking that has left too many Iowans out…
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Perspectives from Party Leadership Political violence isn’t symmetrical. It’s escalating on the left, and political leaders must call it out By: Jeff Kaufmann – Chairman, Republican Party of Iowa We keep hearing calls to “encourage thoughtful discourse” and “discourage violent rhetoric.” That’s true, and I have. One political party keeps crossing the line, pretending both parties…
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Perspectives from Party Leadership Stop Making Things Worse By: Sen. Janice Weiner A cardinal rule as elected officials is not to break things – as in, if it isn’t broken, don’t “fix” it – not unlike the medical profession’s Hippocratic oath: first, do no harm. Our state faces multiple self-inflicted healthcare crises that result from…
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Perspectives from Party Leadership Iowa Leads on Higher Education Reform Iowa needs to invest in its workforce to grow its economy By: Rep. Taylor Collins; Chair of the House Committee on Higher Education The challenges facing Iowa’s higher education system have been building for many years, and the impact on students is becoming increasingly severe.…
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