Despite overwhelming public support for mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef, U.S. Senators Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst are missing in action. After multiple phone calls, letters and in-person lobby visits, they’re refusing to support the American Beef Labeling Act (S. 52) in the next Farm Bill.

As a kid in Santa Monica I hung out at the pool hall across from a lot with a tall fence that housed several Fiat Multiplas. These were like tiny (not mini) vans with a fastback. They had rear engines like a Corvair or Beetle. You paid to play pool by time instead of with the balls all captured and a coin slot. When you scratched you pulled a ball out of a pocket. It was real.
 

When one of our own does good for themselves, it’s worth taking some time to offer praise and acknowledgment.
  I am talking about Iowa author Austin Frerick and his new book, Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry. It’s a deep dive into seven “Barons” in the food industry, their rise to power and the consequences for farmers, workers, consumers and our democracy.

I was lying on the floor doing my back exercises while listening to Joe Rogan interview James Lindsay and something caught my attention. Joe said, “All this falsehood could lead to an extreme left wing … or extreme right wing government.” Rogan is a self-described “liberal” yet he interviews anyone regardless of their beliefs.

In my weekly column last week, I outlined my strong opposition to President Biden’s $7.3 trillion budget for Fiscal Year 2025. As I noted, this proposal would hike taxes on our families, farmers, and businesses by $5.5 trillion, leave our country with a $1.8-trillion budget deficit for FY 2025, and balloon our national debt by trillions and trillions of dollars.

One way to compete in farming while everything is getting bigger, is to grow a specialty for a premium price. We thought we could remain small and still make a living while enjoying life. It was a good thing we enjoyed our work (most of the time) and didn't “work for the weekend” as I just heard in a country song.

In my weekly column last week, I outlined my strong opposition to President Biden’s $7.3-trillion budget for Fiscal Year 2025. As I noted, this proposal would hike taxes on our families, farmers, and businesses by $5.5 trillion, leave our country with a $1.8-trillion budget deficit for FY 2025, and balloon our national debt by trillions and trillions of dollars.

I went to the State Capitol on February 28 with two other Iowa CCI members to file an official ethics complaint against State Representative Dean Fisher (R-District 53), a member of the Iowa House.  Fisher was a key player in helping Gov Kim Reynolds pass her private school voucher legislation in 2023.

Well. I thought I ought to write about our pig business. I was raised by a woman who never let me leave anything on my plate. Even though she was a terrible cook she made us eat it all. Nancie and I lived through it. There's a difference between over-cooked pork chops and poison. Leaving nothing on my plate was efficient.

This week in the House, Representative Heather Matson of Ankeny bravely told her story of struggling with infertility and using in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to become a mom. She knows personally how critical it is to protect this option for Iowans who desperately want to become a parent, and she's concerned about legislation that passed the Iowa House this week.

With the second funnel deadline quickly approaching, the Iowa House of Representatives diligently passed more than 30 bills off the House floor during week nine of the 2024 legislative session. Bills and Joint Resolutions that originated in the House must pass through a subcommittee and committee in the Senate and vice versa by March 15 to survive the funnel.

Last month, the country learned the tragic news that 22-year-old Laken Riley – a nursing student from Georgia – was murdered by an illegal immigrant while out on a jog in broad daylight. As a father of four, my heart breaks for the friends and family of Laken who are enduring unimaginable pain right now. As an American, I am outraged that President Biden refuses to secure our border and keep our communities safe.

I knew a guy back in my college days who was arrested for flying a Viet Cong flag. He was charged with “unlawful display of the flag” even though it was not an American flag. The offended so-called patriots who called the cops were placated for the moment however, and that was what counted at the time.

This week several pieces of Local Government legislation were passed by the Iowa House. House File (HF) 2264 helps connect public dollars to charitable services that benefit local communities provided by religious groups.

In our free-market economy, Americans should have the freedom to purchase the car or truck of their choice without the federal government putting its thumb on the scale to advance a specific policy preference and distort the market. However, President Biden doesn’t see it that way.