Opinion

After gridlock for nearly a decade, a group of Iowa lawmakers said this week that raising Iowa?s minimum wage should be one of the top priorities of the 2017 legislative session. There are over 216,000 Iowans who earn the minimum wage and 90,000 Iowans who would indirectly benefit from an increase.Over the last 30 years, the minimum wage has failed to keep up with the struggles working families are facing. If ...

Des Moines Register, Sept. 20Blurring the lines between news and public relations It's easy to see why the city of Davenport elected to bypass the local news media to spread the word about some of its operations.These days, many local news outlets have too few resources to effectively cover city hall. In many communities, the county boards, school boards and city councils haven't had a reporter covering their ...

To the editor:Maharishi was able to navigate the question of religion so well it has taken many years for me to understand how he did it. Speaking to the West about spiritual principles and experiences naturally meant that the subject of religion would come up.Organized religion is a Western concept; you will not find it in India or Asia. It is not even a word you will find in the Bible.Organized religion is a ...

To the editor:I am puzzled and chagrined at the city?s treatment of Revelations.They were the first to offer a classy outdoor dining area in the downtown area ? nice fence, nice tables and chairs, and nice atmosphere.Now it is ruined by the city?s picky and unnecessary rules.Yet, the mess at Café Paradiso is still there. The two chairs sit outside at the Broadway consignment store where Walker?s used to be, ...

Iowa?s pre-K through 12th grade students headed back to school last week.Unfortunately, many of the students will be feeling the impact from six years of the lowest school funding levels in Iowa history. Many schools have been forced to cut teachers, increase class size, and raise property taxes.In Davenport, schools had to cut $5.5 million this year and it led to closing a school and a reduction of at least 24 ...

Aug. 30The Telegraph of London on the European Union: Of all the distortions and misunderstandings propagated by the politicians who sought to keep Britain inside the European Union, perhaps the worst was the idea that EU membership represented a commitment to economic openness and free markets while leaving would be an act of economic regression, a rejection of free markets in favor of closed economies and ...

To the editor:Yes, we need supervisors with rural county experience. That?s what they are, ?county supervisor.? They need rural experience either living there now or having grown up on a rural farm or living and dealing with rural benefits and problems.Permanent tables in Central Park ? sounds like an idea for Howard or Chautauqua Park, where there are picnic tables. The benches in Central Park are for reflectin...

To the editor:This past Saturday my van ?broke down? at the Mt. Pleasant exit on Highway 34. While I waited for AAA, an Iowa State Patrolman and six people stopped to offer help. Seven people, in less than one hour, were available for assistance. The people in Iowa are the kindest people I have ever met! Just wonderful!My sincerest thanks go to: the Iowa State Patrol; Jake, the AAA driver; two young couples; a ...

Gov. Terry Branstad?s closing of Mental Health Institutes is taking its toll. Iowa is worst in the nation when it comes to the state?s ability to provide inpatient mental health treatment for our citizens.According to the nonpartisan Treatment Advocacy Center, Iowa has only 64 state beds (down from 149 in 2010) for mental health patients?that?s two beds for every 100,000 Iowans ? and most of them are already ...

To the editor:I would like to thank The Fairfield Ledger for printing the information concerning the Jefferson County 4-H Foundation Scholarship that was presented from the Leland Stanley Scholarship fund.The foundation is separate from the extension service and the fair board.The Jefferson County 4-H Foundation was organizer in 1996 as a nonprofit corporation. The corporation has tax-exempt status from the ...

To the editor:Ron Paul was the leader of a Revolution against the Washington, D.C. establishment that was sideswiped by the Main Street Media. Caucuses across the nation run by establishment ?good old boys? forged and bent rules to ignore Ron Paul delegate majorities. Many Democrats converted to try to help elect the real hope of defeating the Washington crony spend-forever establishment.Rand Paul is the ...

To the editor:Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump share something fundamental in their remarkable popularity. They have glaring differences, but the people who support them hear one thing in common: an authentic voice.They hear someone who stays true to his own values, who is not beholden to powerful interest groups, not scripted or packaged by anyone but the candidate himself, not afraid to say exactly what he ...