Q: How is the avian influenza affecting Iowa's poultry farms and egg production?A: The contagious disease known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is wiping out tens of millions of birds and costing producers hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. In an unprecedented bird flu ...

Iowa is among the first states to create a teacher leadership system designed to boost student achievement, increase teaching expertise and raise the status of the teaching profession.Research shows a correlation between a school's ability to keep good teachers and student achievement. Iowa's ...

Legislation to expand international trade is moving forward in the Senate. I voted in favor of debating a bill to restore Trade Promotion Authority for the executive branch. This authority is seen as critical to wrapping up the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement under negotiation ...

I don't go to the mall much. It hasn't always been this way. I used to be an experienced and proficient shopper. Hobnobbing at the mall was one of my main talents and preferred hobbies. Then, I got out of the habit, I guess. Kind of like I did with running, except with running I never actually ...

As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as part of my Victims Reform Agenda, I've put reform and renewal of the juvenile justice law on the committee's docket. The 40-plus year old Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act has provided guidelines and resources to help states ...

Our family is growing. Daughter number one and only recently got engaged, which means there is a wedding and new son-in-law in our future. The engagement took my husband by surprise. I think he was (is?) in denial about our kids growing up. I am right there with him. It's a river big enough for ...

In 2007, the Iowa Legislature required school districts to adopt safe school policies to guard against harassment and bullying. Unfortunately, there is still too much of it going on.This issue was once again brought to forefront by the suicide of a 12-year-old girl in central Iowa. This was the ...

As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as part of my Victims Reform Agenda, I've put reform and renewal of the juvenile justice law on the committee's docket. The 40-plus year old Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act has provided guidelines and resources to help states ...

Our family is growing. Daughter number one and only recently got engaged, which means there is a wedding and new son-in-law in our future. The engagement took my husband by surprise. I think he was (is?) in denial about our kids growing up. I am right there with him. It's a river big enough for ...

In 2007, the Iowa Legislature required school districts to adopt safe school policies to guard against harassment and bullying. Unfortunately, there is still too much of it going on.This issue was once again brought to forefront by the suicide of a 12-year-old girl in central Iowa. This was the ...