It's time for witches and goblins and superheroes and fairy-princesses again. If you had a chance to invite them all to a dinner party, there would be a lot of awkward silences because, of course, these characters would have absolutely nothing in common. But on Halloween, they all appear on ...

BySenatorTom HarkinOn Sunday, November 1 at 2:00 am folks in Iowa and across the nation are reminded to turn their clocks back an hour as we return to Standard Time from Day Light Saving Time (DST). I recommend that everyone change all their clocks on Saturday, October 31 before they go to bed ...

DES MOINES Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today commented on the Iowa Crops and Weather report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service. The report is released weekly from April through October."Difficulty harvesting continued last week with more rain, ...

ByJill PertlerOne of the greatest inventions ever (besides training wheels and sippy cups) is duct tape. No one knows for sure who invented the sticky, waterproof stuff, but a lot of people want to take credit for it. Who wouldn't?Every mom worth her snuff has at least two rolls of duct tape in ...

BySenator Tom HarkinIn a state as dedicated to agriculture as Iowa, it may come as a surprise to find out that most of us are not eating enough fruits and vegetables. In fact, a recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) study shows that only 12.3 percent of Iowa's adults are eating the daily ...

ByLaura SnyderThere is a phenomenon at work that we mere mortals simply do not understand. Some people call it Murphy's Law, but I think that it's more powerful than a law. It's more like a force. After all, a law can be broken. It's not a good idea to break a law, because one tends to spend ...

New Report Highlights Plight of Family Farmers and Ranchers With Medical Debt. A recent study conducted by The Access Project shows that farmers and ranchers with children and those in poorer health are at increased risk of carrying medical debt. Farmers and ranchers with such debt face ...

BySen.Charles GrassleyQ: What is Red Ribbon Week?A: Red Ribbon Week, October 23-31, is an important observance that helps educate kids, families and communities about the dangers of drug use. Red Ribbon week began in Calexico, California, in 1985, when community members joined together to ...

A Simple Check Saves MoneyI recently checked some information on my auto insurance policy and found out I was listed as renting my house instead of owning it. I changed the information to owning my house and saved a little over $60 a year. I could have been saving that for the past three years! ...

When I was a kid, we used to play a game while riding in the car. Every time someone would see a Volkswagon Beetle, they would yell, "Punch Bug!"and slug the person next to them.. As an adult, I've learned that many people have played this so-called game. In fact, so many people still play ...