A recent question in CityView, a Des Moines alternative newspaper, asked readers: “Should the minimum age to purchase tobacco products be raised to 21 in Iowa?” All sorts of answers ensued. One reader said tobacco should be outlawed and marijuana should be legalized. Another said that tobacco should be outlawed, altogether. And, of course, someone… Continue reading What IS the Age of Maturity?
Category: Youth
“Thank you, sir”
Vail is a small community in west-central Iowa. It’s also a ski resort in Colorado. But I grew up in the Iowa version. One thing both communities have in common is a swimming pool. However, Vail, Colorado has ten times more residents than Vail, Iowa. Vail, Iowa, has a population of about 430 residents, mostly… Continue reading “Thank you, sir”
The Right to a Free Public Education in Iowa & Alabama
Quite some time ago, when I was employed by the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, I noticed that the Iowa Constitution did not provide a right to a free public education to the children of Iowa. I decided to conduct some research and see how many other states lacked such a constitutional provision. I spent a… Continue reading The Right to a Free Public Education in Iowa & Alabama
Invasion of the Judicial and Legislative Branches
On Monday, July 16, Governor Terry Branstad issued a commutation to 38 of Iowa’s lifers. That group of lifers consists of those felons who are serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed as juveniles. In a sweeping motion, the governor commuted the life sentences of all 38 individuals… Continue reading Invasion of the Judicial and Legislative Branches
Education: The Next Generation
We should focus our attention on the methods being used to educate children.