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Opinion

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The Elbert Files: Reunion during a pandemic

My recent high school reunion felt different, and it wasn’t because we are now as likely to meet old friends in a cemetery as at a bar. According to our class obituary keeper, half as …

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On Leadership: 10 questions to help leaders thrive during change

Whether I’m in conversation with business leaders running organizations, friends trying to manage hybrid work, or parents dealing with ever-changing school situations, everyone keeps talking about “getting back to normal.” But what is normal now? …

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The Elbert Files: Thanks, John III

John Ruan III, who died earlier this month at the age of 78, was a talented businessman who managed, along with his wife, Janis, to dramatically improve the quality of life in Des Moines.

They …

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On Leadership: The success of Iowa’s economy tied to the Latino community

When my New Mexican father came to Iowa in the early 1960s to join the faculty at Iowa State University, the Latino population in our state was sparse and often misunderstood. My father was also …

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The Elbert Files: Iowa’s bad water

When I think about how farm field runoff is polluting Iowa water systems, I picture someone using tissue paper to try to stop an overflowing toilet.

 

That’s because tissue paper can no more hold …

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Marketing: How is AI being used by marketers today?

Last week’s column explored some of the benefits of artificial intelligence when used in marketing and some of the reasons more marketers haven’t experimented with it, let alone adopt it.


But of course some have, …

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Mary Lincoln’s USDA

“An American Marriage,” Michael Burlingame’s book about the tumultuous marriage of Abraham and Mary Lincoln, contains interesting insights into how Mary Lincoln profited from the creation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1862.


Before …

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The Elbert Files: Reapportionment

Recent releases of 2020 census data mark the beginning of the complicated process of redrawing Iowa’s political boundaries.

 

Reapportionment is something that has happened in Iowa every 10 years since 1930, when our congressional …

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On Leadership: Juggling leadership and parenting in today’s reality

Recently I was on a Zoom business call with a woman whose three young kids and very vocal hound dog all made appearances. She was mortified by the interruptions and apologized profusely. I told her …

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The Elbert Files: Red cats and road trips

Our son, Craig, did something this summer that Amy and I have never attempted during our 46 years of married life. He took his family cat, Reggie, on vacation. 


The trip began with what should …