THE CONVERSATION — The year 2022 will be remembered across the U.S. for its devastating flooding and storms – and also for its extreme heat waves and droughts, including one so severe it briefly shut down traffic on the Mississippi River. During a period of five weeks over the summer, five 1,000-year rainfall events occurred in St. Louis, eastern Kentucky, southern […]

There’s a school of political thought that divided government is the government that governs best. Put the White House in the hands of one party, and Congress in the hands of the other, the argument goes, and the two sides inevitably will have to come to the negotiating table to work things out. Much like […]

It’s time to play the Big Game again in Washington. It’s time again for members of Congress to perform one of their most important duties. But instead of passing a federal budget for the coming year, the senators and House members will take a knee and pass what’s called a “Continuing Resolution.” A “CR,” as […]

Mark Wheeler got his first real bicycle when he was a 12-year-old boy living in Indianapolis. “It was a blue-and-white Schwinn with fat tires, and I rode it everywhere. I liked the feeling of freedom, knowing that I could get where I wanted to go.” Mark still loves biking at age 84. Over the years, […]

Opening day at the Legislature last week – usually a moment of celebration and selfies, congratulations and renewal – turned into a bad day for lawmakers, and a worse day for Gov. Janet Mills. The fault is largely the governor’s. Mills knows what it’s like on swearing-in day; she’s been elected attorney general four times […]