Todd Dorman

My first reaction upon hearing that Statehouse reporters would be barred from working on the floor of the Iowa Senate, where journalists have had a front-row seat to legislative proceedings for more than a century, was disgust and sadness.

Clearly, cooler heads were not prevailing as the Legislature returned this week. Republican Senate President Jake Chapman set the tone.

Our Golden Dome of Wisdom is opening for business once again on Monday. And the best we can hope for is that Republicans who run the joint won’t make their worst impulses into laws.

When a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, bludgeoning police officers and chasing lawmakers into hiding in an attempt to stop certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory, it seemed real American carnage might jolt our politics back toward sanity.

Deidre DeJear and Ras Smith are the leading Democratic candidates for governor, and they’re determined to work to win.

The Gazette’s Todd Dorman shares his modern take on the classic poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” — which famously begins “’Twas the night before Christmas.”

Here’s to hoping “change” is the word of the year for 2022.

So have you heard the one about the guy who made a public records request to the Linn-Mar school district …

Every year, I help make your season bright by revising the lyrics to some classic Christmas songs to better fit the current moment. Here are some more.

Our Statehouse Santas are talking about eliminating the state’s personal and corporate income taxes. Ho, ho, ho, how will that go?

Next year, don’t be surprised if you receive a mailer from a Republican lawmaker or GOP candidate espousing their support for public schools. But they’ll probably leave out the part about wanting to put teachers and administrators in jail.

So the porches beat the dive bars. And it wasn’t even close.

Todd Dorman has some pitches for Hallmark to make some Christmas movies in Iowa.