h digitalfootprint web 728x90

Opinion

Elbert web

The Elbert Files: Model Ts made here

For more than a century, a massive, six-story building at 1800 Grand Ave. has marked the west end of downtown.

The building straddles the southwest corner of Grand Avenue’s iconic intersection with Fleur Drive and …

Elbert web

The Elbert Files: The day my eye ‘burped’

I noticed around sixth or seventh grade that I was having trouble seeing the blackboard.

Instead of telling anyone, I squinted until I discovered that pulling the skin around my eye socket would warp my …

Elbert web

The Elbert Files: A century-old derecho?

In the early hours of June 28, 1924, a major storm passed through Des Moines. Most news reports called it a tornado. If it was, it was the only tornado in recorded history to ever …

OnLeadership Elbert FeatureImage

On Leadership: Iowa Business Hall of Famer Ray Cole on what it means to be a Transformational Leader

This is part of an ongoing series on Transformational Leadership.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column for Business Record where I reached out to five top local leaders for their thoughts on Transformational …

Elbert web

The Elbert Files: High rates are suffocating

Economist Jim Paulsen is no fan of high interest rates.

The titles of two recent Paulsen Perspectives newsletters say it all.

“10-Year Treasury Yield is Too High,” proclaims his June 5 newsletter. “The Federal Reserve …

Elbert web

Caitlin Clark in the Wall Street Journal

The name Caitlin Clark has appeared so often in the Wall Street Journal this year that regular subscribers might be tempted to think of her as a new crypto currency or artificial intelligence product. Like …

Elbert web

The Elbert Files: Slip-sliding away

In case you haven’t noticed, Iowa’s economy is struggling. We’re not in a recession, but things have been trending down for some time.

Farm commodity prices are sagging, and our minimum wage is among the …

OnLeadership Elbert FeatureImage

On Leadership: What does it take to be a transformational leader?

When I was 22 years old and recently out of college, I was lucky enough to work with a leader who changed my life by challenging me to take on a role that was a …

Elbert web

The Elbert Files: Two-spirit people

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical “Hamilton” ends with these lines: “Who lives; who dies? Who tells your story?”

Most history is told from the viewpoint of winners.

I’ve become increasingly aware of this adage in recent …

OnLeadership Elbert FeatureImage

On Leadership: Shifting expectations of Gen Z are changing the workforce

It’s hard to believe, but soon there will be more full-time zoomers than baby boomers in the workforce. The generation born between 1996 and 2010 is growing up. As a new report by Glassdoor says: …