Top Ten Most Read Pieces From 2018

As a New Year’s tradition, I like to check the stats and see what pieces written in 2018 was the most read during the year. Obviously, this metric tends to favor pieces written earlier in the year, hot topics that were being searched frequently, or, as we’ve seen before, received social media attention from people who have a lot of followers.

However people landed on these pages, these are the top ten articles that you, our readers, read in 2018. I’ll indicate pieces that I did not write by including the byline.

1. McCoy Wants Independent Private Instruction Parents to Notify Schools: State Senator Matt McCoy (D-Des Moines) introduced a bill into the Iowa Senate that would require parents who homeschool under independent private instruction (IPI) to submit a written notice to their local school districts by September 1st of their intent to do so.
2. The Des Moines Register’s Obsession With Homeschooling Crops Up Again: Since it is the start of a new legislative session, The Des Moines Register takes yet another shot at homeschooling in 2018.
3. Ocasio-Cortez Is An Example of Why We Need to Improve Civics Education: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez botching the three branches of government is not a significant problem, but the lack of civics education she represents is.
4. Ethics Board Dismisses Complaint Against Two Iowa House Candidates by Donald Bohlken: The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board unanimously dismissed an ethics complaint made against Rebel Snodgrass and his former volunteer Phil Thompson.
5. My Time With Steve King by Antonia Okafor: From my own experience, Steve King has proven to be a good man. I am thankful I have had the opportunity to get to know the truth about him.
6. (Video) Gun Violence and the Culture of Life: Governor Matt Bevin (R-KY) gave an incredible response to the question of how one can value children’s lives and still oppose gun control. He discussed how gun violence is a cultural problem, not a gun problem.
7. Bill Overriding Iowa Department of Education’s Assessment Choice Advances: A bill, HSB 578, making the University of Iowa’s Iowa Testing Programs the vendor who develops and administers Iowa’s statewide student assessment passed the Iowa House Education Committee 21 to 1.
8. Rosaria Butterfield on the Celibate Gay Christian Identity Movement: Dr. Rosaria Butterfield, a former lesbian who was a tenured professor in queer theory, explains why the celibate gay Christian identity movement is not Reformed or Biblical.
9. Lots of Dads Find This Prom Picture Humorous: Jay Feely, a former kicker for the Chicago Bears and an NFL/college football analyst for CBS Sports, tweeted out a picture of his daughter and her prom date on Saturday that many dads can relate to, but Twitter had a meltdown.
10. Des Moines Register Editorial Paints Women As Incapable And Unintelligent by Kelvey Vander Hart: In typical liberal fashion, the editorial board of The Des Moines Register has published a piece painting women as incapable and unintelligent in response to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signing the fetal heartbeat abortion ban.