The University of Iowa seems determined to commit one of the most egregious misuses of public money in modern times. Think the great Alaska "Bridge to Nowhere" would have been a travesty? Read on...

I'll admit right up front that I have a sentimental attachment to Hancher Auditorium. I spent four years there as a stagehand, I performed on that stage, and I have a lot of great memories in that building. My late brother Steve was also a Hancher stagehand. But as an adult, I have to look at things through the more practical eyes of a taxpayer, and the University's proposal to replace the Hancher and Art Building complexes just doesn't pass this taxpayer's "smell test".