The 2024 election, Guns, Secrecy surrounds Perry shooting and Davenport lawsuit, A new film about an Iowa City poet,
...and Ruth Harkin launches her new book of essays
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Presidential Politics 2024.….Guns.….Iowa Politics….Local Politics….Around Iowa….Sports….Dining & Travel….Weather and Environment….Books….Humor…..Poetry…..IWC Roster
Presidential Politics 2024
Trust, without which a liberal society cannot function, is under assault. So writes
about the MAGA mindset today. has a commentary piece on school shootings and the presidential campaign.offers a personal perspective on the aftermath of gun violence: A warning from Oxford High School to Apalachee High School about school shootings. This is an insider's raw perspective. says that Trump and his campaign are imploding in full public view, but that no one should count him out.
Iowa Politics
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative political analysts have a podcast called: Iowa Down Ballot. This week, they met the day after Iowa’s Lt. Governor resigned. Listen to the discussion featuring
as moderator, with panelists: Kathie Obradovich, , , , . Subscribe so you get this podcast the day it is uploaded.
One topic brought up by
in the podcast was the serious issue of Iowa’s “brain drain,” which is worsening. Exiting college grads aren’t likely to come back, given the extreme shift in dominant Iowa values. Unless more Iowans push back harder. offers six takeaways on Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg's surprise resignation. While his exit seemed sudden, it was a long time in the making. on Media asks who authorities are protecting by not releasing information in the Perry school shooting. wishes he could vote for Sarah Corkery for congress, after meeting her in Hardin County.Local Politics
at Along the Mississippi brings you new reporting and analysis in Davenport’s continuing effort to keep secrets in the controversy over payments to former employees who had lodged harassment allegations against now-departed elected officials.Black Iowa News features a thought-provoking letter-to-the-editor by Anita Fleming about the possibility of a takeover of the Des Moines School District.
Weather and Environment
Growing season getting longer with climate change, but that's not all good news, writes
, who has an important Iowa-angle to a global, existential issue.From
’s Emerging Voices: Master naturalist Amie Adams compiled Bernt Olaf Wolden's columns for the Esterville Daily News. In his column, Wolden educated and delighted Iowa readers with stories and lessons on plants and birds, and with his many observations of the natural world. Here, he writes of goldenrod and the beauty it provided in a less industrialized landscape than we experience today.
Around Iowa
contemplates his 50th high school reunion, as only he can. talks about essential minerals, a reunited Oasis, and this week's Harris-Trump debate."Big Boy," the world's largest steam locomotive, passed through Iowa last week.
wrote about its visit to Belle Plaine.
In the latest inquiry over at The Five and Dime,
explores Charles Bukowski, the trimming of trees, and of course, American mass shooting. An evocative read.It takes a city to support a local farm--what would you like to see and experience at Whippoorwill Creek Farm?
needs your feedback!
From
: A 99-year-old retired general from Waterloo and his retired Army colonel daughter participate in "Military Appreciation Night" during the renewal of one of Iowa's oldest high school football rivalries.
Pat has a second column this week: Sailors on a ship named after five Waterloo brothers killed in World War II honor their home state, "Cy-Hawk style."
Sports - Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese/ Hawkeye Offense
says basketball fans shouldn’t get all caught up in the supposed rivalry between WNBA rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. It’s so much better, she writes, to just sit back and enjoy this great sports moment.
Dining, Travel, & Entertainment
From former CBS News producer, Nik Heftman: Check out the preview for our first feature-length documentary on spoken-word poet Caleb Rainey, The Negro Artist. The documentary will premiere on September 22 at the Pearson Lakes Arts Center in Okoboji, Iowa, as part of the Okoboji Writers Retreat.
reveals who's cooking at Harbinger and Table 128--two of Des Moines's most renowned restaurants--now that top talent has left those kitchens.
Wini also shared news of Latino Restaurant Week. She also shared details of her upcoming events in Knoxville and Marshalltown, where she'll discuss her new memoir, "Love Is My Favorite Flavor: A Midwestern Dining Critic Tells All."
What's with the spoon being served alongside your sandwich? John Naughton tells you about the loose meat sandwich at Taylor's Maid-Rite.
Travel to the Grand Tetons with
.
Books
It was a milestone week for Ruth Harkin.
Doug Burns and Bob Leonard both reviewed Ruth Harkin's new book When My Husband Ran for President ...... and Other Short Stories." Doug's review appeared in The Iowa Mercury, Cityview, and Bleeding Heartland. Bob's review appeared in the Des Moines Register, the Iowa Capital Dispatch, and USA Today. He also shares a conversation with Ruth at Deep Midwest, Politics and Culture.'
Bob was also busy with an interview he did with the organizers of a conference coming later this month to the Harkin Institute at Drake University on Industrial Farm Production, the Environment, and Public Health. Authors
and Austin Frerick will be featuredIn "Reading with Rachelle," author
reviews The End of Love: Racism, Sexism, and the Death of Romance PLUS interviews the author, Professor Sabrina Strings, with John Busbee on his show, The Culture Buzz.As a former romance author, I’m still thinking about this book. I’m still thinking about this book as someone who listens to hip-hop. As someone who has had periods of nightmarish dates, I’m still thinking about this book. Rachelle Chase
Humor
From
: Dazed and confused: Overheard in classrooms and hallways in the first weeks of school (Coming Sunday afternoon.) Vicki Minor finds herself Counting Sheep.Poetry
writes of the Political Act of Being a Mermaid: On surviving cultural and political assimilation and displacement. shares a poem called "How Did I Find Myself Here."How are we doing with this Iowa Writers’ Collaborative experiment?
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