Around the world and back to Iowa
...another week of columns, delivered to your inbox
Today we introduce our newest columnist, Nik Heftman. He is a producer for CBS news with a background in Iowa journalism. His column will combine his skills as a multi-media storyteller with his passion for telling the stories of Black-owned businesses. Many, but not all, will highlight Iowa business.
The column is titled The Seven Times because dollars spent with a business circulate through the economy seven times. In his inaugural column, Nik tells the story of a Des Moines man who owns a dive shop.
NIK HEFTMAN
We’d like you to get to know all of our writers. You’ve heard of many in our ranks, but some of our columnists you haven’t read before. We think you’ll appreciate doing so.
If it’s January, it’s time for legislators from around the state to converge on our Capitol city. Laura Belin covers the Iowa legislature like none other.
LAURA BELIN
Our man from Davenport, longtime Quad City Times political reporter Ed Tibbetts, has a way of putting issues into relatable context. Check him out.
ED TIBBETTS
Take a look at Jane Nguyen’s column about growing up in Carroll, Iowa, as one of the few Asian children in town. She helps us see and imagine what that experience would feel like and shape our worldview.
JANE NGUYEN
Before my parents adopted me, they received a photo of me sitting in a stroller with a sign. On the sign was written my Vietnamese name - Nguyen Thi Van. My family and I didn’t know how my name was pronounced. We said it, “New-yen Tee Von,” when it’s pronounced, “Win Tee Vun.” We also didn’t know Nguyen was my last name, not my first name, until years later…Jane Nguyen
PAT KINNEY
Our man in Waterloo salutes a longtime colleague, cartoonist Jack Bender.
Hola Iowa”s Christina Fernández-Morrow, Hola Iowa
Rubén Vázquez began his new role as United Way of Central Iowa's Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer. In this column from Hola America, we are introduced not only to a new community member but also to understand why diversity and inclusion have become an important mission for the organization.
…he recalled times he was followed while shopping at Target, when he was asked for a green card when pulled over for a traffic violation instead of being asked for his license; and how his mother was refused services because she didn’t speak English. When he became a citizen, he went as far as ordering a passport card that he carries with his license to show whenever his immigration status is questioned.
ROBERT LEONARD
SUZANNA de BACA
JULIE GAMMACK
JODY GIFFORD
MARY SWANDER’S EMERGING VOICES
Legendary sports writer John Naughton is free to write about anything he pleases. In this week’s post, you’ll learn something about the history of pizza in Iowa.
JOHN NAUGHTON
Losing a local grade school is personal for those who attended or watched their children enter the building through the years. Cheryl Tevis writes about the fate of the Boxholm school building and the community response.
CHERYL TEVIS
Cheryl Tevis’s column is consistently good. This week, she describes the community response to the loss of the school in Boxholm, population 178.
DEBRA ENGLE
Our columnist from Madison County, Iowa, also teaches writing through her job as managing director of the international program Story Summit. In this role, she conducts countless Zoom classes. She also has two cats. Put them together, and she has a fun read this week:
We will soon be adding Macey Spensley to our ranks. She’ll bring a fresh perspective as the youngest member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Macey grew up in the local newspaper business in her hometown of Monticello, Iowa. Most recently, she has been working for the Quad City Times. We can’t wait to read what she has to say!
She’ll also have a thing or two to teach us about the creative, digital world. Here’s a magazine piece she wrote in 2021:
https://www.collegemagazine.com/my-professional-life-has-not-gone-according-to-plan-and-i-love-it/
More about Macey:
Welcome aboard, Macey!
Here is our current list of Iowa Writers’ Collaborative columnists. You do not have to pay to read their work, however, if you can become a paid subscriber, they will be most appreciative. As a thank-you for doing so, you’ll be invited to our monthly Zoom gathering, where our writers chat amongst themselves and with our readers. It’s fun and lively. And costs a lot less than a cheap breakfast a month.
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Columnists
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake
Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley
Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County
Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji
Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames
Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines
Nik Heftman, The Seven Times, Iowa and California
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla
Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines
Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines
Jane Nguyen, The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politic Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Macy Spensley, The Midwestern Creative, Davenport/Des Moines
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona
Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport
Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines
To receive a weekly roundup of all Iowa Writers’ Collaborative columnists, sign up here (free): ROUNDUP COLUMN
We are proud to have an alliance with Iowa Capital Dispatch.
We are adding new subscribers every day because our readers are sharing this with friends, neighbors, colleagues, and even folks they don’t like, but want to teach them a thing or two about different aspects of life in Iowa.
Thanks for a great roundup, Julie!