Big news this week for the Writers' Collaborative
...Dave Price and Stephanie Copley join our columnist ranks
It’s not often an established and respected television broadcaster leaves a plumb job with a local network affiliate unless it’s for a job in a larger market. So, we here with The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative are proud to welcome the former WHO-TV ‘Insiders’ host to our columnist ranks. Within short order, he launched his introductory column on Tuesday and another on Saturday with a meaty look at local Democratic party negotiations with the DNC about the Iowa caucus.
Shortly after Dave Price launched, we had the pleasure of introducing IWC readers to Stephanie Copley, who many know as a contributor to Cyclone Fanatic and for her podcast Title IX with Alisa Woods. Here is a story about Steph from the hometown newspaper where she once worked: The Carroll Times Herald. She is also a successful attorney, but her column-writing focus will be women’s sports and motherhood. Meet Stephanie and learn why her column title is: It was never a Dress:
You, dear reader, will write our third new column introduced this week. It is a platform for our readers to contribute essays or ol’ fashioned Letters to the Editor. Why? A consequence of traditional newspapers slashing space for Opinion pieces is dwindling reader engagement. That’s a loss, we think, and citizens' voices are a foundation of democracy. Please participate. Your voice matters.
WHAT A WEEK
The roundup column editor has the unenviable job of compiling short introductions to posts published during the past week. Please know they are all terrific, and just because one is placed higher than another, it is not a reflection of the quality of the content.
That said, Robert Leonard has a way of bringing his readers an appreciation and love for the everyday folks who live and work in the Deep Midwest.
CHERYL TEVIS
A column by our own Cheryl Tevis in February caught the eye of Soledad O’Brien and culminated in her CBS news piece aired about child labor laws in Iowa that aired last night. These stories matter. If you aren’t already, become a paid subscriber of Cheryl’s work. She puts heart, soul, and accurate reporting into what she contributes to the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative.
And here is Tevis’ latest commentary and reporting on the issue:
FERN AND JOE
Fern and Joe’s column this week is mainly written by Fern, who gives us a deeply moving story about her father.
JOHN NAUGHTON
Saying goodbye to an amazing athlete, Lisa Brinkmeyer.
KURTIS MEYER
Our man from St. Ansgar offers sage advice from his volunteer work as a Boys State counselor.
LAURA BELIN
Laura Belin is a must-read for political junkies and anyone who wants to know what is going on in Iowa politics.
DAVE BUSIEK
How are local journalists covering politicians? One-sided, says our media observer:
What in the world? Dial back on coverage of PRIDE, and include opposing views. Seriously.
PAT KINNEY
Our man in Waterloo salutes a local religious leader, his priest.
ART CULLEN
…Art meets Jesus on a trail in Storm Lake
SUZANNA DE BACA
Our resident poet’s reflections on Juneteenth…
DEBRA ENGLE
What she learned about planting with love. It’s a whole new world.
BARRY PIATT
Our Washington, D.C. correspondent laments the change in Senator Chuck Grassley, who he says is missing an opportunity.
LETTERS FROM IOWANS
We think you’re going to like this feature. Subscribe. It’s free. And participate! There are two essays, the first by a Decorah minister on the loss of a tree, the next by an Iowa City-based columnist and former editor at the Wall Street Journal, who has something to say about same-sex marriage.
JULIE GAMMACK
Last week, Julie posted a podcast of her interview with Romen Borsellino, a comedy writer from Des Moines. This coming Monday, she invites you to her Monday Zoom call with Matt Richter, whose family dynasty in the Iowa Great Lakes region of Okoboji is legendary. Subscribers receive a link for the call on Monday mornings. Join the fun.
HOLA IOWA
Please do pass the love. Thanks to Hola Iowa for illuminating multi-faceted issues impacting the community. Read this profile by Christina Fernández-Morrow.
LARRY STONE
Two marvelous columns by our nature-loving correspondent in northeast Iowa. Stone’s observations and photography in his Listening to the Land column this week reveal a significant Hackberry butterflies population; his other feature is a lament about what white settlers have done to the land. He’s listening.
WINI MORANVILLE
What the heck is up with tipping for food service? Patrons, beware.
CHUCK OFFENBURGER
There’s something about a small-town celebration that brings out the best of our Iowa Boy, who reports on the doings in his town of Jefferson, during Bell Tower Festival days.
MACEY SPENSLEY
These are the moments when a child feels seen for the first time, when empathy grows deep in someone’s heart when you can physically see a participant’s horizons expand.
DOUGLAS BURNS
A touch of good news on the local journalism front…
MARY SWANDER
Readers learn so much from Mary Swander. She writes with such detail and heart about the lives of her neighbors in this story about weddings in the Amish community where she lives.
ED TIBBETTS
TERESA ZILK
Monday is Juneteenth. Why is this an important day?
OUR SPONSORS
Remember the saying, “Now a word from our sponsors…” and an announcer would usher in many commercials? That’s what paid the production costs of the show. Flash forward to today, when viewers can stream content commercial-free but pay a hefty monthly fee for the privilege. Adding up Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV, and the monthly charge for internet service, and….well, you know.
There is a debate within the storytelling and reporting community about paywalls and providing content like what we do here for free. The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative is a bold experiment. We provide columns to Iowa Capital Dispatch, a nonprofit local news platform funded by donations, in exchange for them linking back to the columnist’s Substack page. We are not compensated otherwise.
We offer the content at no charge and hope at least 10% of you will become paid subscribers. In theory, this will be enough compensation to keep our writers going. After all, they have bills to pay, and expenses associated with producing the columns, not to mention the opportunity cost of using their time this way.
Here’s a suggestion. Pick five columnists you read and want to keep reading. Over the next few months, become a paid subscriber to each of them.
If we can all do our part, this experiment will work.
Are you in?
The latest roster of 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
Stephanie Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston
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, Los Angeles and Iowa
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
LettersfromIowans, Iowa
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Lake City
Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Wini Moranville, Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines
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 Politics: Behind the Curtains, Washington, D.C.
Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Urbandale
Macey Spensley, The Midwest Creative, Davenport and Des Moines
Larry Stone, Listening to the Land, Elkader
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
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