CBS stinks, Cullen on Iowa's Race to the Bottom, and Ozzy
...and much more
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative connects readers to columnists who share an interest in the state. On any given week, our roundup of essays can include topical issues, a slice of life with a picture of a charming community bandshell, or highlight an exhibit on local racism and an historic piece by an award-winning journalist. Travel, dining, features, and music stories can be found on the Flipside each Wednesday.
This week, we kick things off on two wheels as RAGBRAI pedals its way into our hearts and across our headlines. Chuck Offenburger heads up the rear of the famous bike ride, while another columnist reminds us that RAGBRAI is Iowa’s superpower—part rolling party, part spiritual awakening, part leg workout from hell. Meanwhile, Lake City is jazzing up its historic bandstand, because when Iowa throws a block party, it includes brass sections and civic pride.
From there, buckle up for a whirlwind tour through Iowa politics, where Brenna Bird keeps laying eggs (legislatively speaking), but sheriffs and columnists alike are pushing back. Matt Russell and Robert Leonard are hot on the trail of Republican budget cuts to conservation, while Art Cullen argues Iowa can win the race to the bottom—a contest no one asked for, and yet, here we are.
Elsewhere: billionaires behaving badly, teachers on edge in July (just don’t say anything to them), and an Ozzy Osbourne tribute that somehow doubles as a business leadership lesson (yes, really). You’ll also find a poetic ode to sweet corn, a courtroom showdown over Boy Scouts abuse cases, and a dash of ballooning, which we now know is like “sailing meets NASCAR meets chess.” Iowans really don’t do boring.
And don’t miss the national scene: We’ve got reverse Robin Hood budgets, judicial nominations that would make Madison and Hamilton facepalm, and a haunting look at the Rosenbergs that ties espionage, racism, and protest music into one explosive historical yarn.
Whether you came for the biking, stayed for the policy drama, or got swept away by a nostalgic poem and a CBS takedown, this is Iowa, folks. Complex, candid, corn-fed commentary you won’t find anywhere else.
Agriculture
Matt Russell
Russell and Robert Leonard produce the receipts for Republican cuts to farmer-led conservation.
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Around Iowa
Chuck Offenburger
Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger pedaled 15 miles of RAGBRAI Saturday, way at the back of the pack. He called it the “Mary Riche Roots Tour,” since the route went through his wife’s home area in northeast Iowa. He’s got a preliminary report here.
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Darcy Maulsby
Lake City is all jazzed up to restore the iconic bandstand in the community's historic town square—and you're invited to join the fun.
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David Thoreson
RAGBRAI is Iowa's Superpower. Pro tip, look up, grab the low-hanging fruit, embrace outdoor recreation.
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Fern Kupfer and Joe Geha
”Can I help you,” asks Fern of a MAGA cap-wearing man taking pictures of her yard sign. Read more
Business
Daniel Henderson
This column suggests that we move away from capitalism as a one-dimensional system that prioritizes profit alone, to a more comprehensive system that values people, the planet, and profit, in that order.
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Rick Jost: Biz Whispers
Meat Market Mayhem: There's plenty of beefing but a shortage of solutions as red-meat sellers and buyers cope with record high costs of beef. The trend is expected to continue.
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Rick Morain
When it comes to billionaires, it takes all kinds.
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Suzanna de Baca
Suzanna de Baca’s column, Bats, Ballads and the Blizzard of Ozz, explores how the death of heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne offers unconventional insights into leadership.
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Humor
Daniel P. Finney
FINNEY'S 5: Things you don't say to teachers in July
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Iowa Politics
Art Cullen
Iowa can beat anybody in the race to the bottom, Art Cullen writes.
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Ed Tibbetts
A county sheriff stood up to Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and won! Ed Tibbetts explains how the Winneshiek County sheriff refused to knuckle under to Trumpian intimidation.
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Laura Belin
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks covered cuts to Iowa public TV and radio, more news from Congress, new federal candidates, second quarter fundraising, and the demise of Brenna Bird's case against a county sheriff.
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Robert Leonard
Matt Russell and Bob Leonard argue that Democrats need to engage on water quality and hold Republicans accountable.
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Zachary Oren Smith
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird quietly dropped her lawsuit against Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx over a Facebook post, claiming “compliance” despite never getting the apology she demanded. Plus: Congress cuts Iowa public media funding, Q2 campaign finance numbers reveal surprising Democratic strength, and a new cancer investigation launches.
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Law and Justice
Kurtis Meyer
Having served America's youth for more than a century, the Boy Scouts are now struggling to stamp out sexual abuse within its ranks. The current battle is being fought in bankruptcy court.
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Media
Daniel P. Finney
MOVIE REVIEW: The Fantastic Four: First Steps does not live up to its adjective. It should be The Acceptable Four.
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Dave Busiek
The CBS disaster smells worse than we first thought, according to Dave Busiek on Media Matters.
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Mental Health
Lynn Hicks
Troubled youth find a refuge at a peaceful new addiction recovery campus: As Iowa parents struggle to find help for kids in crisis, Ember Recovery Campus offers hope.
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National Politics
Arnold Garson
The Rosenbergs: 4 stories in one — A 37-year-old woman wrongly executed as a Russian spy; the conspiracy between a judge and a prosecutor that made it happen; how fear of antisemitism prevented Jews from speaking out; and how a song lamenting racism and a lynching became a part of this story.
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Cheryl Tevis
In her column A Day Late and a Dollar Short, Cheryl Tevis is asking why there's no big parade, fanfare, and fireworks to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S. Postal Service.
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Dennis Goldford
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton would shake their heads in disbelief if they saw what has become of Congress.
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Letters From Iowans
As Americans celebrated their nation's birthday earlier this month, the federal government passed a “reverse Robin Hood budget,” and too many people aren’t aware.
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Randy Evans
Supporters trumpeted how the recently passed tax-cut also cut unnecessary, wasteful spending. Iowans in Congress were silent, however, on wasteful spending that was added — like $40 million for 250 statues and $85 million for moving a space shuttle to Texas.
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24-hour Dorman
As Chuck Grassley shoved another awful judicial nomination through the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker asked a question many Iowans have been asking. “Why are you doing this?”
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Poetry
Suzanna de Baca
Sweet Corn is a tribute to Iowa in high summer that captures the quiet abundance of roadside bounty and childhood memory.
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Sports
Quad Cities Sports Histories
You may have missed Craig’s mid-week Stack on When the Bix Got Big because — full disclosure — his IT guy messed up.
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Phoebe Wall Howard
When her firefighter dad died suddenly, Dawn McKenzie decided she couldn't quit what they started. “Competition ballooning is like a combination of sailing, chess and NASCAR.”
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The Iowa Angle
Rekha Basu
An exhibit at Des Moines' Harkin Institute reveals the lasting legacy of racism in housing, and how hard it is for some residents to afford decent abodes on Iowa wages.
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Weather and Environment
Chris Gloninger
Three Degrees Podcast: Speaking Truth in Dangerous Times — Former Iowa State Senator Rob Hogg provides a heartfelt tribute to Melissa Hortman, a call for courage, and why climate action still matters.
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The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
Lillian Robinson drove from Minnesota to attend the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative party for our paid subscribers, held in the hometown of Marianne Fons. We had folks from all over Iowa in attendance, and their appreciation for this bold experiment in local news and commentary was so welcome by our members in attendance.
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Thanks to Maryanne for organizing a great event in her beautiful town.