Don't mess with Leonard, and other tales
Don't mess with Leonard, and other tales
...hope in Dayton, drama and fun stuff in the Quad Cities and GOP caucus fodder
Iowa State Senator Ken Rozenboom Loses his Cool…and Shows Iowans Who He Really Is, by Robert Leonard, is a masterclass in something. Grab some popcorn.
Dave Price gets up close and personal about one of the most significant issues of our time: water quality. His family endured enough time without the stuff of life that is taken for granted; it brought the issue into focus.
The Davenport City Council ousts one of its own, and Ed Tibbetts has the story. His Iowa Writers’ Collaborative colleague from the Quad Cities, Alison McGauhey, launched a QC Potpourri whimsy from the same geographical part of the state.
Over on the more western part of the state, Art Cullen muses how the Pandemic still colors everything.
Barry Piatt tackles JFK’s Inspiration & Trump’s MAGA, and Pat Kinney takes us back in time to report on two classmates from Waterloo who caused ‘good trouble’ 60 years ago.
For a roundup of what’s going on in Iowa (CO2 pipeline, Iowa caucus campaign, the Cy-Hawk game, and other issues), always follow Laura Belin. Always.
I’m Just a Small Town Kid, Presidential Candidate Burgum says in this column by Douglas Burns.
SPORTS
Steph Copley puts a needed perspective on tone-deaf commentary by legacy media when reporting women’s sports stories. Check out A rare win, my ‘arse.’
IOWA NEWS
Unfinished Business columnist Cheryl Tevis has a heartwarming story about the possible revival of a lost local newspaper. Read her Keepin’ it Local piece for a dash of hope.
As we ease into the fall' leaf peeping’ season, Larry Stone offers a preview of a new hotel built on the foundation of an old Mill in his bucolic town of Elkader. Viewing Iowa’s colorful switch to fall, especially in the hilly region of northeast Iowa, is a road trip worth taking, and now you have a new overnight stay option. Here’s Larry’s Invitation to an Ioconic Inn.
The Iowa Boy, Chuck Offenburger, introduces us to someone it sounds like we’d like to hear: an ol’ pro leading one of Iowa’s best bands —a profile of Iowa musician Heath Pattschull and his “Heath Alan & The Deep Roots” band, according to O’burger, has become the talk of the music scene in the state. Little wonder why – the relatively new band is playing with two graduates of the Julliard School in New York City, three recent music grads of Drake U, and three ol’ pros. In the lead is Heath Alan Pattschull, of Des Moines, whom our Boy first raved about in print when he was a Cedar Falls High School senior in 1991.
This week, food writer Wini Moranville’s piece is titled Five Stellar Main-Dish Salads (That Won’t Make You Wish You Ordered a Burger).
Julie Gammack has the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat starting Monday, and it caused her to pause and reflect upon the new Lakes area tradition she began two years ago.
Fern and Joe write about Crossing the Marital Divide in a piece sure to cause a nod of recognition among couples reading this post.
Kurt Meyer has an End of Summer report.
And John Naughton brings us the grand finale with his report from the Clay County Fair.
Cultural differences were displayed during a presentation at SE Polk and ‘How a Student's Mistake Taught Me About Inclusion.’
In Jeff Morrison’s column, Between Two Rivers, he looks at Town vs. township, a school edition, where he lays out the history of the demise and emergence of some local school districts.
Mary Swander introduces us to an emerging writer, Hannah Breckbill, who discusses her quest to raise healthy pork.
POETRY
Suzanna de Baca wraps up this week with a nod to her first anniversary writing Dispatches from the Heartland column and ends with her poem, Tomorrow is Not Promised.
IOWA WRITERS’ COLLABORATIVE
Have you explored the variety of writers in the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative? They are from around the state and contribute commentary and feature stories of interest to those who care about Iowa. Please pick five you’d like to support by becoming paid. It helps keep them going. Enjoy: