Fern and Joe, Israel and Hamas, Lolo Jones and a roundup of commentary from around Iowa
...PLUS, a word about the Iowa Writers's Collaborative 'business model'
Let’s start the Roundup with a chuckle from
Where were you in high school?Local News
got a surprise answer from Governor Kim Reynolds regarding Coach Lisa Bluder’s salary. Immigrants are not the problem that the propaganda campaigns want you to fear, Art Cullen writes from Storm Lake, enriched by people from around the globe.
writes about the governor’s summer meal grants as " crumbs for Iowa kids.” Laura and Dennis Hart discussed the state's new administrative rules on abortion and many legislative happenings on KHOI's Capitol Week.reports on a local non-profit media outlet that points one way forward in a tough media landscape.A small organization makes a huge difference in Iowa's public information gathering. Randy Evans and the Iowa Freedom of Information Council he heads is the focus of
and her Iowa Potluck podcast. with Dana James features an interview with publishers of a new magazine dedicated to finding data about Des Moines policing. Just Voices.Why Student Debt Forgiveness?
takes us on a journey to discover why college student debt shouldn’t be a partisan issue. The repercussions of looking the other way may cost us all somewhere down the road. Reclaiming the Ties that Bind Us. Israel’s War Against Hamas
Israel’s war against Hamas is all but over. Hamas has won. Israel has lost, writes
.Hamas’s goal was to do no more than provoke a war with Israel that would gain worldwide support for the Palestinian community. Hamas has succeeded in doing that. It was willing to sacrifice some of its own, the cities of Gaza, and many Palestinian civilians to achieve its goal. Few people outside the Palestinian community understood what was happening before it was too late.
Israel’s goal was to destroy Hamas. That has turned out to be impossible – and anything short of destruction is a failure for Israel because Hamas will strike again.
Iowa Politics
In our topsy-turvy/bizarro world where the amoral Donald Trump is seen as a right-wing Republican "Christian" leader, their supposed "civil-rights" heroes are anything but.
calls them out in "Chuck Hurley with the Iowa Family Leader is no civil rights hero: and a tribute to great newspaper columnists who shaped me, as a boy and now..."Richard Gilbert takes the helm of the
Iowa Potluck column to liken the effort to enact Prohibition to the long game anti-abortion strategists are playing: Sh*t Richard Says. writes from Washington, DC: When Governor Reynolds signed a new law Wednesday giving Iowa law enforcement authority to arrest suspected undocumented refugees and immigrants, it was a “shameful act of xenophobia” that left in tatters Iowa’s national humanitarian acclaim for helping resettle Southeast Asian refugees in the 1970s.
Drain Baby Drain
discusses the drainage of the Iowa farmland and the demise of its wetlands.
Around Iowa
Editor’s note: Did you know that The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative has three columnists in the Quad Cities?
, , and at Along the Mississippi writes that a new Republican lie about President Biden, promoted by Joni Ernst, masks an important truth: Tens of thousands of veterans are getting access to care and benefits because of a law he signed., inspired by the late legendary Quad City Times columnist Bill Wundram, is asking, "Is anybody there? Does anybody care?" about eyesore buildings in Davenport.Our novelist,
, takes us behind the scenes of a writer’s life, wrapping up her next novel. Nicole shares a trailer for her upcoming 2025 novel release from Atria. She says she’s crazy about this one! A Theory of Infinite Words.
Turkey hunting is just an excuse!
The dean of Iowa TV news anchors, Ron Steele at KWWL in Waterloo, talks about his career in the “View from the Cedar Valley” column by
.Iowa Boy
uses his column this week to memorialize “one of my favorite RAGBRAI riders,” Barry Katz, the “Honorary Mayor of Hell’s Kitchen” in the heart of New York City. He died in a hospital there at age 68 on April 6 after an infection damaged his bloodstream and heart. A highly regarded theatrical agent who rode his bicycle across Manhattan daily for work, Barry had ridden 35 consecutive RAGBRAIs. This photo was taken of him dipping his tire in the Mississippi River at the ride’s end last summer.
Food News
got a first look at the Matt Steigerwald-helmed restaurant of the trailblazing Wilson's Farm + Orchard near Cumming. Wini thinks this restaurant could be a game-changer.Travel
On Inishbofin Island in Ireland,
peers into a hand lens to observe lichen and the conflicts and resolutions of the world open to her. has a psalm and a hymn. A college choir director and the Governor of Bombay. A Pharaoh and Bob Dylan. This week, all tied up in a bow by way of Kurt Meyer’s column.Humor
: A bear-able afternoon at the inclusive playground in Winterset.Sports
Drake Relays favorite Lolo Jones is returning, this time to be inducted into the Relays Athletes Hall of Fame,
reports.
Deeply Personal
In
latest Paragraph Stacker, the former teacher turned middle school teacher, candidly talks about the psychological weight of obesity.Poetry
surprises readers today with a poem he wrote titled Freedom’s Final Rattle. Our poet
shares her poem "The Wrong Way" and invites us to "The Inheritance of Women," a reading of her poetry performed by the Iowa Stage Theater this coming Monday, 4/15.Editor’s Note
Editor’s note: Two readers told me this week that they struggle with guilt about our Iowa Writers’ Collaborative model and wish there was one fee—even a hefty one—that would cover everyone in the group. One already subscribes to six of our columnists (thank you).
“Why can’t we do that?” he asked. And he’s not alone.
Here’s Why
We are each independent (believe me, that’s why this model works). It is up to the individual writer how often they post a column. Some file each week. Others have full-time jobs elsewhere and post when they can. Some have thousands of subscribers, and others have smaller audiences. It does not matter.
We do not accept advertising.
As the group's convener, I have no idea what our writers' readership metrics are unless they tell me. And I don’t need to know.
We all see how many views our stories get and love it when readership spikes for a story. But I caution folks not to get caught up in the numbers.
Many of our readers are influential leaders in Iowa, and our pieces through this platform can help shape policy, spark ideas and awareness, and lead to conversations. And understanding. Metrics over substance be damned.
has a two-part series about a Laotian refugee family living in Iowa. These stories help us better understand our neighbors. Sometimes , who lives in Bussey, or , from Elkader, take us on a nature walk in the early morning hours. Bob even uploads audio on the occasion of a birdsong. Elegant writing by can whisk us off to Ireland. This week, Dana James of introduced us to a new organization dedicated to ending systemic racism in policing.Although we are part of the
, we are not a formal organization with bylaws. The only rule we have is that the columnist to be included must have some professional writing experience. When considering a new member, I casually run the name by a few of our founding members or Kathie Obradovich, who leads Iowa Capital Dispatch and reproduces many of our posts. Ultimately, I make the call—for now.I’d love to find a political cartoonist and a professional photographer to run a column with pictures from around the state. I’m thrilled we have
on our roster as a singer/songwriter and former photo/journalist.This Roundup column has a paid subscription option. Those funds are spent on group promotion and real-time gatherings where we can share best practices. Our next gathering will be held in May at the Whiterock Conservancy near Coon Rapids. I’ve arranged for someone from Substack to give us a presentation. If you are a paid subscriber here, you are paying for our lodging and meals, which is an investment in our growth.
Ultimately, this is an experiment. Subtack personnel have told me that no other state has adopted this model yet.
I Can’t Read Everyone - There’s Too Much to Read!
Or, ‘Why did you bring so-and-so into the Collaborative? I don’t like him/her.’
I don’t suppose you read every column inch of the Sunday New York Times, either. Nor must you. Pick what interests you. That’s it.
What Can You Do to Help?
If you like a column, comment on it and share it. That satisfies the Substack algorithm and boosts the writer. Of course, if you can afford to subscribe to our writers, please do. About 10% of our readers become paid, and as we grow, this can be sustainable for those who need to make a living as writers. We aren’t there yet, but the potential is there.
Does this make sense? If you have a comment or suggestion or want to carry on this conversation, send me a message:
IMO, this business model is the way to go for digital writing. Readers can choose to “go paid” with whom they choose or they can choose to support the coalition as a whole by supporting this one.
Would love to see something similar here in WI., or a topical one for music writers.
Great explainer of how it all works Julie!
One overlooked loss from the disintegration of the for-profit newspaper industry is the loss of shared knowledge and institutional memory in larger newsrooms.
This assembly of talented writers from around the state gathers together decades of experience and knowledge and that’s a good thing.