From Caitlin Clark to Carver Arena, and a Piano That Still Sings: Iowa Stories That Hit Home
...Your midweek mix of leisure, sports, religion, business, and strictly personal essays
This week’s Flipside roundup from the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative features 28 fresh columns spanning music, Caitlin Clark, mental health, politics, poetry, food, farming, and more—from a strawberry-rhubarb pie recipe to reflections on bipolar disorder and a superhero film that tackles emotional wellness. Whether it’s Peter Hedges discussing family and film, farmers spinning yarns, or poets honoring mothers, these writers invite you into the heart of Iowa life and thought—one honest, beautifully crafted story at a time.
Music
Carol Montag
Babies and Dishes and What I Learned About Mothering
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Chip Albright
Sean’s songs are powerful and melodically built on a firm foundation from his Americana roots music upbringing in Cumming, Iowa.
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Kathryn Severing Fox
In this moving column, a piano tuner travels to rural Iowa and finds far more than a worn-out Wurlitzer—she finds Rosemary, marking her late husband’s memory with music, and inspiring a song that plays straight from the heart.
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Strictly Personal
Joan Zwagerman
Joan Zwagerman’s experience with first-time grandparenthood was a lesson in humility.
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Peter Hedges
Before hitting the big time, there was Rusty. Peter Hedges—novelist, filmmaker, and new Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member—revisits the seventh-grade stage role that nearly didn't happen, the snowbound morning his family saved the day, and the beloved teacher who changed his life forever.
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Agriculture
Darcy Maulsby
If you want to leave a positive legacy, you've got to follow some best practices. Here are seven that apply not just to farming, but to success in life.
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Mary Swander (Buggy Land)
Farmers from across the country tell warm, funny, moving stories about livestock and land, punctuated by local old time music.
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Around Iowa (features about places and things)
Christie Vilsack
Christie Vilsack highlights the critical role that early reading plays in shaping democracy and the future of our nation.
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Jason Walsmith
Forage Ahead...a walk in the woods
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Robert Leonard
Bob Leonard and Violet the Dog explore Cedar Bluffs nearly every day of the week. This week Bob posted "Snails making a Living, and flowers galore."
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Sarah Scull
This week, Sarah Scull reflects on what it’s like to be the kind of person who always says “Yes.”
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Business
Phoebe Wall Howard
The Blue Water Bridge is seeing car traffic decline dramatically due to the 51st state boycott. A snapshot of what's happening to border cities across the U.S.
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Tej Dhawan
Just when companies across America were scrambling for wage arbitrage by moving call centers overseas, two Iowa entrepreneurs created call centers in rural Iowa towns. This is their success story.
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Entertainment & Travel
Nik Heftman
Documentary filmmaker Nik Heftman reviews Thunderbolts, a new superhero movie that puts mental health at the forefront.*
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Food & Dining
Connie Taylor
It's still spring, and we're still baking with rhubarb from Grandma's Garden. This week it’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie.
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Wini Moranville
Mark your calendar for June 29! Wini Moranville tells you how to enjoy great music, a bucolic farm scene, and a lovely picnic all in one place.
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Human Interest
Julie Gammack
In this column you are six degrees of separation from Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, Steve Carrell, and Lucas Hedges. But that’s the least important part of the podcast conversation between Julie Gammack and Peter Hedges.
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Vicki Minor
From Farm to Fiction: Kali White VanBaale’s Story
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Humor
Vicki Minor
Springtime Joys with Daisy
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Mental Health
Lisa Grouette
This week, I delve into the chaos, the highs, and the lows that I navigate as a person living with bipolar disorder.
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Poetry
Abena Sankofa Imhotep
We Been Love is a spoken word invocation written for this year’s LadyLike Power Summit.
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Kelsey Bigelow
Mother’s Day approaches and brings bitterness alongside appreciation for this motherless daughter. As always, “There’s a Poem in That.”
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Religion
Dan Henderson
There is anti-Christian bias, but it is perpetrated by MAGA Christians.
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Sports
Jane Burns
Jane Burns took some newly obsessive Caitlin Clark fans to her return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena and found it wasn’t unlike taking her goddaughter to see NSYNC.
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Rob Gray
The weather often stinks but the racing's always great during Rob Gray’s annual trip to the Drake Relays.
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World Affairs
Pat Kinney
Young Marine Fred Morris of Evansdale escaped with his life in a little-remembered but deadly battle at the end of the Vietnam War. He and fellow Marines will honor lost comrades this week.
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The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
We bring together readers who care about Iowa and its impact on the world. With more than 85 contributors—journalists, authors, and thought leaders who are current or former Iowans—we offer a diverse range of independent perspectives. Our mission is to elevate underrepresented voices, spark civic dialogue, and showcase the relevance of Iowa to national and global conversations. With over 13,000 subscribers, 65-100,000 monthly views—and each of our members reaching their own audiences through individual platforms—our collective influence is expanding rapidly.
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Newcomers: Here is a link to the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Sunday Roundup, where you can get a compilation of our members’ work published the previous week.