Happy New Year from our members
...top ten lists, a lot of laughs, and serious business here today
Kyle Munson celebrates the New Year with a list of 10 statistics to encourage everybody's curiosity and another list of five facts about what makes Iowa influential from the AI named Claude. Kyle Munson’s Main Street.
Around Iowa this New Year’s Eve
Beth Hoffman has what she calls a ‘farm meditation: retreating from the chaos’ as she thinks about the seeds she’s collecting and will eventually harvest later this year.
Read what happened to Mary Swander in Ireland on New Year’s Eve when she tangled with a herd of cattle and a jug of hooch.
Nicole Baart offers up a Christmas “thank you” in the form of a piece of flash fiction titled The Greatest of These.
Kurt Meyer writes about four young men who are destined for great things… or so he predicts. They’ve already inspired him.
David Letterman had his Top 10 list for years. This week, Dave Price offers his own list of what he is watching in 2024.
Jeff Morrison looks back at 2023 through the lens of his travels and the states on U.S. Highway 50 and asks: Where are we going?
Macey Shofroth reflects on her growth and accomplishments in 2023 and looks forward to chasing her dreams in 2024.
A career Army officer from Cedar Falls will be promoted to brigadier general next week. Her wife, mother and children will participate in the ceremony. Find the story in Pat Kinney’s View from the Cedar Valley.
The Iowa Hawkeyes play the Tennessee Volunteers at midday Monday in the Citrus Bowl football game in Orlando, Florida. Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger says in his column that legions of Vanderbilt alumni like himself will be cheering for the Hawkeyes, and he explains why. It’s a fun look deep into the shenanigans involved in the Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee rivalry that stretches back to 1892.
In her column, Storytelling 101, Cheryl Tevis underscores the importance of preserving family stories.
Politics
The Reynolds administration suffered a big setback in federal court on Friday. Laura Belin walks through the order blocking Iowa from enforcing "staggeringly broad" school book bans and restrictions on teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-6.
Laura also shared the audio and recap from the last radio show she and Dennis Hart recorded this year:
What would Tom Harkin do if he were running in 2024? Doug Burns has an answer.
Ed Tibbetts continues to follow the controversy over a school board race in Scott County, where a majority on the board of supervisors responded to alleged violations of the law …. by breaking the law themselves. And he explains Nikki Haley’s John Kerry problem.
Art Cullen looks forward to the 2024 year in politics with a measure of fear and dash of loathing at the local, state and national levels. There’s hope, but … And, Cullen offers a bonus at the end of the year for loyal readers: a prayer to the patron of immigrants for mercy and guidance.
Barry Piatt On Politics: Behind the Curtains” offers a twist on the annual year-end “Who We Lost” roundup with his list of “What We Lost” politically in 2023. Iowa and the nation changed politically in 2023, and not always for the better.
Media
Dave Busiek on Media covers a “Friday news dump” about Iowa’s decision to forgo millions of federal dollars to feed low-income kids this summer and whether the PR tactic still works in the social media age.
Sports
Robert Leonard previews the Hawkeye game tomorrow with "Rituals of American Football: Homoeroticism, and Donald Trump..." You'll never watch a football game the same way.
Food
Food columnist Wini Moranville offers a highly curated list of food-related events in January, including "Wine and Dine" week at 14 local restaurants, some terrific cooking classes, and a Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate extravaganza.
Sports writer, turned fashionista, turned roadside food reporter John Naughton gives a top ten list of his own.
Business
Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. Nik Heftman highlights a Black businessman who has created a luxury watch line.
Humor
Fern and Joe write: At a certain age, you don’t have to learn history; you’ve lived it.
Says Vicki Minor: I’ll make a few resolutions (though it seems like a chore), with intentions to do better in 2024.
Poetry
Our resident poet, Suzanna de Baca, points us to the mysteries contained in the light within her latest work.
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
Below is a list of the members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please support their work by sharing and subscribing. Paid subscribers are invited to attend real-time events and occasional Zoom calls among our writers. Your support keeps this reader-only supported service going.