Matt Gaetz, Mara-a-Lago, Coach Jan Jensen, Deportation, Raw Milk
...and the first ID. Buzz sighting
Joan Zwagerman joins the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative this week. She has lived in northwest Iowa most of her life and has worked for newspapers on and off for years. She is the University Archivist at Buena Vista University, and she’s also writing for the Storm Lake Times Pilot, and shares her writing here. Please welcome Joan and her new column, Nuts and Bolts.
National Politics
considers the worst-case scenario for mass deportation and how to respond in "Document the Atrocities: the time to prepare is now . . ."puts into context Trump’s announced appointments to top positions. There is a common, yet uncommon thread: being an accused sex offender.
From
: Why diphteria was known as the Strangling Angel of Children, and what the risks would be if Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. becomes Secretary of Health and Human Services.In this week's column,
struggles to navigate the divided highway between men and women. Is it true that no matter how much the world changes around us, the more the gender gap stays the same? wrote about dishonest attacks targeting longtime Iowa Poll director Ann Selzer—coming not from MAGA randos, but from the heart of the Iowa Republican establishment.Also, Belin and Spencer Dirks discussed Iowa elections headed for recounts, how Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst will approach Donald Trump's controversial cabinet picks, unsuccessful bids by Ernst and Mariannette Miller-Meeks for GOP leadership roles, and more on "KHOI's Capitol Week."
went back to his alma mater with a message: Stand up for the truth. and Andrew Green write "Thune, Grassley, and Ernst hold the power to Stop Trump's Problematic Cabinet Nominations: Advancing Trump’s Agenda and Nominating Qualified Executive Branch Officials are not Mutually Exclusive."The nomination of Matt Gaetz was always designed to force the Senate to accept slightly less terrible nominees, writes
. writes from Washington, DC that collateral damage from the debacle of the failed nomination of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General even reaches Iowa’s two U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst.And
says the Gaetz nomination deserved the “full Grassley.”Iowa Politics
This week on Cornhole Champions,
and Amie Rivers discuss US Sen. Joni Ernst's big snub and a troubling report from the Farm Bureau Federation. Also, hear from an elected and an organizer about what it takes to push Iowa forward. writes that governments in Iowa are eroding public trust with their use of private meetings that get around the general requirement for boards and councils to hold meetings open to everyone. As Evans writes, the public needs more information about their government, not more secrecy.While historically leaning Republican, Iowa in statewide electoral terms had become a purple state more recently. No longer, says
. has questions about why Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Senator Joni Ernst headed to Mar-a-Lago. Could it be to protect themselves for the future?Around Iowa
delves into Thanksgiving history and why it inspires him as an American. He also hopes everybody can avoid political spats at the holiday dinner table. Has your family tried pumpkin baseball as an antidote? confesses this week: he once ran an illegal raw milk enterprise. AND he’s not the only one with cow tales (tails?). Kurt has two columns, one focused on reactions to his milking stories. To the author’s surprise, he heard from a number of readers who, too, had a thing for “illegal” milk. This week on Piecemaker, connection takes center stage as
writes about her visit to Wally Miller’s shed in Union County, a homegrown museum preserving Creston’s history through farm relics and a restored ’67 Impala, plus an unexpected act of generosity from an eBay seller in support a meaningful quilt project.
Writes
: “It’s paralyzing to know that I am a tiny speck of nothingness on the earth while also believing that now is the time to get out there, to do, to make an impact. It’s time to get our A-game on, and here I am drooling on the couch.” walks around Quiltropolis (Winterset 50273) in brand new boots.
In Mary Swander’s “Emerging Voices,” through visual art and poetry, Austen Camille portrays riding along with farmers in the field. She contemplates corn seeds in her hand, monocultures, genetic modification, and refuge kernels.
WHO-AM radio ratings are sliding downward. Read about it and the emergence of Blue Sky as an alternative to X in
’s column.Weather and Environment
Does November's gloom get you down? Larry Stone finds ways to enjoy the dreary season between October and December.
Sports
reports from a sold-out Knapp Center in Des Moines where an emotional Iowa Coach Jan Jensen beat her alma mater, Drake, a day after celebrating 50 seasons of Bulldog women’s basketball. On and off the court, it was a weekend of joy for players, coaches and fans.
The home-game voice of University of Northern Iowa Panthers football and men's basketball is hanging up his headset after 50 years of fun and thrills. He also helped raise funds for the UNI-Dome and a Waterloo hospital, and helped unify local business groups. Bob Justis is the subject of Pat Kinney's new "View from the Cedar Valley" column.
Dining, Entertainment, and Travel
offers a roundup of timely food news—including where to buy Fable, non-alcoholic THC-infused beverages, in Iowa.
The Rock 'n' Roll road of tragedies winds through Clear Lake, Iowa, and a rural part of Mississippi, too. Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1977 plane crash reminded
of The Day the Music Died in Iowa.Iowa Boy
is back from his 55-year reunion at Vanderbilt U, a school that expects "to beat Harvard & Yale Monday thru Friday, and beat Alabama on Saturday!” He and Vandy senior Barrie Barto—editors-in-chief of the Vanderbilt Hustler student newspaper a half-century apart—led a chat on student life and student journalism, then and now.Media
tackles Elon Musk and his X junkyard in a post “To eXit or not to eXit, that is the Question.”Parenting
Heading into a season dominated by gifts and decoration, this is the story of a man who reminds us that love is about showing up. He grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, and now lives in Los Angeles. He is a father by choice, not obligation. And he can't imagine any other way. Story by
.Books and Arts
From
In Ep. 3 of Reading With Rachelle, author Daniel Henderson joins author Rachelle to discuss his second book, ”The Spiritual Journey to Anti-Racism: A Travel Guide for White People."Humor
Fern and Joe reflect on Thanksgiving, the election, and his turning eighty.
Meltdown at the self checkout. A
experience by Vicki Minor.Cars
Did you know three ex-Iowa business school alums have been CFO of Ford Motor Company?
had a chance to catch up with retired Ford CFO Bill Swift, an accounting major from Iowa, who climbed the corporate ladder thanks to some other Hawkeye help. He is a Ford guy through and through.The first ID. Buzz arrived in a Sioux City Volkswagen dealership this week, and
has the story. Join our Iowa Collaborative group on Blue Sky @IowaWriters.blsky.social and we’ll follow you back.
Poetry
works in memory. This piece is dedicated to her son, Chris: Spinning in August. offers a poem called "Crossing Worthily," drawn from an early morning walk in her small hometown.
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
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People are not leaving X because it has become rowdier or more bruising. They’re leaving because the voices of those in opposition on X are no longer censored and it’s “scary” out there when you have to intelligently defend your liberal position every day.