It’s like our society is breaking faith with young people of the past, and denying opportunity to young people of the future. And we all know that when a college fails, its town or city is going to get clobbered. —Chuck Offenburger, The Sad Closing of Iowa Wesleyan College
In this weekly roundup of columns, you’ll find one in our midst who is ashamed, another who says he was wrong in an earlier column, a report about an event hosted by Iowa Public Radio, a former Iowan involved in the Hollywood writer’s strike, and oh so much more. There is a podcast featuring an interview with a controversial blogger who is leaving his University of Iowa job with a bang and a book just released.
The head of our Storm Lake bureau ventured out of Iowa and chronicled the effects of climate change on our western state neighbors. Art Cullen and a cohort produced a documentary about the trip.
Barry Piatt takes us behind the scenes of a remarkable Iowa Caucus eve. Speaking of caucuses, are Iowa Republicans turning away from Donald Trump? Read Robert Leonard’s column.
Prince mentored Waterloo musician Julius Collins. Read Pat Kinney’s profile to find out more. And Christina Fernández-Morrow, of Hola Iowa, commemorates the momentous raid on a community of migrant workers in Postville.
Imagine being asked to change your name to take a job. That’s just one of many aspects of a story Macey Spensley writes about the first Hmong Channel 5 news anchor.
Long-time sports writer, John Naughton, writes about how Iowa athletes are getting headlines this week for the wrong reason: gambling.
Outdoor writer, Larry Stone, calls himself a ‘Bird Nerd’ in his second column posted as an Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member.
And on this Mother’s Day, Doug Burns pens a glorious column about his growing-up years, including the past few, with his mom. It’s one of those pieces you will want to read more than once. Mother’s Day is complicated for so many, and Teresa Zilk speaks to her ancestors.
DOUGLAS BURNS
TERESA ZILK
CHUCK OFFENBURGER
Chuck traveled to Mt. Pleasant to cover the last commencement weekend for a 181-year-old private college. His in-depth reporting about the end of this iconic institution is a sad, but important read.
ART CULLEN
DAVE BUSIEK
Busiek was wrong, he says.
LAURA BELIN
JULIE GAMMACK
BARRY PIATT
ROBERT LEONARD
CHERYL TEVIS
SUZANNA DE BACA
PAT KINNEY
HOLA IOWA, Christina Fernández-Morrow,
JODY GIFFORD
MACEY SPENSLEY
JOHN NAUGHTON
LARRY STONE
MARY SWANDER’S EMERGING VOICES
Members of the Iowa Writers’ Collabortive will be gathering in the Amana Colonies to share best practices, discuss how we can grow as a group and individually, and cap off the evening of Friday, June 9, to see a play written and produced by IWC member Mary Swander.
This retreat is underwritten by paid subscribers to this roundup column, so thank you. Our mission will be stronger as a result of your support.
From a press release about the play:
June 9, 8:00 P.M., Amana Performing Arts Center, Amana, IA. (39 38th Ave., Amana, IA. 52203.) June 10, 2:00 and 7:00 P.M. Wieting Theatre, Toledo, IA. (134 S. Church, Toledo, IA. 52342.)
The play is produced by Swander Woman Productions, a theatre company that creates and tours dramatic performances based on food, farming, and the wider rural environment.
Squatters on Red Earth, is a play written by Mary Swander under the guidance of members of the Meskwaki Settlement and supported by grants from Anon Was a Woman Environmental Art Grant(The New York Foundation for the Arts) and The Iowa Historical Society, Inc. The drama explores the issue of the white settler land grab from the Native Americans. The core story revolves around a peaceful encounter between the Meskwakis and the Inspirationists, a German Utopian group, all the while the colonialists were forcing the Natives from their land.
Tickets are free at the door.
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
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