The monthly Office Lounge session with our columnists takes place on December 30, from noon to 1 p.m. Meet the gang. This is a benefit for anyone who is a paid subscriber. Whether you are paid subscribers of one, or more, you’ll be sent a Zoom link for the call. We will have a fun time!
December 25, 2022
Please welcome Tar Macias, Kurt Meyer, and Pat Kinney to our columnist lineup. With the addition of these three writers, we add more geographic diversity to our ranks. Meyer has a home in St. Ansgar, and Kinney was a journalist for over 40 years, leaving the Waterloo-Courier in 2018. Macias is the owner of Hola Iowa, a bi-lingual newspaper serving the Latino population in Iowa.
We are creating a broad network of content from a talented group, allowing our readers to learn from several Iowa voices across the state, not just one or two columnists.
I’m an Iowa country boy, not identical to being a farm boy. Dad worked at a factory, farming just enough to feed a few beef cattle, a milk cow, and chickens…Kurt Meyer, Showing Up
I was raised Catholic, and my dad also imparted an appreciation of our Irish heritage upon us. When I was very young, Dad would rock me and sing the Irish anthem “Wearin’ O’ the Green” and “Home on the Range.”
And when we learned our prayers. at first, I thought the Catholic Act Contrition began with “Oh my God, I am PARTLY sorry…” instead of “heartily sorry.” And at age six, I first thought our grade school was named “SECRET Heart” rather than “SACRED Heart.”
I graduated from Waterloo Columbus High School in 1975. I was cut from the baseball team but played in the band as I had in grade school – and took journalism and wrote a sports column for the school paper….Pat Kinney, View from the Cedar Valley
Tar Marcias will be running stories from his publication, Hola Iowa. In his first Iowa Writers’ Collaborative post, the story is written by staff writer Anastassia Zvoryguina, who writes about an artist whose work is now showing at The Des Moines Art Center.
Dave Busiek has two columns you won’t want to miss: Who Owns TV stations and why it matters, and Why, exactly, do reporters stand out in the cold? Our veteran television newsman has unparalleled expertise on these questions.
Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices column had a powerful essay by Grant Holub-Moorman you won’t want to miss:
And this past week, Swander wrote a lovely story about Christmas with her Amish neighbors. Her beautifully written story takes the reader into the homes most non-Amish do not see.
Another twist on a holiday column
Art Cullen
Barry Piatt
Our columnist, Barry Piatt, is on the scene for the National Christmas Tree lighting in Washington, D.C.
Chuck Offenburger
Plenty for Political Junkies this week, of course
Laura Belin
Robert Leonard
Douglas Burns
Ed Tibbetts
Please read, absorb, and share this powerful piece by our New Black Iowa columnist:
Dana James
John Naughton
We sure have a sports writer. John Naughton identifies what he calls the most under-reported story of 2022:
Teresa Zilk
A heartbreaking story no parent wants to experience.
Julie Gammack
Richard Gilbert
Beth Hoffman
Cheryl Tevis
Suzanna de Baca
Debra Engle
How this works
Yes, writing these columns is a labor of love for most. That said, it is still labor. The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative is an idea and a mission. We are linking readers directly to writers - no advertising, grants, or magic elves fund this effort. There are, however, a few generous folks who have become Founding Members of our columnists. Thank you!
We understand not everyone is in a position to become a paid subscriber, and we are proud to offer these columns for free to all, but if you can support us, we’d appreciate it If you aren’t in a position to pay, no problem.
We feel it is vital to provide commentary and reconnect the people in our state. and we are glad you are here.
Pick your favorite columnists below and subscribe. They will be most grateful. And if you become a paid subscriber to this Roundup column, funds go to support the group efforts.
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Columnists
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake
Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley
Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County
Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji
Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames
Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla
Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona
Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport
Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines
To receive a weekly roundup of all Iowa Writers’ Collaborative columnists, sign up here (free): ROUNDUP COLUMN
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We believe local journalism matters.