Not only reporting the news, Belin made news this week
...and a terrific roundup of Iowa columns from around the state
Laura Belin not only reported important political news this week, she was the subject of a major news story when the Iowa Supreme Court ruled unanimously in her favor against Governor Kim Reynolds. Read the gripping account about a consortium of entities fighting to protect the public’s right to know what is happening in state government in her column.
And media analyst Dave Busiek weighs in with his perspective on the Belin et al lawsuit.
Our own IWC member Art Cullen was on MSNBC last week to discuss what’s going on in the Iowa Legislature, and springboards into a what-would-Jesus-do column.
Cheryl Tevis, once again, brings her storytelling expertise to bring us a story we didn’t know we needed to read. She introduces us to a local farmer producing an alternative crop - butterhead lettuce - which is diversifying their income. This is the kind of feature story you likely won’t find elsewhere, and yet it’s a significant example of what’s to come in agriculture. Read this column and share it, please. And in a related column, Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices column features another take on addressing food insecurity with locally grown produce.
Our Quad Cities political correspondent, Ed Tibbetts is on a roll this week. With lines like, ‘you bet my sweet aunt’ when writing about how Iowa Republicans are attempting to control the way Iowa Democrats caucus, you’ll be pulled in by his passionate observations.
Pat Kinney offers an insightful profile of a Waterloo labor leader, and Suzanna de Baca never disappoints with her sensitive outlook on life from her small town in Iowa. Our sports guy, John Naughton, puts aside his reporter’s notebook and watches a game for the fun of it, while on a road trip. Macey Spensley has a new appreciation for poetry, thanks to attending Poetry Palooza. Barry Piatt puts context to the lack of response by Iowa’s Congressional delegation to the former president’s running for office regardless of his indictment.
Julie Gammack has a guest column about Title IX and present day women’s basketball, plus her Monday Zoom lunch podcast featuring America’s best pollster, J. Ann Selzer.
Coming up last, simply because her surname starts with a ‘Z’ is Teresa Zilk, who introduces us to a personal health coach.
Your Sunday Roundup:
LAURA BELIN
DAVE BUSIEK
ART CULLEN
CHERYL TEVIS
SUZANNA DE BACA
ED TIBBETTS
PAT KINNEY
KURT MEYER
JOHN NAUGHTON
JULIE GAMMACK
MACEY SPENSLEY
BARRY PIATT
MARY SWANDER’S EMERGING VOICES
ROBERT LEONARD
TERESA ZILK
THE IOWA WRITERS’ COLLABORATIVE
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative members offer a slice of life in Iowa not found elsewhere. If you can pay to subscribe to any of them individually, great. If you are not able to do so at this time, subscribe at no charge. Both are much appreciated.
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
Nik Heftman, The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla
Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines
Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines
Jane Nguyen, The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics: Behind the Curtains, Washington, D.C.
Macey Spensley, The Midwest Creative, Davenport and Des Moines
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
The Iowa Writers Collaborative is also proud to ally with Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Robert Leonard has created the Iowa Podcasters’ Collaborative. If you know of a podcast that might be a fit for this endeavor, please contact him: