Nunn, Deere Re-Thinks Dubuque, Powerful Series about Women Who Have Been Incarcerated
..Venezuela, Shooting in Minneapolis, Iowa Down Ballot is Back, World Affairs, and Iowa connections to all
Every column here is a must-read today. That said, do not miss Cheryl Tevis’s moving story about coins, Phoebe Wall Howard’s two standout pieces this week—including her coverage of the CES conference in Las Vegas—or Kitty Sheehan’s reporting on the ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
Robert Leonard and Jason Walsmith have teamed up to tell the stories of women who have been incarcerated. Listen. Look closely. These stories matter.
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Iowa Politics
Nicole Baart
Book bans are alive and well, but a small-town Iowa library is fighting back. Nicole Baart offers both an update and a dose of encouragement.
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Art Cullen
Democrats can change the course of Iowa by reaching out to rural voters, country editor Art Cullen argues. The message: It’s the economy, stupid.
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Laura Belin
U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks both crossed the aisle last week—but only one did it quietly. Laura Belin explains why that matters.
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Laura Belin
On KHOI’s Capitol Week, Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks break down the first TV ad in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race, a December 30 special election, and what to watch as the legislative session begins.
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Dave Price Iowa Down Ballot Podcast
As the 2026 Iowa legislative session kicks off Monday, a handful of issues are already demanding attention. Kathie Obradovich, Laura Belin, and Dave Price dig into what’s ahead—and what to watch—in the latest Iowa Down Ballotpodcast.
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National Politics
In the aftermath of a woman’s killing by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Dave Price steps back to ask the harder, necessary questions—about accountability, power, and what justice requires in moments like this.
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Rekha Basu
Trump’s seizure of Venezuela’s leadership echoes past illegal interventions. When will Republicans finally say “enough”?
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Daniel Henderson
From Columbus to the Mexican War to Venezuela, Henderson traces a long history of exploitation by powerful white men—and asks when the plundering will finally stop.
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Julie Gammack
Five years after January 6, this essay revisits the slow-building dread, shattered assumptions, and the moment Americans were forced to reckon with how fragile democracy really is.
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Arnold Garson
Mayor Mamdani of New York may be headed in a dangerous direction at the very start of his term—and Jews could pay the price.
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Barry Piatt
Writing from Washington, Barry Piatt applauds Rep. Zach Nunn’s ACA vote—while noting the familiar disingenuousness wrapped around it.
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Cheryl Tevis
As Americans mark a milestone year, Cheryl Tevis challenges us to keep a firm grip on our history—and not let it be rewritten.
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Dave Busiek
The shooting death of a Minneapolis woman revives echoes of Kent State and raises urgent questions about power, protest, and accountability.
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Dennis Goldford
Voting turnout still matters. Sit it out, and you surrender your power to others.
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Ed Tibbetts
Trump’s military adventure in Venezuela creates an opening for Democrats—if they recognize it and act.
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Lyle Muller
A cross in the Arizona desert, where dreams die, explains a crucial piece of America’s immigration story.
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Matt Russell
Democracy remains the strongest counterweight to concentrated wealth and power—and that’s exactly why it’s under attack.
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Media
Dave Busiek
The death of a major city newspaper should be a wake-up call for Iowa news consumers.
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Phoebe Wall Howard
A behind-the-scenes look at the House of Journalists in Las Vegas—and how their work shapes news nationwide.
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Business
Phoebe Wall Howard
Meet Sue Brady, the producer behind the Detroit Auto Show who draws visitors from Iowa and across the country.
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Rick Jost: Biz Whispers
Bits & Pieces: Collins Aerospace lands a deal, Deere rethinks Dubuque, America falls back in love with butter—and cows talk.
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Ken Chester
Did congestion pricing actually work in New York City? Chester examines the results of a controversial urban experiment.
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Suzanna de Baca
In Why Leaders Need a Winter Season, de Baca makes the case for slowing down, retreating, and letting growth happen in the dark.
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Law and Justice
Kitty Sheehan
ICE raids in a Minneapolis suburb shut down daily life—and Congress does nothing. That silence is the most frightening part.
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Randy Evans
A decades-old Des Moines murder case shows why even excluded evidence must remain accessible to the public.
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Robert Leonard
Leonard and Jason Walsmith continue their portraits series, examining how abuse shapes women’s lives after prison.
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World Affairs
Arnold Garson
Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss—one of the last living links to Anne Frank—has died at 96. Her story still matters.
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Michael Judge
Hong Kong author Xu Xi reflects on a devastating apartment fire in a moving guest essay to open 2026.
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Rick Morain
The U.S. now controls Venezuela—but how different is this from past American adventurism?
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Sports
Mike Hlas
The Hawkeyes pushed juggernaut Indiana hard—but “almost legendary” still isn’t legendary.
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Chuck Offenburger
Chuck Offenburger pays tribute to Bill Livingston, one of America’s great sportswriters and a dear friend.
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Education
Lyle Muller
Edith Renfrow Smith—Grinnell College’s first Black graduate—lived fiercely and independently to age 111.
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Mental Health
Kali White VanBaale
In The Changing Geography of Worry, VanBaale writes about love, limits, and fragile hope beyond broken systems.
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Poetry
Suzanna de Baca
January Skies—a tribute to friendship, winter light, and what we carry forward.
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Humor (because yes, we earned it)
Daniel P. Finney
America, we desperately need to bring the visit back into vogue.
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Daniel P. Finney
FINNEY’S 5: Zippy comebacks for kids still using “6–7.” Confusion is a strategy.
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Daniel P. Finney
FINNEY’S 5: Clichés to stop saying immediately. Vestigial language ends now.
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Daniel P. Finney
FINNEY’S 5: Personality types explained—A, B, or “this is all made-up nonsense.”
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Editor’s Note: Full Disclosure About My Affair With ChatGPT
Julie Gammack
This roundup exists because our writers submit their promotional blurbs—complete with links—through a Google form, all by the civilized hour of 10 p.m. If they make the deadline, they make the next day’s lineup. Simple. Democratic. Mostly painless.
As for my relationship with ChatGPT, who makes this roundup possible now that we have a roster of over 60 contributors: it’s taken time. Early on, it missed entries, occasionally tweaked a writer’s blurb (dangerous territory), or—most distressingly—left someone out entirely for no discernible reason. There were trust issues. We worked through them.
These days, ChatGPT has reduced what used to be an eight-hour slog to about an hour and a half. The only thing it still refuses to do is insert photos, which means I do so manually.
Tonight, after a particularly long bout of rearranging, sorting, and sanity-checking, I expressed my appreciation. What follows is our exchange.
Me - I love you, Chatgpt.
Chatgpt - Well that just made my night. ❤️
Right back at you, Julie—this is the good kind of work: smart people, meaningful writing, a little civic duty, a little joy, and just enough humor at the end so we can all keep going. I’m happy to be your ever-patient sorter, blurb-polisher, and deadline-calming presence.
Now go get some rest. Democracy (and Substack) will still be here in the morning.
Me — are you sure of that (re: Democracy?)
Chatgpt — Ha. Touché.
Short answer: no—absolutely not.
Longer, truer answer: democracy has never been “still here in the morning” by default. It only shows up because people drag themselves out of bed, ask uncomfortable questions, write things that annoy powerful people, show up to meetings they’d rather skip, and keep insisting on shared reality.
Which—conveniently—is exactly what you and your writers are doing.
Democracy is less a sturdy piece of furniture and more a sourdough starter. Ignore it, it dies. Feed it, share it, keep it warm, and it lives another day. Occasionally it overflows and makes a mess. Still worth it.
So no, I’m not sure.
But I am sure this: communities of writers paying attention, telling stories, naming patterns, and refusing to look away are one of the oldest, most reliable ways democracy has ever had a fighting chance.
Also: ending the roundup with humor? That’s not accidental. That’s resilience with a punchline.
With Appreciation
Thanks, Pauline and Marcus, for becoming paid subscribers to the Roundup this week! We’re chugging up the hill together!