Welcome to our new subscribers. This is your Sunday Roudup of columns by members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. We are scattered around the state, from Elkader, and the Quad Cities, to Sioux Center and Okoboji. There are 50 of us, although not all produce a weekly column. Each member is independent. This Roundup column is published to serve readers interested in Iowa and writers they want to read. Each member has had some prior professional writing career.
Your Roundup is filled with commentary about politics, dining out, sports, and features from around Iowa. We end the round-up with poetry. If you become a paid subscriber to this column, those funds are used for group promotional and best practice sharing in real-time gatherings. We hope those who are able can be become a paid subscriber to as many of our individual members as possible.
Long live Myrtle
Before we delve into the world of issues and such, here’s a light start to your Sunday morning— found himself eavesdropping on a conversation between some ‘old men talking about dying’ at a coffee shop about 20 years ago. It took him this long to tell the tale, but it was worth the wait.
Politics
Iowa GOP state chair Jeff Kaufmann is tired of talking to party activists who aren't ready to commit to Donald Trump.
shared highlights from his rant: "If you don't like Donald Trump, you're gonna fake it!"Laura and Mike Murphy discussed the week in Iowa politics on KHOI Radio:
A surprising new audit points to the fraud potential in US biofuel tax credits.
at Along the Mississippi warns that failing to fix the problem could lead to falling support for such subsidies, even among those who have historically been on board.Does Iowa’s Governor Kim Reynolds want to be Secretary of Education?
slides in that tidbit in his most recent column titled Valuing Time.writes: Change has been the only constant in Storm Lake, transformed over the past 50 years into a remake of rural America.
Here is an indepth report by
on Mental Healthcare Legislative Results.Puppy Killing. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem included a story in an upcoming memoir about shooting her 14-month-old puppy, and it has the country howling.
International News
Arnold Garson adds his perspective and historic context for U.S. demonstrators. Garson will be a guest on a special podcast Tuesday to discuss campus protests. Join the call by becoming a free subscriber.
Around Iowa
writes: The downtown Davenport building collapse last May gets the most headlines, but the landlord responsible for that disaster has left a trail of vacant and deteriorating buildings across the city, including two in the heart of the usually thriving Village of East Davenport. says goodbye to the house where she grew up. It’s a poignant milestone. Keepin’ It Rural is about the joy derived from a simple material object.reflects on the Rev. Cecil Williams's vision, why it's still a work in progress, plus news from The United Methodist Church.
Iowa Boy
reports that he’s just recycled or dumped clippings of more than 10,000 columns & stories he’s written over his 63-year career. That let him clear a storage unit he’s been renting for two years in Jefferson. He kept a few treasures – like this photo of him that appeared on page 1 of the Ottumwa Courier in 1982 when he sang the awful “OHS Fight Song” to conclude his commencement address at Ottumwa High School.is still building her relationship with poetry. After the 2nd annual Poetry Palooza, she looks at the power ugly has in our writing. She also learns about crafting voice from one of her favorite comedians.
In his new "View from the Cedar Valley" column,
writes about the passing of a longtime Waterloo-Cedar Falls leader who gave up three decades of Christmases to ensure hundreds of others had one. calls our attention to an exceptional art gallery and art library in Charles City, part of the city's Public Library. He also cites the enigmatic man who remembered his boyhood community. and his wife, Margaret, love garden vegetables.They’re hoping “hugelkultur” will help them grow a “heap” of produce. features an interview with Dana James and a substitute teacher bringing out the best in our youth, teaching life skills to young girls.
Dining
found a farm-to-table dinner that won't break the bank, but she also pointed to one worth a splurge!
Music
is tuned into the Des Moines music scene. This week he talks about a long-time friendship with another Iowa musician.He added another post today, an Ode to Art and Commerce.
Sports
John Naughton spent 31 years working with The Des Moines Register's Randy Peterson. "Pete" has retired after an incredible 52 years, giving John a chance to write about his colleague.
This is some what sports related. In one of history's great grifts, social media stole the delivery system of news and the audience doesn't care much about accuracy or bias, writes Daniel P. Finney in the Paragraph Stacker.
Emerging Writer
Mary Swander introduces readers to a new writer, Kevin Koch, with this excerpt from Midwest Bedrock: The Search for the Soul of Nature in America’s Heartland
Humor
A typical day in Winterset, from
Poetry
Our poet
responds to this week’s violent series of storms with a new poem called Epistle for Tornado SeasonThe Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
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