Statewide candidates are starting to emerge, while courts, education, and healthcare are under attack
...your Sunday reading has arrived
From billionaire breakups to used shoes, Iowa’s finest writers are here for you. This week’s lineup includes bromance gone bad, Civil War history tucked in a small-town potluck, a robot uprising (seriously), and take a deep dive into the chaos of Iowa politics—Joni Ernst, Grim Reapers, and all. Romen Borsellino even handed over his Substack to Senator Grassley.
These 39 must-read pieces are proof that Iowa isn’t flyover—it’s a launchpad. We’ve got poems that pack a punch, save the planet, and columns that challenge the powerful, plus personal stories that’ll stay with you long after you’ve clicked away. So pour your coffee, silence your notifications, and prepare to binge-read.
Tell a friend. Pass this around.
National politics
Barry Piatt
Barry Piatt writes from Washington, DC that It’s time for Republicans – including Iowans in Congress – to knock off their “Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!” approach to governing, take responsibility, and do their jobs competently. Read more in his column “Barry Piatt on Politics: Behind the Curtains.”
🔗 Read more
Cheryl Tevis
Cheryl Tevis raises concerns about the U.S. Secretary of Education's What I Did on my Summer Vacation assignment, and Trump’s weigh-in with a new executive cheat sheet.
🔗 Read more
Dan Henderson
What I am more interested in at this point is understanding how Joni’s comments reveal the true depth of degradation and twisted distortion of the character of the Republican Party. Republicans have been having a masquerade party for decades…and now Joni Ernst has revealed the truth. Republicans are not pro-life; they are a pro-death party.
🔗 Read more
Dave Busiek
Senator Ernst and the arrogance of power.
🔗 Read more
Dave Price
The Trump-Musk feud could prove more complicated than just the end of their billionaire bromance writes Dave Price.
🔗 Read more
Matt Russell
Democrats can learn from Republicans. Senator Ernst's sorry, not sorry apology provides a lesson.
🔗 Read more
Randy Evans
Randy Evans: The devotion of the people of a farming town in the Netherlands to 8,300 Americans killed freeing the Dutch from the Nazis belies the fantasy our president foisted off in his speech to West Point grads.
🔗 Read more
Robert Leonard
DOGE is a killing machine—killing an estimated 103 people an hour, most of them children. Bob Leonard wants us to hold our Republican members of Congress accountable for these atrocities.
🔗 Read more
Rick Morain
A provision in The Big Beautiful Bill could emasculate the courts' ability to condemn the government for refusals to obey injunctions.
🔗 Read more
Dennis Goldford
Imprecise language and mindless clichés make it much more difficult for us to do the serious and critical thinking that our current political situation—indeed, all political life—requires.
🔗 Read more
Iowa politics
Robert Leonard
Julie Stauch (D) announced she is running for Governor, and Bob Leonard has an interview.
🔗 Read more
Douglas Burns
In The Iowa Mercury, Douglas Burns reports that Council Bluffs Democrat Turek still in mix for U.S. Senate, decision coming soon.
🔗 Read more
Ed Tibbetts
Iowa Republicans are trying to convince people that the state’s economy doesn’t stink. But Ed Tibbetts writes, the evidence is stacked against them, as a new survey ranks Iowa the worst in the nation.
🔗 Read more
Ed Tibbetts
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is accusing an Iowa sheriff of discouraging the enforcement of immigration laws, but as Ed Tibbetts at Along the Mississippi writes, it doesn’t look like the Trump administration agrees with her.
🔗 Read more
Art Cullen
CYA because Sen. Joni Ernst snarks that we’re all gonna die anyhow, Art Cullen opines in an editorial. Democrat Nathan Sage offers a working-class alternative to snark.
🔗 Read more
Laura Belin
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks led with fallout from Senator Joni Ernst's town hall and discussed other 2026 campaign news, a bunch of new Iowa laws, and two politically relevant court rulings on KHOI's Capitol Week.
🔗 Read more
Daniel P. Finney
Joni Ernst likes: Men who lobby her committee and, apparently the Grim Reaper, writes Daniel P. Finney
🔗 Read more
Letters from Iowans
If Iowa doesn't prize everyone's liberties anymore, what should the new state motto be? In Letters From Iowans, Gordie Felger asked for suggestions.
🔗 Read more
World Affairs
Arnold Garson
Two of the most horrible antisemitism incidents in the U.S. in the last two weeks of May occurred recently. They demonstrate how antisemitism is changing—from harassment and vandalism to murder and attempted murder of Jews just because they are Jews. Bonus: The earliest antisemitism in America—when and what happened?
🔗 Read more
Richard Gilbert
On the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, Elmer “Dutch” Vermeer scaled history with the Army Rangers on D-Day—earning a Silver Star, surviving the unimaginable, and later serving Iowa with the same quiet valor that defined his life. This story is important today because it reminds us—at a time when democracy feels fragile and public service often feels performative—what true courage, humility, and leadership look like.
Environment
Rekha Basu
How you can save money, savor different styles and help save the planet—and party satisfying your conscience—all in one go.
🔗 Read more
Law and Justice
Lynn Hicks
School’s out for summer! But there’s no break for Truancy Court. A new law fills up the court with charges against parents.
🔗 Read more
Around Iowa
Chuck Offenburger
Jefferson last week lost a real "change agent" Rich Osborne, of Greene Bean Coffee Company. Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger tells in a tribute column what made Osborne special.
🔗 Read more
Daniel P. Finney
MUST READ: Trump and Musk break-up texts
🔗 Read more
Darcy Maulsby
Sure, you know organ donors save lives, but it gets real when it saves the life of someone you know.
🔗 Read more
Jeff Morrison
With the school year coming to a close, Jeff Morrison covers five building transitions across the state, including a happy outcome for one historic school in Cedar Rapids.
🔗 Read more
Tory Brecht
The positive momentum from new developments on the east side of downtown Davenport has been amazing. Can we move it west next?
🔗 Read more
Business
Diana Wright
Explore stories in this roundup about doing what you love, social entrepreneurship, building for reaction vs proactive problems in ag, and more! Plus the Iowa Startup Collective was recently featured in the Business Record.
🔗 Read more
Ken Chester
The year was 2004, the movie, I, Robot, starring Will Smith. One of the major plot themes were the wide availability of robot assistants – especially for the home – disabled, older and/or otherwise infirm in the year 2035. The main computer that controlled the robots initiated an uprising against the humans. In the confrontations that followed, the humans DID prevail, but remember, that was 21 years ago. Home humanoid robots are in the process of becoming a thing, should I be worried?
🔗 Read more
Suzanna de Baca
Navigating change as a leader? This essay explores the delicate balance between transparency and discretion, arguing that true leadership lies in being forthcoming without oversharing. Discover why "honest, but smart" communication is the new essential for leading in a "glass bottle" world.
🔗 Read more
Humor
Romen Borsellino
Romen has graciously lent his Substack platform to Senator Grassley this week to set the record straight on Joni Ernst's townhall remark.
🔗 Read more
Vicki Minor
The Missing Piece
🔗 Read more
Iowa at Large
Chip Albright
Hopkins Grove is a central Iowa community rich in intriguing Civil War history and full of Americana beauty as discovered by singer-songwriter, Chip Albright, in his latest Chip Happens column.
🔗 Read more
Jeff Morrison
Jeff Morrison breaks down the five-year Iowa highway construction plan, including big-ticket, multi-year items, with a short detour into the world of fonts.
🔗 Read more
Kurtis Meyer
I'm not what you might call an advice columnist. But this week, I'm making an exception, prompted in large measure by a note I received earlier this week.
🔗 Read more
Mental Health
Kali White VanBaale
For PTSD Awareness Month Kali White VanBaale shares an isolated experience with PTSD after reading a random Tweet in new Minding the Gaps column.
🔗 Read more
Pets
Todd Dorman
It's our blind dog days of summer. But Scuttle abides.
🔗 Read more
Podcasts
Dave Price
The Iowa Down Ballot Podcast contributors took an unexpected turn: They shared the new twists and turns that could make the state's 2026 U.S. Senate race more complicated than first thought.
🔗 Read more
Zachary Oren Smith
Iowa Starting Line's Zach Smith sits down with Pints & Diplomacy hosts for an unfiltered conversation about Iowa politics, Kim Reynolds' underestimated political instincts, why Trump rallies bring the "big spectacle," and the future of journalism. Plus: Mississippi vs Iowa food wars and whether podcasters deserve press credentials.
🔗 Read more
Beth Hoffman
Hunger is an issue that is not going away. And while food banks and pantries are an amazing resource in Iowa—how many people can they really serve? In this podcast, Beth Hoffman looks into food insecurity in our communities and the impact of federal hunger policies in Iowa.
🔗 Read more
Poetry
Michael Judge
A fun piece on good friends, bad golf, and shared poetry.
🔗 Read more
Steve Semken
Love and marriage: The Power of Words
🔗 Read more
Suzanna de Baca
Suzanna de Baca shares a news response poem called "The Divorce."
🔗 Read more
Agriculture
Art Cullen
Most Iowa farmers don’t buy climate change or are uncertain, Art Cullen reports, which suggests they think their research is superior to that coming out of Ames or Iowa City.
🔗 Read more
Beth Hoffman
Hunger is an issue that is not going away. And while food banks and pantries are an amazing resource in Iowa—how many people can they really serve? In this podcast, Beth Hoffman looks into food insecurity in our communities and the impact of federal hunger policies in Iowa.
🔗 Read more
Mary Swander (Emerging Voices)
Why are bees important in a corn and bean state like Iowa? Agronomist Russ Mullen explores the importance of pollinators and his growing admiration of the insects not only to the economy, but to our well-being.
🔗 Read more
Environment
Rekha Basu
How you can save money, savor different styles and help save the planet—and party satisfying your conscience—all in one go.
🔗 Read more
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative (IWC) is a dynamic network of independent professional writers—journalists, novelists, poets, songwriters, editors, columnists, and creatives—many with deep ties to Iowa, working together to elevate independent storytelling in the digital age.
The Collaborative now includes more than 80 writers and has become a vibrant model of mutual support, amplification, and audience-building in a time when traditional media continues to shrink.
So far, Iowa is the only state where state-wide, collaborative model on Substack is the first and only state to pull this together.
Thanks to our readers for sharing this bold experiment in hyper-local commentary.
Why It’s Important:
Fills the Local Journalism Void
As local newspapers downsize or disappear altogether, the IWC provides a platform for trusted voices—veteran journalists, columnists, and thought leaders—to continue informing, analyzing, and reflecting on issues that matter to Iowans and beyond.Empowers Writers
The Collaborative gives writers full creative and financial control, which is rare in today’s media landscape. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to as many members as you can afford.Fosters Community and Civic Dialogue
With members opining about politics, culture, memoir, rural life, climate, arts, and more, the IWC functions like a modern-day front porch for thoughtful, civil conversation.
Think of it as Iowa’s answer to the media crisis—rooted in the heartland, powered by laptops and passion, and fueled by a belief that great storytelling still matters. It's small but mighty—and could inspire similar collaboratives across the country.