Train, planes, fireflies and guns
...with a bit of ice fishing
Each Sunday, the editor marvels at the talent and diversity of content represented in this collection of writers. Today, you’ll read about a rail merger in the Quad Cities that would hugely impact the area's local quality of life and economic development, and in another column, be introduced to folk heroes in Waterloo.
The simple elegance of words composed by other extraordinary writers about ice fishing and fireflies offers a glimpse of life in Iowa few see.
News, features, analysis, policy, and humor can all be found in this Iowa Writers’ Collaborative roundup.
Enjoy.
The New. York Times picked up a piece by our Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member, Robert Leonard. The link to his piece is in his column this week:
ROBERT LEONARD
DANA JAMES
Columnist Dana James explains why a homogenous Iowa won’t work:
DOUGLAS BURNS
Douglas Burns was on top of the buzz-worthy release of ChatGPT, a new technology that will change all kinds of ways the written word is produced. His first piece was downright poetic, and he followed with another, using ChapGPT:
A ChatGPT wedding toast, too?
LAURA BELIN
Laura Belin’s take on the current state of the Iowa Democratic Party:
ART CULLEN
Cullen takes on the ‘liberal elite’, and then some:
FERN AND JOE
Our humorist columnists offer marital advice this week:
DEBRA ENGLE
Stop. Savor this beautifully written piece by Deb Engle about living in the country:
PAT KINNEY
Our columnist from Waterloo weaves a variety of connections from yesterday to today, including a tie to Buddy Holly:
CHERYL TEVIS
Our columnist from Boxholm refuses to give up on Gun Safety. Read her compelling piece:
HOLA IOWA
Thanks to Hola Iowa, we have a boxing reporter. Take a look at this piece with a Quad Cities dateline:
BARRY PIATT
Our columnist in D.C. responds to yesterday’s decision by the DNC to oust Iowa as the first bellweather of future presidential sweepstakes:
KURT MEYER
MARY SWANDER
What’s the real deal behind ice fishing? Just ask Mary Swander and listen to her podcast:
MACEY SPENSLEY
Our newest columnist takes a delightful trip with her mom to an enchanting theater in downtown Cedar Rapids.
DAVE BUSIEK
CHUCK OFFENBURGER
While our youngest columnist wrote about the off-off-Broadway show in Cedar Rapids, our Iowa Boy was visiting THE Broadway and more in New York City.
SUZANNA DE BACA
JOHN NAUGHTON
JULIE GAMMACK
Below is the roster of our group. We hope you agree that there is a vital place for commentary and that there is value in connecting readers to writers directly. If you can become a paid subscriber to any of our writers, please understand how important your support and encouragement are to each member. Thank you for being on this journey with us.
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
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 Politic Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Macey Spensley: The Midwest Creative, Iowa
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
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This may be the strongest line-up of good Sunday reading I've seen our Iowa Writers Collaborative team produce yet.. Great stuff!
What I love about the compilation of columns each Sunday morning is that a reader can come away with a better understanding of the wisdom, beauty, artistry, and depth of Iowa. This offers a wholestic narrative of Iowa.