What do a couple of bulls running loose and a U.S. Supreme Court Justice's fishing trip have in common?
...these topics are found in commentary posted by members of the Iowa Writers' Collaborative
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In addition to commentary about policies, pride, and politics, lessons abound this week, from Darcy Maulsby’s musing about entering a cooking contest to Beth Hoffman chasing a couple of runaway bulls. You’ll meet some interesting characters, discover fun eateries with John Naughton and Wini Moranville, and learn about the state from Davenport to Waterloo and the Loess Hills.
Dana James interviews mayoral candidates, and so much more content is listed below. You’ll want to check it all out.
Dave Price reflects upon his last visit to San Diego while covering the Republican Presidential Convention, then and now. And Stepanie Copley reads the words of Varnum v Brien with pride.
CHUCK OFFENBURGER
Chuck Offenburger reports on the Iowa roots of Larry and Kathi Zimpleman, an extraordinary couple who are major philanthropists in this chapter of their lives. It all started in Parnell and Williamsburg, and the story has photos galore.
ED TIBBETTS
Ed has two columns this week. One is a look at the implosion of a time-worn bridge in the Quad Cities, and the other is a timely commentary about a fishy (fishing) trip taken by a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
LAURA BELIN
Iowa politics and issues before the court:
DAVE PRICE
DAVE BUSIEK
The unexpected resignation of a KCCI meteorologist is a topic for this week’s column by Dave. He also reports on a freedom of the press issue in Iowa this week:
STEPHANIE COPLEY
A powerful look at a defining moment in Iowa’s legal history.
BETH HOFFMAN
Beth Hoffman introduces a new feature for her readers: farm meditations. In the first of a series, she talks about two bulls getting loose, telling the drama and lessons learned from the experience. We depend on farmers, no matter how physically removed we might be from their world. It’s worth getting to know, and Beth does so well in the telling.
WINI MORANVILLE
Our reviewer highlights patio seating dining you might not know about but should.
NIK HEFTMAN
Did you know we have a CBS News producer as a part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative? Meet Nik Heftman, who writes and tells his stories through video.
Joy Hankins of Des Moines, Iowa, didn’t always know what to do with her natural hair. That journey helped inspire Hankins to create @thejoyofcurlsbeauty - an all-natural hair care brand for people with textured hair.
SUZANNA DE BACA
By day, Suzanna de Baca is the highly respected leader of Business Publications in Des Moines. As an independent columnist for the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, she continues to tap into a deep reservoir of sensitivity with her observations about life. How does she do this?
JULIE GAMMACK
Do you wonder what it would be like to charge an electric vehicle in Iowa?
KYLE MUNSON
There’s something about Iowa and bicycling. Our perennial rider takes us back while he also looks forward to the 50th anniversary of RAGBRAI.
ART CULLEN
Our Storm Lake correspondent is laid up after surgery. Send him a love note by becoming a paid subscriber. He has medical bills, after all.
ROBERT LEONARD
The power of storytelling is illuminated in this week’s column by Bob Leonard about the abrupt change in policy once a story about LGBTQ exclusion at a farmer’s market became widely known. Bob recently retired from a long-held day job in radio, so please consider becoming a paid subscriber to his work. He writes with compassion, curiosity, and an appreciation for the Deep Midwest he tells us about. ALSO, check out his interview with Senator Chuck Grassley:
PAT KINNEY
“The more you attack something, the more you make others aware of it,” Amber Collins, owner of Soul Book Nook in Waterloo.
Here’s another wonderful column by Kinney that was omitted from an earlier roundup:
DOUGLAS BURNS
Our man in Carroll is a voracious reader, especially of history. Read his personal take on a new book about the Ku Klux Klan.
DARCY MAULSBY
…” I wasn’t procrastinating because I was lazy. It was because I was afraid my work wouldn’t be good enough. If it wasn’t perfect, if I didn’t get a blue ribbon (or qualify for the Iowa State Fair)…” Darcy Maulsby
KURTIS MEYER
A lovely quote by Kurt’s (at the time) 10-year-old son, Ethan, gives a taste of this delightful column by St. Ansgar’s Kurt Meyer.
“Gee, Dad, it’s almost… (pause) like we’re friends.”
JOHN NAUGHTON
THE ASIAN IOWAN
Jane Nguyen shares her personal experience as an Asian adoptee living in small town, mostly Caucasian, Iowa. It’s instructive to read about her experience:
BARRY PIATT
DANA JAMES
MARY SWANDER’S EMERGING VOICES
Meet Hannah Breckbill, who co-owns Humble Hands Harvest, a worker-owned farm in the Driftless region of Northeast Iowa, which she calls a ‘Queer Farmer Convergence on her farm. Hannah wrote this piece for Mary’s Emerging Voices column. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to help Mary support these emerging writers.
We hope you appreciate this Iowa slice of life. We are linking you, the reader, to professional Iowa writers. If you appreciate what these writers are doing, please consider picking five and becoming a paid subscriber over time. You do not have to, but we hope you’ll want to be on the team, making a difference by helping to make this possible.
Let your friends know. If each of you introduces the IWC to a new subscriber, we will continue growing exponentially.
IOWA WRITERS’ COLLABORATIVE
Join many of our columnists for a Zoom call on the last Friday of the month. This is a premium thank-you offering for paid subscribers to any of the IWC members, including this roundup column. The Zoom link for this Friday is below the paywall at the end of this roster. Thank you.
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, Roundup
Steph Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston
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
Rob Gray: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny
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
Letters from Iowans, Iowa
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Kurt Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Wini Moranville, Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines
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 Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines
Macey Spensley: The Midwest Creative, Iowa
Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader
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.
Here’s the link to our columnist gaggle held the last Friday of the month. It is a thank you to our paid subscribers: