Your Flipside Edition!
...from the Iowa Writers' Collaborative
Our writers have been working hard this week, to bring you stories about personal chefs, the New York mayoral race, baseball cards, vintage cars, and oh so much more.
Please take an extra minute or two to appreciate them.
Michael Judge, for example, is a veteran Wall Street Journal who lives in Iowa City. Through his column, The First Person with Michael Judge, he explores geopolitics, historical context, and helps readers make sense of what is going on in the world. He also is a poet, who produces soulful commentary on his observations. Today, he presents the poet Michael Judge.
In this week’s post by author Nicole Baart, she weaves together a story about her fears around AI, and how it will impact writers. It’s a beautiful story, and message.
AI Policy
Nicole’s column also brings to mind the need to explain how it is used here. We produce two editions of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Roundup twice weekly. This one, called the Flipside, lands mid-week and the content is more like what you’d find in a newspaper’s Features section—travel, food, fun, personal essays, sports, music.
Each Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member submits a form with a one-sentence blurb about the column they want included in the roundup. They choose the category they want their piece listed, and a link. I paste all that into ChatGPT, ask it to sort by category, by author name, promo sentence, and “Read more” link. The technology isn’t flawless—every so often a submission vanishes without explanation—but what used to be an all-night slog is down to two or three hours.
There is a place for AI, for sure. The capabilities can be like a copy editor and fact-checker. And it is imperfect. But it is another new world to sort through, and transparency of how it is being used, makes sense. Julie Gammack
Around Iowa
Sarah Scull
As the U.S. bombed Iran, Sarah Scull was in Maloy, Iowa, celebrating the summer solstice at a Catholic Worker farm — sharing food, stories, and solidarity with peace activists. The gathering honored community, conviction, and compassion in the face of violence, reminding attendees that light persists, even in dark times.
Read moreLisa Grouette
Lisa Grouette visits with the organizer of Mason City Pride Festival for a behind-the-scenes look at how the event comes together.
Read morePat Kinney
The Cedar Valley sends its 31st Honor Flight of military veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars to visit memorials in Washington, D.C. One veteran making the flight was 95 years old. Also see a short video of them receiving the homecoming many never got when they returned from war the first time.
Read more
Food & Dining
Wini Moranville
Wini Moranville hired a private chef to cook in her home—and it was as pretentious (nor as expensive) as you’d think!
Read moreConnie Taylor
During the war and Depression eras, pecans and other ingredients were scarce, so innovation took over and Oatmeal Pie was created. Connie brings us the story of Grandma Essie’s Oatmeal Pie recipe, which was lost, rediscovered, and always loved.
Read moreConnie Taylor
Grandma Essie’s Oatmeal Pie—Connie shares the search for and discovery of this beloved recipe born of wartime necessity.
Read more
Books, Art
Rachelle Chase
This week on Reading with Rachelle, Rachelle Chase discusses In Defense of the Nation: Black Iowans at War with author Dr. William S. Morris, highlighting Black soldiers’ contributions from the Civil War through the first Gulf War.
Read more
Jane Nguyen
Jane Nguyen explains the trend of Blind Date with a Book and introduces us to a book cupid.
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Car Culture
Jeff Morrison
During the Black Dirt Days car show in Conrad, Jeff Morrison found a 1940 Chevrolet with a special history: it was in storage for decades, and then the next buyer’s son reconnected with it in a chance encounter.
Read more
Gardening
Rick Morain
Lawn care is a quasi-religious summer rite for Midwestern homeowners. Kentucky bluegrass dominates our lives.
Read more
Human Interest (interviews)
Vicki Minor
Meet the Author of the Keeper of the Realm.
Read more
Humor
Vicki Minor
How the Sun led me to Surgery (and Left Me in Stitches).
Read more
Music
Chip Albright
The world feels pretty crazy these days, yet wonderful people are out there doing all sorts of beautiful things.
Read more
Carol Montag
I Jumped.
Read more
Dartanyan L. Brown
Dartanyan has been traveling the state and meeting up with interesting Iowans. Puppets, purpose, and play.
Read more
Kathryn Severing Fox
In “Opinions & Songwriting,” I explore the delicate art of speaking my truth on politics, religion, and protest through music—walking the fine line between vulnerability and connection, all while believing that a song born of love and compassion can change hearts and, ultimately, the world. Read more
Kathryn Severing Fox. Photo by Chad Elliott
Fashion (?)
John Naughton
John Naughton dressed as a taco, a cowboy and a pastel-colored table centerpiece this spring. It all comes together in his Spring Fashion Review.
Read more
Podcast
Rachelle Chase
This week on Reading with Rachelle, Rachelle Chase discusses In Defense of the Nation: Black Iowans at War with author Dr. William S. Morris, highlighting Black soldiers’ contributions from the Civil War through the first Gulf War.
Read more
Political Comedy
Romen Borsellino
Romen endorses presumed NY Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani. As an Indian-Italian, a Mamdani vs. Cuomo face-off is his prime area of expertise.
Read more
Poetry
Michael Judge
Sirens: a poem for America.
Read more
Sports
Maxwell Schaefer
What happens when a childhood hobby becomes a billion-dollar industry? Maxwell and his sons explore the frenzy, strategy, and joy of sports-card collecting—revealing how cardboard, community, and nostalgia still pack a powerful punch.
Read more
The Schaeffer boys
Strictly Personal
Lea Donovan
Masked men, Amnesty International, and the Hillsborough Disaster.
Read moreNicole Baart
Nicole Baart shares a personal experience and reflects on creativity, art, and generative AI.
Read moreJoan Zwagerman
Typing and tapping out our stories is the way almost all of us work now, but something deep and complex has been lost along the way.
Read more
Weather and Environment
Beth Hoffman
There is hope in our flickering landscape.
Read more
Friday, Join Members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative During Our Office Lounge Chat…and MORE FOR PAID SUBSCRIBERS
We want to thank those who support us through paid subscriptions. Here are three upcoming events:
Friday June 27: Zoom call in our ‘Office Lounge’ featuring members of the collaborative. Here is the Zoom link for this month’s Office Lounge for paid subscribers. It’s always held on the last Friday of the month at noon, except for November and December.
Sunday, June 29: Weary Ramblers perform at Whippoorwill Creek Farm for paid subscribers to Beth Hoffman column or Wini Moranville’s columns. The Weary Ramblers will be appearing June 29, at the farm home of In the Dirt columnist, Beth Hoffman. It is a thank-you event for paid subscribers. To become one click: paid subscriber and score a free ticket to see the Weary Ramblers at Whippoorwill Creek Farm! Tickets are limited. Grab one before it’s too late!
Saturday, July 26: Winterset: Movie and a Party!
Party, Meet Our Community of Writers
We are throwing a shindig in Winterset on July 26, and our paid subscribers (to any member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative or this roundup) are invited. For details, click on this RSVP form:
Saturday, July 26
3 to 5 pm: private screening of "Storm Lake" documentary film at the Iowa Theater, free to IWC writers and all PAID subscribers, followed by Q&A with guest of honor Art Cullen, moderated by Julie Gammack. Free popcorn, paid concessions. (Non-paid subscribers and public members can attend for $20.)
5:30 to 7 pm: Robust appetizers with a cash bar will be served at The Winterset Livery (an event space once a horse livery, just off the square), which is open free to paid subscribers. Non-paid subscribers who paid to attend the movie are also welcome to attend the after-party.
Come! We have a terrific community and want you all to meet one another!