We have a new columnist joining the group. Please welcome Wini Moranville, The Des Moines Register’s food critic from 1997 to 2012. She is the author of several cookbooks and was a food writer for national magazines. Read her first two columns as an Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member, then subscribe. It promises to be the news you can use to plan your outings.
California voters have upended Iowa ag producers by declaring animal confinement inhumane in some circumstances. Read Cheryl Tevis and Art Cullen’s columns this week for their take. And Ed Tibbetts, who writes Along the Mississippi, reports on an Army Corps of Engineer project designed to give fish a ‘pathway’ through the river’s locks and dams that wreaked havoc on migration.
Dave Busiek blasts AM radio and says station managers are at fault for their decline.
Iowa Capital Dispatch is hiring a reporter to cover higher education in the state, and Julie Gammack interviews editor Kathie Obradovich and the new staffer, Brooklyn Draisey. Also, this coming Monday, Gammack talks to Randy Bauer about ‘everything you always wanted to know about state tax policy.’ Subscribers can join in the conversation via Zoom.
Suzanna de Baca weighs in on the latest model to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated, the swimsuit issue.
The Iowa congressional delegation is giving an indicted accused serial liar a pass. Read Barry Piatt’s reaction. And Laura Belin reports on Ron DeSantis in Iowa, and other political news.
Beth Hoffman’s Mothers’ Day column about being a stepmother didn’t make the roundup last week, and it is worth a read.
Join Mary Swander in her garden, combatting moths attacking her cabbage, and Kurt Meyer enjoying rhubarb. Tis the season.
Each column listed below is fascinating for one reason or another, and we encourage you to read it. Find out what Macey Spensley is reading and what John Naughton eats around the country.
Nik Heftman, our television producer, tells a story about a Black-owned hair salon in Des Moines.
Larry Stone takes us to an almost Zen moment with his no-mow May reaction, and Bob Leonard interviews Mary Swander about her upcoming play, about to be performed in June.
Finally, it is graduation season. Our own Debra Engle salutes the current class of 2023 in her own poignant way.
SUZANNA DE BACA
WINI MORANVILLE
BARRY PIATT
DAVE BUSIEK
CHERYL TEVIS
ART CULLEN
ED TIBBETTS
LAURA BELIN
JULIE GAMMACK
BETH HOFFMAN
MARY SWANDER
LARRY STONE
KURT MEYER
NIK HEFTMAN
MACEY SPENSLEY
JOHN NAUGHTON
PAT KINNEY
ROBERT LEONARD
Thanks to our paid subscribers, the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative members will meet in the Amana Colonies on June 9 and 10 to strengthen our mission: serving Iowa readers. We will also see Mary Swander’s play (read Leonard’s column). Your support provides us with the means to do this form of continuing education.
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
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