Road Trip
...want to come along vicariously?
Welcome newcomers to this Iowa Potluck column. We’ve had another wave of subscribers, so let me take a minute to tell you how we do things around here.
First, this column is called a ‘potluck’ because it’s a bit of this and that. I’m a people collector interested in politics, business, this state, and the arts. I’m nosy. People are fascinating, and it’s my experience that folks do what they do and say what they say for reasons that make sense to them, if not me. I like finding out what they think and how those opinions take shape.
And that’s why I’m going to hit the road over the next few weeks and go to Iowa cafes, beauty parlors, and the local convenience stores to ask folks a bunch of questions.
How did the Covid pandemic change their town, their lives?
Where do they get their news and information? Who is on social media? Who isn’t? Do they listen to the radio? What’s their favorite television channel? Are they on Facebook? Who are the most respected community leaders, and why?
What’s the best thing about living where they do, and what’s the biggest challenge? Are you optimistic about the town’s future or pessimistic?
How are the local schools? Is health care available? How about child care and jobs? Should medicinal and recreational marijuana be legal? Is access to abortion services critical?
Mainly, I intend to listen.
I want to find a couple of towns where someone will host a potluck in real-time and invite 12 of the influencers in town. An influencer could be a mayor, a teacher, a business owner, or a politician. Maybe there’s a TikTok star tucked behind a cornfield. Who knows? What 12 people in your community would you invite who you believe influence your town? If I can, I’d like to come. But don’t wait for me, have your own potluck and talk about these things.
Will Iowans be voting in the November election? How does this election feel different from years past?
I’ll do my best to facilitate the discussion without bias, although I won’t play coy by saying I don’t have an opinion. I’ve been facilitating groups for the past 20 years and can do so with a broad cross-section of points of view. It is possible to be respectful and still disagree.
Let’s have authentic dialogue.
Who’s in?
I had a bit of a false start this morning. On a tip, I headed to Boone early to check out a local coffee klatch. The place is closed on Monday, so I’ll reevaluate another day. Oops.
It was not a wasted trip. I picked up the Boone News Republican paper. It is published weekly on Thursday, but there wasn’t a locally produced story unless you count sports ‘refer’ inside about a Madrid team football streak. If I lived in Boone, would I care about apple orchards in the Des Moines metro? In this story, the ‘Des Moines metro’ includes Story County and even further west in Tama County. At least it’s on Highway 30, which also runs through Boone.
I wonder if there is a professional writer in Boone County who wants to launch a Substack column and be a part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative? Membership requires having made a living as a writer through a news organization. I love Boone County, home of the YMCA Camp and the original Tic Toc (Italian restaurant, not TicTok, the social media platform), sadly now closed, and Redekers Furniture, happily, still open. I discovered Stan Redeker’s obituary, though; he died in 2020. Stan was a caring community leader.
With a population of 12,470 (in 2020), there should be plenty of stories about Boone's current and former residents.
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media
Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook
Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland
Debra Engle: A Whole New World
Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt
Dana James: New Black Iowa
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi
Iowa Writers Collaborative: Iowa Writers Collaborative
Monday Zoom Lunch Today
Today is Monday, and our POI (person of interest) is former Iowan Dan Hunter. He’s a comedian, playwright, life-observer, columnist with an entity called Aerowsmith, and generally the kind of guy who makes for a great dinner party guest.
That’s what our Monday lunch sessions feel like. A social gathering among friends, some of whom have not met yet.
This is a premium service for paid subscribers to this column. Proceeds benefit the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat.
Zoom Link for paid subscribers:
I take it that you will be writing about these potlucks if and when and where you are able to attend. I bet it will make for some very interesting reading!!!!
Julie- I just saw the Iowa's 5 best tenderloins of 2022 have been announced.in the DMR - seems to me you could make the trips a ‘two-fer’. Listening to local folks while evaluating the pleasures of the breaded pork T .