Editors note: There are invitations for two Zooms in this column. The first is for today’s Monday Lunch session; the one below the paywall is for paid subscribers to join our monthly Iowa Writers’ ‘Collaborative ‘Office Lounge.’ Details below. If you’re free on the Friday after Thanksgiving, join us!
LEE ROOD
Here’s the link for today’s Zoom call at noon central time: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86040864031
Des Moines Register investigative reporter Lee Rood will join us at noon today. If you haven’t caught up with her latest block-buster series about Boys Town in Omaha, it’s an example of why journalism is important. Lee shines a light on the abuse of children and misuse of funds by the nation’s largest nonprofit childcare agencies.
More about Lee from her website:
Lee Rood has been the Reader’s Watchdog at the Des Moines Register since 2012. A longtime investigative reporter and editor, she created the unique column to help readers find answers and accountability from government, businesses, and nonprofits.
After nearly a decade in that post, she’s known across Iowa as a voice for Iowans, writing about the serious problems that affect their lives.
She’s exposed individuals who have preyed on vulnerable populations or wronged consumers and uncovered wasted tax dollars and excessive government spending. Her work has led to changes in state and federal law, triggered court action and arrests, and prompted good deeds and community action by readers moved by her columns.
Rood’s work as a problem-solver and whistleblower has successfully achieved results and built a loyal readership; her column has been replicated at other Gannett sites nationwide.
The daughter of a sociologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Rood spent her childhood school years in Omaha, Neb., and her summers in Washington, D.C. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She attended graduate school in communications at Drake University.
After leading a team of reporters who covered crime, government, and politics at the St. Cloud Times in Minnesota, she moved to Iowa in 1997 to become an assistant metro editor at the Register. She became an investigative reporter in 2004 and served as the Register’s projects-investigations editor for eight years.
As a reporter, Rood’s covered any number of disasters, from extensive flooding to devasting tornadoes to plane crashes. She’s trailed numerous presidential candidates during the Iowa caucuses and broken some of the biggest stories to affect state government in the past quarter century.
One of her greatest gifts has been identifying trends and issues emerging from rural and urban Iowa. Register Editor Carol Hunter describes Rood as a reporter with an “unrelenting knack for getting the story.”
Rood has returned to the same Cretan village in Greece annually for 20 years as a dedicated traveler. She’s been to 30 countries, 48 states, and every county in Iowa and walked every neighborhood in Des Moines.
A mother of two grown daughters, she’s an avid gardener, reader, and lover of live music. She lives in Des Moines with her dog, Molly.
AVOID A HOLIDAY DISASTER?
Thanksgiving time can be an emotional rollercoaster for many. In these polarizing times, as many families gather, may I offer some of the best advice I can recall:
Would you rather be right or have a relationship?
One more piece of advice: when someone makes a statement that triggers the hell out of you, if you can’t just change the subject, try this:
I hear your point of view; here’s my point of view.
Oh, and don’t get drunk.
Smile.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Invitation(s)
We are having a party!!
All paid subscribers to one or more Iowa Writers Collaborative blogs are welcome to join us on December 7th for a gathering in Des Moines, 5-6:30 p.m. So please consider becoming a paid subscriber! Then RSVP for our holiday event. Hope to see you all there!
FRIDAY
This Friday, November 24, at noon, paid subscribers to any Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member are welcome to join a Zoom call with Ellen Won Steil, author of her debut suspense novel “Fortune,” published by the Amazon imprint Lake Union Publishing. Our Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member, Robert Leonard, will host the call.
“In this explosive novel about a decades-old mystery, shocking revelations of the past and the secrets of three women will be spilled when a small Midwest town announces a DNA Lottery.”
FORTUNE is an Amazon Editors’ pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Amazon First Reads September pick, hitting #4 in the entire Kindle Store:
And #1 Best Seller in five categories:
#1 Best Seller in Mysteries
#1 Best Seller in Women’s Domestic Life Fiction
#1 Best Seller in Women’s Divorce Fiction
#1 Best Seller in Mothers & Children Fiction
#1 Best Seller in Small Town & Rural Fiction
Ellen Won Steil grew up in Iowa in a Korean-American family. She earned her BA in journalism from Drake University and a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two young sons. She believes most good stories have at least a hint of darkness. For more information, visit www.ewsteil.com.
Our writers rely on support from (on average) just 10% of our subscribers. Their support affirms the valuable work Iowa Writers’ Collaborative members do to bring stories to readers who share an interest in Iowa. We also want to make it available to all, whether they can pay. If you can and like what we are doing, please consider becoming a paid subscriber for 1-5 of our members.
Here is the Sunday Roundup of columns that was posted yesterday:
Join the Friday Zoom Meeting with Robert Leonard and Ellen Won Steil