Wild Rose Casino in Jefferson
...with our wild Iowa Writers' Collaborative members
Jefferson, IA: A man came into the private room where the Iowa Writers' Collaborative group was starting to gather, wearing a blingy gold jacket, hat, and pink tennis shoes. I did not recognize him and wondered if a patron from the casino was lost.
"I'm John Naughton," he said, extending his hand. It was THE John Naughton, who covered Iowa sports for decades in the pages of The Des Moines Register. (Here's a summary Naughton wrote in 2018).
I suspect when he files his first column as one of the newest members of the Iowa Writers' Collaborative, Naughton will continue to surprise and delight us. Be the first to read it by subscribing:
My Life, in Color
OUR FIRST REAL-TIME GATHERING
On Wednesday, December 7, 19 of our 23 current Iowa Writers' Collaborative members gathered at the Wild Rose Casino in Jefferson to meet in person for the first time.
Jody Gifford grew up reading columns by some of the senior members of the Iowa Writers' Collaborative. As we each went to a flip chart during introductions, she talked about how in awe she was to be there, having grown up reading some of the members of our group.
“My years at the paper were an experience on their own, but getting to work with so many of them now, as part of the Iowa Writers' Collaborative, well, I've peaked,” said Gifford. “This incredible group of talented individuals is committed to keeping the spirit of journalism alive in Iowa. I'm honored to be a part of it.”
Writers like Chuck Offenburger and Kyle Munson are legendary Des Moines Register Iowa columnists. Each writer in the Collaborative has an equally impressive set of skills and experience, if not the celebrity of being associated with The Register and writing for a state-wide audience.
If you haven't already discovered each of these columnists, I highly recommend you do so. The list with links to the columns is below. Each one is a stand-out.
Ed Tibbetts lives in Davenport, and his columns provide information about critical issues impacting the Quad Cities and the entire state. Tibbetts had been silenced by a round of layoffs at the Quad City Times. Their loss is our gain. You can subscribe to Tibbetts, or any of our members, for free. If you want to support the work financially by becoming paid, that’s welcome, but it is not a requirement.
"Tibbetts is doing real reporting," said Pulitzer-Prize-winning columnist Art Cullen of the Storm Lake Times about his Iowa Writers’ Collaborative columnist colleague, "I just blow it out my ass; he's a real reporter."
Well, that self-deprecating remark belies what's so. Cullen is a master storyteller and commentator. In just a few months, he's attracted over 800 subscribers, with about 10% paying.
From 3:30 to 5 p.m., we discussed how we could grow readership as a group, and Bob Leonard (knocking the column-writing thing out of the park with his wit and wisdom) gave a presentation on various tools Substack offers writers. As an aside, Leonard has a Ph.D. in anthropology. One might question how that fits with his current job overseeing radio stations in central Iowa, but I’m sure he has an answer.
Then, we adjourned for a social hour and dinner with spouses. In attendance Cheryl Tevis and her husband, Stan Lingren; Teresa Zilk’s husband, Jason Zilk (who, thankfully, brought his camera and shot pictures), Dave Busiek and his wife, Laura Sands, Beth Hoffman’s husband, John Hogeland; Tar Musiek’s wife, Erika, and Bob Leonard’s wife, Annie.
Jefferson is home territory for Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, who invited the president of the Wild Rose Casinos, Tom Timmons, to join us for dinner and talk about the business side of the gaming industry. Chuck and Doug Burns (who owned the local Jefferson Bee and Carroll Times Herald until this month) were deeply involved in bringing the Wild Rose to the area and know a lot about how the entertainment facility has brought much-needed tourism dollars.
Of course, having a room full of journalists, Timmons ended up fielding various questions about how some nonprofit revenues are distributed in the community and why smoking is allowed in the casino.
"What about employee health?" asked Cheryl Tevis, a former writer for Successful Farming magazine, who now writes the column, Unfinished Business.
Bob Leonard changed the subject by asking which machines would give him the best payout, and the program ended.
Humor columnists Fern Kupfer and her husband Joe Geha spent some time in the casino. They are long-time ISU professors, now retired, and both authors.
“Joe and I lost five bucks, but it was still a great time,” said Kupfer. She said about our purpose for being there:
“Oh, Iowa. Now more than ever, we need smart writers asking good questions.”
How the IWC started
Since returning to Iowa a few years ago, I've devoted my time in retirement to encouraging Iowa writers. The combination of time on my hands, thanks to Covid-era quarantining and a concern for the shrinking of legacy local newspapers, have propelled me to action.
When stories aren't told, we are poorer, literally and figuratively, and there is a story in everyone. That's how the Okoboji Writers' Retreat came to be.
Three years ago, I started writing about the decline and disappearance of Iowa newspapers. This was not news, but local papers weren't covering themselves about how dire their balance sheets were until it was too late, and the newspaper was either gone or purchased and merged into a chain. With the loss of local coverage, social media - fraught with disinformation - was filling the void.
A national trend to cut commentary swept across the land and the Gannett (Gatehouse) papers, including The Des Moines Register, was no exception.
A group of us started talking. Anyone who cares about newspapers has been hand-wringing about their plight. But talk is talk. Market forces are real and more potent than wishing, hoping, and complaining.
I shared my Substack experience with a few journalism pals and how it could work for them as individuals, and by associating as a group, we could lift one another.
In July, we started the Iowa Writers' Collaborative, and by August, we had Chuck Offenburger, Beth Hoffman, Laura Belin, Art Cullen, Doug Burns, and Robert Leonard. In just five months, we added Kyle Munson, Dave Busiek, Suzanna de Baca, Debra Engle, Jody Gifford, Dana James, Barry Piatt, Mary Swander, Cheryl Tevis, and Ed Tibbetts.
As of last week, Teresa Zilk, Tar Macias, and John Naughton are coming on board. We are intentionally looking for writers who represent a wide variety of voices.
Kyle Munson was an Iowa columnist for The Des Moines Register for over two decades. When asked for his view of the collaboration, he said:
“Building community never is easy, but this one is worth the work and is coming together for all the right reasons. During our discussions in Jefferson, I likened us to RAGBRAI (The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa): We started pedaling before we had a mission. But then, organically grown institutions often have the greatest impact.”
It’s been fascinating building the foundation for this effort. I approached Suzanna de Baca, primarily for her acumen as CEO of Business Publication and her experience with economic development. I assumed she’d write about business in central Iowa but was surprised and delighted to discover her columns of poetry about life in Huxley, Iowa.
How this works
From a reader's perspective, you can know that The Iowa Writers' Collaborative members are trusted professionals who write with the Iowa angle in mind. Readers can subscribe to any or all and receive the columns directly via email. Or, if they don’t want individual emails from all members, they can receive a weekly roundup containing links to the lead paragraph of the most recent columns.
All subscriptions, either to individual columnists or to the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Roundup, are free. If you become a paid subscriber to the Roundup, those funds go toward supporting the group via digital marketing, providing technology upgrades, and underwriting meeting expenses.
If you subscribe to an individual columnist, those funds go directly to the writer.
Julie
Frequently asked question
Why can't I pay one fee that supports all of the writers?
The way this model works is that all writers are independent. They attract and maintain their subscribers and any revenues generated by their work. By being independent, we set our schedule for posting, and the relationship with the reader is theirs.
Subscribing to the IWC roundup generates revenues that support the group.
We need the ultimate answer to address the overall issue of preserving trusted local news and information while paying writers for their work. The IWC is one step in that direction.
But just one.
What do you think? Are you a subscriber? We’d love to hear what you think.
To subscribe to the IWC Roundup:
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Columnists
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
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
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla
Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona
Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport
Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines
We are proud to have an alliance with Iowa Capital Dispatch. They run our commentary and make the columns available to newspapers in exchange for linking back to our columns.
Monday Zoom Lunch:
Our Monday Zoom Lunch guest is author Mary Swander. Here’s the link for paid subscribers: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87600658272
Thanks, Julie for pulling all of us together. You empower and inspire us all.
I am thrilled to read columns by thoughtful, articulate columnists/journalists. I paid for a couple who really moved me. I may pay for more. I have recommended your group to friends.
A relative in Michigan was bemoaning that all US news is controlled by 5 corporations. I sent him info about IWC and Capitol News Dispatch, and suggested that he look around for similar talent in Michigan.
Their state politics are currently a bit more tolerable than Iowa’s. Whether that’s relevant to anything, I don’t know.
Thank you for making our minds work a little better!