Along the Mississippi turns two!

A review and an invitation

Last Sunday marked the two-year anniversary of the Along the Mississippi newsletter.

I have to be honest I didn’t know what to expect when I published my first article on Aug. 25, 2022.

A few months earlier, my daily newspapering career abruptly came to an end after 32 years as a reporter and editor at the Quad-City Times in Davenport. It wasn’t what I expected, but I was determined to continue my commitment to journalism—especially my work offering insight and opinions about what’s been happening in my native state of Iowa.

Thus, the creation of Along the Mississippi.

I am fortunate that so many people decided to subscribe to this newsletter, and I am especially grateful to those of you who contribute financially. Your willingness to invest in my journalism makes it possible.

I am proud of the work I have done. In particular, I worked hard over the past year to offer insightful commentary on the controversial decision by the Davenport City Council to pay its departing city administrator $1.6 million while trying to hide it from voters.

My first piece on this subject is one of the most highly read at Along the Mississippi. More importantly, I believe my work has contributed to the discussion of this still ongoing story. (Two court cases even cited my articles.)

I also am especially proud of the work I’ve done to expose the absurdities of Iowa’s book ban law.

In addition, I have tried to offer insight into this year’s election, including on issues like inflation, trade and the rule of law in Iowa.

If you’re a free subscriber and want to contribute to this work with a paying subscription, please know I would appreciate your support.

You should also know that one of the benefits of being a paid subscriber to this newsletter—or any of the others that are part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative—is that you will have access to the Collaborative’s monthly Zoom meetings, which are held the last Friday of the month.

For the month of August, that means the meeting will be held tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 30, from noon until 1 p.m.

We call this meeting the Office Lounge, named after a bar in Des Moines, which was a favorite haunt of Des Moines Register journalists. At our Office Lounge, the members of the Collaborative talk about our work, and there is plenty of interaction with paid subscribers. If you’re interested in joining us, I have put the link to the meeting at the bottom of this post.

Again, I appreciate the confidence all of you have placed in me. I look forward to year three of Along the Mississippi.

Along the Mississippi is a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out the work of my colleagues and consider subscribing. Also, the collaborative partners with the Iowa Capital Dispatch, which provides hard-hitting news and commentary by members of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Please consider making a donation to support its work, too.