We are presenting the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative’s first episode of the inaugural Politics Panel season.
Dave Busiek, veteran KCCI-TV news manager, is our moderator. From this point forward, others in the Collaborative will share the moderation duty, following Busiek’s template.
There is a growing demand for this kind of thoughtful, local commentary in an audio podcast format, and the assembled panel offers a combined decades of experience to bring to the conversation.
We hope you like our beginning effort and understand it will become even more substantial as time progresses. We welcome your feedback and ideas:
The opinions expressed around the table include breaking news about the Iowa gubernatorial race.
What Can You Do?
If you want to support this effort, please consider becoming a Benefactor through the subscription model offered through Substack or as a one-time contributor at various levels. Names will be listed on our Benefactors page in multiple contribution levels. Categories: Raving Fans ($1000 and up), Insightful Advocates ($700 to $999), and Trailblazer ($299-$699). There are costs associated with the production of this endeavor.
Who We Are
Our team will rotate through the episodes leading up to the 2024 election. Paid subscribers and Benefactors make this effort possible. Learn who is lending a hand:
Today’s Panelists
, who has been covering Iowa politics at the Bleeding Heartland blog since 2007. Her Substack column and blog are must-reads by those who want to know what is happening in local politics.
is a fourth-generation Iowa journalist. Burns is the former co-owner of the Carroll (Iowa) Times Herald, which was in his family for 93 years.
spent 43 years in Iowa radio and T.V. newsrooms as a reporter and anchor and the last 30 years as a news manager at KCCI-TV, the CBS affiliate in Des Moines. As a news manager, he was a political reporter for many years. He organized the station’s political coverage of the Iowa caucuses, arranged political debates, and covered hundreds of campaigns. has had a front-row seat for state and national government & politics for over 50 years, working first as a political reporter in Iowa and later as a senior advisor for U.S. House and Senate members and candidates for U.S. President. is the founder of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative and author of the Substack column, Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck. She is also the producer of the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat. After 39 years, he retired as a professor emeritus from Drake University's Department of Political Science. He has been regularly providing political analysis for KCCI-TV. Follow his column: Let’s Talk Politics. founder, Dana James, is the writer and founder of Black Iowa News. Writer. Founder. Publisher. She founded the statewide Black Iowa Newspaper and Black Iowa News. is a former radio news reporter. He has bylines in the New York Times, TIME, USA Today, the Des Moines Register, the Iowa Capitol Dispatch, the Kansas City Star, and many more. is an award-winning Iowa journalist who offers observations on politics, current events, family, and some random things, too, through his column on Substack.
Ty Rushing will launch his new Substack column in mid-August. Most recently, he was a political reporter for Iowa Starting Line, a senior position with the Courier, with the mission of creating compelling, local commentary.
is a lifelong Iowan who grew up in a small town near Cedar Rapids. He never achieved his boyhood dream of playing Major League baseball or moving to California. Still, he’s found a good life in Iowa and journalism.He made the Quad-Cities his home in 1989, leaving television news to work for the Quad-City Times newspaper.
For 32 years, he wrote about politics and government at all levels and demographic and economic trends in the Quad-Cities and Iowa.
Our Team
Editing and production by Zachary Oren Smith.
Music after Episode 1 by
Our Benefactors
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
We are members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. The current roster is below. Soon to be added will include Ty Rushing.
Each Sunday, a roundup of our members’ columns is published. Here is the one from last Sunday:
Politics Panel: Should Biden go or stay, and what impact will there be down ballot?