Iowa
Introducing Talk of Iowa's Book Club picks for 2024
Join Charity Nebbe and your fellow book lovers on Talk of Iowa for a live, on-air book club! Discuss the themes, characters and big-picture questions raised by the titles on our reading list. Then, continue the conversation between shows by joining the Talk of Iowa Book Club Facebook group.
Here’s the list!
2024 Reading List
Get a copy of these books, find a comfortable chair and read — or re-read — right along with us!
The Color Purple
By Alice Walker
Winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize, The Color Purple tells the story of Celie, who grows up poor in rural Georgia in the early part of the 20th century. Through letters she writes to God, and later to her younger sister Nettie, we follow Celie through her struggle with an abusive father, a racist and sexist culture and an abusive marriage. We also follow her through the forging of strong loving relationships and personal growth and discovery.
Join the discussion on Feb. 20.
The Seed Keeper
By Diane Wilson
The Seed Keeper follows a Dakhóta family over multiple generations, from the 19th century to the early 2000s. It’s largely told from the perspective of Rosalie Iron Wing, a young Indigenous woman who has grown up in rural Minnesota, but who is placed in foster care after her father dies. As she grows up she learns that she loves to garden, and the book goes on to explore the relationship between the land and Rosalie’s Dakhóta ancestors, the injustices that the Indigenous people of South Dakota have endured and how those injustices are both a social and environmental concern.
Read along and join Talk of Iowa on April 23 to discuss the book.
Solito
By Javier Zamora
In his memoir Solito, Javier Zamora recalls his “trip” — his word — from El Salvador to the United States in the late 1990s at just nine years old, on his way to be reunited with the parents he hasn’t seen in years. Zamora recalls leaving his home and the harrowing migration story in vivid detail — alternating among funny, heartbreaking and hopeful moments. The story’s deep insight and beautiful prose about such a politicized issue makes it almost startling when Zamora mentions his favorite cartoons or wanting to go to the zoo — which reminds us that he is just a child.
Follow the trip — and the conversation — on June 18.
Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You
By Lucinda Williams
Recommended by Iowa Public Radio’s own Lindsey Moon, this New York Times bestseller is from the unique perspective of Grammy award-winner and songwriter Lucinda Williams. In the book, she writes about being raised in a working class family in the Deep South, moving from town to town each time her father — a poet, a textbook salesman, a professor, a lover of parties — got a new job, totaling 12 different places by the time she was 18 years old. Her mother suffered from severe mental illness and was in and out of hospitals. And when Williams was about a year old, she had to have an emergency tracheotomy — an inauspicious start for a singing career. But she was also born a fighter, and she developed a voice that has captivated millions. In Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You, Williams takes readers through the events that shaped her life and music.
Read the book and join the discussion on Aug. 20.
Eleanor and Park
By Rainbow Rowell
It’s 1986 in Omaha, Neb. Eleanor and Park are 16-year-old misfits who strike up a friendship on the bus. They connect through comic books and mixtapes and eventually fall in love. It may sound like a stereotypical YA romance, but the challenges that Eleanor and Park face are complex, real and thought provoking.
Read along and tune in to Talk of Iowa for the book club discussion on Oct. 15.
Kitchen Arabic: How My Family Came to America and the Recipes We Brought With Us
By Joseph Geha
In 1946, Joseph Geha boarded a ship with his family in Beirut, Lebanon. Their eventual destination was Toledo, Ohio. Geha grew up with his family stories and delicious Lebanese food. Now, he’s woven these together in his book, Kitchen Arabic: How My Family Came To American and the Recipes We Brought With Us. Geha is professor Emeritus of Creative Writing at Iowa State University.
Join the conversation on Dec. 17.
What to know about Iowa State canceling gymnastics season
What to know about Iowa State canceling gymnastics season
Iowa State University announced March 3 that it is cutting its women’s gymnastics program, weeks after abruptly canceling the remainder of the season due to what athletics director Jamie Pollard said were “unreconcilable differences” in the program.
Cyclone gymnasts were informed of the decision to cut the program by ISU associate athletics director Shamaree Brown in a meeting on Tuesday morning, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports Network.
Iowa State gymnastics head coach Ashley Miles Greig and her three assistant coaches were told that their contracts would not be renewed, the university’s news release stated. Miles Greig’s contract was set to expire after the season on June 30, 2026.
Cyclones gymnasts will have the option to remain at Iowa State to finish their degrees, or to transfer to another NCAA school to compete in gymnastics. If they stay at Iowa State, ISU will honor their scholarships. Iowa State’s release said its compliance department would work with the NCAA on waivers to help gymnasts receive an additional year of competition.
Tuesday’s announcement ended weeks of speculation about the program’s future that began when Iowa State canceled its gymnastics season on Feb. 8. In a statement at the time, Brown said the decision was because the Cyclones did not have enough athletes available to compete. In a letter to the gymnastics team and alumni on Feb. 17, Pollard wrote that the cancellation resulted from “a series of complex internal conflicts between individual teammates, coaching staff members, and parents,” language that Iowa State repeated in Tuesday’s release.
In a video released by the school, Pollard said Iowa State would take the next several months to decide which women’s sport would replace gymnastics so that the athletics department remains compliant with Title IX, a federal law that requires NCAA schools to provide proportional participation opportunities to men and women.
“I also want to say, this is not a financial decision. This is a student-athlete experience decision,” Pollard said in the video. “Adding another women’s sport will probably cost equal or more than what we’re already spending on the gymnastics program. This is about student-athlete experience.”
Pollard said that Iowa State conducted reviews of its gymnastics program in 2018 and 2023 stemming from unspecified issues. The 2023 review, conducted by an external law firm, led Iowa State to part ways with then-head coach Jay Ronayne. Miles Greig was hired in April 2023.
On Tuesday, Iowa State denied USA TODAY Sports Network’s public-records request for the findings of the university’s 2018 and 2023 gymnastics probes. In an email denying the request, Ann Lelis, a member of Iowa State’s office of general counsel, cited portions of state open records law that prevent the disclosure of personal information of students or public employees. Lelis also said the requested records were not subject to disclosure because they contained confidential attorney privileged documents.
In the video, Pollard said he asked his senior leadership team “to meet with those individuals in our department that work really closely with our gymnastics program and make a recommendation to me about what we should do going forward.”
The leadership team recommended to Pollard that the school discontinue the gymnastics program, Pollard said, and use those resources for a different women’s sport. Pollard accepted the recommendation from his staff, and he spoke with university leaders. “We are all on the same page,” he said. “This is the right decision for our athletics program and for our student-athletes.”
Cyclone gymnast Samantha Schneider, a redshirt freshman, wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday that she was heartbroken by the decision and criticized Iowa State’s administration for deflecting blame onto the gymnasts.
“Terrible that this is the result of the lack of support from Iowa State’s Athletic Administration,” Schneider wrote. “For the last 5 months, we have come forward as a team regarding (certain) situations and environment concerns and nothing has been done to protect us as athletes on this team. The gymnasts should NOT be blamed or be sharing any part of the responsibility for this decision being made.”
A former member of this season’s coaching staff also mourned the decision in a text message to USA TODAY Sports Network on Tuesday. The person requested anonymity for fear of repercussions.
“At the end of the day this is unfair to the athletes and the alumni that have built this program and have continued to ask for better,” the coach wrote. “It appears that the department was looking for an easy way out or an easy solution, not realizing they would hurt a lot of people in the process. My only hope is that the athletes can come back stronger than ever.”
Miles Greig could not be immediately reached for comment when contacted Tuesday morning by USA TODAY Sports Network.
The Iowa State gymnastics team participated in four competitions this season before the athletics department shut down the remainder of the season on Feb. 8. Nick Joos, Iowa State’s senior associate athletic director for communications, told USA TODAY Sports Network at the time that the cancellation was due to a “combination of injuries and other health issues.”
During what ended up as Iowa State’s final meet against Denver on Feb. 1, several Cyclone gymnasts fell off the uneven bars. The Cyclones forfeited their next meet on Feb. 6 against West Virginia, with Miles Greig saying in a statement, “At this time, we do not have enough student-athletes available to safely field a team against West Virginia, and regrettably must cancel this competition.”
Two days after that, Brown met with gymnasts on Feb. 8 at Iowa State’s on-campus practice gym and informed them that their season would not continue.
Iowa State’s annual financial report submitted to the NCAA for fiscal year 2025 showed the gymnastics program generated $287,392 in total operating revenues with $1.69 million in expenses, a gap of about $1.4 million. Iowa State allotted 14 scholarships to gymnastics. Football and men’s basketball are the only Iowa State sports in which revenue exceeds spending.
Cyclone gymnastics recruits who had committed to the program for the 2026-27 season can commit to a different school or attend Iowa State and have their scholarship agreements honored.
Former Iowa State gymnast Shea Mattingly, whose last name was Anderson when she graduated in 2012, said she had been in contact with other former members of the team after Tuesday’s announcement.
“We’re all frustrated. We’re all angry,” Mattingly said. “That (Pollard) video made us all really mad, honestly. … It places all the blame on these student-athletes whereas the administration’s accountability in this, they hired these coaches that maybe it seems like they couldn’t handle the program.”
Mattingly said she and other alums aren’t giving up hope on the future of the program.
“I think we’re still going to fight,” she said. “So we’re going to send emails. We’re going to call. We’re going to do all we can, even though it seems his mind has been made up.”
Seven of the eight spots for the upcoming Class 3A Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Tournament were determined Monday night in substate championship action.
Advancing to the Casey’s Center in Des Moines, Iowa were ADM, Ballard, Storm Lake, Carroll, Gilbert, Pella and Solon. On Tuesday, Cedar Rapids Xavier will play Dubuque Wahlert Catholic, as that game was moved due to the Dubuque Wahlert Catholic girls competing in the girls state tournament.
The seven teams advancing were all the higher seeds, as six of the seven picked up victories on their home court. The other – Storm Lake’s 66-53 win over Sergeant Bluff-Luton – was held at nearby Buena Vista University.
ADM claimed a 30-point decision over Nevada while Ballard bested Oskaloosa, 79-45. Carroll claimed a three-point triumph vs. Sioux Center, Gilbert bested rival North Polk, 73-62, Pella eliminated Keokuk, 60-47, and Solon downed Central DeWitt, 49-44.
The state tournament bracket will be released following the conclusion of the Cedar Rapids Xavier-Dubuque Wahlert Catholic contest.
The 4A substate championships are also on deck for Tuesday evening.
Iowa State basketball coach TJ Otzelberger on prepping for Arizona
Iowa State basketball coach TJ Otzelberger on prepping for Arizona after loss to Texas Tech.
We’re heading down the homestretch.
Iowa State men’s basketball has two regular-season games left, followed by the Big 12 Tournament.
Iowa State enters the final week of the regular season with a 24-5 overall record and an 11-5 mark in Big 12 action.
The Cyclones have a NCAA Tournament resume-bolstering opportunity on Monday, March 2 with a road game against Arizona, before wrapping up the regular-season on Saturday, March 7 against Arizona State.
Plenty can still change with bracketology from now until Selection Sunday on March 15, but here is where experts are projecting Iowa State to land in the NCAA Tournament entering the final week of the regular season:
Iowa State basketball’s computer metrics as of Tuesday
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5
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