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The conversation of a lifetimeStoryCorps, a renowned nonprofit organization celebrating the stories of everyday Americans, partnered with Iowa Public Radio to record interviews in Des Moines during September 2017 as part of its cross-country MobileBooth tour.Having collected more than 65,000 interviews from Americans in all 50 states, StoryCorps has gathered one of the largest single collection of human voices ever recorded. Find some of the edited conversations collected from Iowans on this page. 00000173-38e2-d855-adf7-bcef38620001

Reflections on Resiliency

Courtesy of StoryCorps
Joann Ray and Steve Riley

Joann Ray has lived a life of struggle. After growing up on a farm in Temple Hill, Iowa, she went on to face multiple marriages and divorces. She worked three jobs while raising eight children and found time to go back to school and earn a nursing degree.

Earlier this month she stopped by the StoryCorps mobile booth in Des Moines with her son Steve Riley to talk about Steve’s childhood and Joann’s career path.

Story Corps is a national initiative to record and collect stories of everyday people.

StoryCorps Listening Party 
Thursday, August 31 at 7:00 p.m. 
State Historical Museum of Iowa 

Iowa Public Radio will host an evening to celebrate StoryCorps' Iowa visit, where together we will listen to the voices of Iowa, previewing some of the incredible life experiences and family connections shared during the MobileBooth's stop in Des Moines. Hosted by IPR's Charity Nebbe, this event will give you the opportunity to hear from StoryCorps producers and listen to excerpts of stories told by your own friends and neighbors! 

This event is free and open to the public. Space is limited, so please RSVP. Join us for an intimate evening of listening and sharing.