Gavin McGough
Northeast Iowa ReporterExpertise: Reporting on all northeast Iowa news to keep residents and communities informed, connected and engaged statewide.
Education: Bachelor of Arts in English from Williams College
Favorite Iowa Destination: Biking the Wabash Trace Nature Trail from Mineola to Shenandoah.
Experience:
- Served as news director at KXCV in Missouri, where he mentored student hosts/reporters and reported on a large, rural portion of the state.
- Worked as a general assignment reporter at KOTO Radio News in Telluride, Colorado, reporting on topics across local government, community culture and public lands.
- Co-hosted the High Tea Radio Hour on WCFM at Williams College and served on the station board.
- Earned recognition from the Colorado Broadcasters Association for feature reporting and took part in a collaborative reporting project on tourism in the Rockies that was honored by the PMJA.
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Blue-spotted salamanders are common in many parts of the U.S. and Canada. But in Iowa, the species is endangered. A nature center in Cedar Falls is working to conserve and restore them along the Cedar River. -
In 1926, Ruth Suckow published Iowa Interiors, the short story collection that put her on the map. A centennial reissue aims to keep her legacy alive. -
Samples from 41 taps across five eastern Iowa cities show wide disparities in what residents are drinking. A Cedar Falls-based environmental scientist conducted a study to better understand how nitrate levels vary in the region. -
Dubuque has been selected for a $750,000 grant from the Wisconsin-based Jeffris Family Foundation to restore historic structures in Eagle Point Park, a 164-acre preserve overlooking the Mississippi River. First, the city must raise an additional $1.5 million. -
The loss of the historic Mississippi River Bridge at Lansing in December 2025 stranded the remote communities of northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin. This summer, residents and business owners have adapted — and advocated — as they wait for the replacement to open. -
Members of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe are crossing the Midwest on a tour of ancestral sites. The 11-day journey brought them across Iowa and included a stop in Decorah, where they met with a researcher of the tribe’s native language. -
A new outdoor climbing area in Jackson County is the first of its scale to open in the state in more than a decade. Volunteers passionate about opening more access to climbing in Iowa developed the site earlier this summer. -
For the second time in less than a year, the Decorah City Council unanimously rejected a separation ordinance that would have limited the northeast Iowa city’s cooperation with ICE. Council members said the move would’ve made the city a target for state retaliation. -
Renowned authors and hundreds of Iowans gathered in Waterloo over the weekend to show resistance to public school book bans. The event was organized by the 1619 Freedom School, a program cofounded by Nikole Hannah-Jones to boost children’s literacy in the community. -
The Archdiocese of Dubuque is ending weekend Mass at 76 of its 160 parishes. The Journey in Faith initiative aims to create a sustainable future for the archdiocese, which is facing a decline in Mass attendance.
