Josie Fischels
Arts & Culture ReporterExpertise: Performance art, visual art, Iowa life
Education: The University of Iowa
Favorite Iowa Destination: Dunnings Springs, Decorah
Experience:
- Covered local and statewide arts, news, and lifestyle features for <i>The Daily Iowan</i>, <i>The Denver Post</i>, NPR and currently for IPR
- Has written features on Iowans participating in the Hollywood writers’ strike, the nation’s largest historic theatre backdrop collection – housed in Iowa, the reopening of the African American Museum of Iowa and an ‘inside-the-culture’ feature on local drag kings, among others
- Is an award-winning reporter, including a retrospective of Iowa’s first poet laureate, Marvin Bell, following his death in 2021
- Writes regularly for IPR’s internationally award-winning newsletters
- Covered the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, climate and the Kabul takeover by the Taliban in 2021 for NPR’s news desk
- Served as an editor and mentor for multiple projects with NPR’s Next Generation Radio
- Created IPR’s weekly news quiz and launched IPR’s TikTok (follow us!)
My Latest Stories
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Performance venues and cultural organizations are seeing a spike in artists from abroad canceling performances and demonstrations — and rethinking U.S. tours. -
The new, multi-site, month-long festival in Iowa City centers on Afrofuturistic art, fashion, literature, media and community dialogue. -
The prestigious James Beard Awards, which recognize culinary excellence in the U.S., released its list of 2026 semifinalists. It includes a bakery in Iowa City, a cocktail bar in Des Moines and chefs at two Des Moines restaurants. -
Cedar Summerstock Theatre in Saint Ansgar was awarded $18,000 by the National Endowment for the Arts to present a series of performances that highlight American history. It’s part of a $16 million initiative to support projects celebrating America’s 250th birthday. -
Iowa roller derby leagues are carrying on a sport rooted in community and inclusion. -
In March, the entire Institute of Museum and Library Services staff was placed on administrative leave by the Trump administration, indefinitely pausing all work processing 2025 grant applications. Now, the IMLS has reinstated terminated grants. -
Brass concerts are a centuries-old holiday tradition that symphonies across Iowa have picked up over the years. We've compiled a list of all the holiday concerts to catch this season. -
KFMW Rock 108 has been transparent from the start about their use of an AI DJ to introduce eastern Iowa to new rock 'n' roll music. -
The announcement of the venue's closure by the end of the year marks another blow for Des Moines' local music scene. -
A University of Northern Iowa professor is helping local men find community and purpose in retirement through a global initiative that’s the first of its kind in the state.
