© 2024 Iowa Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

While newsrooms disappear across the nation, three western Iowa journalists launch free local paper

Talk of Iowa, hosted by Charity Nebbe

Three veteran journalists in western Iowa have joined forces to serve English and Spanish-speaking residents with a free weekly newspaper.

Nicaraguan-native Lorena Lopez founded the western Iowa Spanish-language newspaper La Prensa in 2006.

Based in Denison, Lopez would often rub elbows with fellow journalists Gordon Wolf and Dan Mundt, formerly of the Denison Bulletin-Review.

Talk of Iowa host Charity Nebbe talks with the trio about why they joined forces this July to launch The Denison Free Press, which is supported by the Western Iowa Journalism Foundation.

Then, Nebbe talks with one of only two college-employed scientific glassblowers in the state, Benjamin Revis of the University of Iowa. He shares how a chance encounter led to a passion for glass making both in scientific and artistic spheres. Revis was recently given a national award for his dedication to promoting the field of scientific glassblowing.

Guests:

  • Lorena Lopez, publisher, La Prensa, Denison Free Press
  • Gordon Wolf, writer, La Prensa, Denison Free Press
  • Dan Mundt, writer, La Prensa, Denison Free Press
  • Benjamin Revis, scientific glassblower, UI Department of Chemistry

Western Iowa Journalism Foundation is a financial supporter of IPR.

Charity Nebbe is the host of IPR's Talk of Iowa
Samantha McIntosh is a talk show producer at Iowa Public Radio. Prior to IPR, Samantha worked as a reporter for radio stations in southeast and west central Iowa under M&H Broadcasting, and before that she was a weekend music host for GO 96.3 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Dani Gehr is a producer for River to River and Talk of Iowa. Dani came to Iowa from her hometown in the northwest suburbs of Chicago to attend Iowa State University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in journalism, international studies and French. Before coming to IPR, Dani covered local government in Story County for the Ames Tribune and Des Moines Register.