Gil Cranberg passed away on Sunday at the age of 93. His career as an editorial writer for the Des Moines Register spanned 33 years. He will be remembered as an ethical newsman whose work focused on civil rights, inequality, and criminal justice.
During this hour of River to River, host Ben Kieffer talks with his daughter, Marcia Cranberg. She says his upbringing is likely a huge part of why he pursued a career as a journalist.
"He had a very curious mind and he had an extremely intellectual father," she said. "At a very young age, he traveled to the pacific, and I think that just sort of piqued his curiosity about the world."
Cranberg was originally from the East Coast. He grew up in the Bronx. He found his way to the Midwest for a job at the Des Moines Register and lived the last few years of his life in Sarasota, Florida.
During this hour of River to River, we also hear from Iowa Public Radio's Joyce Russell about the week that was at the Iowa Statehouse, learn more about Kate Payne, IPR's new eastern Iowa reporter, and remember the great Steven Hawking with Allison Jaynes, a professor of physics and astronomy with the University of Iowa. To end the show, we get an update about a Grant Wood painting being displayed for the first time in Iowa, and check in with Kurt Schaeffer about the last Dam to Dam road race, which sold out in a matter of hours earlier this week.
