Requiem for an Iowa hero Bernie Saggau: A high point of my career – writing the biographies of both Saggau and E. Wayne Cooley, who made Iowa high school programs among the nation’s best. Read the new column here: bit.ly/43jnxl9

Some little-known Civil War valor in our Greene County, Iowa: Today’s high school students help me recall & honor 32 schoolboy soldiers & two teachers who enlisted and served from our town of Old Rippey. Ten died. Read the new column right here: bit.ly/4dxXX0B

We see London! We see France! We now see Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger's underpants—the ones he wears for big baseball games of his alma mater Vanderbilt University. He's been a fun part of the baseball success there. Here's the story: bit.ly/3FrL4Zn.

The story of a $16.5million lottery fraud in Iowa goes global today. A fascinating new documentary on the 15-year-old “Hot Lotto” scandal that happened in Des Moines debuts today, June 3, free on YouTube. Read about it right here: bit.ly/3SAe6ZJ.

Jefferson IA just lost a “change agent," as I called him. Rich Osborne, who died June 3 at 49 years old, kept us wonderfully caffeinated at Greene Bean Coffee, inspired us to build community, and had us working on acceptance. Read it right here: bit.ly/4dRPZzr.

Getting into the arts early can be so powerful: Let me tell you a little about Robert Larsen, and more about Dale Jansen, two Iowa farm kids. Inspired early themselves, they inspired many of the rest of us for decades. bit.ly/4jOsvMY

“The Life of Chuck,” as our Chuck saw it: What the hot new movie reminded me is that my life, as challenging as it’s been a couple times, has been so blessed! Read it free, right here: bit.ly/45Al9ta.

My hometown of Shenandoah’s catchers & sports editor of today, 60 years after me: Meet Tyler Babe, Lexi Schebaum and the writer Bryan Clark. Where they are, and in what they’re doing, magic can happen. Believe me. My column about them: bit.ly/3Glw3IU.

Corn is tall & life is precious: The Lawtons and I have a 21-year tradition of measuring their crop against the old adage “knee-high by the 4th of July.” This year encouraging their health is more important. bit.ly/3I6zmo5.

11 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝘾𝙄𝙈𝙇 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨

Our “Pastor John” Tyson from Plymouth Church in Des Moines, is “Coach John” of a tee-ball league during the week. That experience gave him — and us — a darned good sermon last weekend: offenburger.com.

You’ve got to see this new documentary, “PIEOWA,” by Beth Howard, who has long been known as Iowa’s “Pie Lady.” I’m one of the pie peeps interviewed in the film. Read my column about it, right here: bit.ly/4lkQ41z

Prepping for the mini-RAGBRAI he’ll ride this coming Saturday, our columnist last week rode “the prettiest mile of trail in Iowa,” near Okoboji. Saturday, he’ll ride 15 miles from Oelwein to Stanley to Aurora, a “Mary Riche Roots Tour.” Read it here: bit.ly/4od49QC.

We RicheBurgers turned our small portion of the 52nd RAGBRAI into a “Mary Riche Roots Tour,” as I called it. In 15 miles on Saturday morning, July 26, the route passed right through Mary’s three hometowns in northeast Iowa. We loved it all! Our report: bit.ly/40GX0Oi.

“Rocky the Musical,” which opened Friday night, is billed as the last production of the History Boy Theatre Company in Jefferson. Please say it ain’t so. You can read my review right here: bit.ly/3UbUlIS.

I hadn’t seen an Iowa State Fair parade for 10 years, or more. I was shocked to watch this year’s parade Wednesday evening in Iowa PBS. I don’t believe there was a single marching band! What the heck has happened?

Wonder what cinnamon rolls worth $2,000 look like? Here are Anita Van Gundy’s champs from last year’s Iowa State Fair. We pick the champs of the 2025 fair next Saturday, Aug. 16, at 2 p.m. Chuck Offenburger’s got the details, right here: bit.ly/4fzep1B.

Iowa State Fair cinnamon roll champs: Proven winner Amy Fuson and young Leeah Hartman, a real up & comer, led the field of 68 bakers in the “Great Cinnamon Roll Challenge of 2025.” Here’s my column from the contest held Saturday afternoon: Offenburger.com.