By Emily Blobaum, Fearless contributing editor Black birthing people in Iowa are six times as likely to die from childbirth than their white counterparts. Olivia Samples has heard that statistic plenty of times. Quite frankly, they’re tired of hearing it. “Having folks die in childbirth should not be an outcome Read more…
By Anonymous contributor EDITOR’S NOTE: Our goal with Fearless is to empower Iowa women to succeed in work and life. Sometimes that empowerment requires difficult conversations about issues that predominantly affect women and other underrepresented groups. This piece, written by an Iowa executive, shows the harsh reality of domestic violence. Domestic Read more…
As told to Emily Blobaum Aime Wichtendahl became the first openly trans elected official in Iowa when she was elected to the Hiawatha City Council in 2015. This interview, which has been formatted to be entirely in her own words, has been edited and condensed for clarity. If you were Read more…
Sen. Joni Ernst is the first woman to represent Iowa in federal elective office. She was also the first female combat veteran elected to serve in the U.S. Senate. This interview was conducted by email and the responses have been edited and condensed for clarity. I was reminded of the Read more…
As told to Emily Blobaum Jacquie Easley McGhee became the first Black woman to serve on a school board in Central Iowa when she was elected to the Des Moines public school board in 1990. Four years later, she was elected to chair the board. She was also the first Read more…
U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne became one of the first women to represent Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives when she, alongside former Rep. Abby Finkenauer, was elected in 2018. This interview was conducted by email and the responses have been edited and condensed for clarity. It’s hard to celebrate Read more…
As told to Emily Blobaum In 2020, Perla Alarcon-Flory became the first Latina to be elected president of the Sioux City School Board. She was first appointed to the school board in 2013 and was elected the following year, becoming the first Latino person elected to political office in Woodbury Read more…
By Lori Chesser, Davis Brown Law Firm Immigration Department Chair What can we, who are not elected officials, do to promote unity in governance as called for by President Joe Biden? Governing is — or should be — different than campaigning. Elections are a win/lose proposition. The word “campaign” itself Read more…
As told to Emily Blobaum Bonnie Campbell was the first and remains the only woman to have served as the Iowa attorney general when she was elected in 1990. She was also the first woman to chair the Iowa Democratic Party and was the first director of the federal Office Read more…
As told to Emily Blobaum Roxanne Conlin became the first female nominee for governor on a major party ticket in Iowa when she ran against Terry Branstad in 1982. Ten years later, she became the first female president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. In 1977, she became Read more…