Patricia Barbee has worked with children her entire career, but she noticed a dearth of services for middle school-aged kids when she began substitute teaching for Des Moines Public Schools. “Elementary school programs get funding, high school programs get funding. Middle school is like the land of the lost. Who cares Read more…
By Quinlan Riser In 2004, my family moved to Colorado Springs, Colo. My mother, Tina, had been commuting 3 hours a day through Seattle traffic to reach her banking job in the city center. She would usually make it home around 7:30 p.m., just in time to prepare dinner and Read more…
By Kate Hayden At some point in January 2020, I could tell my body was struggling. I knew how to listen. By then, it had been 12 years since I was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and I was long past the carousel of medications and strict routines Read more…
In February, the African American Museum of Iowa named Jacqueline Hunter as its new executive director. Hunter joined the museum in August 2024 as museum educator with vast experience in education and history. She began her career as a recreation director in central Florida before going into teaching. She began a Read more…
The Iowa Women’s Foundation is dedicated to combating six major barriers to women’s financial self-sufficiency — transportation, housing, child care, education and training, employment, and mentoring. A statewide tour in 2016 revealed child care to be the barrier most pressing to Iowa families. “If you don’t have child care, you can’t Read more…
Akwaaba is a common greeting in the Akhan language used in Ghana. It means “welcome.” The phrase perfectly embodied what Nana Ouro-Agoro hoped to support in the Quad Cities — a welcoming place for all. Ouro-Agoro is the founder of Akwaaba QC, a nonprofit that supports immigrants and refugees from Read more…
Maanya Pandey’s life is a balancing act. The Waukee native is in her junior year at the University of Iowa. She’s majoring in public health on the pre-medicine track, preparing to take entrance exams for medical school. She’s a member of a South Asian fusion dance team. She’s also the Read more…
Connection is one of our Fearless core values. We strive to connect our audience with new thoughts and perspectives in our weekly e-newsletter. Guest contributors are key to this. In 2024, we published columns about barriers to homeownership for women, mental health care in Iowa, investing and reaching financial success, Read more…
Hope Ministries will open a new 100-bed center this fall that will greatly expand the organization’s abilities to serve women experiencing homelessness in Des Moines. The new facility has space for amenities the organization hasn’t been able to provide before. Dedicated classrooms for learning instead of couches and kitchen tables. Read more…
By Macey Shofroth, Fearless staff writer Mary Harris had only been selling her food at Home Slice for two weeks before her signature cinnamon rolls became the talk of the region. Harris owns Taste of Comfort, through which she sells home-baked goods and meals. She’s become a staple of farmers Read more…