By Jackie Norris Editor’s note: When Jackie Norris reached out to me earlier this year with an idea to write about balancing caregiving while working full time, I asked that she take some notes to document the specific challenges she faced for a few weeks. While her perspectives are unique to Read more…
After her funeral in 2011 we opened her jewelry box. We found her watch, several copper bracelets to help with arthritis, tiny rings the circumference of a nail’s head, all different, with the birthstone of each grandchild. The jewelry paled in comparison to what I discovered next. – A couple Read more…
“Would you be able to pick Gloria Steinem up from the airport?” was one of the more memorable questions Peg Lonnquist asked me when I was a college student at Iowa State University. As executive director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Women’s Center, Lonnquist (“Peg,” as we called her) was Read more…
BY BRITTANY HEARD, LEAD ADVISER, FOSTER GROUP INC. I’m an introvert. Growing up, I was particularly shy and soft-spoken. Even though I was a good student and a good athlete, I lacked confidence. I was content to remain unnoticed. For years, I didn’t feel like this was a problem. It was just who Read more…
BY EMILY BARSKE WOOD, SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR, AND NICOLE GRUNDMEIER, STAFF WRITER 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. Those who contribute opinion and commentary pieces ensure Fearless is inclusive by giving Read more…
By Seeta Lee New Year’s resolutions are hard to avoid. A change in the calendar brings a refreshing opportunity to say, “This is when I finally do the thing!” Sadly, diet culture, fatphobia and the wellness industries are all too aware of this urge to renew ourselves. They latch onto Read more…
For many elementary-aged children in Iowa, one of their first public tastes of inequity comes while staring down at the muddy blacktop while their wealthier classmates play in the snow. I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s in western Iowa. Children who didn’t have snow pants or snow boots Read more…
BY KIM GRZYWACZ, SALES DIRECTOR, CIT SIGNATURE TRANSPORTATION In 2021, I found myself looking at all I had accomplished, participated in, been asked to be a part of, and I thought to myself, “Who is this person? I do not recognize her.” By the end of the year, I learned this Read more…
Editor’s note: As part of our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Fearless profiled a Latina who moved to Iowa from New York to work as a counselor at the Urbandale Community School District. She is empowering the next generation of fearless leaders. (We recognize that calling September “Hispanic Heritage Month” is Read more…
Editor’s note: Adverse Childhood Experiences, also known as ACES, are traumatic events that happen to a person ages 0 to 17. Examples include physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, the death of a parent, the incarceration of a parent, witnessing a parent being abused, and more. The higher a person’s ACES score, the Read more…