I launched this website with the hope and intent to provide straightforward news about Iowa’s political scene. The Iowa Torch‘s mission from day one was “to inform Iowans about important policy and political news from the local, state, and federal levels and engage Iowans with thoughtful commentary and analysis from a center-right perspective.”
For the last few months I’ve felt more and more of a conviction that I can’t accomplish that mission due to a loss of flexibility in my work – going from being self-employed full-time with lots of flexibility to working a full-time job that has mandatory overtime on occasion, very little flexibility, and still maintaining a business on a part-time basis.
Over the last few months I’ve been able to write some short news pieces, but I can’t keep up with the demands of a 24/7 news cycle, so I became dependent on syndication pieces from The Center Square and guest opinion columns.
This is not at all what I envisioned when I started The Iowa Torch.
So, after an extended break, I decided to cease publication of The Iowa Torch. I appreciate those of you who have read over the years here and when I wrote at Caffeinated Thoughts. Thank you for your readership and your trust. I’m not going away completely, I want to continue to write. I will continue to write for my newsletter where I don’t have the pressure to break news or write daily content, and can focus on topics I’m passionate about.
If are not already a subscriber to my newsletter, I would be honored if you would follow my work there, and you will receive it right in your inbox (and can also read it online).
I also want to thank the Iowa Association of Justice who have advertised with The Iowa Torch since almost the beginning, my friend Brian Myers who advertised his business with us until shortly before his retirement, and Theravive for their sponsorship of first Caffeinated Thoughts and then The Iowa Torch. Your support helped keep this website going and I appreciate it.
And a special thank you to my wife and kids who have supported me in this writing pursuit with its countless hours of writing, editing, and going to where I needed to go to report the story.
And, again, thank you dear readers, you made the sacrifice of time worthwhile.