Author

Chuck Offenburger

Chuck Offenburger

Chuck Offenburger, of Jefferson and Des Moines, has been writing about Iowans for 62 years (he started as a sportswriter when he was 13 in his hometown of Shenandoah). He’s been wearing his trademark black & white saddle shoes even longer than that. For 26 years, he wrote the “Iowa Boy” column and other stories for the Des Moines Register. He was co-host of RAGBRAI – the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa – for 16 of those years. He was also well-known for his coverage of the Persian Gulf War in 1990 & ’91, the career of Iowa-born opera great Simon Estes, and his Top Ten rankings of Iowa’s best cinnamon rolls. He writes the "Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger" blog and is a member of the Iowa Writers' Collaborative.

COMMENTARY

The Juarez family left everything behind in Greene County, including some lessons

By: - March 12, 2023

JEFFERSON, Iowa – We thought we were doing all the right things in trying to help the Juarez family find food, a home, jobs and to start settling-in here. Then they left. No phone call, no text, no email, no written note.  And there’s been no contact from them in the month that’s passed since their […]

COMMENTARY

Harvest season is a good time to sort out what we know about Iowa farming – and what we don’t

By: - September 28, 2022

JEFFERSON, Iowa – For the first time in 19 years, I am not living in the Iowa countryside as the harvest begins. Yes, my frequent road trips are still giving me plenty of up-close views of harvest progress. But I’m feeling a little more like a spectator now and a little less like a participant, even […]

COMMENTARY

They’re a lot of talk … but Iowa Hawkeyes’ broadcasters know their business, too.

By: - August 31, 2022

DES MOINES – A dozen years of experience has proved that if you gather the Iowa Hawkeyes radio broadcasting team in front of an audience at the Iowa State Fair, put me up there with them and give us microphones, the good folks in front of us are going to get an earful. Football color commentator […]