The Des Moines Register celebrates its 175th anniversary in July, and we’re planning special coverage throughout the month.
But we didn’t want to make this just about us. We’ve asked other Iowa businesses that are a century or more old to share news about their operations for an online listing, and we will feature a handful of them in stories in the print edition in July. Businesses can participate by filling out a brief form at DesMoinesRegister.com/OldestBusinesses.
Our solicitation of information from century-old businesses prompted some nonprofit and governmental organizations with deep roots in Iowa to reach out and say they wanted to participate, too. So we’re now doing a separate callout for information from noncommercial groups, including nonprofits, educational and governmental organizations and cultural and civic associations.
To participate, organizations must be at least a century old and continue to maintain physical operations in Iowa. Organizations are asked to fill out a form at DesMoinesRegister.com/OldestOrganizations.
For questions about our anniversary coverage, please contact business and investigations editor Bill Steiden at wsteiden@registermedia.com.
A salute to retiring sportswriter Randy Peterson
Colleagues and Des Moines Register alumni gathered last week to honor Randy Peterson, who retired earlier this month after a remarkable 52-year career as a Register sportswriter.
As his last assignment, Randy for over a decade served as the Register columnist covering Iowa State University athletics, but his career has covered the waterfront of sports in Iowa, from high schools to Iowa’s other “Big Four” universities (Drake, Northern Iowa and Iowa) to the Iowa Cubs.
As both a reader and an editor, I’ve appreciated Randy’s tireless approach to coverage. He worked a lot of seven-day weeks, starting before dawn and still going after midnight, whenever and wherever there was an Iowa sports story to be told. You could tell he truly enjoyed interviewing athletes and their parents, coaches and fans. Without stepping over the line into cheerleading, he worked just as hard to dig out feel-good stories about athletes’ achievements as he did to break big scoops on his beat.
It won’t be possible to replace Randy’s always-on work ethic and 52 years of Iowa sports knowledge, but rest assured, Cyclones fans, we will be filling the Iowa State sports columnist job.
Colleagues will miss Randy’s steady drumbeat of fine coverage and his first-in-the-newsroom morning presence, with his ever-present Diet Cokes, but we wish him much happiness as he enjoys more time with his family and kicking around the Iowa Great Lakes.
Look for graduation coverage, our Academic All-State team
We’ve begun our annual stream of coverage of high school and college graduations, starting with a package highlighting six 2024 high school graduates whose advocacy and volunteer work exemplify a commitment to their communities and Iowa.
We’re also continuing our annual tradition of selecting a high school Academic All-State team. Coverage will publish online and in a special section on Sunday, May 19. As with previous years, you’ll be inspired by the honorees’ achievements in the classroom and their leadership in their communities.
Carol Hunter is the Register’s executive editor. She wants to hear your questions, story ideas or concerns at 515-284-8545, chunter@registermedia.com, or on Twitter: @carolhunter.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines Register wants to hear from 100-year-old Iowa nonprofits