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Jan 13, 2025 | 
newspressnow.com | Sofia DeMartino
Jan. 12—The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. On the ride to Union Station, we quizzed her. "He was the 39th president. He was a peanut farmer. He built houses for people who didn't have houses." She made a quizzical face, trying to remember something else about a man she had never met.
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Jan 12, 2025 | 
thegazette.com | Sofia DeMartino
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. On the ride to Union Station, we quizzed her. “He was the 39th president. He was a peanut farmer. He built houses for people who didn’t have houses.” She made a quizzical face, trying to remember something else about a man she had never met.
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Dec 1, 2024 | 
thegazette.com | Sofia DeMartino
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. In the four years I have served as an editorial fellow for The Gazette, I have submitted column after column within my particular area of expertise — social impact. In my first year, I wrote about large scale issues like the legacy of redlining, domestic violence, and food insecurity.
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Nov 4, 2024 | 
newspressnow.com | Sofia DeMartino
Nov. 3—The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. It is a difficult question to answer in the moment in a meaningful and thorough way. There are those who ask this question even though they are fully committed to misunderstanding us. Those who are looking for an argument, for a bit of sport. Then there are those who are genuinely interested in learning. The effort represented by this piece is for them.
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Nov 3, 2024 | 
thegazette.com | Sofia DeMartino
A cardboard voting booth during early voting at the Jean Oxley Public Service Center in Cedar rapids, Iowa on Monday, November 6, 2023. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette) The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. It is a difficult question to answer in the moment in a meaningful and thorough way. There are those who ask this question even though they are fully committed to misunderstanding us.
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Sep 22, 2024 | 
thegazette.com | Sofia DeMartino
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds hands one of the pens she used to sign bill SF522 into law to Bob Welsh of Coralville, Iowa, during a ceremony at Highland Ridge in Williamsburg, Iowa, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. Welsh, an advocate for senior citizens, pushed for the legislation. The law sets criminal charges — ranging from misdemeanors to felonies — for abusing, assaulting or financially exploiting an elderly person age 60 or older. Reynolds also signed an elder abuse awareness week proclamation.
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Aug 25, 2024 | 
thegazette.com | Sofia DeMartino
People wait for a rally with former President Donald Trump to begin at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa., Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Thomas Beaumont) While the world turned its eyes toward Paris to watch our most elite athletes compete for honor, I had occasion to chat with a pair of German nationals visiting the United States for a monthlong educational experience. The two were mother and daughter; they were thoughtful, reserved, and laughed easily.
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Jul 28, 2024 | 
thegazette.com | Sofia DeMartino
Mike Barnhart, Horizons CEO For the past three decades, Mike Barnhart has built a career serving others in Eastern Iowa. Around here, that’s how most people met him — shaking hands at a United Way event, speaking to a Rotary club, or delivering a fundraiser lunch to an office building on the northeast side of town. Since 2019, Mike has held the title of President and CEO of Horizons, a nonprofit social services agency in Cedar Rapids.
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Jul 7, 2024 | 
thegazette.com | Sofia DeMartino
An American flag blows in the wind outside as ballots are recounted inside the Johnson County Administration Building in Iowa City. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette) Hi friends. It’s been a rough decade, right? I’m talking to those of you who have been prioritizing your mental health by focusing on the immediate present in your tightest social circle.
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Jun 9, 2024 | 
newspressnow.com | Sofia DeMartino
Jun. 9—Executive Director of the African American Museum of Iowa LaNisha Cassell has had a long career in nonprofit. The Washington, D.C. native relocated to Iowa with her husband nearly 20 years ago, and recently completed a massive capital campaign, renovation, and grand reopening project at the museum. I spoke with LaNisha about her path to leadership and the work that lies ahead. What kind of experiences led you to pursue a life of service?
