Hot off the presses

Introducing Ty's Take, Iowa's hottest new newsletter

It’s almost 11 a.m., and I am drenched. I can feel the moisture on the small of my back, and my face is glistening. The reason I am sweating this profusely before noon is three-fold: It’s 84 degrees (the temperature would later reach triple digits), I had to walk half a mile to my new office, and the air conditioning in the building that houses my office is broken.

Oh, and it is also the first day of school at the University of Iowa, the place where I now work. A place where I now work and serve as a faculty member for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Maybe that is the fourth reason I am sweating.

@rushthewriterIntroducing Professor Rushing! They just finished setting up my new office, so don't judge me for it being empty.

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

So how did we get here?

Most of you who are subscribing to this newsletter — thank you, by the way — have some passing knowledge of who I am, but I still think an introductory piece is necessary: Hello, my name is Ty Rushing, and you are reading Ty’s Take.

For the last 11 years, I was an active Iowa journalist who worked in various newsrooms across Central and Northwest Iowa, including the Newton Daily News, The N’West Iowa REVIEW, The Sheldon Mail-Sun, the Sioux City Journal, Iowa Starting Line and other publications. 

Photo by Josh Harrell

Ty’s Take is my new home on Substack. This is where I plan to drop original commentary, reporting and feature stories about any and everything. I want to write about hidden gems in small-town Iowa, fascinating people or places or weird historical tidbits.

The name Ty’s Take comes from my first weekly column at the Newton Daily News back when I was a doe-eyed pup reporter who moved from Kansas City to Iowa to live out his dream of being a newspaperman. Mission accomplished, young Ty. 

I’ve wanted to write my own newsletter for a while. The reason I’m launching Ty’s Take is because I’ve exited the daily news grind for a second time in my career (shout out to my glorious six months in corporate communications that I look back on fondly).

I spent the last three years working at Iowa Starting Line, where I was the senior editor and later chief political correspondent. In that role, I covered a whole lot of Iowa politics, including the Iowa caucus, the Iowa Legislature, Iowa’s federal delegation, and even a few local issues, which were always my favorite.

In my new role, I will help train the next generation of journalists at the University of Iowa, the place where I am sweating and typing with equal abandon on this sweltering day.

I’m excited about my new vocation and this newsletter. Many people have asked me what I want out of Ty’s Take or what I hope to provide to the audience. It’s a good question.

The main thing I want to deliver is fun. I want to have fun with reporting and writing again. 

Don’t get me wrong, politics has moments that can be enjoyable and exciting to cover, but I missed writing about subjects that were of lower stakes and consequences and, sometimes, even a little bit silly or heartwarming. 

That’s the kind of stuff I want to write about with Ty’s Take — although I might slide in a few political pieces on occasion to keep folks on their toes. This newsletter is something I can do just for myself and share with all of you. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to write strictly for pleasure, and this will be my way to rekindle that flame.

So stay tuned — I have a few initial stories in mind — but I also want people to send me ideas to write about. Does your town have a creepy doll window like the one that used to exist in Sheldon, Iowa? Tell me about it. Does your town have a pizza joint recommended by the New York Times, such as the case in Mt. Vernon? Tell me about it. 

Ty’s Take is the place to share your thoughts or get your story or a story you think is noteworthy amplified — I want to write about those moments. With all that said, welcome to Ty’s Take and let’s have some fun!