This post is part of a series on the recipients of Press Forward’s Open Call on Closing Local Coverage Gaps. Read the series here.

Journalist Dana James launched Black Iowa News during the pandemic to help the community learn about and survive a virus that disproportionately harmed them. She hasn’t stopped providing coverage online and in print since.

“It’s always been important to me that the voices of Black Iowans come through and that connect people across the state. So, I write about the trends that I see happening: Black maternal health, education disparities. I really feel like Iowa is in some ways the land of disparities when it comes to Black Iowans. I’m talking about everything from incarceration rates, education rates, home ownership rates, business rates,” James said.

“Black Iowa News prides itself on going in depth on some of those topics while also featuring people who are working to change things across the state.”

James and her husband rent a van quarterly to hand deliver the papers across Iowa to churches, grocery stores, and other places where they are likely to reach members of the Black community. In the beginning, James delivered the papers to help her better understand different parts of the state.

“What I know about the other parts of Iowa are these dire statistics, but now I have a much broader view of what’s happening in these communities because I’ve been there several times,” James said.

James plans to elevate Black Iowa News from a quarterly newspaper to a monthly one, with Press Forward support. The funding will allow her to expand her team. She has already hired a new writer in Eastern Iowa and plans to contract with more to sustain the newspaper, website, newsletter, and social media channels.

“Local news is so important to communities because of representation,” James said. “And that news should be tailored to the community in a deeper way that people feel seen.”