Steve King is the U.S. Representive for Iowa's 5th congressional district, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. King is considered an outspoken fiscal and social conservative.

After winning the 2002 Republican nomination, he said that he intended to use his seat in Congress to "move the political center of gravity in Congress to the right."

Writers' Voices welcomes environmental educator, writer and historian Dr. Bruce Hopkins to the show this week. Dr. Hopkins has written the book "When Foxes Wore Red Vests", a collection of essays, poetry, drawings and photographs that demonstrate how sense-of-place can serve as a role-model for future generations, as well as helping us learn how we can best live in our communities and with the natural world around us.

Dr. Hopkins career has included teaching in Nebraska, New York, and Iowa, and serving as chief administrator of an Iowa area education agency. Bruce’s life now centers on helping people of all ages connect with nature, a greater sense of community, and the literature of place.

Seventh-generation Iowan, Zachary Michael Jack is the Writers' Voices guest this week. His book, "Native Soulmate: A Season in Search of a Love Homegrown", tells of his attempts to love fresh, love local. Travelling across the state of Iowa, giving lectures and signing books, Zachary tests his theory that the girl of his dreams may be closer than he imagines.

Zachary Jack currently lives in rural Iowa. He has authored "What Cheer: A Love Story", been a sports editor and has edited many anthologies, including "Letters to a Young Iowan", "Uncle Henry Wallace: Letters to Farm Families", "Iowa: The Definitive Collection", and many more.

This week's Writers' Voices features an interview with Bob Saar. His most recent novel is titled "In Memory of David's Buick". The book follows Iowa songwriter Bucky Minnow, who's song David's Buick, was ripped off by booking agent, Buddy Payola, and Dusty Bodine, who is using Bucky's song and a magic guitar to return to fame. Bucky takes off on a road trip that leads him through incredible misadventures like no other and ultimately leads him to the meaning of life. Other characters in this book include Bucky's girlfriend, Lido Wan, disc jockey Roy Lukas, Shadow guitarist Dogus, an ancient medicine man, two ethereal spirits, and a host of FBI agents  The book gives a unique view of life, love, war, rock 'n' roll, Iowa, and sweater-clad Chihuahuas trapped inside hot automobiles.

Writers' Voices welcomes Iowa author, J. Harley McIlrath, on this week's show. J. Harley McIlrath is the author of "Possum Trot", a new collection of short stories published by Ice Cube Press. J. Harley grew up on his family's farm near Newburg, Iowa and memories of that time surely helped inspire stories in this collection. Reflections and lament on a way of life that has almost disapeared form a theme that runs through this collection. A way of life that required most farm work to be done by hand and pest control done without chemicals. It is a book of laughter, sorrow, and hope.

J. Harley McIlrath is the assistant manager and book buyer for the Grinnell College Bookstore and the Pioneer Bookshop in Grinnell, Iowa. For ten years, he ran his own bookstore in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

JAMES MOORE - James is the co-founder and manager of KRUU - LP 100.1, "The Voice of Fairfield Iowa." Indeed, Mr. Moore is the heart and soul of the station. He will review the year's accomplishments and give a vision of the Station's future.

GOVERNOR JESSE VENTURA - Former Governor Jesse Ventura was elected in the Minnesota gubernatorial election of 1998 as an Independent and member of the Reform Part. His victory is considered one of the greatest political upsets in U.S. history. His new TV show is Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117941695.html?categoryid=32&cs=1

ROBERT and DAPHNE COOK. Mr. Robert Cook is the President of the National Indian Education Association and is the Principal of Pine Ridge Reservation High School in Jackson County South Dakota.

Ms. Daphne Cook is the Executive Director of the Alliance of Tribal Tourism Advocates.

FRANCIS THICKE. Mr. Francis Thicke is running as a Democrat for the office of Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in the 2010 election. He and his wife, Susan, are owners and operators of a grass-based, organic dairy near Fairfield. Mr.Thicke has a Ph.D. in agronomy/soil fertility and previously served at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington , D.C as National Program Leader for Soil Science for the USDA-Extension Service. He has served on the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission and the Iowa Food Policy Council at the appointment of Governor Tom Vilsack. He has also served in leadership roles in many other organizations in Iowa and nationally, and has

Please join us on Writers' Voices this week to welcome Linda Egenes, adjunct faculty member at MUM and author of Visits with the Amish. Linda visited with her Old Order Amish neighbors in Southeast Iowa for thirteen years before writing this informative book. She has also written about the Amish for Cobblestone, Plain, Iowa Source, and the Plain Reader.

Hosted this week by Chamaigne Montana and Caroline Kilbourn, this is an episode not to be missed by anyone interested in a deeper understanding of Amish culture.

“Direct, respectful, and informative, Visits with the Amish takes us into the very homes and businesses of the plain people. There we enter a culture so different from the American mainstream that we are forced to examine our own spiritual beliefs, identities, and values. This slim, quiet book should assume a big place on the bookshelves of anyone interested in anthropology, religion, folklore, or the Amish culture."--Mary Swander

Please join us this week for Writers’ Voices with Monica and Caroline as we hear from two local authors.

Carol Bodensteiner will join us from 1 to 1:30 to talk about her book, Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl. While she then heads to the Fairfield Public Library to give a talk at 2pm, we’ll be joined by another Iowa author, Lance OKones, from 1:30 to 2:00.

“A beautifully written memoir . . . a moving journey through the author's personal life and its continual relationship to the landscape he accepts and honors.” -
Jim Heynen

Thomas Dean is a writer and editor with a deep interest in our connections to place, our relationship with the natural world, and the cultural life of the Midwest. A pushcart Prize nominee, Dean has recently published a book of personal essays, Under a Midland Sky (Ice
Cube Press, 2008). This collection focuses on Midwesters life through the experience of seasons, weather, and other phenomena in the sky, exploring Dean's personal efforts at finding home, as well as ruminations on what it means for all of us to seek a sense of place.

Dean earned a Ph.D. in English from The University of Iowa. He received an M.S. in English, a B.A. in English, and a B.M. in Music History and Literature from Northern Illinois University, graduating summa cum laude. He also completed doctoral work in English and film studies at The University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has received a National Endowment for the Humanities Study Grant and and grant awards from the Michigan Humanities Counsil, the Minnesota Humanities Center, the North Dakota Humanities Counsil, and Humanities Iowa.