On the road again ... and again

Here we are halfway through the first month of 2012 and I'm ready to make a bigger and bolder push for our community contributors.

If you've missed these blogs, or columns in the newspaper, here is what I'm doing in a nutshell: I am looking for community contributors for our websites (TheGazette.com and IowaPrepSports.com), the newspaper and, possibly, KCRG. I'm looking for stories, photos and video as well as simply working with would-be - or wannabe - journalists.

We've launched a new page in the Sunday Sports section titled “Your Page” and it will include recreational and high school stories written by you, as well as photos taken by you. We also throw in a few comments from blog posts, a look ahead at what's happening in Eastern Iowa, notes on youth athletes and our “How They're Doing,” a look at former high school athletes and what they are doing in college.

All this information is for you, mostly by you. We've had a story on a dog lover who works with rescue dogs and trained one to hunt, another on a woman running for cancer patients with the Team in Training program and another on the RoughRiders youth hockey teams.

We want more. So what's your story? Tell us and we can give you the platform to share with the world - or at least our little corner of it.

Our list of high school contributors is growing, too, with Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Taylor Mueller joining our “team.” We've also had stories from McCall Meade of Williamsburg, Ryan Milke, John Richardson and Lucy Martin of Xavier, Maddie Coates and Clarie Swift from West Delaware, Chase Lynn of Dubuque Senior and Annika Wasson of Iowa City High. Iowa City West senior Adam Canady has provided some photos.

I've visited students at Iowa City West and City High, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Washington, Xavier and Jefferson, Marion, West Delaware and Clayton Ridge. Students from West Branch were in the office and heard my pitch. I will be at Iowa City Regina on Tuesday and am working out details for trips to Mount Vernon and West Liberty.

Where is your school?

We are serious about wanting your stories, about your schools, your classmates and your teams. Who better to tell us about what's happening at your school - or in your recreation club - than you? There is a writer in everybody and, if it's a struggle, I'm here to help massage that content. We all take photos, so share those, too.

The opportunities we are offering are endless, from writing to working with the prep crew for a KCRG 9.2 broadcast.

Sound like fun? Contact me at

jr.ogden@thegazette.com and let's keep this ball rolling.