Local Editor, Cedar Falls

Patch Email: alison.gowans@patch.com

Facebook.com/CedarFallsPatch

Twitter.com/CedarFallsPatch

Phone: 319-850-3474

I'm a born and raised resident of this town. After graduating from Cedar Falls High School, I studied journalism and international studies at the University of Iowa and spent some time as a reporting intern at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids. After a brief stint in Minneapolis, I took off for the Peace Corps.

Two years as a community health education volunteer in Swaziland, a tiny country in Southern Africa, broadened my horizons and my perspective. But I missed home - the green summers, vibrant fall leaves and the promise of spring after a long winter. (Not so much the winter itself.) I missed the people of this place, family and friends and neighbors. It was time to come home, and what better way to reintegrate into my community than through Patch? So here I am, wondering what the next few years will bring.

Beliefs
At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable.

Politics

The current acerbic political climate disheartens me. At this point I'm less concerned with parties and labels than with intent and ideas. If someone can convince me they have the country's best interests at heart and of the merit of their policies, they'll probably have my vote. I'm a registered Independent.

Religion

I believe in God. I'm still working out the details of what that belief entails and probably will be for the rest of my life.

Local Hot-Button Issues

We heavily covered the budget cuts at the University of Northern Iowa. We'll continue to look at education issues, as Cedar Falls Community Schools continue to grow. More recently, elections, the situation at Peregrine Financial Group and the missing girls from Evansdale have been focuses of our coverage.

And of course, I'm always waiting to hear from you what issues are important as our community moves forward.