A Message from Your INA President

As we begin 2026, I’m excited to invite you to join us at the upcoming INA Convention & Awards Ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 6 in Des Moines.

This year’s convention – themed “Shaping the Future of Local News” – promises to deliver a powerful and motivational message at an important time for local journalism and community newspapers.

The INA team has assembled a truly outstanding roster of speakers, panels, and breakout sessions designed to inspire, challenge, and connect us:

• Learn how to extend the reach of your content from print to web, social media and beyond with smart, efficient strategies that help your paper thrive.

• Discover how newspapers can build trust and strengthen community engagement, creating deeper connections with your readers.

• Explore how small and mid-size newsrooms are embracing new tools – including AI – to streamline workflows, enhance storytelling, and adapt to evolving reader habits.

• Connect with journalism students across the state as we invite them to join us for the convention lunch.

During the convention, you’ll have the option to choose from several breakout sessions and roundtables that cover topics such as a building meaningful audience relationships, boosting advertiser partnerships, adapting content for multiple platforms, and thinking creatively about how you cover your community.

And, of course, we’ll conclude the convention by recognizing journalism excellence across our state with the Iowa Newspaper Foundation Better Newspaper Contests award ceremony. It’s a celebration of dedication, innovation, and community-centered journalism.

I can’t wait to see you there. It’s our time to learn, connect with colleagues old and new, and celebrate the hard work we do to keep local journalism alive and thriving in Iowa.

Jason Brummond

Publisher, Iowa City Daily Iowan

INA President

P.S. Thanks to support from the Iowa Newspaper Foundation, the registration fee remains one of the lowest around the country. Register online at inanews.com/convention by Jan. 22 to receive the early bird discount.