About The Iowa Cob
Welcome to Iowa’s most dependable satirical newspaper.
The Iowa Cob is a statewide satirical news publication covering Iowa politics, government, sports, agriculture, weather, culture and the wonderfully strange realities of life in the Hawkeye State.
Our stories are works of satire. They use humor, exaggeration and fiction to comment on real people, real events and real issues affecting Iowa. Sometimes the stories are completely invented. Sometimes reality simply gets there first.
Our mission is simple: make people laugh, encourage them to think and remind them that Iowa is never quite as boring as people claim.
We believe the best satire punches up, questions power and finds humor in bureaucracy, politics and the uniquely Midwestern ability to hold a thirty-minute conversation in a Casey’s parking lot.
If it happens in Iowa—or plausibly could happen in Iowa—it might end up in The Iowa Cob.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is any of this real?
Is anything on this planet actually real?
Unless otherwise noted, our stories are satire. They are sometimes inspired by real events but may include fictional people, quotes and scenarios. Sometimes we literally dream them up from ordinary, everyday situations.
The general rule is simple: If you read it here, be careful repeating it. Although, given the increasingly batshit state of reality, we understand why you may need to double-check.
Do you hate Iowa?
Quite the opposite.
You don’t spend this much time making fun of something unless you genuinely care about it.
Can I submit story ideas?
Absolutely. Whether we will read or consider them is another story. The moment you press send, the idea becomes our property.
Why “The Iowa Cob?”
Because that’s what we wanted to name it.
Correction Policy
If we accidentally publish something that turns out to be true, we’ll issue a correction as soon as reality apologizes.
Contact
Have a story idea? Witnessed something that sounds too ridiculous to be true? Think your town deserves statewide recognition for whatever is going on over there?
Get in touch. We can’t promise we’ll cover it, but we can promise we’ll wish we had thought of it first.
1. Wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly (as of a person, government, or society).
Broadly: humor that criticizes weakness or wrongdoing.
Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Did you know?
The culinary roots of satire
The word satire entered English in the early 1500s, first referring mainly to poems. Its meaning later expanded to cover many forms of humor used to expose foolishness or wrongdoing.
The word is believed to trace back to the Latin satur, meaning “well-fed” or “full.” It also has an oddly food-adjacent history alongside words such as farce and lampoon. Apparently criticism has always been more effective when properly seasoned.
Adapted from the word history in Merriam-Webster’s entry for “satire” .
Mandatory civic intermission
Shit, that’s a lot of reading.
Take a break. Dodge the potholes and see how many blocks of Iowa pavement you can survive.
No taxpayer dollars were used in the development of this distraction.