Storm Lake

Storm Lake, Iowa, has seen its fair share of changes in the 40 years since Big Agriculture came to town. Farmers blow their life savings on new equipment they hope will keep their livelihoods intact while migrant workers flock here, welcome and not, to achieve the American Dream. Corporate, political, and environmental forces—and even a global pandemic—threaten to overwhelm the already precarious existence of the people in Storm Lake.

Enter: 63-year-old Art Cullen, an old-school journalist who has dedicated his life to his family’s biweekly newspaper The Storm Lake Times. In 2017, Art challenges powerful corporate interests and local county officials about the pollution of local waterways that wins him a Pulitzer. While he has the power to change minds and rally votes, his pugnacious voice makes waves; disgruntled residents don’t always agree with his point of view and have been known to write him and his paper off entirely.

Nearly 2,000 local papers have shuttered in the last 20 years, a crisis accelerated by COVID-19. The stakes have been especially high for the Cullen family; they comprise half of The Times’ 10-person team. Art’s 27-year-old son Tom is lead reporter, his wife Dolores the photographer and culture reporter, his older brother John the publisher, and John’s wife Mary the recipe columnist. Against tight deadlines and slimmer margins, the Cullens doggedly report on their town, and wonder how the paper will survive as readers cease to support journalism like they used to.

By 2020, things start to take a dire turn. In May, Storm Lake becomes a COVID-19 epicenter in the state. The public health catastrophe poses an existential crisis for The Times as ad revenue and newspaper sales suffer a serious blow. And yet, the need for The Times is more vital than ever as credible journalism is under siege and America’s democracy hangs by a thread. Despite the setbacks, the financial losses, and even quarantine, the Cullens continue to deliver the news. There’s simply too much at stake not to.