Second former journalist at diminished legacy local paper joins Spanish publication in Denison, Iowa, helps take La Prensa bilingual

Journalists Dan Mundt and Lorena López on the steps outside of the office of La Prensa in Denison, Iowa. Photo By Gordon Wolf.

DENISON

Dan Mundt, a dedicated Denison, Iowa journalist with an eye  for feature stories in his hometown, a former writer at the shattered local chain newspaper, has joined La Prensa Spanish Iowa Newspaper and its soon-to-fly sister publication, The Denison Free Press.

The funding source for Mundt's position: the non-profit Western Iowa Journalism Foundation.

Mundt, 59, is re-united with former Denison Bulletin-Review editor Gordon Wolf, who also lost his long-time position in Lee Enterprises' reshuffling in this western Iowa city's legacy newspaper. Wolf and Mundt will be co-editors of a new English-language newspaper — The Denison Free Press — a free weekly publication launched by La Prensa'a entrepreneurial owner-publisher Lorena López.

All three will collaborate on the Spanish and English publications, stretching the reporting firepower of the growing organization. La Prensa has shown remarkable sustainability in the roiling newspaper industry as it has published since 2006 when López, an immigrant from Nicaragua who held a national television reporting role in her native country, started the paper, now a force in Iowa journalism with a national reputation for excellence.

"I never really wanted to write for a newspaper until I actually did it," Mundt said. "I really leaned into the feature writing because that is what I enjoyed the most — meeting people and telling our readers what they are up to."

Mundt left the Bulletin-Review on April 20 — his birthday. He'd worked there since 2014.

"I was put in a position where I was going to oversee the death of that newspaper," Mundt said of the Lee operation, which has scaled back publication days in its chain and cast off reporters. "I think we are already seeing that newspaper die."

Lee Enterprises did not return a call for comment.

Dan Mundt at work on a story in the offices of La Prensa and The Denison Free Press above the Donna Reed Theatre. (Photo By Douglas Burns)

The La Prensa and The Denison Free Press offices are located above the Donna Reed Theatre in a loft setting in downtown Denison.

"I've always wanted to work in this space," Mundt said. "I think this is one of the more inspiring environments in Denison."

Mundt's coverage will be published in English and Spanish on La Prensa's platforms, a move that will elevate the 100 percent-Latino-owned publication in Denison, one of Iowa's more diverse cities as the long-standing English newspaper experiences the effects of a significant downsizing.

A Denison High School alum and former television producer who taught for a time at the Iowa State University Greenlee School of Journalism (his alma mater), Mundt is active not just in writing and journalism but community affairs. He serves on the Crawford County Historic Preservation Commission.

And he takes seriously that adage about journalists writing the first draft of history. Yes, news stories are meant to be timely, to release valuable information, but there is also an enduring quality to newspaper work, Mundt said.

"The things that get posted on Facebook, will they really be there in 10 years? Is all of that going to be stored and be there?" he said. "Newspapers will remain as a document of what people will be doing."

The first issue of The Denison Free Press is July 6.

The Free Press will be local. La Prensa covers a wide swath of western and central Iowa with distribution locations and stories in several Iowa cities. It's website, laprensaiowa.com is bilingual.

"Dan is first and foremost a wonderful storyteller," López said. "I've respected his work for years and he will expand our reach with a wealth of sources and a big heart for Denison. He's an inspired — and inspiring — journalist."

Mundt can be reached at dmundt@denisonfreepress.com

La Prensa and the Denison Free Press need donations to sustain publication.

Tax-deductible donations can be made to fund La Prensa through the Western Iowa Journalism Foundation, a 501(c)3, by clicking here or sending checks to:

The Western Iowa Journalism Foundation
15302 140th Street
Breda, Iowa 51436

López says it is essential that government-accountability, community and feature reporting continue to be published in English and Spanish in the Denison area.

"I love this community and its people, my friends and neighbors, deserve to be the most informed Iowans — and we intend to give them two newspapers to allow them to be just that — super informed," López said. "The more immigrants know about the historical community, and the more generational families know about those of us who arrived more recently, the more harmony and understanding we will have — and that makes life more enjoyable and businesses more profitable — which is what this great country is all about, right?"

Douglas Burns is a fourth-generation Iowa journalist and a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please consider reading some of our other writers.

The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative is also proud to ally with Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

Stephanie Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston

Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

Nik Heftman, The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa

Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla

Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames

Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey

LettersfromIowans, Iowa

Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa

Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Lake City

Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar

Wini Moranville, Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines

Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen, The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics: Behind the Curtains, Washington, D.C.

Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Urbandale 

Macey Spensley, The Midwest Creative, Davenport and Des Moines

Larry Stone, Listening to the Land, Elkader

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines