Author: Carl Olsen (Carl Olsen)

In the span of two months in 2009, Hope Wood gave birth to her first child, moved to Des Moines and enrolled in Drake Law School. In the year and a half since then she's successfully completed her first year at Drake, written and e-published a book and landed a federal internship.

Chris Snider, a multimedia journalism instructor at Drake, tracks the top newspapers on Facebook. He says college newspapers don't have "tens of tens of thousands of followers on Facebook... But they are getting there."

Despite growing populations, Iowa will lose a seat in the U.S. House when districts are redrawn next year. "It's not like Iowa swings a lot of weight in the house," says Drake politics professor Dennis Goldford. "So whatever weight Iowa swings is through seniority."

Blogger Ronald Wesley Maly writes of his appreciation for Iowa collegiate basketball games, especially during the month of December.

Larry James, a 2001 Drake Law School alumnus, and his wife Jennifer bought and restored an abandoned 1886 Victorian house on the campus of Drake University. The Jameses appeared on an episode of HGTV's "If Walls Could Talk."

The alternative magazine Cityview named Drake Law School alumna Ashley Tousley one of Des Moines "sexiest people." Tousley graduated with honors and was admitted to legal practice in September 2009.

Three lawyers who challenged the results of Iowa's Supreme Court retention vote could have raised questions about the ballot before the election, Drake University law professor Mark Kende says.

A freelance travel writer based in Des Moines writes a blog entry about Urban Plains, the all-digital publication launched Dec. 9 by a group of Drake senior magazine majors. Urban Plains is online at http://www.urbanplainsmag-digital.com.