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Emily Barske Wood

Emily Barske Wood is an Iowa-based journalist. She works part-time as the special projects editor for the Des Moines Business Record, and her work has been published by the Guardian, the Poynter Institute, and NPR’s Public Editor team. She recently completed a Master of Fine Arts in narrative nonfiction through the University of Georgia and is working on a book project that will be published by the University of Nebraska Press about a tornado that hit her hometown. You can follow her work on Instagram @emilybarskewood.

Stories from this author

Visitors view the Star-Spangled Banner at the National Museum of American History

The National Museum of American History Is Displaying 250 Objects to Commemorate the Country’s Big Birthday. Here’s the Story Behind Ten of the Artifacts

Featuring iconic and everyday items, including a Revolutionary War gunboat and a first-generation iPod, “In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness” is open now at the museum

Peeps Marshmallow Chicks cooling on a conveyor belt before packaging at Just Born Quality Confections (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania), 2023

See Amazing Images That Reveal the Strange, Otherworldly Beauty Hidden in American Factories

Photographer Christopher Payne provides a peek into the surreal aesthetics of industry in the United States

The Iowa State Fair butter cow has been carved annually since 1911.

How Life-Size Cows Made of Butter Became an Iconic Symbol of the Midwest

The Iowa State Fair has featured a bovine butter sculpture for more than 100 years. Now, the tradition is part of the new “State Fairs” exhibition at the Renwick Gallery