On December 12, 1934, police raided a canning factory in Cedar Rapids, uncovering an illegal liquor and gambling set-up. Verne Marshall, tempestuous editor of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, sensed a bigger story and a wider network of corruption. His aggressive investigative reporting led to multiple resignations, nearly fifty indictments and the dramatic trial of the state's attorney general. These explosive exposés earned Verne Marshall and the paper the 1936 Pulitzer Prize. Author Jerry Harrington traces the legacy of Marshall's incendiary crusade across Iowa's political landscape.
Jerry Harrington of Iowa City, Iowa, has spent a lifetime writing about Iowa history. A frequent contributor to Iowa History Journal (IHJ), he recently won the 2016 George Mills-Louise Noun Popular History Award from the Iowa State Historical Society for the IHJ series “Iowa Governors of Influence.” Harrington recently retired as marketing public relations manager for DuPont Pioneer in Johnston, Iowa. He has worked for advertising/public relations agencies in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Rochester, New York. He has also worked for newspapers in Spencer and Clear Lake, Iowa. He graduated from Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa, in 1977 with degrees in English and political science and received his master's degree in history from the University of Iowa in 1981.