Who: Steve Grove in conversation with Seth Boyes
What: an evening celebrating his new memoir, How I Found Myself in the Midwest
Where: Carrie Lee Elementary
When: Wednesday, 8/20 at 7:00pm
Join Minnesota journalist and author Steve Grove (How I Found Myself in the Midwest) and editor of the Decorah Leader, Seth Boyes, for a conversation and Q&A session followed by a book signing on Wednesday, August 20 at 7pm at Carrie Lee Elementary Auditorium at 210 Vernon St., Decorah. Everyone is invited to this free event sponsored by the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation, with support from Carrie Lee Elementary and Dragonfly Books.
A passionate testimony to the power of moving forward by going back home, a Midwestern native shares hope in going local.
After turning forty, former Google executive Steve Grove moved back to Minnesota with his wife, fellow tech exec Mary Grove, and their one-year-old twins, leaving Silicon Valley to put down new roots. He joined Governor Tim Walz’s administration, trading tech’s fast pace for the complexities of state government—a shift that brought both challenges and growth. When the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd struck close to home, Grove found himself on the front lines, tasked with crisis response and navigating deep divisions in a state proud of its progressive identity. Through it all, he gained unexpected insights into community, connection, and what gives life meaning. How I Found Myself in the Midwest is a moving story of reinvention and hope from a part of the country too often overlooked.
Steve Grove is CEO and publisher of the Minnesota Star Tribune. Previously, he was Minnesota’s commissioner of employment and economic development. Before moving back to his home state, Grove built a career in Silicon Valley as an executive at Google and YouTube, most recently as the founding director of the Google News Lab and previously as YouTube’s first head of news and politics. A graduate of Claremont McKenna College with a master’s degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, Grove has written for several national publications and has served as an advisor to the White House and State Department on counterterrorism strategy. Steve and his wife Mary are the cofounders of Silicon North Stars, a nonprofit that helps underserved youth find career pathways in technology. They are the proud parents of eight-year-old twins, a yellow lab, and two farm cats.
Joining Steve in conversation is Seth Boyes, who has worked as a journalist for nearly a decade, beginning at the Spencer Reporter in 2016 before moving to the Dickinson County News, where he became news editor and served as the sole news writer for about three years. In May 2024, he and his family relocated to Decorah, and he became news editor of the Decorah Leader that July following its rebranding by Enterprise Media. Over his career, Boyes has earned 11 first-place awards and around 30 additional honors from the Iowa Better Newspaper Association for his writing and photography, including recognition for investigative journalism. His work has also contributed to multiple staff awards, with the Decorah Leader most recently receiving 23 state honors, including second-place for general excellence.
This event is part of Dragonfly Books and the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation’s robust author event series, which brings top-notch writers of all genres to Northeast Iowa to lead in conversations about literature and writing. To learn more about this event and other events with Dragonfly Books, visit www.dragonflybooks.com.
If you find that you can't make it to the event but would still like to purchase any books from this author talk, give Dragonfly Books a call at 563-382-4275. Our staff will be glad to reserve a book, have it autographed for you, and shipped out as needed.
You may also like the following events from Oneota Valley Literary Foundation:
- Next Tuesday, 5th August, 07:00 pm, Thomas Maltman | Ashes to Ashes | Reading, Q&A, and Signing! in Decorah
- Next Thursday, 7th August, 05:30 pm, Shelf Life: A BYOBook Club in Decorah
- Next month, 6th September, 11:00 am, William Kent Krueger | Apostle's Cove | Reading, Q&A, and Signing! in Decorah
Also check out other
Arts events in Decorah,
Literary Art events in Decorah,
Business events in Decorah.
|
