The Write Place, located in Pella, Iowa, has named Michael Van Natta of Knoxville as the winner of its 2012 Book Contest. "We had so many great entries that it was difficult to make a decision," said Hannah Crawford, book division coordinator. "But Mike's novel stood...

In search of a bigger world, Pella resident Carol Van Klompenburg headed to Nicaragua in 2008 for a ten-day service trip. She found that bigger world. And, as she explored it, she discovered a people and a country that beckoned her to return again and again as she...