Brian Cooper (Photo courtesy of Telegraph Herald)

A daily newspaper journalist for more than 40 years, Brian E. Cooper for 30 years (May 1986-December 2016) was executive editor of the Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, Iowa), where in 2017 he stepped back, into the part-time role of editorial page editor and special projects resource.

He retired from the Telegraph Herald in November 2019.

In addition to state and regional writing awards for editorials and columns, he is the recipient of the Iowa Newspaper Association’s two most prestigious honors, the Master Editor-Publisher and Distinguished Service awards. He received the Stephen Berry Free Press Champion Award from the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism in 2014. Cooper is a past president of the Iowa Newspaper Foundation and the Iowa Freedom of Information Council.

Cooper is the author of sports biographies and corporate histories. They are:

Klauer Manufacturing: A Family Enterprise’s First 150 years. (Crestwood Publishing, 2020) A commissioned work on one of Dubuque’s oldest businesses, now in its fifth generation of family ownership and leadership.

Customer Satisfaction Always First: The History of Farber Bag & Supply Company. (Crestwood Publishing, 2018) A commissioned work on a firm based in Dubuque County since 1910.

Biggest Gamble on the Mississippi: The Story of the Robert and Ruth Kehl Family. (Crestwood Publishing, 2017) From operators of a small restaurant to U.S. Small-business Persons of the Year to holders of the nation’s first riverboat casino license. The biography of award-winning entrepreneurs and their family. $29.95, plus tax and shipping.

McCoy Group: A History of Commitment to the Customer (McCoy, 2012) A commissioned work on a family-owned business that started with one man and a truck and today has a national footprint.

First Heisman: The Life of Jay Berwanger. (Crestwood Publishing, 2013). It is the only full biography of the Dubuque native who won college football’s first Heisman Trophy (1935).Ray Schalk: A Baseball Biography (McFarland & Co., of Jefferson, N.C.,  2009)

Red Faber: A Biography of the Hall of Fame Spitball Pitcher (McFarland & Co., of Jefferson, N.C.,  2007)

In addition to full-length books, Cooper has written several articles and chapters for Society for American Baseball Research books and websites. He produced a commissioned article for the 2012 Yearbook of the Iowa Cubs minor league baseball team.

For more information, or to discuss your project contact Brian Cooper