TJ Juskiewicz served for 16 years as the Director of RAGBRAI (the Registers Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) until he and his entire staff abruptly resigned Tuesday, Oct. 15. According to Juskiewicz, this was in response to how a public relations firm dictated their ability to respond to riders.
The firm was hired by the Des Moines Register in the wake of a story detailing racist tweets sent by social media sensation, Carson King, when he was just 16 years old. Juskiewicz said they were not allowed to uphold their first amendment principles in communicating with the RAGBRAI Nation about their future in the wake of the Register’s troubles.
At the same time, Juskiewicz also revealed plans for another statewide cycling event, Iowa’s Ride. As the group travels to promote the ride that will be taking place the same week as RAGBRAI, they held a meeting Sunday in Ames. Juskiewicz said he thought it went very well.