Kelly Madigan is a writer with roots in both Iowa and Nebraska, and an advocate for conservation in the Loess Hills. Her book Getting Sober: A Practical Guide to Making It Through the First 30 Days, published by McGraw-Hill, is an effort to quickly get tools into the hands of people struggling to get sober, and is based in part on her 30 years of work as a licensed drug and alcohol counselor. Kelly is also an award-winning poet and essayist, whose awards include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in creative writing, and the Distinguished Artist Award in Literature from the Nebraska Arts Council. She teaches creative writing workshops with an environmental focus through Larksong Writers Place. Her collection of poetry, The Edge of Known Things, was published by SFASU press.

Kelly and her sweetheart Doug live at the edge of an 1100 acre wildlife area in the unique geographical region known as the Loess Hills. This particular landform, created over centuries of wind crossing the ancient Missouri River floodplain and depositing fine particles of loess, is one of only two places in the world where this has occurred. Because of the steep slopes, it is also where are the majority of Iowa’s last remaining wild places exist, as they are not well suited for farming.

Kelly is a certified wildland fire fighter, a volunteer bald eagle nest monitor, a long distance walker, a hula hoop instructor, and an enthusiast for connecting people to wild places in nature and within themselves. She and Doug operate an Airbnb tucked into a stunning valley in the hills, in part because they feel a responsibility to share the natural beauty around them with others.