IRONSIDE, Mike

Photo courtesy: Telegraph Herald

IRONSIDE, Michael. (Dubuque, IA--Dubuque, IA, Aug. 16, 2021) Ironside and Julie Steffen met at Loras College in the 1980s. After graduation, the couple moved to Chicago, then to Japan. While overseas, they taught English, and Ironside formed a band, helped launch a local music festival and recorded an album. After marrying in Japan on March 20, 1993, Steffen and Ironside returned to Dubuque in 1995 and immediately immersed himself in the local jumped straight into the local arts scene. "He was here and active during...a resurgence in arts and live music and cultural participation in the community, and he was at the epicenter of that through all of it," said Bryce Parks, publisher of 365ink.

Dan LoBianco, executive director of Dubuque Main Street, said Ironside worked as a program specialist for the nonprofit for a few years beginning in 1999. In his role, Ironside coordinated a variety of events, including the concert series DUBUQUE...AND ALL THAT JAZZ, later known as Music on Main. “Mike really did help take Dubuque ... and All That Jazz! to the next level,” LoBianco said. “He did a lot to rearrange the layout of the TOWN CLOCK PLAZA to better accommodate the growing crowds we were seeing.”

Ironside also served as director of DUBUQUEFEST/VERY SPECIAL ARTS and president of the DUBUQUE COUNTY FINE ARTS SOCIETY. He remained involved with both organizations after his tenure concluded. “I would reach out to Mike ... and he always came to me with loads of experience,” said Ali Levasseur, current DubuqueFest director and Dubuque County Fine Arts Society president. “He was always in our back pocket whenever we had any questions.”

Ironside’s involvement in local arts made him a valuable asset for 365ink, where he worked since the publication’s launch in 2000. “He’s such a unique guy,” Parks said. “We called him our ‘Ambassador of Cool’ because he’s just so cool.”

Ironside also played the bass with Dubuque band, the Lonely Goats. “He was our organizer and our steady voice. He kept the band on track, and he was always willing to try something new,” said Jimmy Berg, the band’s drummer. Berg’s wife, Amanda Kevern, performs belly dancing with the Lonely Goats. She said Ironside helped her conquer stage fright and freely shared advice. “He was the big brother that I always wanted and looked up to,” she said. “(He) always had the ability to say the right thing right when I needed it.”

Kevern recalled long chats with Ironside during the Lonely Goats’ practices on Wednesday nights. “Those were my favorite moments,” she said. “We would be joking around, being lighthearted, but also tackling some serious conversations, whether it was me asking for advice or just talking about worldviews. I could always look to him for better judgment.”

In 2016, Ironside was diagnosed with Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The cancer was very rare, with only about 1,500 new cases diagnosed in the United States each year, according to the International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation. There was no cure, and the disease has a median survival rate of five to 10 years. Ironside dealt with the diagnosis in his typical positive fashion, according to Steffen, navigating chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments with grace.

In the fall of 2020, Ironside received an additional diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome. The condition weakened his immune system as his body failed to produce white blood cells, leaving him susceptible to infection. Mindful of the COVID-19 PANDEMIC and Ironside’s vulnerability, the Lonely Goats played outdoor gigs during the summer and took precautions, said Berg. “We had a series of protocols, and then, he had extra ones,” he said. “It was very important to us that we did the thing that we loved the most with the person we loved very much.”

There was no place Ironside would rather have been in his final days than onstage among his bandmates. “His laid-back personality was never on better display than when he was up there playing the bass for the Lonely Goats,” LoBianco said. “He was so easy to work with, so knowledgeable, so personable. … They don’t make too many like Mike. We’ll all miss him a great deal.”

"Mike just had an innate ability to connect with people," said his wife, Julie Steffen. He was interested in everyone and he wanted to hear their stories...

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Source:

Kelsey, Elizabeth, "Ironside An 'Ambassador of Cool," Telegraph Herald, August 18, 2021, p. 1A