Former Des Moines Register and Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist Donald Kaul, who co-founded the cross-state RAGBRAI bike ride, died Sunday at age 83 after battling prostate cancer, the Register reported. Kaul was known for forceful opinions that informed policy debates, and his satire, and his colleagues often spoke of him as a friendly, supportive co-worker. He was twice a finalist for journalism’s top award, the Pulitzer Prize, once at the Gazette and once at the Register. “Kaul’s regular columns in the Des Moines Register and other newspapers nationwide typically were drenched in satire,” the Register reported. “His readers followed with a religious zeal that few modern journalists can hope to inspire.”