Iowa’s landscape may be a fraction of a percent of what it was in its pre-agriculture glory days, but conservationists have worked out some promising recipes for a rebooted, deep-rooted grassland. When you mix some classic ingredients — native plants, plentiful pollinators and symbiotic mammals like bison — they tend to form an ecosystem resembling a 200-year-old Iowa. In this issue, LV explores nature preserves around the state where bison roam free and fluffy.
Plus: The sultry dance craze that survived “cancellation,” where to get breakfast around the clock, a daring Des Moines dance troupe, behind the belt buckles with Bronco, and an annual marathon for indie filmmakers commences. Plus: The legend of Iowa’s oldest bonsai tree, and much more.
Cover art by Monica Basile
