There’s nothing like the feeling of freedom when riding a bicycle, attached to the earth only by a couple of spinning tires, the road spooling out in front of you, the wind in your hair. But for some people, the delight of riding a bike is just a distant memory. Limited mobility, injuries, or the […]
Jane Claspy Nesmith
Can I eat that? An educational outing with the Prairie States Mushroom Club
Hunters waited at the Ryerson’s Woods trailhead in Iowa City on a beautiful late April Saturday morning. Older men with walking sticks wore blaze orange caps. University students in shorts and sneakers chatted among themselves. A handful of middle-aged women and a few retired folks rounded out the group. I joined them with my notebook […]
A lean, green protein in the land of pork tenderloins, these bicoastal oysters feed a growing Iowa fanbase
Every year on a Saturday in late March, thousands of fresh oysters arrive in chilled boxes to Club 76, the pub at the American Legion Post 1776 in North Liberty. They’re ordered for the Post’s popular Stout, Sours & Oysterfest. At the all-day festival, guests will go through between 3,500 and 5,000 oysters, eating them […]
Animals get to live life as more than livestock in the Iowa Farm Sanctuary’s pastures
Henry the one-eyed turkey stands just inside the pasture gate, proud and handsome with his white feathers fanned in display. He may look regal, but he also appreciates a rub of his gnarly red head. At 3 years old, Henry is a senior citizen: most turkeys raised in Iowa and elsewhere spend the first 20 […]

