There are, of course, no bonsai seeds — only bonsai trees. Most tree species can be “trained” to become bonsai through a sophisticated, often obsessive process of cutting, potting, pruning, wiring and styling a plant into a miniature, meticulously sculpted version of itself. The art form is rooted in centuries of Japanese and Chinese tradition, […]
Lily Wasserman
Posted inRecreation
An Iowa bicycle collective can help you find, fix and fall in love with your ride
If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you give a man a bicycle, teach him how to keep it in tip-top shape, and advocate for there to be safe spaces for him to ride, you’re a bike collective. Iowa’s bike collectives are nonprofit community programs that focus on […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The brief time when Iowa City was in the Guitar Hero business
For a brief time in the ’00s, Guitar Hero was the king of party games. And for an even briefer time, some entries in the bestselling series were developed in an office on South Linn Street in Iowa City. Budcat Creations, a high-budget game development studio owned by Iowa natives Jason and Jeremy Andersen, relocated […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The best invention, sliced bread, is owed to an Iowan
In 1928, an Iowa-born jeweler unveiled a revolutionary invention. The machine Otto Frederick Rohwedder had created was the best thing since… well, that cliche wasn’t available yet. Because what Rohwedder invented was the automatic bread slicer. Born in 1880, Rohwedder grew up in Davenport, where he attended school and apprenticed as a jeweler. After high […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘I want to keep the freedom to read alive and well’: Little Free Library’s Margret Aldrich reflects on the massive growth — and growing importance — of the nonprofit
Margret Aldrich’s childhood was spent on a farm west of Ames reading books, often to her dog. “I lived in a very rural community, but my dad always took time to take me to our small-town public library once a week so I could stock up on books,” Aldrich recalled. As an adult, she works […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Table tennis takes minutes to learn and a lifetime to master, according to Des Moines’ highest-ranking player
Every week, the Four Mile Community Center echoes with the sound of hollow plastic balls smacking against wood, signaling match time for the Des Moines Table Tennis Club. For over three decades, the club has introduced new players to the game, building a community around rubber-coated paddles. The Des Moines Table Tennis Club was formed […]
