Since 1980, Wilson’s Orchard, located just north of Iowa City, has been a popular “you-pick” opportunity for area families, students and couples in the late summer and fall months. After Paul Rasch and Sara Goering took ownership in 2009, the beloved orchard, pumpkin patch and bakery grew into a cidery, restaurant, wedding and reception venue, […]
Recreation
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Win a chance to lose to Hawkeye women’s basketball stars while helping Coralville Community Food Pantry fight hunger
Caitlin Clark wasn’t just a star on the basketball court during her time with the Hawkeyes; she was also a star when it came to rallying support for the Coralville Community Food Pantry (CCFP). Clark headlined fundraising campaigns for the food pantry in 2022 and 2023 that raised a combined total of more than $100,000. […]
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Bison made the prairie what it was. Iowa conservationists hope they can do it again.
According to the National Park Service, the tallgrass prairie is “one of the rarest and most endangered ecosystems in the world.” It once covered 167 million acres in the middle of North America, stretching from the Red River Valley in Canada into Texas. Only about 4 percent of the tallgrass prairie that existed before the […]
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Fully Booked: Travel books to guide your next vacation
It’s summer, which means that it’s time for that hallowed tradition of summer vacation. I have many fond memories of piling into my parents’ light blue and fake-wood-paneled station wagon to hit the road. Many times that meant Adventureland (the sky seats! the swimming pool! the bingo parlor!), but we definitely also set out to […]
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Photo Gallery: A rock show at the roller rink with Ramona and the Sometimes, Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops
Des Moines bands Ramona and the Sometimes and Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops inaugurated Skate South (10494 County Line Rd, Des Moines)’s first rock show on Saturday, May 18. Bands performed from the center of the rink while skaters circled around them, dodging inflatable clouds and disco balls. Be on the lookout for […]
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After a career coaching women’s basketball in the state of Iowa, Lisa Bluder is retiring, handing the Hawks over to Jan Jensen
It’s been more than a month since the final buzzer sounded in the NCAA championship game, but Monday proved a pivotal day for the future of women’s basketball at the University of Iowa. First, Lisa Bluder announced her retirement after 24 years as head coach of the Hawkeyes. Then, UI Athletics announced associate coach Jan […]
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‘Plant. Grow. Fly.’ program marks 10 years of crafting pollinator-friendly garden recipes for Iowans
Ten years ago, the monarch butterfly was in serious trouble. Its numbers had cratered to the lowest level researchers had seen since the current monarch population monitoring programs began in the mid-1990s. Although the monarch has rebounded from that low point enough for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to upgrade its status […]
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When the Iowa women’s basketball team packed Carver — in 1985
For most of her 62 years, “nobody cared about women’s basketball,” Lisa Bluder has said, especially when compared to the phenomenon it is today. Athletic scholarships were practically nonexistent before 1972. Attendance could range from a few dozen to a few hundred. Uniforms and facilities were often less than ideal. But the sport still had […]
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Court battle over public art piece in Des Moines park reaches ‘unsatisfying status quo’
“Greenwood Pond: Double Site,” the large-scale work of public art that has been part of Greenwood Park in Des Moines since 1996, will remain in place following the decision of the federal judge on Friday to issue a preliminary injunction stopping the Des Moines Art Center from dismantling and removing its wooden structures. The large-scale installation […]
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While taking the world by storm, Lisa Bluder’s team has given Iowans some precious pride of place
Modern life can be isolating. Kurt Vonnegut said as much during a graduation address at New York’s Hobart and William Smith Colleges on May 26, 1974. “What should young people do with their lives today?” asked the Indianapolis-born author. “Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the […]
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Great Iowa River Race returns to help raise funds for environmental education in Johnson County
Kayakers, canoers, paddleboarders and others who enjoy a Saturday morning paddle on the Iowa River can still sign up for the 12th annual Great Iowa River Race, which will be held this year on June 8. The race starts at Sturgis Ferry Park in Iowa City (1700 S Riverside Dr), which has a boat ramp […]
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Famous food, fast cars, a bull named Albert and a free-roaming courthouse: Stories from RAGBRAI 2024’s overnight towns
The route for RAGBRAI LI stretches from Glenwood on the Missouri River to Burlington on the Mississippi. At 424 miles, this year’s route is fairly short, but it will be the “hilliest ever RAGBRAI,” according to organizers. It’s not the first time Glenwood and Burlington have been connected. In 1869, the Burlington and Missouri River […]
