There’s no question that Iowa is the birthplace of the loose-meat sandwich — that beefy, slow-cooked and wonderfully messy American comfort food served on a hamburger bun. But which version of this sandwich is the definitive Iowa loose-meat sandwich is a debate that’s raged from river to river for nearly 100 years. Most Iowans call […]
Iowa history
Posted inFood & Drink
Sac City’s enormous popcorn ball watches over town from a climate-controlled temple
‘ Have you seen a popcorn ball? Have you seen a large popcorn ball? What about the world’s largest popcorn ball? If not, head to Sac City, in the heart of Iowa’s popcorn producing region. The popcorn ball in question is 12 feet in diameter and weighs 9,370 pounds. This nearly five tons of popcorn […]
Posted inCommunity/News
In the ‘outdoor museum’ of Effigy Mounds, historic objects stay in their rightful place
In the northeast corner of Iowa, near the confluence of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, lies a collection of more than 200 earthworks, built between 650 and 1200 AD or so by ancestors of Indigenous peoples still living in the state. Effigy Mounds National Monument in Allamakee and Clayton counties is unique among Midwestern mound sites: […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The ubiquitous ham balls of Iowa
It’s impossible to say when the first ham ball was formed in Iowa or who formed it. Some link ham balls to their Swedish heritage, others to their Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors, but everyone who loves this undeniably Iowa dish would agree it’s reliably present on the buffet table at most every church potluck, funeral luncheon, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge’s growing bison population is also restoring long-gone prairie species
On June 4, 1888, the Barnum and Bailey Circus rolled into Keokuk, Iowa with all its wonders — hyenas, lions, leopards, a whole contingent of elephants, trick ponies, trapezists, contortionists, leapers and tumblers and trained monkeys — in tow. But the circus’s manager, J.A. Bailey, the same Bailey of the name Barnum and Bailey, saw […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Keith Haring left his mark on Iowa City. Thirty-five years later, it will go on public display for the first time.
From kindergarten through sixth grade, I spent countless hours staring at a wall in the Horn Elementary School library, daydreaming while an adult read a book to the class. Far more compelling than a fire alarm or a poster of LeVar Burton, I would fixate on a massive mural mounted on the wall of the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
How the Clark family of Muscatine helped desegregate schools in Iowa — and nationwide
There’s fascinating history to be found in Muscatine. Before adopting the name Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens briefly wrote for the Muscatine Journal while his brother was the paper’s editor. Long before Field of Dreams, it saw some of America’s earliest minor-league baseball teams take the field. Neither Twain nor those teams left much of a […]
Posted inEastern Iowa, Recreation
Light and nature abound in this Frank Lloyd Wright house, nestled in Cedar Rock State Park
Fans of 20th century American architecture and, in particular, the Prairie Style of Frank Lloyd Wright will be charmed by Cedar Rock State Park, the site of one of his architectural gems. Built on a limestone bluff overlooking the Wapsipinicon River in Buchanan County, near the town of Quasqueton, the house is one of only […]
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 inStatewide
Contact Buzz: The right to read we will maintain
“Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you’re going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book …” ―Dwight D. Eisenhower In its current, divisive state, Americans are doing a lot of talking at one another and very little listening on […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Lights, camera, inaction: Iowa needs to get back in the blockbuster business
Filmmaking and all of its related fields are perfect for boosting a creative economy. So much so that, 16 years ago, the state of Iowa attempted to brand itself the Hollywood of the Heartland, offering an enticing film tax program. It’s easy to see how this could have worked in the long run. The heralded […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Donna Reed and her Iowa science teacher sought to spotlight the horror of the atomic bomb. Then the White House got involved.
The studio promised it would be a prestigious motion picture, with big stars and stunning visual effects. The movie would tell the true story of the creation of the atomic bomb, and give people a fuller understanding of what it means to live in a world with such weapons. It was 1947, 76 years before […]
