Category Archives: Iowa Miscellaneous

Sep 30

Iowa author has Titanic book coming out

(Oooohhhh….two of my favorite subjects in one.) Author/freelance writer Darcy Maulsby has a book coming out about Iowa’s connections to the Titanic, according to this story by KCHA Radio. (“Known author”? As opposed to “Unknown author?”) Maulsby, who previously wrote … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Iowa author has Titanic book coming out
Sep 03

Watching an Iowa legend ply his craft

August 16, 2019: Bob Dorr (left) performs “Elvis in Paraguay” with three Elvis impersonators who crashed the concert at the MidAmerican Energy Stage at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. My Iowa State Fair day(s) have typically ended with hypnotist Ron Diamond (except … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Watching an Iowa legend ply his craft
Aug 16

Things to do in Des Moines when you’re alive

With all the national media in Iowa this week, we were bound to get some dispatches from the frontier-style stories. Roll Call has a 15-minute audio experience of the Iowa State Fair. The reporter spent “a day in the deep-fried … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Things to do in Des Moines when you’re alive
Aug 15

Fair Squares, 2010-2018

The Rice Krispie Bar on a Stick (that couldn’t be called that) is off the menu at the Iowa State Fair. The fair board discontinued selling the treat this year, the Register reports, because of falling sales. That’s even after … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Fair Squares, 2010-2018
Aug 14

‘Thanks for giving Iowa a try’ (2)

I write about the Iowa State Fair Singers and Jazz Band, with a single-out of 1989, and then I find a barely-seen video of that very year. The thanks song comes at the end. (Those very benches, or similar ones, … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on ‘Thanks for giving Iowa a try’ (2)
Aug 13

‘Thanks for giving Iowa a try’

I loved watching the Iowa State Fair Singers and Jazz Band. It was something we saw at the fair at the stage by the Cultural Center at least a few times, if not every year. I certainly loved it when … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on ‘Thanks for giving Iowa a try’
Jul 31

At least one frontier continues to be pushed

Our food scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should. Starting at 2:45: SIX meat patties, SIX strips of bacon, slathered with macaroni and cheese. God bless America. (But I actually might … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on At least one frontier continues to be pushed
Jul 26

The Army convoy stops in Denison

The Army cross-country Lincoln Highway convoy got to Denison on Saturday, July 26, 1919, and would spend Sunday there as a rest day. Here’s part of the Denison Review‘s coverage in the next week’s paper (“train” refers to the trucks … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on The Army convoy stops in Denison
Jul 25

The Ames bypass of the Lincoln Highway

November 29, 2001: Based on a photo at Hickory Park restaurant, this overhead sign on Lincoln Way at Kellogg Avenue pointing to Main Street in Ames had been around since the early 1960s. It didn’t last much longer after this … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on The Ames bypass of the Lincoln Highway
Jul 23

The promotional importance of the Lincoln Highway convoy

This week is the 100th anniversary of the Army convoy on the Lincoln Highway across Iowa. The Iowa DOT, quoting the Eisenhower presidential museum, says the primary goal was “an exercise to test the ability of the military to move … Continue reading

Posted in Iowa Miscellaneous | Comments Off on The promotional importance of the Lincoln Highway convoy