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Copyright 2024 by Stein Enterprises, L.L.C.
All Rights Reserved.
No use of the material is allowed without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Copyright 2024 by Stein Enterprises, L.L.C.
Iowa Almanac for Wednesday, July 31, 2024
"Iowa's Woodstock"
New York had its Woodstock. Iowa had Wadena.
But if city leaders of Galena, Illinois had not gotten in the way, the 1970 rock music festival might have been held there. That was what organizers had in mind, but when they were blocked in Illinois, they came across the river and found a site on a farm near Wadena in Fayette County.
Some 30,000 people attended the three day music festival. Coming as it did just a year after Woodstock, some Iowans were not too happy about the event, which did feature open use of drugs and drug sales, and a fair amount of young people skinny dipping in a pond.
Johnny Winter, REO Speedwagon, Little Richard, Iowa's Everly Brothers, and Mason Proffit
were among those who performed.
Complaints went all the way to Iowa Governor Robert Ray, who showed up at the site on the first day, July 31st, and after being satisfied that adequate preparations had been made regarding health and safety, told the participants to have a good time. This came after Iowa Attorney General Richard Turner had gotten an injunction signed by an Iowa Supreme Court justice to block the event a few days before.
The party goers did not cause much trouble for the locals, but they did leave a fair amount of garbage behind that took a lot of cleaning up.
The story surrounding the event was voted the top news story in Iowa that year by the Associated Press, when the three-day Wadena Rock Festival began on this date in 1970.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 31st...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Iowa's Woodstock"
New York had its Woodstock. Iowa had Wadena.
But if city leaders of Galena, Illinois had not gotten in the way, the 1970 rock music festival might have been held there. That was what organizers had in mind, but when they were blocked in Illinois, they came across the river and found a site on a farm near Wadena in Fayette County.
Some 30,000 people attended the three day music festival. Coming as it did just a year after Woodstock, some Iowans were not too happy about the event, which did feature open use of drugs and drug sales, and a fair amount of young people skinny dipping in a pond.
Johnny Winter, REO Speedwagon, Little Richard, Iowa's Everly Brothers, and Mason Proffit
were among those who performed.
Complaints went all the way to Iowa Governor Robert Ray, who showed up at the site on the first day, July 31st, and after being satisfied that adequate preparations had been made regarding health and safety, told the participants to have a good time. This came after Iowa Attorney General Richard Turner had gotten an injunction signed by an Iowa Supreme Court justice to block the event a few days before.
The party goers did not cause much trouble for the locals, but they did leave a fair amount of garbage behind that took a lot of cleaning up.
The story surrounding the event was voted the top news story in Iowa that year by the Associated Press, when the three-day Wadena Rock Festival began on this date in 1970.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 31st...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, July 30, 2024
"Winning Olympic Gold"
Over the past few years, you've heard a lot about the 1976 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon for reasons other than sports. But while training and attending Graceland College in Lamoni, he was known as Bruce Jenner.
Jenner actually attended Graceland on a football scholarship, but had to stop playing due to a knee injury. Graceland track coach L.D. Weldon saw his athletic potential, though, and Jenner began training for the decathlon, making his debut in the event in the 1970 Drake Relays. He finished fifth, and later qualified for the 1972 U.S. Olympic team in the event. He finished 10th in the Munich Games, and after graduating from Graceland the next year, continued his training, selling insurance at night to make ends meet, all the while aiming his sights at Montreal in 1976.
As ABC's Keith Jackson called the final race in the 10-event competition, Jenner racked up 8,616 points in the 1976 games, smashing the world record he had just set at the U.S. Olympic trials by nearly 100 points. The iconic image of Jenner carrying a small American flag during that victory lap is etched in many of our memories. In fact, it started a tradition that is now common among winning athletes.
Bruce Jenner became just the second person to be pictured on the front of a Wheaties cereal box. Today's generation knows Jenner for reality television shows and publicly discussing gender identification. But it was Graceland alum Bruce Jenner who won Olympic gold and the title of world's greatest athlete, on this date, in 1976.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 30th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Winning Olympic Gold"
Over the past few years, you've heard a lot about the 1976 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon for reasons other than sports. But while training and attending Graceland College in Lamoni, he was known as Bruce Jenner.
Jenner actually attended Graceland on a football scholarship, but had to stop playing due to a knee injury. Graceland track coach L.D. Weldon saw his athletic potential, though, and Jenner began training for the decathlon, making his debut in the event in the 1970 Drake Relays. He finished fifth, and later qualified for the 1972 U.S. Olympic team in the event. He finished 10th in the Munich Games, and after graduating from Graceland the next year, continued his training, selling insurance at night to make ends meet, all the while aiming his sights at Montreal in 1976.
As ABC's Keith Jackson called the final race in the 10-event competition, Jenner racked up 8,616 points in the 1976 games, smashing the world record he had just set at the U.S. Olympic trials by nearly 100 points. The iconic image of Jenner carrying a small American flag during that victory lap is etched in many of our memories. In fact, it started a tradition that is now common among winning athletes.
Bruce Jenner became just the second person to be pictured on the front of a Wheaties cereal box. Today's generation knows Jenner for reality television shows and publicly discussing gender identification. But it was Graceland alum Bruce Jenner who won Olympic gold and the title of world's greatest athlete, on this date, in 1976.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 30th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, July 29, 2024
"The Butter Cow Lady"
Norma Duffield Stong was born on July 29th, 1929. She got her nickname, Duffy, from her middle name. Her uncle was Phil Stong, who wrote a book called "State Fair" which was later made into a movie. Given that background, her later claim to fame was probably preordained.
In 1950, Duffy married Toledo dairy farmer Joe Lyon; they had nine children, all of whom participated in the Lyon Jerseys business at one time or another.
She took over creating the annual Iowa State Fair butter cow in 1960, and became so closely identified with it, many thought she was the first butter cow sculptor. The tradition actually dates back to 1911, but Duffy Lyon sculpted the butter cow every year for 47 years until she retired at the age of 77. Hundreds of thousands of fair visitors watched her work inside the refrigerated display case.
After a while, she created companion butter sculptures, including a butter Elvis, John Wayne, and Garth Brooks, Grant Wood's American Gothic, and her 1999 masterpiece of The Last Supper.
Near the intersection of U.S. Highways 63 and 30 in Toledo, on the top of a hill, stands a cow and calf sculpture. It's not in butter, but it does stand in tribute to Iowa's Butter Cow Lady, Duffy Lyon, who was born on this date in 1929…95 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 29th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Butter Cow Lady"
Norma Duffield Stong was born on July 29th, 1929. She got her nickname, Duffy, from her middle name. Her uncle was Phil Stong, who wrote a book called "State Fair" which was later made into a movie. Given that background, her later claim to fame was probably preordained.
In 1950, Duffy married Toledo dairy farmer Joe Lyon; they had nine children, all of whom participated in the Lyon Jerseys business at one time or another.
She took over creating the annual Iowa State Fair butter cow in 1960, and became so closely identified with it, many thought she was the first butter cow sculptor. The tradition actually dates back to 1911, but Duffy Lyon sculpted the butter cow every year for 47 years until she retired at the age of 77. Hundreds of thousands of fair visitors watched her work inside the refrigerated display case.
After a while, she created companion butter sculptures, including a butter Elvis, John Wayne, and Garth Brooks, Grant Wood's American Gothic, and her 1999 masterpiece of The Last Supper.
Near the intersection of U.S. Highways 63 and 30 in Toledo, on the top of a hill, stands a cow and calf sculpture. It's not in butter, but it does stand in tribute to Iowa's Butter Cow Lady, Duffy Lyon, who was born on this date in 1929…95 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 29th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Friday, July 26, 2024
"Fail-Safe"
Eugene Burdick was born in Sheldon in northwest Iowa in 1918. He and his family moved to California when he was a boy, and he wound up attending Stanford University. After earning a Ph.D. from Oxford, he worked as a professor in the political science department of the University of California-Berkeley.
His talent at researching the most urgent problems of our civic culture led him to write a series of scholarly articles, which gained him recognition throughout the world. But it was when he turned those talents toward fictionalized books and movies that he reached an even wider audience.
Among his best known books were 1958's "The Ugly American", and "Fail Safe", written in 1962. Both became book-of-the-month-club selections, and then major motion pictures. Audiences became concerned, some for the first time, about the basic problems of foreign policy and national defense.
"Fail Safe" starred Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau, and described how Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States led to an accidental thermonuclear first strike after an error sent a group of U.S. bombers to bomb Moscow. The movie was released in 1964.
A year later, on July 26th, 1965, Burdick died suddenly from a heart attack while playing tennis. Despite living with diabetes and a chronic heart condition, Burdick was a man who could not say "no"--writing, travelling, competing in sports, and teaching, despite failing health.
Many Americans first learned of the gravity of global relations when reading books or seeing movies based on the work of Iowa native Eugene Burdick, who died at age 46, on this date in 1965.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 26th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Fail-Safe"
Eugene Burdick was born in Sheldon in northwest Iowa in 1918. He and his family moved to California when he was a boy, and he wound up attending Stanford University. After earning a Ph.D. from Oxford, he worked as a professor in the political science department of the University of California-Berkeley.
His talent at researching the most urgent problems of our civic culture led him to write a series of scholarly articles, which gained him recognition throughout the world. But it was when he turned those talents toward fictionalized books and movies that he reached an even wider audience.
Among his best known books were 1958's "The Ugly American", and "Fail Safe", written in 1962. Both became book-of-the-month-club selections, and then major motion pictures. Audiences became concerned, some for the first time, about the basic problems of foreign policy and national defense.
"Fail Safe" starred Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau, and described how Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States led to an accidental thermonuclear first strike after an error sent a group of U.S. bombers to bomb Moscow. The movie was released in 1964.
A year later, on July 26th, 1965, Burdick died suddenly from a heart attack while playing tennis. Despite living with diabetes and a chronic heart condition, Burdick was a man who could not say "no"--writing, travelling, competing in sports, and teaching, despite failing health.
Many Americans first learned of the gravity of global relations when reading books or seeing movies based on the work of Iowa native Eugene Burdick, who died at age 46, on this date in 1965.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 26th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Thursday, July 25, 2024
"Iowa's Newest City"
It’s not often that we have to change a state map, particularly when it comes to establishing counties and cities.
But on July 25, 2001, Iowa’s newest city was incorporated, in Jefferson County
It was originally called Vedic City, but its name was changed five months later to the current Maharishi Vedic City. It was the first city to incorporate in Iowa for thirty years.
The city consists of three and a half square miles and is comprised of ten unique subdivisions, in which eight distinct neighborhoods have been created. It’s located about four miles north of Fairfield, the home of the Maharishi University of Management.
The city plan and buildings are based on an ancient system of architecture and design, revived by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The goals are to “protect, nourish, and satisfy everyone, upholding the different social, cultural, and religious traditions while maintaining the integrity and progress of the city as a whole.”
The first resolution of the new city council proclaimed the constitution of the city to be the same as the Constitution of the Universe—Total Natural Law.
The city received national recognition as part of an Oprah Winfrey visit and television program in 2012. A total of 277 persons lived there as of the 2020 U.S. Census.
Based around the ancient Hindu principles of Veda, meaning knowledge…Maharishi Vedic City was incorporated as Iowa’s newest city, on this date in 2001.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 25th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Iowa's Newest City"
It’s not often that we have to change a state map, particularly when it comes to establishing counties and cities.
But on July 25, 2001, Iowa’s newest city was incorporated, in Jefferson County
It was originally called Vedic City, but its name was changed five months later to the current Maharishi Vedic City. It was the first city to incorporate in Iowa for thirty years.
The city consists of three and a half square miles and is comprised of ten unique subdivisions, in which eight distinct neighborhoods have been created. It’s located about four miles north of Fairfield, the home of the Maharishi University of Management.
The city plan and buildings are based on an ancient system of architecture and design, revived by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The goals are to “protect, nourish, and satisfy everyone, upholding the different social, cultural, and religious traditions while maintaining the integrity and progress of the city as a whole.”
The first resolution of the new city council proclaimed the constitution of the city to be the same as the Constitution of the Universe—Total Natural Law.
The city received national recognition as part of an Oprah Winfrey visit and television program in 2012. A total of 277 persons lived there as of the 2020 U.S. Census.
Based around the ancient Hindu principles of Veda, meaning knowledge…Maharishi Vedic City was incorporated as Iowa’s newest city, on this date in 2001.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 25th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Wednesday, July 24, 2024
"Making His Mark--Literally"
On July 24th, 1862, Jerome Palmer of Hinkletown, Iowa, enlisted in Company B, 28th Iowa Infantry. He served in the Civil War for three years before mustering out at Savannah, Georgia on July 31st, 1865. He returned to the Foote and Keota areas, opening the first hardware store in Keota.
The flag that Company B took into battle had been hand sewn by Marengo women, and to this day, you can see evidence of artillery shots as well as blood stains of one of the flag's carriers. It's preserved at the Iowa Masonic Library and Museum in Cedar Rapids.
But this story is about Jerome Palmer, and something he did in Virginia which was not known for nearly 150 years after the end of the Civil War.
From July to October 1864, in the heat of the Shenandoah Valley campaign, the Iowa regiments under General Phillip Sheridan became known for their bravery on the valley's battlefields. They took control of a town named Newtown. Staying over a store there, Palmer took out a drawer from a wooden cabinet, and sketched on the bottom of it. He drew the American flag and wrote the word "Union" above it, among other war-related things, and then wrote his name and company identification on the bottom of the drawer. He put the drawer back and continued his service in the war.
But no one knew the drawer with writing on it was there, until someone tried to restore the cabinet, and in the summer of 2009, they turned over the drawer and found what Palmer had sketched 145 years before. It's now on display in a museum there, forever memorializing the service of Iowan Jerome Palmer, who enlisted for service in the Civil War on this date in 1862.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 24th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Making His Mark--Literally"
On July 24th, 1862, Jerome Palmer of Hinkletown, Iowa, enlisted in Company B, 28th Iowa Infantry. He served in the Civil War for three years before mustering out at Savannah, Georgia on July 31st, 1865. He returned to the Foote and Keota areas, opening the first hardware store in Keota.
The flag that Company B took into battle had been hand sewn by Marengo women, and to this day, you can see evidence of artillery shots as well as blood stains of one of the flag's carriers. It's preserved at the Iowa Masonic Library and Museum in Cedar Rapids.
But this story is about Jerome Palmer, and something he did in Virginia which was not known for nearly 150 years after the end of the Civil War.
From July to October 1864, in the heat of the Shenandoah Valley campaign, the Iowa regiments under General Phillip Sheridan became known for their bravery on the valley's battlefields. They took control of a town named Newtown. Staying over a store there, Palmer took out a drawer from a wooden cabinet, and sketched on the bottom of it. He drew the American flag and wrote the word "Union" above it, among other war-related things, and then wrote his name and company identification on the bottom of the drawer. He put the drawer back and continued his service in the war.
But no one knew the drawer with writing on it was there, until someone tried to restore the cabinet, and in the summer of 2009, they turned over the drawer and found what Palmer had sketched 145 years before. It's now on display in a museum there, forever memorializing the service of Iowan Jerome Palmer, who enlisted for service in the Civil War on this date in 1862.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 24th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, July 23, 2024
"A New Way of Shaving"
Jacob Schick was born in Ottumwa on September 16, 1877. He served in the Army in the Philippines in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and returned to service during World War I, eventually becoming a lieutenant colonel.
In between those Army stints, Schick staked mining claims in Alaska and Canada. During one particularly cold winter there, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees below zero, he noticed he had a difficult time trying to shave with a conventional razor and shaving cream.
Due to an ankle injury, he had to remain in camp alone for several months, and it was during that time he first thought of the idea of a shaver that could be used without water or lather...a dry shaver. But when he returned to the continental U.S. after the war, no one was interested in his idea of a dry shaver. So in 1921, he invented a new type of safety razor, inspired by the army repeating rifle. The Magazine Repeating Razor had replacement blades stored in the handle, ready to be fed into shaving position without fear of a cut from a sharp blade.
But Jacob Schick did not give up on his original idea, and on July 23, 1929, he received a patent for the first electric razor, one which would shave without water or lather. He was so confident that the product would be a success, he sold his interest in the Magazine Repeating Razor company, and founded a new one to produce and sell Schick electric razors.
He also invented a boat for use in shallow water, and an improved pencil sharpener. But Ottumwa's Jacob Schick is probably best known for inventing the first electric razor, which received its patent on this date in 1929…95 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 23rd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"A New Way of Shaving"
Jacob Schick was born in Ottumwa on September 16, 1877. He served in the Army in the Philippines in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and returned to service during World War I, eventually becoming a lieutenant colonel.
In between those Army stints, Schick staked mining claims in Alaska and Canada. During one particularly cold winter there, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees below zero, he noticed he had a difficult time trying to shave with a conventional razor and shaving cream.
Due to an ankle injury, he had to remain in camp alone for several months, and it was during that time he first thought of the idea of a shaver that could be used without water or lather...a dry shaver. But when he returned to the continental U.S. after the war, no one was interested in his idea of a dry shaver. So in 1921, he invented a new type of safety razor, inspired by the army repeating rifle. The Magazine Repeating Razor had replacement blades stored in the handle, ready to be fed into shaving position without fear of a cut from a sharp blade.
But Jacob Schick did not give up on his original idea, and on July 23, 1929, he received a patent for the first electric razor, one which would shave without water or lather. He was so confident that the product would be a success, he sold his interest in the Magazine Repeating Razor company, and founded a new one to produce and sell Schick electric razors.
He also invented a boat for use in shallow water, and an improved pencil sharpener. But Ottumwa's Jacob Schick is probably best known for inventing the first electric razor, which received its patent on this date in 1929…95 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 23rd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, July 22, 2024
"The End of Prohibition"
Balltown in Dubuque County was settled by John Ball and his family, who first came to the area in the 1830s. Balltown is home to Breitbach's Country Dining, the oldest continuous restaurant/bar in Iowa. It opened for business as a stagecoach stop in 1852, and was turned into a saloon and restaurant by the Breitbach family less than a decade later.
But for 13 years, no alcohol was served there. That's because of the national prohibition laws which went into effect on January 20, 1920. The end of America's experiment with sobriety began when Congress repealed the 18th Amendment on February 20, 1933, and citizens knew that soon, liquor could again be sold.
Preparations had to be made. And in Dubuque County, the word had spread that when the sale of alcohol would again be legal, according to Iowa law, licenses to dispense beer could only be granted to establishments that were inside incorporated places.
To that point, Balltown had been unincorporated, as were its neighbors Sherrill and Sageville. Being an incorporated village meant registering with the state, and completing on-going paperwork. But it seemed worth it to be able to again open the saloons in those areas.
So on July 22, 1933, Upper Balltown became one of ten so-called "Beer Towns" incorporated in Dubuque County in 1933, so the town's taverns could serve beer. As it turned out, the interpretation was mistaken, and a tavern could get a license regardless of whether it was in an incorporated town or not.
But the citizens of Balltown were ready for when prohibition finally ended in December of that year, because their community became incorporated with the state of Iowa on this date in 1933.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 22nd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The End of Prohibition"
Balltown in Dubuque County was settled by John Ball and his family, who first came to the area in the 1830s. Balltown is home to Breitbach's Country Dining, the oldest continuous restaurant/bar in Iowa. It opened for business as a stagecoach stop in 1852, and was turned into a saloon and restaurant by the Breitbach family less than a decade later.
But for 13 years, no alcohol was served there. That's because of the national prohibition laws which went into effect on January 20, 1920. The end of America's experiment with sobriety began when Congress repealed the 18th Amendment on February 20, 1933, and citizens knew that soon, liquor could again be sold.
Preparations had to be made. And in Dubuque County, the word had spread that when the sale of alcohol would again be legal, according to Iowa law, licenses to dispense beer could only be granted to establishments that were inside incorporated places.
To that point, Balltown had been unincorporated, as were its neighbors Sherrill and Sageville. Being an incorporated village meant registering with the state, and completing on-going paperwork. But it seemed worth it to be able to again open the saloons in those areas.
So on July 22, 1933, Upper Balltown became one of ten so-called "Beer Towns" incorporated in Dubuque County in 1933, so the town's taverns could serve beer. As it turned out, the interpretation was mistaken, and a tavern could get a license regardless of whether it was in an incorporated town or not.
But the citizens of Balltown were ready for when prohibition finally ended in December of that year, because their community became incorporated with the state of Iowa on this date in 1933.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 22nd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Friday, July 19, 2024
"The Sioux City Crash"
United Airlines Flight 232 was en route from Denver to Chicago on July 19th, 1989. Suddenly, the plane suffered a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine, which led to loss of all flight controls when the plane's three hydraulic systems were punctured.
Air traffic control was contacted, and an emergency landing at Sioux Gateway Airport was organized.
The flight crew, led by Captain Al Haynes, tried to fly the plane using their control columns while also throttling the remaining engines. Due to the tail damage, the plane had a tendency to keep turning right, so the crew had to adapt, making wide loops to the right to eventually get close to the landing site in Sioux City.
Haynes asked air traffic controllers to keep the plane away from the city, fearful that the crew would lose control of the craft.
The plan was for the plane to land on a 9,000-foot runway, but lining up the aircraft was nearly impossible. It wound up headed toward a shorter, adjacent runway--one where emergency vehicles and fire trucks had lined up. Those vehicles moved quickly as the crippled plane came to the ground.
The plane banked to the right, with the right wing tip hitting the runway first and spilling fuel, which ignited. The tail section broke off, and the rest of the aircraft bounced several times, breaking into pieces. The main cabin ultimately broke off, skidded, and came to rest upside down.
There were 296 people on board the plane; 111 died in the crash or later from injuries. But that meant 185 survived, thanks to the actions of the flight crew led by Captain Alfred C. Haynes in steering the crippled United Flight 232 to the ground in Sioux City, on this date in 1989…35 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 19th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Sioux City Crash"
United Airlines Flight 232 was en route from Denver to Chicago on July 19th, 1989. Suddenly, the plane suffered a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine, which led to loss of all flight controls when the plane's three hydraulic systems were punctured.
Air traffic control was contacted, and an emergency landing at Sioux Gateway Airport was organized.
The flight crew, led by Captain Al Haynes, tried to fly the plane using their control columns while also throttling the remaining engines. Due to the tail damage, the plane had a tendency to keep turning right, so the crew had to adapt, making wide loops to the right to eventually get close to the landing site in Sioux City.
Haynes asked air traffic controllers to keep the plane away from the city, fearful that the crew would lose control of the craft.
The plan was for the plane to land on a 9,000-foot runway, but lining up the aircraft was nearly impossible. It wound up headed toward a shorter, adjacent runway--one where emergency vehicles and fire trucks had lined up. Those vehicles moved quickly as the crippled plane came to the ground.
The plane banked to the right, with the right wing tip hitting the runway first and spilling fuel, which ignited. The tail section broke off, and the rest of the aircraft bounced several times, breaking into pieces. The main cabin ultimately broke off, skidded, and came to rest upside down.
There were 296 people on board the plane; 111 died in the crash or later from injuries. But that meant 185 survived, thanks to the actions of the flight crew led by Captain Alfred C. Haynes in steering the crippled United Flight 232 to the ground in Sioux City, on this date in 1989…35 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 19th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Thursday, July 18, 2024
"The First Dog Track"
In 1984, the Iowa Legislature passed the Pari-mutuel Wagering Act, which allowed greyhound and horse racing in Iowa. Many cities looked to the new option as a revenue source for their respective regions.
Dubuque voters overwhelmingly approved a bond referendum for construction of a greyhound racing track in April of that year. Dubuque was in competition with Waterloo and Cedar Rapids for a greyhound racing license. Cedar Rapids also put in a bid for a horse racing license, as did Des Moines.
The Iowa Racing Commission spent six weeks studying the various applications, each of which was hundreds of pages long. Finally, on July 18, 1984, the Commission announced that Dubuque would receive the first license. A week later came word that the track would be assigned the more lucrative summer racing schedule.
Around 5,750 people applied for the 300 track jobs. The first greyhounds began training at the facility on May 7th, and the Dubuque Greyhound Park opened for business on July 1, 1985.
The first years were strong for the track, but increased competition from Waterloo, including overlapping summer racing seasons, hurt both tracks. The greyhound park in Dubuque lost $850,000 in 1992 alone. Changes in state law allowed slot machines at racetracks, and that allowed some to stay in business, but quickly the casino portion overshadowed the tracks.
The Dubuque facility became the Iowa Greyhound Park, operated by the Iowa Greyhound Association, with four-day-a-week racing in the summer.It ceased operation after a final, shortened season in 2022.
In its first 30 years of operation, the Dubuque Racing Association gave $43 million to charitable organizations. But the license for Dubuque Greyhound Park, the nation's first non-profit greyhound track, and Iowa's first pari-mutuel race track of any kind, was granted by the Iowa Gaming Commission on this date in 1984…40 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 18th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The First Dog Track"
In 1984, the Iowa Legislature passed the Pari-mutuel Wagering Act, which allowed greyhound and horse racing in Iowa. Many cities looked to the new option as a revenue source for their respective regions.
Dubuque voters overwhelmingly approved a bond referendum for construction of a greyhound racing track in April of that year. Dubuque was in competition with Waterloo and Cedar Rapids for a greyhound racing license. Cedar Rapids also put in a bid for a horse racing license, as did Des Moines.
The Iowa Racing Commission spent six weeks studying the various applications, each of which was hundreds of pages long. Finally, on July 18, 1984, the Commission announced that Dubuque would receive the first license. A week later came word that the track would be assigned the more lucrative summer racing schedule.
Around 5,750 people applied for the 300 track jobs. The first greyhounds began training at the facility on May 7th, and the Dubuque Greyhound Park opened for business on July 1, 1985.
The first years were strong for the track, but increased competition from Waterloo, including overlapping summer racing seasons, hurt both tracks. The greyhound park in Dubuque lost $850,000 in 1992 alone. Changes in state law allowed slot machines at racetracks, and that allowed some to stay in business, but quickly the casino portion overshadowed the tracks.
The Dubuque facility became the Iowa Greyhound Park, operated by the Iowa Greyhound Association, with four-day-a-week racing in the summer.It ceased operation after a final, shortened season in 2022.
In its first 30 years of operation, the Dubuque Racing Association gave $43 million to charitable organizations. But the license for Dubuque Greyhound Park, the nation's first non-profit greyhound track, and Iowa's first pari-mutuel race track of any kind, was granted by the Iowa Gaming Commission on this date in 1984…40 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 18th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Wednesday, July 17, 2024
"The Boy Murderer"
John Elkins and his wife were killed on their Clayton County farm in the early morning hours of July 17th, 1889. Mr. Elkins was shot with a rifle, while Mrs. Elkins was beaten with a stick. 11-year-old John Wesley Elkins discovered the bodies and with his infant sister in his arms, reported the gruesome scene to neighbors a few miles away.
The governor offered a $500 reward for the arrest and capture of the person responsible.
From the start, suspicion focused on John Wesley's older brother, who had been at odds with his father. John Wesley showed no emotion about the deaths, which many thought curious. He told authorities he was sleeping in the barn that night and didn't hear a shot, or any other noise while his father and stepmother were brutally killed.
Ten days after the murders, John Wesley confessed. He said he had some difficulty with his father the night before, and shortly after 2 a.m., he took a rifle that had been hanging in the family's home and shot his father in the head. To cover up the crime, he then clubbed his stepmother to death and made the whole thing look like unknown robbers were involved.
He was sentenced to life in prison and sent to the Iowa State Penitentiary before he had reached the age of 12. He spent a dozen years in prison, but by 1902, there was a feeling that his incarceration at such a young age was itself illegal. The parole board voted against his release, but the Iowa legislature intervened, passing a bill approving a pardon...and the now 23-year-old John Wesley was released.
He wound up moving to Minnesota, graduating from college with honors. He later married, and died in 1961 in California, having lived into his mid eighties. That was something denied to his father and stepmother, when 11-year-old John Wesley Elkins murdered them in their sleep, on this date, in 1889...135 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 17th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Boy Murderer"
John Elkins and his wife were killed on their Clayton County farm in the early morning hours of July 17th, 1889. Mr. Elkins was shot with a rifle, while Mrs. Elkins was beaten with a stick. 11-year-old John Wesley Elkins discovered the bodies and with his infant sister in his arms, reported the gruesome scene to neighbors a few miles away.
The governor offered a $500 reward for the arrest and capture of the person responsible.
From the start, suspicion focused on John Wesley's older brother, who had been at odds with his father. John Wesley showed no emotion about the deaths, which many thought curious. He told authorities he was sleeping in the barn that night and didn't hear a shot, or any other noise while his father and stepmother were brutally killed.
Ten days after the murders, John Wesley confessed. He said he had some difficulty with his father the night before, and shortly after 2 a.m., he took a rifle that had been hanging in the family's home and shot his father in the head. To cover up the crime, he then clubbed his stepmother to death and made the whole thing look like unknown robbers were involved.
He was sentenced to life in prison and sent to the Iowa State Penitentiary before he had reached the age of 12. He spent a dozen years in prison, but by 1902, there was a feeling that his incarceration at such a young age was itself illegal. The parole board voted against his release, but the Iowa legislature intervened, passing a bill approving a pardon...and the now 23-year-old John Wesley was released.
He wound up moving to Minnesota, graduating from college with honors. He later married, and died in 1961 in California, having lived into his mid eighties. That was something denied to his father and stepmother, when 11-year-old John Wesley Elkins murdered them in their sleep, on this date, in 1889...135 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 17th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, July 16, 2024
"A Not Guilty Verdict"
The American Indian Movement, or AIM, was founded in 1968 to address concerns regarding Native American sovereignty, treaty issues, and leadership, while also addressing incidents of racism and police harassment. While much violence occurred during the 1970s in South Dakota, it was a federal courtroom in Cedar Rapids that served as the stage for one of the more remarkable events of the time.
Leonard Peltier, Darrelle Butler, and Robert Roubideau were charged with the murders of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1975. How the interaction with the agents started, and who shot first, was in dispute; what was not in dispute was that more than 100 shots were fired, and that the agents were killed execution style, each shot in the head while they lay on the ground.
Peltier fled to Canada, leaving Butler and Roubideau to stand trial in federal court. Given the racial strife at the time, the trial was moved from South Dakota to Cedar Rapids, in the courtroom of Judge Edward McManus.
The two men admitted they were present at the shoot-out and had exchanged fire with the agents, but said they were defending their women and children from a pattern of federal abuse that explained their behavior. They denied firing the fatal shots, however.
The flamboyant defense attorney William Kuntsler represented the pair, demonstrating a pattern of FBI misconduct in other prosecutions of AIM members and tension between AIM and the FBI, with Indians fearing an all-out attack on them by the federal government.
The jury deliberated for five days and said they were hopelessly deadlocked. Judge McManus ordered the jury to continue its work, and on July 16, 1976, they delivered a not guilty verdict, saying the atmosphere of fear and violence on the reservation led to the defendants feeling they were acting in self-defense. Peltier was later returned to the U.S. and convicted, with many still working to overturn his convictions to this day.
But it was a jury in Cedar Rapids that found two American Indian Movement members not guilty of murder, on this date in 1976.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 16th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"A Not Guilty Verdict"
The American Indian Movement, or AIM, was founded in 1968 to address concerns regarding Native American sovereignty, treaty issues, and leadership, while also addressing incidents of racism and police harassment. While much violence occurred during the 1970s in South Dakota, it was a federal courtroom in Cedar Rapids that served as the stage for one of the more remarkable events of the time.
Leonard Peltier, Darrelle Butler, and Robert Roubideau were charged with the murders of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1975. How the interaction with the agents started, and who shot first, was in dispute; what was not in dispute was that more than 100 shots were fired, and that the agents were killed execution style, each shot in the head while they lay on the ground.
Peltier fled to Canada, leaving Butler and Roubideau to stand trial in federal court. Given the racial strife at the time, the trial was moved from South Dakota to Cedar Rapids, in the courtroom of Judge Edward McManus.
The two men admitted they were present at the shoot-out and had exchanged fire with the agents, but said they were defending their women and children from a pattern of federal abuse that explained their behavior. They denied firing the fatal shots, however.
The flamboyant defense attorney William Kuntsler represented the pair, demonstrating a pattern of FBI misconduct in other prosecutions of AIM members and tension between AIM and the FBI, with Indians fearing an all-out attack on them by the federal government.
The jury deliberated for five days and said they were hopelessly deadlocked. Judge McManus ordered the jury to continue its work, and on July 16, 1976, they delivered a not guilty verdict, saying the atmosphere of fear and violence on the reservation led to the defendants feeling they were acting in self-defense. Peltier was later returned to the U.S. and convicted, with many still working to overturn his convictions to this day.
But it was a jury in Cedar Rapids that found two American Indian Movement members not guilty of murder, on this date in 1976.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 16th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, July 15, 2024
"Reporting for Duty"
Iowa did not become a state until December 1846. But Iowans answered the call to duty to serve the nation before seeing their star added to the American flag.
The land we now call Iowa was originally part of the Wisconsin Territory, and in 1838, part of that land was re-designated as the Iowa Territory.
On July 15, 1846, less than six months before Iowa became a state, a group of Iowans reported for duty, to represent the U.S. in the Mexican War.
The war started over boundary disputes between the U.S. and Mexican governments in the current state of Texas. In addition to increasing the Regular Army, Congress authorized the recruitment of 50,000 volunteer soldiers from the states and territories in May 1846. Iowa Territory responded by organizing 12 companies of men, but only three were called into federal service.
One of them, Captain James Morgan’s Company of Iowa Infantry Volunteers, served from July 15, 1846 to July 15, 1847. The group was reconstituted exactly one year after it was originally formed, serving as Captain James Morgan’s Company of Iowa Mounted Volunteers from July 15, 1847 to September 11, 1848.
Morgan was from Burlington, and his company of volunteers was unique. Records are incomplete, but it appears that of 135 who served, only 3 died, and none during battle; 2 more deserted and the fate of 3 is not certain. But that means 127 were either discharged or mustered out safely.
Captain James Morgan died in Burlington in 1862. But his Company of Iowa Infantry Volunteers reported for duty on this date in 1846.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 15th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Reporting for Duty"
Iowa did not become a state until December 1846. But Iowans answered the call to duty to serve the nation before seeing their star added to the American flag.
The land we now call Iowa was originally part of the Wisconsin Territory, and in 1838, part of that land was re-designated as the Iowa Territory.
On July 15, 1846, less than six months before Iowa became a state, a group of Iowans reported for duty, to represent the U.S. in the Mexican War.
The war started over boundary disputes between the U.S. and Mexican governments in the current state of Texas. In addition to increasing the Regular Army, Congress authorized the recruitment of 50,000 volunteer soldiers from the states and territories in May 1846. Iowa Territory responded by organizing 12 companies of men, but only three were called into federal service.
One of them, Captain James Morgan’s Company of Iowa Infantry Volunteers, served from July 15, 1846 to July 15, 1847. The group was reconstituted exactly one year after it was originally formed, serving as Captain James Morgan’s Company of Iowa Mounted Volunteers from July 15, 1847 to September 11, 1848.
Morgan was from Burlington, and his company of volunteers was unique. Records are incomplete, but it appears that of 135 who served, only 3 died, and none during battle; 2 more deserted and the fate of 3 is not certain. But that means 127 were either discharged or mustered out safely.
Captain James Morgan died in Burlington in 1862. But his Company of Iowa Infantry Volunteers reported for duty on this date in 1846.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 15th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Friday, July 12, 2024
"The Beekeeper"
Frank Chapman Pellett was born on a farm in Cass County on July 12th, 1879. He attended schools near Atlantic, but was forced to leave school due to health reasons. At age 23, he moved to Salem, Missouri, where he operated a fruit farm and studied to become a lawyer. But after only two years in private practice, he returned to his first love--nature and wildlife.
In the spring of 1907, Frank Pellett moved his wife and the two children they had at the time back to Cass County. Even then, many of the wildflowers that were plentiful during Frank's childhood were threatened with extinction. He set aside an 8 acre tract of native woodland as a wildflower preserve. It's now part of the 20-acre Frank Chapman Pellett Memorial Woods, and contains more than 120 species of plants.
Pellett was appointed Iowa's first state apiary inspector in 1912, and soon after became associated with the American Bee Journal. He quickly became one of the nation's foremost authorities on beekeeping, honey plants, and other general nature and horticulture topics. He wrote 13 books, including Beginner's Bee Book and Productive Bee-Keeping...both of which were written before 1920, but are still available on line today.
Today, backyard bee keeping is increasing in popularity in Iowa and across the nation as a hobby. Many use the same practices advocated more than a century ago by Iowa's resident expert on the topic, Frank Chapman Pellett, who was born on this date in 1879…145 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 12th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Beekeeper"
Frank Chapman Pellett was born on a farm in Cass County on July 12th, 1879. He attended schools near Atlantic, but was forced to leave school due to health reasons. At age 23, he moved to Salem, Missouri, where he operated a fruit farm and studied to become a lawyer. But after only two years in private practice, he returned to his first love--nature and wildlife.
In the spring of 1907, Frank Pellett moved his wife and the two children they had at the time back to Cass County. Even then, many of the wildflowers that were plentiful during Frank's childhood were threatened with extinction. He set aside an 8 acre tract of native woodland as a wildflower preserve. It's now part of the 20-acre Frank Chapman Pellett Memorial Woods, and contains more than 120 species of plants.
Pellett was appointed Iowa's first state apiary inspector in 1912, and soon after became associated with the American Bee Journal. He quickly became one of the nation's foremost authorities on beekeeping, honey plants, and other general nature and horticulture topics. He wrote 13 books, including Beginner's Bee Book and Productive Bee-Keeping...both of which were written before 1920, but are still available on line today.
Today, backyard bee keeping is increasing in popularity in Iowa and across the nation as a hobby. Many use the same practices advocated more than a century ago by Iowa's resident expert on the topic, Frank Chapman Pellett, who was born on this date in 1879…145 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 12th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Thursday, July 11, 2024
"The 51st Citizen"
Back in 1981, the folks in Cooper in Greene County were planning their centennial celebration. Like most Iowa towns, they wanted to do things up right. So the town of 50 people held a contest, seeking to adopt a well-known person as the town’s 51st citizen.
They invited some 200 celebrities to apply, including Iowa native Johnny Carson…and that led to a trio of Cooper residents—Gerald Lawton, Myrtle Whitcher, and Terry Rich—being invited to review Carson’s application on “The Tonight Show” on NBC. Centennial organizer Terry Rich asked Carson about his qualifications.
Carson said he had worn overalls, had tried chewing tobacco (but didn't like it) and knew the difference between an apple pie and a cow pie.
As more than 10,000 persons packed the town for its centennial celebration, the results were announced…more than half the citizens selected Johnny Carson as Cooper’s 51st resident…with prizes such as a free burial plot, a lifetime pass to the Cooper tennis court, and renaming the main street in town in his honor.
Townspeople and 10,000 of their new closest friends enjoyed a two-block parade, tractor pull, mule jump and more…and the naming of Johnny Carson as the honorary 51st citizen of Cooper, Iowa during the town centennial, on this date in 1981.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 11th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The 51st Citizen"
Back in 1981, the folks in Cooper in Greene County were planning their centennial celebration. Like most Iowa towns, they wanted to do things up right. So the town of 50 people held a contest, seeking to adopt a well-known person as the town’s 51st citizen.
They invited some 200 celebrities to apply, including Iowa native Johnny Carson…and that led to a trio of Cooper residents—Gerald Lawton, Myrtle Whitcher, and Terry Rich—being invited to review Carson’s application on “The Tonight Show” on NBC. Centennial organizer Terry Rich asked Carson about his qualifications.
Carson said he had worn overalls, had tried chewing tobacco (but didn't like it) and knew the difference between an apple pie and a cow pie.
As more than 10,000 persons packed the town for its centennial celebration, the results were announced…more than half the citizens selected Johnny Carson as Cooper’s 51st resident…with prizes such as a free burial plot, a lifetime pass to the Cooper tennis court, and renaming the main street in town in his honor.
Townspeople and 10,000 of their new closest friends enjoyed a two-block parade, tractor pull, mule jump and more…and the naming of Johnny Carson as the honorary 51st citizen of Cooper, Iowa during the town centennial, on this date in 1981.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 11th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Wednesday, July 10, 2024
"A City Without Water"
The rains fell and the rivers rose. On the night of July 10th, 1993, came the word that was unthinkable--the Des Moines Water Works Plant would soon be shut down. The water supply to Iowa's largest city would be turned off.
L.D. McMullen was director of the water works at the time. He said shutting the plant down just before the Raccoon River water came over the levee protecting it meant they could get water back to citizens in a matter of weeks, instead of months.
The Raccoon crested at a record 26.75 feet, nearly two feet higher than the levee. Des Moines became the largest city in the U.S. to be without water in modern times. It brought national media and even the president to Des Moines.
After the waters receded a bit, crews spent a week pumping six feet of water out of the plant. Twelve days after the plant shut down, people could flush their toilets again. After another week, it was again safe to drink water from a faucet.
Some still have souvenirs from that time, including metal cans of drinking water produced by Anheuser-Busch. And even now, some three decades later, the memories are still strong of the then-record flooding that left Des Moines without its water supply, on this date in 1993.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 10th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"A City Without Water"
The rains fell and the rivers rose. On the night of July 10th, 1993, came the word that was unthinkable--the Des Moines Water Works Plant would soon be shut down. The water supply to Iowa's largest city would be turned off.
L.D. McMullen was director of the water works at the time. He said shutting the plant down just before the Raccoon River water came over the levee protecting it meant they could get water back to citizens in a matter of weeks, instead of months.
The Raccoon crested at a record 26.75 feet, nearly two feet higher than the levee. Des Moines became the largest city in the U.S. to be without water in modern times. It brought national media and even the president to Des Moines.
After the waters receded a bit, crews spent a week pumping six feet of water out of the plant. Twelve days after the plant shut down, people could flush their toilets again. After another week, it was again safe to drink water from a faucet.
Some still have souvenirs from that time, including metal cans of drinking water produced by Anheuser-Busch. And even now, some three decades later, the memories are still strong of the then-record flooding that left Des Moines without its water supply, on this date in 1993.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 10th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, July 09, 2024
"Iowa's Heisman Winner"
On July 9th, 1918, one of Iowa's most famous athletes and citizens was born in Adel: Nile Clarke Kinnick, Jr.
You probably know that Kinnick was a consensus All-American football player at the University of Iowa, who won the 1939 Heisman Trophy, the only Hawkeye to ever be so honored. He is one of only two Iowa players to have his jersey number retired, and the Hawkeyes' home has been called Kinnick Stadium since 1972.
You probably also know that he enlisted in the Naval Air Reserve, and reported for induction three days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was trained to be a fighter pilot. And on June 2nd, 1943, while on a routine training flight from an aircraft carrier, his plane became disabled and he died after executing an emergency landing in the water, barely a month before his 25th birthday. His body was never found.
But did you know that Nile Kinnick was a devout Christian Scientist? Or that he also played baseball and basketball, as well as football, for the Hawkeyes? Or that he was student body president during his senior year at Iowa, and gave the commencement speech for his graduating class in 1940?
They say his acceptance speech at the Heisman Trophy presentation in New York was one of the best ever.
Every football player in these United States dreams about winning that trophy, and of this fine trip to New York. Every player considers that trophy the acme in recognition of this kind. And the fact that I am actually receiving this trophy tonight almost overwhelms me, and I know that all those boys who have gone before me must have felt somewhat the same way.
And given later events, these words from that 1939 speech are especially eerie:
Finally, if you will permit me, I'd like to make a comment which in my mind, is indicative, perhaps, of the greater significance of football and sports emphasis in general in this country, and that is, I thank God I was warring on the gridirons of the Midwest and not on the battlefields of Europe.
Had Nile Kinnick lived, would he have gone on to be Iowa governor, as his grandfather had? Or maybe a professional football player, since he was offered a contract for that? We'll never know, but the bright light that was Nile Kinnick began shining when he was born on this date in 1918.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 9th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Iowa's Heisman Winner"
On July 9th, 1918, one of Iowa's most famous athletes and citizens was born in Adel: Nile Clarke Kinnick, Jr.
You probably know that Kinnick was a consensus All-American football player at the University of Iowa, who won the 1939 Heisman Trophy, the only Hawkeye to ever be so honored. He is one of only two Iowa players to have his jersey number retired, and the Hawkeyes' home has been called Kinnick Stadium since 1972.
You probably also know that he enlisted in the Naval Air Reserve, and reported for induction three days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was trained to be a fighter pilot. And on June 2nd, 1943, while on a routine training flight from an aircraft carrier, his plane became disabled and he died after executing an emergency landing in the water, barely a month before his 25th birthday. His body was never found.
But did you know that Nile Kinnick was a devout Christian Scientist? Or that he also played baseball and basketball, as well as football, for the Hawkeyes? Or that he was student body president during his senior year at Iowa, and gave the commencement speech for his graduating class in 1940?
They say his acceptance speech at the Heisman Trophy presentation in New York was one of the best ever.
Every football player in these United States dreams about winning that trophy, and of this fine trip to New York. Every player considers that trophy the acme in recognition of this kind. And the fact that I am actually receiving this trophy tonight almost overwhelms me, and I know that all those boys who have gone before me must have felt somewhat the same way.
And given later events, these words from that 1939 speech are especially eerie:
Finally, if you will permit me, I'd like to make a comment which in my mind, is indicative, perhaps, of the greater significance of football and sports emphasis in general in this country, and that is, I thank God I was warring on the gridirons of the Midwest and not on the battlefields of Europe.
Had Nile Kinnick lived, would he have gone on to be Iowa governor, as his grandfather had? Or maybe a professional football player, since he was offered a contract for that? We'll never know, but the bright light that was Nile Kinnick began shining when he was born on this date in 1918.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 9th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, July 08, 2024
"Transitional Learning"
Many private colleges and universities in Iowa were founded by churches, as a way to enhance faith-based learning.
On July 8, 1891, Buena Vista College was founded in Storm Lake by the Presbyterian Church, with the first classes held in the Storm Lake Opera House. The college soon expanded, made up of four buildings in a small area; over time, the campus has grown to nearly two dozen buildings which cover a handful of blocks along the shores of Storm Lake.
The college’s first building, known as Old Main, opened in 1892 and was the primary building on the campus until it was destroyed by fire in 1956. The loss of Old Main led Buena Vista to evaluate its needs, and soon a decade-long expansion project was initiated, with construction of three residence halls, a science building, physical education complex, library, campus center, auditorium and a classroom-administration building, all built during the 1950s and 1960s.
Recognizing that it’s hard for some people to continue their learning on a campus, Buena Vista decided to bring the campus to the people. In the mid-1970s, the college opened its first satellite location to help serve the needs of non-traditional students who could not attend classes in Storm Lake. These were typically in partnership with community college facilities, to allow students of all types to expand upon a two-year degree with a full four-year degree from Buena Vista, right in their hometowns. Now there are 16 satellite locations across the state, plus online programs.
And in 1995, Buena Vista began offering its first graduate degrees, leading to a name change…from college to university.
In 2000, Buena Vista University became the nation’s first “wireless community” by providing laptops to all full-time students and faculty in Storm Lake, with the ability to connect to a campus-wide wireless network.
From its first days in the local opera house, to becoming a technology leader…what was originally called Buena Vista College was founded by the Presbyterian Church on this date in 1891.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 8th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Transitional Learning"
Many private colleges and universities in Iowa were founded by churches, as a way to enhance faith-based learning.
On July 8, 1891, Buena Vista College was founded in Storm Lake by the Presbyterian Church, with the first classes held in the Storm Lake Opera House. The college soon expanded, made up of four buildings in a small area; over time, the campus has grown to nearly two dozen buildings which cover a handful of blocks along the shores of Storm Lake.
The college’s first building, known as Old Main, opened in 1892 and was the primary building on the campus until it was destroyed by fire in 1956. The loss of Old Main led Buena Vista to evaluate its needs, and soon a decade-long expansion project was initiated, with construction of three residence halls, a science building, physical education complex, library, campus center, auditorium and a classroom-administration building, all built during the 1950s and 1960s.
Recognizing that it’s hard for some people to continue their learning on a campus, Buena Vista decided to bring the campus to the people. In the mid-1970s, the college opened its first satellite location to help serve the needs of non-traditional students who could not attend classes in Storm Lake. These were typically in partnership with community college facilities, to allow students of all types to expand upon a two-year degree with a full four-year degree from Buena Vista, right in their hometowns. Now there are 16 satellite locations across the state, plus online programs.
And in 1995, Buena Vista began offering its first graduate degrees, leading to a name change…from college to university.
In 2000, Buena Vista University became the nation’s first “wireless community” by providing laptops to all full-time students and faculty in Storm Lake, with the ability to connect to a campus-wide wireless network.
From its first days in the local opera house, to becoming a technology leader…what was originally called Buena Vista College was founded by the Presbyterian Church on this date in 1891.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 8th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Friday, July 05, 2024
"The Voice of Nancy Drew"
For many young women in the 1920s and 1930s, role models were somewhat hard to find. After all, women only had the right to vote for about a decade at the time.
But a series of detective novels for young people featured a female character, Nancy Drew, who despite her young age solved mystery after mystery.
And despite her true identity being a secret for more than 50 years, the original author of the series was Ladora, Iowa native Mildred Wirt Benson, who was born Mildred Augustine on July 5th, 1905.
A born writer, at age 12, Millie sold her first story to St. Nicholas magazine. She earned her journalism degree at the University of Iowa in 1925, and two years later, was the first person to earn a master’s degree in journalism there.
In 1929, she received a slim outline of an idea for a book, and for $125 and no royalties, she wrote the first Nancy Drew novel, "The Secret of the Old Clock". It was an immediate hit, featuring a smart, curious, independent and thoughtful character that soon became a role model for millions of girls.
Millie wrote 22 of the first 25 Nancy Drew books in the 1930s and 1940s, and then wrote another in 1953. But all the while, she kept her identity a secret...the author of all the books was listed as Carolyn Keene.
She worked for newspapers in Toledo, Ohio from 1944 until her death in 2002, just short of her 97th birthday.
In the last decade of her life, she was celebrated as the original author of the famous series, including being at the center of a national Nancy Drew conference at the University of Iowa.
The woman who gave life to teenage detective Nancy Drew...Mildred Wirt Benson...was born in Ladora on this date in 1905.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 5th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Voice of Nancy Drew"
For many young women in the 1920s and 1930s, role models were somewhat hard to find. After all, women only had the right to vote for about a decade at the time.
But a series of detective novels for young people featured a female character, Nancy Drew, who despite her young age solved mystery after mystery.
And despite her true identity being a secret for more than 50 years, the original author of the series was Ladora, Iowa native Mildred Wirt Benson, who was born Mildred Augustine on July 5th, 1905.
A born writer, at age 12, Millie sold her first story to St. Nicholas magazine. She earned her journalism degree at the University of Iowa in 1925, and two years later, was the first person to earn a master’s degree in journalism there.
In 1929, she received a slim outline of an idea for a book, and for $125 and no royalties, she wrote the first Nancy Drew novel, "The Secret of the Old Clock". It was an immediate hit, featuring a smart, curious, independent and thoughtful character that soon became a role model for millions of girls.
Millie wrote 22 of the first 25 Nancy Drew books in the 1930s and 1940s, and then wrote another in 1953. But all the while, she kept her identity a secret...the author of all the books was listed as Carolyn Keene.
She worked for newspapers in Toledo, Ohio from 1944 until her death in 2002, just short of her 97th birthday.
In the last decade of her life, she was celebrated as the original author of the famous series, including being at the center of a national Nancy Drew conference at the University of Iowa.
The woman who gave life to teenage detective Nancy Drew...Mildred Wirt Benson...was born in Ladora on this date in 1905.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 5th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Thursday, July 04, 2024
"Liquor by the Drink"
Last month, we told you a bit about Iowa's history as a state with alcohol. After prohibition was lifted in 1934, Iowa sold liquor, but only through a series of state-run liquor stores. The first ones opened in Des Moines, Marshalltown, Mason City, Atlantic, and Oelwein in June of that year.
Customers had to carry log books, in which clerks would write down what they bought, how much, and when. Employees had the right to refuse to sell a bottle of alcohol to a customer whose log book appeared to be too full.
Those log books were required until July 4, 1963. That's when a state law took effect that also legalized liquor by the drink in our state.
Prior to that time, only beer could be consumed over the bar. Liquor was only available in private clubs.
It was a major issue in the 1962 campaign for governor. Democrat Harold Hughes, himself a recovering alcoholic, advocated more liberal liquor laws, and after he was elected, the Iowa Legislature in 1963 passed a law that allowed liquor by the drink in bars. However, counties had the right of opting out of the law and remaining dry. That option remained in effect until 1972. And Sunday liquor sales were not allowed until 1973.
It didn't take long for that first legal drink in a bar to be served. Just a day after the law took effect, a restaurant in the lakes resort area of northwest Iowa served the first legal drink in the state in more than 40 years.
Over time, society and laws changed, and now liquor is available in grocery stores and convenience stores, and establishments can get licenses to serve liquor far more easily than in the past.
But the law allowing liquor to be sold by the drink for the first time since prohibition took effect on this date in 1963.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 4th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Liquor by the Drink"
Last month, we told you a bit about Iowa's history as a state with alcohol. After prohibition was lifted in 1934, Iowa sold liquor, but only through a series of state-run liquor stores. The first ones opened in Des Moines, Marshalltown, Mason City, Atlantic, and Oelwein in June of that year.
Customers had to carry log books, in which clerks would write down what they bought, how much, and when. Employees had the right to refuse to sell a bottle of alcohol to a customer whose log book appeared to be too full.
Those log books were required until July 4, 1963. That's when a state law took effect that also legalized liquor by the drink in our state.
Prior to that time, only beer could be consumed over the bar. Liquor was only available in private clubs.
It was a major issue in the 1962 campaign for governor. Democrat Harold Hughes, himself a recovering alcoholic, advocated more liberal liquor laws, and after he was elected, the Iowa Legislature in 1963 passed a law that allowed liquor by the drink in bars. However, counties had the right of opting out of the law and remaining dry. That option remained in effect until 1972. And Sunday liquor sales were not allowed until 1973.
It didn't take long for that first legal drink in a bar to be served. Just a day after the law took effect, a restaurant in the lakes resort area of northwest Iowa served the first legal drink in the state in more than 40 years.
Over time, society and laws changed, and now liquor is available in grocery stores and convenience stores, and establishments can get licenses to serve liquor far more easily than in the past.
But the law allowing liquor to be sold by the drink for the first time since prohibition took effect on this date in 1963.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 4th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Wednesday, July 03, 2024
"The Earth Shook"
When you think of earthquakes, Iowa normally does not come to mind. However, the land that is now the state of Iowa has had a few over time.
The area around Sioux City is actually more prone to earth tremors than many other parts of the state, due to the Missouri River and hilly terrain. The likelihood is still quite low, however.
On July 3rd, 1858, the Sioux City area was shaken by an earthquake. It was the first earthquake in Iowa documented by reliable historical records. The New Madrid, Missouri earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 may have been stronger, but the lack of good data makes it hard to accurately assess that incident.
The 1858 Sioux City earthquake was followed relatively soon after by another moderately strong one, on October 9, 1872. That quake was felt by a 3,000 square mile area, including adjoining portions of the Dakotas.
Just five years later, on November 15, 1877, another earthquake was felt throughout Iowa and eastern Nebraska, and in parts of Missouri, Kansas, the Dakotas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. While the strongest effects were noted in Nebraska, large cracks in the walls of several buildings in Sioux City resulted from this shock. A second earthquake was reported 45 minutes later.
But newspaper reports described the tremors as of sufficient force to shake pictures and crockery from their places, when an earthquake struck Sioux City, on this date in 1858.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 3rd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Earth Shook"
When you think of earthquakes, Iowa normally does not come to mind. However, the land that is now the state of Iowa has had a few over time.
The area around Sioux City is actually more prone to earth tremors than many other parts of the state, due to the Missouri River and hilly terrain. The likelihood is still quite low, however.
On July 3rd, 1858, the Sioux City area was shaken by an earthquake. It was the first earthquake in Iowa documented by reliable historical records. The New Madrid, Missouri earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 may have been stronger, but the lack of good data makes it hard to accurately assess that incident.
The 1858 Sioux City earthquake was followed relatively soon after by another moderately strong one, on October 9, 1872. That quake was felt by a 3,000 square mile area, including adjoining portions of the Dakotas.
Just five years later, on November 15, 1877, another earthquake was felt throughout Iowa and eastern Nebraska, and in parts of Missouri, Kansas, the Dakotas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. While the strongest effects were noted in Nebraska, large cracks in the walls of several buildings in Sioux City resulted from this shock. A second earthquake was reported 45 minutes later.
But newspaper reports described the tremors as of sufficient force to shake pictures and crockery from their places, when an earthquake struck Sioux City, on this date in 1858.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 3rd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, July 02, 2024
"The Historic Courthouse"
The first time court was held in Monroe County, shortly after Iowa became a state, it was convened in a log house at Clark's Point. Judge Charles Mason traveled to the site to handle a series of cases, as was the custom, over a period of days. The house had no floor, and the judge, lawyers, and court officials slept on the ground. There was no barn, so the horses were simply tied under the trees. One night during a severe storm, the horses were brought into the courtroom and stabled until morning. Locals like to say that the first court was therefore held in a barn.
Times changed, though, and ultimately Monroe County's third courthouse was dedicated on October 26th, 1903. It was a three-story sandstone building constructed at a cost of $100,000.
This courthouse in particular shaped the development of Albia. It was the first building to use stone and neo-classical style architecture, which influenced the buildings that were later added to the business district.
The building made great use of marble, from floors to counters. The Clerk of Court's office had a metal spiral stairway connecting to the courtroom on the third floor.
The building originally had a 1,000-pound metal bell made of copper and black tin. It was removed from the clock tower in 1970, and is now displayed on the east side of the courthouse park.
The unique design and materials used in the Monroe County Courthouse led to its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, on this date in 1981.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 2nd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Historic Courthouse"
The first time court was held in Monroe County, shortly after Iowa became a state, it was convened in a log house at Clark's Point. Judge Charles Mason traveled to the site to handle a series of cases, as was the custom, over a period of days. The house had no floor, and the judge, lawyers, and court officials slept on the ground. There was no barn, so the horses were simply tied under the trees. One night during a severe storm, the horses were brought into the courtroom and stabled until morning. Locals like to say that the first court was therefore held in a barn.
Times changed, though, and ultimately Monroe County's third courthouse was dedicated on October 26th, 1903. It was a three-story sandstone building constructed at a cost of $100,000.
This courthouse in particular shaped the development of Albia. It was the first building to use stone and neo-classical style architecture, which influenced the buildings that were later added to the business district.
The building made great use of marble, from floors to counters. The Clerk of Court's office had a metal spiral stairway connecting to the courtroom on the third floor.
The building originally had a 1,000-pound metal bell made of copper and black tin. It was removed from the clock tower in 1970, and is now displayed on the east side of the courthouse park.
The unique design and materials used in the Monroe County Courthouse led to its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, on this date in 1981.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 2nd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, July 01, 2024
"The Lincoln Highway"
Americans have seemingly always wanted to connect our nation from coast to coast. The first explorers traveled westward to find the end of the continent. Then came the railroad and the race to connect east to west. Finally, in the 20th century, with the advent of the automobile, the push was for a highway that spanned across the United States.
Carl Fisher was an early auto enthusiast. He was one of the investors in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and built the gas headlights used in early automobiles. He dreamed of a transcontinental highway, and by 1912, began to build on that dream. His theory was that the popularity of automobiles was dependent on having quality roads, so if there were good roads, he thought more people would drive cars. In a short time, he had raised a million dollars in funding for the highway, from major contributors including Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, and then-president Woodrow Wilson.
On July 1st, 1913, the Lincoln Highway Association was created, "to procure the establishment of a continuous improved highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific, open to lawful traffic of all description without toll charges." Their mission was to get the highway built and then promote it.
Ultimately, the highway would run from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, a span of 3,389 miles. In Iowa, the highway ran through Clinton, Belle Plaine, Marshalltown, Boone, and Missouri Valley.
Soon highways were numbered, instead of named, and the route of the Lincoln Highway essentially became U.S. Highway 30. Thanks to highway changes over time, today's Highway 30 lines up with only a quarter of the original Lincoln Highway.
Today, you'll find markers along much of the original route, featuring a large L, as well as some unique vestiges, such as the stone bridge east of Tama that spells out the words Lincoln Highway on each side.
But the grassroots movement, to get Americans excited about a transcontinental highway, started with the creation of the Lincoln Highway Association, on this date in 1913.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 1st...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Lincoln Highway"
Americans have seemingly always wanted to connect our nation from coast to coast. The first explorers traveled westward to find the end of the continent. Then came the railroad and the race to connect east to west. Finally, in the 20th century, with the advent of the automobile, the push was for a highway that spanned across the United States.
Carl Fisher was an early auto enthusiast. He was one of the investors in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and built the gas headlights used in early automobiles. He dreamed of a transcontinental highway, and by 1912, began to build on that dream. His theory was that the popularity of automobiles was dependent on having quality roads, so if there were good roads, he thought more people would drive cars. In a short time, he had raised a million dollars in funding for the highway, from major contributors including Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, and then-president Woodrow Wilson.
On July 1st, 1913, the Lincoln Highway Association was created, "to procure the establishment of a continuous improved highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific, open to lawful traffic of all description without toll charges." Their mission was to get the highway built and then promote it.
Ultimately, the highway would run from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, a span of 3,389 miles. In Iowa, the highway ran through Clinton, Belle Plaine, Marshalltown, Boone, and Missouri Valley.
Soon highways were numbered, instead of named, and the route of the Lincoln Highway essentially became U.S. Highway 30. Thanks to highway changes over time, today's Highway 30 lines up with only a quarter of the original Lincoln Highway.
Today, you'll find markers along much of the original route, featuring a large L, as well as some unique vestiges, such as the stone bridge east of Tama that spells out the words Lincoln Highway on each side.
But the grassroots movement, to get Americans excited about a transcontinental highway, started with the creation of the Lincoln Highway Association, on this date in 1913.
And that's Iowa Almanac for July 1st...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.