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Copyright 2023 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 2023 by Stein Enterprises, L.L.C.
Iowa Almanac for Friday, March 31, 2023
"The Band King"
Karl King was born in Ohio in 1891, and was a natural when it came to music. As a 19 year old, he joined the circus as a baritone player. He joined the circus world at a time when the acts needed specialty music, and Karl was a master at writing music. He worked for some of the most famous circus bands in the country, including Barnum and Bailey. Aerial waltzes and circus gallops were his specialty...and the march called Barnum and Bailey's Favorite? That was his composition.
He enlisted in the Army in 1919, but World War I ended before he began service. So he returned to Ohio and spent time directing the Grand Army Band there. The next year, 1920, Karl King gave up circus life for good and accepted the position of conductor of the Fort Dodge Municipal Band...a job he found in a classified ad, and one he would have for 51 years.
By that time, Karl King already had around 150 compositions in print. Impressive for someone whose formal musical training consisted of only three piano lessons and one harmony lesson.
He was instrumental in the passage of the Iowa Band Law in 1921, allowing cities to levy local taxes for maintenance of a municipal band.
He became one of the first to write music for the growing school band programs in America, and he owned his own music publishing company to handle the demand for his work.
Karl King became one of the most loved and respected figures in American music. It was always known as the Fort Dodge Municipal Band, but everyone just called it King's Band...it was officially named the Karl L. King Municipal Band as a tribute after he died on March 31, 1971, and the band still provides an outdoor summer concert series in the bandshell that bears his name, as well as an indoor concert series, all sponsored by the city.
Only a month after he conducted his last concert, in honor of his 80th birthday, Karl King, the March King, died...on this date in 1971.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 30th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Band King"
Karl King was born in Ohio in 1891, and was a natural when it came to music. As a 19 year old, he joined the circus as a baritone player. He joined the circus world at a time when the acts needed specialty music, and Karl was a master at writing music. He worked for some of the most famous circus bands in the country, including Barnum and Bailey. Aerial waltzes and circus gallops were his specialty...and the march called Barnum and Bailey's Favorite? That was his composition.
He enlisted in the Army in 1919, but World War I ended before he began service. So he returned to Ohio and spent time directing the Grand Army Band there. The next year, 1920, Karl King gave up circus life for good and accepted the position of conductor of the Fort Dodge Municipal Band...a job he found in a classified ad, and one he would have for 51 years.
By that time, Karl King already had around 150 compositions in print. Impressive for someone whose formal musical training consisted of only three piano lessons and one harmony lesson.
He was instrumental in the passage of the Iowa Band Law in 1921, allowing cities to levy local taxes for maintenance of a municipal band.
He became one of the first to write music for the growing school band programs in America, and he owned his own music publishing company to handle the demand for his work.
Karl King became one of the most loved and respected figures in American music. It was always known as the Fort Dodge Municipal Band, but everyone just called it King's Band...it was officially named the Karl L. King Municipal Band as a tribute after he died on March 31, 1971, and the band still provides an outdoor summer concert series in the bandshell that bears his name, as well as an indoor concert series, all sponsored by the city.
Only a month after he conducted his last concert, in honor of his 80th birthday, Karl King, the March King, died...on this date in 1971.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 30th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Thursday, March 30, 2023
"Air Mail Tragedy"
The U.S. post office started air mail in August of 1918, using its own planes, mostly World War I surplus. It was dangerous work, with a third of the original 40 pilots dying in crashes in just two years.
To encourage commercial aviation, in 1925 Congress passed legislation allowing the post office to contract with private airlines to handle some of the work. Five years later, the postmaster general got Congress to pass a new law, allowing him to enter into longer term contracts to cut costs. It sounded like a good idea, but that's where trouble started. Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown conspired with airline executives to consolidate the routes and limit true competition.
That led President Franklin Roosevelt to suspend all U.S. air mail contracts on February 9, 1934. The United States Army Air Corps began flying U.S. air mail. But the danger returned.
In the first week of Army Air Corps delivery of air mail alone, five pilots were killed in accidents, largely due to lack of training of Army pilots at the time for flying at night and in bad weather.
On March 30, 1934, Lt. Thurmond A. Wood was flying the mail to Davenport, Iowa, when he entered a severe spring thunderstorm. He attempted to reverse course, but lost control and spun into the ground near DeWitt. He became the 12th Army death in the effort to fly the mail.
About a month later, on May 7, the federal government stopped using Army Air Corps members to fly the mail to regional post offices and worked out temporary contracts with private carriers. During that 78 day period when the Army Air Corps was used, three quarters of a million pounds of mail were moved...but there were 66 accidents and a dozen crew deaths, including the death of Lt. Thurmond Wood, the last of the 12 Army pilots to die while flying the mail, whose plane crashed near DeWitt on this date in 1934.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 30th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Air Mail Tragedy"
The U.S. post office started air mail in August of 1918, using its own planes, mostly World War I surplus. It was dangerous work, with a third of the original 40 pilots dying in crashes in just two years.
To encourage commercial aviation, in 1925 Congress passed legislation allowing the post office to contract with private airlines to handle some of the work. Five years later, the postmaster general got Congress to pass a new law, allowing him to enter into longer term contracts to cut costs. It sounded like a good idea, but that's where trouble started. Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown conspired with airline executives to consolidate the routes and limit true competition.
That led President Franklin Roosevelt to suspend all U.S. air mail contracts on February 9, 1934. The United States Army Air Corps began flying U.S. air mail. But the danger returned.
In the first week of Army Air Corps delivery of air mail alone, five pilots were killed in accidents, largely due to lack of training of Army pilots at the time for flying at night and in bad weather.
On March 30, 1934, Lt. Thurmond A. Wood was flying the mail to Davenport, Iowa, when he entered a severe spring thunderstorm. He attempted to reverse course, but lost control and spun into the ground near DeWitt. He became the 12th Army death in the effort to fly the mail.
About a month later, on May 7, the federal government stopped using Army Air Corps members to fly the mail to regional post offices and worked out temporary contracts with private carriers. During that 78 day period when the Army Air Corps was used, three quarters of a million pounds of mail were moved...but there were 66 accidents and a dozen crew deaths, including the death of Lt. Thurmond Wood, the last of the 12 Army pilots to die while flying the mail, whose plane crashed near DeWitt on this date in 1934.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 30th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Wednesday, March 29, 2023
"The State Banner"
This is Iowa's Flag Day, the day on which the Iowa General Assembly officially approved a state flag back in 1921.
There was no state flag for the first 75 years that Iowa was a state. In World War I, Iowa's chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution set up a contest to design a flag that Iowans could carry into battle. The winner was Dixie Cornell Gebhardt of Knoxville, and that Iowa regimental flag was adopted as Iowa's state flag a few years after the war.
Some have noticed a good deal of resemblance between the Iowa flag and that of the country of France. That's no accident. The land that is now Iowa was part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, when the U.S. bought the land from France.
Dixie Gebhardt wrote that "Iowa's banner should embrace the history of its domain from the time of its occupation by the Indians to discovery by the French and purchase from Napoleon by Jefferson, to its admission into the Union, down to the present time. All this should be represented in a design so simple that school children and adults can recognize its symbolism and know that it meant Iowa."
That includes blue, white and red stripes, with an eagle displayed on the white center stripe. The eagle carries in its beak blue streamers with the state motto, "Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain". The word "Iowa" is in red, the color of blood. Mrs. Gebhardt said she used that to symbolize the wartime "sacrifice our boys may make for us."
That original flag design was drawn in crayon. You can see it today, on display in the Marion County courthouse in Knoxville.
Iowa's flag has flown proudly now for more than a century, ever since it was approved by the state legislature, on this date in 1921.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 29th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The State Banner"
This is Iowa's Flag Day, the day on which the Iowa General Assembly officially approved a state flag back in 1921.
There was no state flag for the first 75 years that Iowa was a state. In World War I, Iowa's chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution set up a contest to design a flag that Iowans could carry into battle. The winner was Dixie Cornell Gebhardt of Knoxville, and that Iowa regimental flag was adopted as Iowa's state flag a few years after the war.
Some have noticed a good deal of resemblance between the Iowa flag and that of the country of France. That's no accident. The land that is now Iowa was part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, when the U.S. bought the land from France.
Dixie Gebhardt wrote that "Iowa's banner should embrace the history of its domain from the time of its occupation by the Indians to discovery by the French and purchase from Napoleon by Jefferson, to its admission into the Union, down to the present time. All this should be represented in a design so simple that school children and adults can recognize its symbolism and know that it meant Iowa."
That includes blue, white and red stripes, with an eagle displayed on the white center stripe. The eagle carries in its beak blue streamers with the state motto, "Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain". The word "Iowa" is in red, the color of blood. Mrs. Gebhardt said she used that to symbolize the wartime "sacrifice our boys may make for us."
That original flag design was drawn in crayon. You can see it today, on display in the Marion County courthouse in Knoxville.
Iowa's flag has flown proudly now for more than a century, ever since it was approved by the state legislature, on this date in 1921.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 29th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, March 28, 2023
"Lighting Up The Country"
"There is no limit to electricity's power to serve you, and the more you use of it, the less it costs."
Or so read an ad in the Hampton Chronicle newspaper in March of 1938, promoting the Franklin Rural Electric Co-Operative in Hampton.
In the early 1930s, only ten percent of the farms in this country used electricity for home and farm purposes. In May of 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act, to provide federal money to help farmers build distribution lines. The next March, the local newspaper in Hampton ran a story asking if there was enough interest in electrifying the rural areas of north central Iowa.
In February 1937, the Federated Rural Electric Association was created, covering the counties of Franklin, Hardin, Wright, Butler, Grundy and Hancock. Days after, the new group asked for a $222,000 loan from the national REA fund so local farmers could build their own generating plant. When that was approved, things began to move quickly.
A plant was built, and the first meter was set at the E. H. Messerschmidt farm in West Fork township on March 21st, 1938. A week later, as locals remembered it, the juice started to flow.
Over the next decade, a total of four diesel engines were installed in the Hampton plant, which is now owned by the county historical society. It's now on the National Register of Historic Places, and with good reason.
The Franklin Rural Electric Co-Operative became the first coop in the nation to put farmer-owned generated electricity out on farmer-owned lines, when electricity started to run through those lines on this date in 1938…85 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 28th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Lighting Up The Country"
"There is no limit to electricity's power to serve you, and the more you use of it, the less it costs."
Or so read an ad in the Hampton Chronicle newspaper in March of 1938, promoting the Franklin Rural Electric Co-Operative in Hampton.
In the early 1930s, only ten percent of the farms in this country used electricity for home and farm purposes. In May of 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act, to provide federal money to help farmers build distribution lines. The next March, the local newspaper in Hampton ran a story asking if there was enough interest in electrifying the rural areas of north central Iowa.
In February 1937, the Federated Rural Electric Association was created, covering the counties of Franklin, Hardin, Wright, Butler, Grundy and Hancock. Days after, the new group asked for a $222,000 loan from the national REA fund so local farmers could build their own generating plant. When that was approved, things began to move quickly.
A plant was built, and the first meter was set at the E. H. Messerschmidt farm in West Fork township on March 21st, 1938. A week later, as locals remembered it, the juice started to flow.
Over the next decade, a total of four diesel engines were installed in the Hampton plant, which is now owned by the county historical society. It's now on the National Register of Historic Places, and with good reason.
The Franklin Rural Electric Co-Operative became the first coop in the nation to put farmer-owned generated electricity out on farmer-owned lines, when electricity started to run through those lines on this date in 1938…85 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 28th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, March 27, 2023
"Literacy On The Homefront"
According to the 1940 census, the O'Brien county town of Hartley in northwest Iowa was definitely booming. The population jumped by 18 percent from the previous decade, up to more than 15-hundred people.
That included families with young children. So when the U.S. entered World War II in December of 1941, it was an anxious time.
To help preserve some sense of things being normal, the citizens of Hartley, just like others across the country, supported their troops and tried to carry on with everyday life.
There had been talk for some time about starting a library in town. So despite the war, they did just that...and the Hartley Public Library was opened on Friday, March 27, 1942. Given the wartime climate, it was appropriate to house the new library in the upstairs room of the local Legion Hall.
The population of Hartley then was 15-hundred...it's been fairly stable ever since, now just under 17-hundred. As for the library, it wasn't long before it outgrew that upstairs room in the Legion Hall. In November 1943, it moved to a first floor room in that same Legion Hall, and four years later, the library rented the old post office building for more space. That worked for 20 years until in 1963, the city purchased the former Cove Building, and with the help of local school children, the collection of books was moved there. A new addition to the facility opened in 2001.
But Hartley's first public library opened in the middle of war in the local Legion Hall, on this date in 1942.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 27th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Literacy On The Homefront"
According to the 1940 census, the O'Brien county town of Hartley in northwest Iowa was definitely booming. The population jumped by 18 percent from the previous decade, up to more than 15-hundred people.
That included families with young children. So when the U.S. entered World War II in December of 1941, it was an anxious time.
To help preserve some sense of things being normal, the citizens of Hartley, just like others across the country, supported their troops and tried to carry on with everyday life.
There had been talk for some time about starting a library in town. So despite the war, they did just that...and the Hartley Public Library was opened on Friday, March 27, 1942. Given the wartime climate, it was appropriate to house the new library in the upstairs room of the local Legion Hall.
The population of Hartley then was 15-hundred...it's been fairly stable ever since, now just under 17-hundred. As for the library, it wasn't long before it outgrew that upstairs room in the Legion Hall. In November 1943, it moved to a first floor room in that same Legion Hall, and four years later, the library rented the old post office building for more space. That worked for 20 years until in 1963, the city purchased the former Cove Building, and with the help of local school children, the collection of books was moved there. A new addition to the facility opened in 2001.
But Hartley's first public library opened in the middle of war in the local Legion Hall, on this date in 1942.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 27th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Friday, March 24, 2023
"Supporting Equal Rights"
The Iowa Legislature adjourned for the year on this date in 1972, after meeting for 75 working days. It was a Friday; the Senate finished its business around 8 p.m., and the House followed suit two hours later.
Among the actions taken on that last day of the session was to ratify the equal rights for women amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Iowa was the fourth state in the nation to ratify the amendment, which passed each chamber of the legislature overwhemingly... 44 to 1 in the Senate, and 71 to 15 in the House.
Among those speaking in favor of the measure was Iowa City Democrat Sen. Minnette Doderer. She noted that many men wanted to protect women, as the weaker sex. In response, Sen. Doderer said, "I know you want to protect us...from equal pay, from equal educational opportunities, from every equality you have, and we want."
Only Democrat Sen. Eugene Hill from Newton voted against it in that chamber, joking that he wasn't sure if he was for or against the resolution, because he hadn't discussed it with his wife first.
A New Hartford representative, Charles Grassley, urged the legislature to delay voting until the following year so there was more time to consider the issue. In the end, he voted in favor of ratification, saying on the floor of the House, "If I was getting out of politics, I'd have voted against it."
At that point, Iowa joined Hawaii, Nebraska and New Hampshire as states voting for ratification; the others approved it that same week. The original deadline for states to ratify the amendment was 1979. That was later extended to 1982, but in the end, only 35 states approved the effort, short of the 38 needed for passage.
Now a half century later, there's still no equal rights amendment to the constitution. But despite concern about whether approval would mean integrated toilet facilities, as was suggested during floor debate, the Iowa legislature ratified the equal rights amendment, on this date in 1972.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 24th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Supporting Equal Rights"
The Iowa Legislature adjourned for the year on this date in 1972, after meeting for 75 working days. It was a Friday; the Senate finished its business around 8 p.m., and the House followed suit two hours later.
Among the actions taken on that last day of the session was to ratify the equal rights for women amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Iowa was the fourth state in the nation to ratify the amendment, which passed each chamber of the legislature overwhemingly... 44 to 1 in the Senate, and 71 to 15 in the House.
Among those speaking in favor of the measure was Iowa City Democrat Sen. Minnette Doderer. She noted that many men wanted to protect women, as the weaker sex. In response, Sen. Doderer said, "I know you want to protect us...from equal pay, from equal educational opportunities, from every equality you have, and we want."
Only Democrat Sen. Eugene Hill from Newton voted against it in that chamber, joking that he wasn't sure if he was for or against the resolution, because he hadn't discussed it with his wife first.
A New Hartford representative, Charles Grassley, urged the legislature to delay voting until the following year so there was more time to consider the issue. In the end, he voted in favor of ratification, saying on the floor of the House, "If I was getting out of politics, I'd have voted against it."
At that point, Iowa joined Hawaii, Nebraska and New Hampshire as states voting for ratification; the others approved it that same week. The original deadline for states to ratify the amendment was 1979. That was later extended to 1982, but in the end, only 35 states approved the effort, short of the 38 needed for passage.
Now a half century later, there's still no equal rights amendment to the constitution. But despite concern about whether approval would mean integrated toilet facilities, as was suggested during floor debate, the Iowa legislature ratified the equal rights amendment, on this date in 1972.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 24th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Thursday, March 23, 2023
"Dome Deflation"
In 1972, officials at the University of Northern Iowa presented a bold plan. They would build a new facility for football and basketball. But unlike traditional facilities, this one would be a dome, with a white, air-supported, soft fabric roof. It would be the first of its kind in Iowa and the Midwest when it opened in 1976, part of the university’s centennial celebration.
It quickly became a landmark for travelers, who could see it from the road or the air for miles around. The UNI-Dome, as it was called, became home to the state high school football playoffs because of its unique nature and controlled environment. Public address announcers always noted that the winds were calm and it was 72 degrees at game time.
And it hosted major concerts, including the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, the Grateful Dead, and more.
When construction began in August 1974, the $7.5 million facility was only the fourth air-supported, fabric-roofed coliseum in the world. But ultimately there was a problem…snow had to be removed from the roof to take weight off the air-supported fabric. That was a dangerous challenge, and ultimately, a heavy wet snowfall damaged and deflated the roof on Dec. 7, 1994. That was actually the third weather-related deflation…the other two were due to strong thunderstorms and heavy rain in the 1970s.
UNI officials came up with a new plan…replacing the air-supported roof with a stainless steel fixed roof, but with a center skylight of Teflon-coated Fiberglass fabric.
So on March 23rd, 1998, the dome was deflated, on purpose. It took around two hours, and then the 178,000 square foot fabric—some 4.1 acres worth—was removed. It wound up going to the nearby Bremer County Landfill as a cover tarp.
The original air-supported fabric roof of the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls was deflated for the final time, on this date in 1998…25 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 23rd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Dome Deflation"
In 1972, officials at the University of Northern Iowa presented a bold plan. They would build a new facility for football and basketball. But unlike traditional facilities, this one would be a dome, with a white, air-supported, soft fabric roof. It would be the first of its kind in Iowa and the Midwest when it opened in 1976, part of the university’s centennial celebration.
It quickly became a landmark for travelers, who could see it from the road or the air for miles around. The UNI-Dome, as it was called, became home to the state high school football playoffs because of its unique nature and controlled environment. Public address announcers always noted that the winds were calm and it was 72 degrees at game time.
And it hosted major concerts, including the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, the Grateful Dead, and more.
When construction began in August 1974, the $7.5 million facility was only the fourth air-supported, fabric-roofed coliseum in the world. But ultimately there was a problem…snow had to be removed from the roof to take weight off the air-supported fabric. That was a dangerous challenge, and ultimately, a heavy wet snowfall damaged and deflated the roof on Dec. 7, 1994. That was actually the third weather-related deflation…the other two were due to strong thunderstorms and heavy rain in the 1970s.
UNI officials came up with a new plan…replacing the air-supported roof with a stainless steel fixed roof, but with a center skylight of Teflon-coated Fiberglass fabric.
So on March 23rd, 1998, the dome was deflated, on purpose. It took around two hours, and then the 178,000 square foot fabric—some 4.1 acres worth—was removed. It wound up going to the nearby Bremer County Landfill as a cover tarp.
The original air-supported fabric roof of the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls was deflated for the final time, on this date in 1998…25 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 23rd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Wednesday, March 22, 2023
"Iowa's Goldfinch"
School children learn early on that our state flower is the wild rose…our state rock is the geode…our state tree is the oak…and our state bird is the Eastern Goldfinch, also known as the American Goldfinch or Wild Canary.
But how the bird with the bright yellow body with black wings and tail became official is a story worth telling.
In early 1926, the president of the Iowa Ornithologists’ Union, Walter Rosene, made his members aware of the fact that Nebraska had recently named a state bird. His rationale was that if we had a state flower, why not a state bird? So he asked members for suggestions.
Ideas were submitted, but no consensus developed. Five years later, the group’s president, Dr. F.L.R. Roberts, raised the issue again and appointed a committee…including former president Rosene, and another former president, Walter Bennett…to make recommendations for consideration at the group’s annual meeting.
The next spring, at their annual banquet, Iowa Ornithologists’ Union members debated the merits of various birds on a list before unanimously voting for the goldfinch, because it was commonly known and found in Iowa year-round.
The matter was presented to state representative J. Wilbur Dole, who introduced a bill in the legislature. Colleagues asked him why the goldfinch was picked, as opposed to the robin, bluebird, or quail. He replied that other states had already selected those. Some wondered why a state bird was even needed. He pointed out that only four other states did not have one.
And so it was that the Eastern Goldfinch…spinustrististristis…became Iowa’s state bird, when a bill was passed and signed into law on this date in 1933…90 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 22nd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Iowa's Goldfinch"
School children learn early on that our state flower is the wild rose…our state rock is the geode…our state tree is the oak…and our state bird is the Eastern Goldfinch, also known as the American Goldfinch or Wild Canary.
But how the bird with the bright yellow body with black wings and tail became official is a story worth telling.
In early 1926, the president of the Iowa Ornithologists’ Union, Walter Rosene, made his members aware of the fact that Nebraska had recently named a state bird. His rationale was that if we had a state flower, why not a state bird? So he asked members for suggestions.
Ideas were submitted, but no consensus developed. Five years later, the group’s president, Dr. F.L.R. Roberts, raised the issue again and appointed a committee…including former president Rosene, and another former president, Walter Bennett…to make recommendations for consideration at the group’s annual meeting.
The next spring, at their annual banquet, Iowa Ornithologists’ Union members debated the merits of various birds on a list before unanimously voting for the goldfinch, because it was commonly known and found in Iowa year-round.
The matter was presented to state representative J. Wilbur Dole, who introduced a bill in the legislature. Colleagues asked him why the goldfinch was picked, as opposed to the robin, bluebird, or quail. He replied that other states had already selected those. Some wondered why a state bird was even needed. He pointed out that only four other states did not have one.
And so it was that the Eastern Goldfinch…spinustrististristis…became Iowa’s state bird, when a bill was passed and signed into law on this date in 1933…90 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 22nd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, March 21, 2023
"A Deadly Derailment"
March 20th, 1910, was a Sunday...Palm Sunday, in fact. A bridge near Shellsburg collapsed, and a freight train there derailed, killing the engineer. That meant trains had to be rerouted, including two Rock Island passenger trains, both bound for Minneapolis. They were instead sent to Marshalltown, then to Waterloo, eventually to make it to Minnesota.
Each train had arrived in Marshalltown by the early morning hours of Monday, March 21st. Rail officials decided instead of running two trains, they would join the two together for the trip to Waterloo and back the locomotives up the whole way. That would prove to be a fatal error.
The combined train left Marshalltown just after 7:30 a.m. It passed through Green Mountain a little after 8. Four miles northeast of Green Mountain, the train--which some think was traveling well above prescribed safe speeds--derailed.
At least 80 passengers and crew were on the train. The so-called pilot of the effort, John White, was badly burned, but he and a passenger managed to get to a farmhouse to get help and notify the railroad agent in Gladbrook.
A group of Marshalltown physicians soon arrived by car. By 10:30, a bit more than two hours after the derailment, a relief train arrived from Marshalltown to take away the injured, quickly overwhelming the medical facilities in town.
A total of 55 people were killed that Monday morning by the Green Mountain Train Wreck, including John White, who later died of his burns. That number does not include the county coroner, who was thrown from a speeding wagon as it rounded the corner of 12th Street and Main and died a month later himself.
Today, there's a monument on Zeller Avenue, marking the greatest railroad tragedy in Iowa history, which happened near Green Mountain, on this date in 1910.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 21st...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"A Deadly Derailment"
March 20th, 1910, was a Sunday...Palm Sunday, in fact. A bridge near Shellsburg collapsed, and a freight train there derailed, killing the engineer. That meant trains had to be rerouted, including two Rock Island passenger trains, both bound for Minneapolis. They were instead sent to Marshalltown, then to Waterloo, eventually to make it to Minnesota.
Each train had arrived in Marshalltown by the early morning hours of Monday, March 21st. Rail officials decided instead of running two trains, they would join the two together for the trip to Waterloo and back the locomotives up the whole way. That would prove to be a fatal error.
The combined train left Marshalltown just after 7:30 a.m. It passed through Green Mountain a little after 8. Four miles northeast of Green Mountain, the train--which some think was traveling well above prescribed safe speeds--derailed.
At least 80 passengers and crew were on the train. The so-called pilot of the effort, John White, was badly burned, but he and a passenger managed to get to a farmhouse to get help and notify the railroad agent in Gladbrook.
A group of Marshalltown physicians soon arrived by car. By 10:30, a bit more than two hours after the derailment, a relief train arrived from Marshalltown to take away the injured, quickly overwhelming the medical facilities in town.
A total of 55 people were killed that Monday morning by the Green Mountain Train Wreck, including John White, who later died of his burns. That number does not include the county coroner, who was thrown from a speeding wagon as it rounded the corner of 12th Street and Main and died a month later himself.
Today, there's a monument on Zeller Avenue, marking the greatest railroad tragedy in Iowa history, which happened near Green Mountain, on this date in 1910.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 21st...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, March 20, 2023
"The Bulldogs in the Final Four"
The scene was the men's college basketball semifinal, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, on March 20, 1969. UCLA was the class of the college basketball world, with a legendary coach, the Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden, and a 7-foot senior center named Lew Alcindor.
Standing in the way of UCLA reaching the championship game was an upstart team from the Missouri Valley Conference...the Drake Bulldogs, led by Coach Maury John.
The names of those Bulldogs are still familiar to fans...Willie McCarter, Dolph Pulliam, Rick Wanamaker, Willie Wise.
UCLA only led by two at halftime, thanks to a unique strategy Coach John employed. Most teams thought keeping the score low was the secret to upending the Bruins, but Maury John told his team to keep shooting. In fact, Drake put up 83 shots in the game, 33 more than UCLA.
With less than a minute to play, the Bulldogs only trailed by one. But two late free throws gave UCLA the 85-82 win over Drake.
Two days later, Drake crushed North Carolina and coach Dean Smith in the consolation game, 104-84. UCLA went on to down Purdue in the championship by 20 points as well, giving Alcindor his third college championship.
In an odd show of sportsmanship, late in the championship, the UCLA fans started pointing and chanting at the Drake section..."you're number two"...as a show of respect for the closeness of that Final Four semifinal game.
Drake's 1969 Final Four team has remained close over the years, even though now the players are of retirement age. Dolph Pulliam credits Maury John for bringing him, McCarter, and other African-Americans to central Iowa in the racially charged 1960s, and creating a family-like bond that has lasted a lifetime.
And as today's players dream of their Road to the Final Four, we remember the Drake Bulldogs, who narrowly lost in the NCAA national semifinal to the greatest college basketball power of all time, UCLA...on this date in 1969.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 20th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Bulldogs in the Final Four"
The scene was the men's college basketball semifinal, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, on March 20, 1969. UCLA was the class of the college basketball world, with a legendary coach, the Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden, and a 7-foot senior center named Lew Alcindor.
Standing in the way of UCLA reaching the championship game was an upstart team from the Missouri Valley Conference...the Drake Bulldogs, led by Coach Maury John.
The names of those Bulldogs are still familiar to fans...Willie McCarter, Dolph Pulliam, Rick Wanamaker, Willie Wise.
UCLA only led by two at halftime, thanks to a unique strategy Coach John employed. Most teams thought keeping the score low was the secret to upending the Bruins, but Maury John told his team to keep shooting. In fact, Drake put up 83 shots in the game, 33 more than UCLA.
With less than a minute to play, the Bulldogs only trailed by one. But two late free throws gave UCLA the 85-82 win over Drake.
Two days later, Drake crushed North Carolina and coach Dean Smith in the consolation game, 104-84. UCLA went on to down Purdue in the championship by 20 points as well, giving Alcindor his third college championship.
In an odd show of sportsmanship, late in the championship, the UCLA fans started pointing and chanting at the Drake section..."you're number two"...as a show of respect for the closeness of that Final Four semifinal game.
Drake's 1969 Final Four team has remained close over the years, even though now the players are of retirement age. Dolph Pulliam credits Maury John for bringing him, McCarter, and other African-Americans to central Iowa in the racially charged 1960s, and creating a family-like bond that has lasted a lifetime.
And as today's players dream of their Road to the Final Four, we remember the Drake Bulldogs, who narrowly lost in the NCAA national semifinal to the greatest college basketball power of all time, UCLA...on this date in 1969.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 20th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Friday, March 17, 2023
"Class Is In Session"
The Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm was officially established on March 22, 1858, by the Iowa Legislature. But that was just in concept. It took more than a year before Story County was selected as the site for the college. And it became the first land grant institution in America, as designated by the Iowa legislature in 1864. But it would still be quite a while later before there were any students.
What became known as the Iowa State Agricultural College, or I.A.C., was formally opened for the admission of students on March 17, 1869, almost 11 years to the day after legislation was passed establishing it. A preparatory class of 70 men and women was received the previous October, making the school coeducational from the beginning.
On that first formal day of classes in 1869, President Adonijah S. Welch was inaugurated, and the Main Building was dedicated. It had been completed the year before at a cost of $10,570 and included a reception room, library, lecture hall, professors' room, students' rooms, a chapel, kitchen, laundry, and dining room.
The curriculum of the new college focused on agriculture and mechanic arts. In the first term, classes were taught in rhetoric, landscape gardening, German, algebra, arithmetic, bookkeeping, geography, analysis, and instrumental music.
The first class, made up of 24 men and 2 women, graduated in 1872.
You might know this facility better today as the Iowa State University of Science and Technology, the name it has had since 1959.
But as the Iowa State Agricultural College, it officially opened to students on this date in 1869.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 17th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Class Is In Session"
The Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm was officially established on March 22, 1858, by the Iowa Legislature. But that was just in concept. It took more than a year before Story County was selected as the site for the college. And it became the first land grant institution in America, as designated by the Iowa legislature in 1864. But it would still be quite a while later before there were any students.
What became known as the Iowa State Agricultural College, or I.A.C., was formally opened for the admission of students on March 17, 1869, almost 11 years to the day after legislation was passed establishing it. A preparatory class of 70 men and women was received the previous October, making the school coeducational from the beginning.
On that first formal day of classes in 1869, President Adonijah S. Welch was inaugurated, and the Main Building was dedicated. It had been completed the year before at a cost of $10,570 and included a reception room, library, lecture hall, professors' room, students' rooms, a chapel, kitchen, laundry, and dining room.
The curriculum of the new college focused on agriculture and mechanic arts. In the first term, classes were taught in rhetoric, landscape gardening, German, algebra, arithmetic, bookkeeping, geography, analysis, and instrumental music.
The first class, made up of 24 men and 2 women, graduated in 1872.
You might know this facility better today as the Iowa State University of Science and Technology, the name it has had since 1959.
But as the Iowa State Agricultural College, it officially opened to students on this date in 1869.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 17th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Thursday, March 16, 2023
"The First Championship"
For decades, Iowa girls played six on six basketball. As time went on, it became one of the 20th century's unique traditions, with a state tournament that was more successful than those in other states.
But at the college level, young women played five on five basketball, and states began switching to the full court game over time. A legal challenge was brought in Iowa, alleging that the six on six game discriminated against Iowa girls who wanted college scholarships.
In an attempt to please all parties, schools got the option beginning with the 1984-1985 season...they could play the traditional six on six game, or switch to five on five.
That meant two state tournament fields, and two state champions. In fact, the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union would sanction both forms of play for nine seasons, before the six on six format ended in 1993.
The first five on five championship was played on March 16, 1985 before a near-capacity crowd at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines. The game had a Linn County flavor, as Linn-Mar lived up to its number one ranking by defeating Cedar Rapids Washington 56 to 40. All-tournament team captain Juli Campbell scored 17 points for the Lions, who finished the season 25 and 1.
Later that evening, top-ranked Fort Dodge defeated Waterloo Columbus 88 to 81 in the six on six player championship.
But the night will be forever remembered as when Linn-Mar won Iowa's first girls five on five player basketball championship, on this date in 1985.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 16th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The First Championship"
For decades, Iowa girls played six on six basketball. As time went on, it became one of the 20th century's unique traditions, with a state tournament that was more successful than those in other states.
But at the college level, young women played five on five basketball, and states began switching to the full court game over time. A legal challenge was brought in Iowa, alleging that the six on six game discriminated against Iowa girls who wanted college scholarships.
In an attempt to please all parties, schools got the option beginning with the 1984-1985 season...they could play the traditional six on six game, or switch to five on five.
That meant two state tournament fields, and two state champions. In fact, the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union would sanction both forms of play for nine seasons, before the six on six format ended in 1993.
The first five on five championship was played on March 16, 1985 before a near-capacity crowd at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines. The game had a Linn County flavor, as Linn-Mar lived up to its number one ranking by defeating Cedar Rapids Washington 56 to 40. All-tournament team captain Juli Campbell scored 17 points for the Lions, who finished the season 25 and 1.
Later that evening, top-ranked Fort Dodge defeated Waterloo Columbus 88 to 81 in the six on six player championship.
But the night will be forever remembered as when Linn-Mar won Iowa's first girls five on five player basketball championship, on this date in 1985.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 16th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Wednesday, March 15, 2023
"The Last Execution"
On March 15th, 1963, Victor Harry Feguer was executed at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. He was the last prisoner executed in Iowa, and the last federal inmate executed in the United States until Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh met his fate.
Feguer was a bit of a drifter, a Michigan native. He came to Dubuque in the summer of 1960. Almost immediately, he began carrying out the murder that led to his own death. He began calling doctors, going alphabetically in the phone book, claiming a woman needed medical attention. One, Dr. Edward Bartels, responded. Feguer kidnapped him, crossed into Illinois, and killed him. Officials believed it was to get drugs the doctor might have. Feguer was caught in Alabama, trying to sell the doctor's car.
Because he crossed state lines, his crime came under the federal courts. He was convicted and sentenced to hang. Gov. Harold Hughes, a death penalty opponent, even contacted President John Kennedy, seeking clemency for Feguer; Kennedy thought the crime was so brutal, he denied the request.
For his last meal, Feguer requested a single olive with the pit still in it. He said he hoped that an olive tree--a symbol of peace--would sprout from his grave.
Shortly before sunrise, wearing a new suit provided by the prison, Victor Feguer was hanged. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Fort Madison, wearing a second new suit provided for his burial--the olive stone from his last meal tucked in a pocket.
Iowa abolished the death penalty for state crimes two years later, making Victor Feguer the last prisoner to be executed within the borders of the state, on this date in 1963…60 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 15th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Last Execution"
On March 15th, 1963, Victor Harry Feguer was executed at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. He was the last prisoner executed in Iowa, and the last federal inmate executed in the United States until Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh met his fate.
Feguer was a bit of a drifter, a Michigan native. He came to Dubuque in the summer of 1960. Almost immediately, he began carrying out the murder that led to his own death. He began calling doctors, going alphabetically in the phone book, claiming a woman needed medical attention. One, Dr. Edward Bartels, responded. Feguer kidnapped him, crossed into Illinois, and killed him. Officials believed it was to get drugs the doctor might have. Feguer was caught in Alabama, trying to sell the doctor's car.
Because he crossed state lines, his crime came under the federal courts. He was convicted and sentenced to hang. Gov. Harold Hughes, a death penalty opponent, even contacted President John Kennedy, seeking clemency for Feguer; Kennedy thought the crime was so brutal, he denied the request.
For his last meal, Feguer requested a single olive with the pit still in it. He said he hoped that an olive tree--a symbol of peace--would sprout from his grave.
Shortly before sunrise, wearing a new suit provided by the prison, Victor Feguer was hanged. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Fort Madison, wearing a second new suit provided for his burial--the olive stone from his last meal tucked in a pocket.
Iowa abolished the death penalty for state crimes two years later, making Victor Feguer the last prisoner to be executed within the borders of the state, on this date in 1963…60 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 15th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, March 14, 2023
"Mr. Speaker"
When David Henderson was born on March 14th, 1840 in Scotland, no one probably imagined he'd play a large role in Iowa history.
When he was six years of age, David and his parents came to America, first to Illinois and then three years later, to a farm near Clermont in Fayette County.
He served in the Union Army during the Civil War and was severely wounded twice, including an injury that led to progressive amputations of his leg.
After the war, he practiced law in Dubuque, and then began a political career, first being elected to the U.S. House from Iowa's Third Congressional District in 1882. An aggressive debater, he quickly moved up the Republican leadership ladder in the House. He was known for combining mainstream Republican causes with those important to Midwest farmers.
He was first elected as Speaker of the House in 1899 and was urged to run for president...but according to the Constitution, since he was not born in this country, he could not do so.
After four years as Speaker and ten years total in Congress, he abruptly dropped his re-election effort in 1902. He indicated that his views on tariffs differed from too many in his own party, and his lingering war injuries also were a factor in his decision.
After Congress, Henderson practiced law in New York until ill health forced him to retire to Southern California. He died in Dubuque on February 25th, 1906, at age 65 and is buried there.
As with all past Speakers of the House, if you tour the U.S. Capitol, you'll find David Henderson's portrait hanging in the Speaker's Room.
He was the last Civil War veteran in Congress…the first Speaker from west of the Mississippi River......and so far, the only Iowan to serve as Speaker of the House...David B. Henderson, born on this date in 1840.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 14th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Mr. Speaker"
When David Henderson was born on March 14th, 1840 in Scotland, no one probably imagined he'd play a large role in Iowa history.
When he was six years of age, David and his parents came to America, first to Illinois and then three years later, to a farm near Clermont in Fayette County.
He served in the Union Army during the Civil War and was severely wounded twice, including an injury that led to progressive amputations of his leg.
After the war, he practiced law in Dubuque, and then began a political career, first being elected to the U.S. House from Iowa's Third Congressional District in 1882. An aggressive debater, he quickly moved up the Republican leadership ladder in the House. He was known for combining mainstream Republican causes with those important to Midwest farmers.
He was first elected as Speaker of the House in 1899 and was urged to run for president...but according to the Constitution, since he was not born in this country, he could not do so.
After four years as Speaker and ten years total in Congress, he abruptly dropped his re-election effort in 1902. He indicated that his views on tariffs differed from too many in his own party, and his lingering war injuries also were a factor in his decision.
After Congress, Henderson practiced law in New York until ill health forced him to retire to Southern California. He died in Dubuque on February 25th, 1906, at age 65 and is buried there.
As with all past Speakers of the House, if you tour the U.S. Capitol, you'll find David Henderson's portrait hanging in the Speaker's Room.
He was the last Civil War veteran in Congress…the first Speaker from west of the Mississippi River......and so far, the only Iowan to serve as Speaker of the House...David B. Henderson, born on this date in 1840.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 14th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, March 13, 2023
"The Dillinger Robbery"
On March 13, 1934, a dark blue Buick sedan pulled up outside the First National Bank in Mason City. There were seven people in the sedan, including John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and five others. Two remained in the car, while the others either entered the bank or stood watch outside.
The gang entered the bank and started shooting their guns into the ceiling and walls. Bank guard Tom Walters watched from an elevated bulletproof observation booth, and fired a tear gas cartridge, hitting one of the robbers in the back. Bullets then shattered the glass of the observation booth, but Walters was not hit.
By sheer coincidence, earlier in the day, a newsreel camera operator started shooting film of the bank, which led to a crowd gathering to watch. They were still there as the robbery unfolded, and some people in the crowd and in the neighboring Nichols and Green shoe store were used by the robbers as shields from police.
Waving their guns, the robbers then ordered people on the street to cling to the getaway car, either by holding on to the sides or standing on the rear bumper. Numbers vary, but it's generally thought two dozen people were taken hostage in that way.
The robbers left the bank with $52,000 and made their escape in the Buick, with Mason City residents hanging on as human shields. The hostages were let off the car over the course of the next hour, individually and in small groups. The car was found that night in a quarry four miles south of Mason City. It was the second success for the gang in a week, as they robbed a bank in Sioux Falls seven days earlier.
Dillinger himself would not celebrate many more escapes. Only four months later, he was killed by Chicago police as he left a movie theater there. But it was a clean getaway for John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and the rest when they robbed a bank in Mason City in broad daylight on this date in 1934.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 13th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Dillinger Robbery"
On March 13, 1934, a dark blue Buick sedan pulled up outside the First National Bank in Mason City. There were seven people in the sedan, including John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and five others. Two remained in the car, while the others either entered the bank or stood watch outside.
The gang entered the bank and started shooting their guns into the ceiling and walls. Bank guard Tom Walters watched from an elevated bulletproof observation booth, and fired a tear gas cartridge, hitting one of the robbers in the back. Bullets then shattered the glass of the observation booth, but Walters was not hit.
By sheer coincidence, earlier in the day, a newsreel camera operator started shooting film of the bank, which led to a crowd gathering to watch. They were still there as the robbery unfolded, and some people in the crowd and in the neighboring Nichols and Green shoe store were used by the robbers as shields from police.
Waving their guns, the robbers then ordered people on the street to cling to the getaway car, either by holding on to the sides or standing on the rear bumper. Numbers vary, but it's generally thought two dozen people were taken hostage in that way.
The robbers left the bank with $52,000 and made their escape in the Buick, with Mason City residents hanging on as human shields. The hostages were let off the car over the course of the next hour, individually and in small groups. The car was found that night in a quarry four miles south of Mason City. It was the second success for the gang in a week, as they robbed a bank in Sioux Falls seven days earlier.
Dillinger himself would not celebrate many more escapes. Only four months later, he was killed by Chicago police as he left a movie theater there. But it was a clean getaway for John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and the rest when they robbed a bank in Mason City in broad daylight on this date in 1934.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 13th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Friday, March 10, 2023
"Iowa's Jazz Man"
He was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, and he was born in Davenport on March 10, 1903.
Leon Bismark Beiderbecke, better known as Bix, taught himself to play cornet largely by ear, leading him to adopt a non-standard fingering some critics have associated with his original sound.
In 1927, he recorded “In a Mist”, one of his few piano compositions, which blended classical and jazz influences.
The next year, he joined the most prestigious dance orchestra in the country, the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. He played on four number one records with Whiteman in 1928 alone. Along with Louis Armstrong, Bix was one of jazz’s first soloists.
Tragically, the heavy touring schedule and Bix’s alcoholism led to a decline in his health. Despite intervention by both Whiteman and his family, Bix left the orchestra in 1930 and died the following summer in his New York apartment. He was only 28 years of age.
Today, his childhood home on Grand Avenue in Davenport is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And he was posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
If you go to LeClaire Park in Davenport, you’ll see a memorial to Bix Beiderbecke, the local musician who became nationally known…and who was born on this date in 1903…120 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 10th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Iowa's Jazz Man"
He was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, and he was born in Davenport on March 10, 1903.
Leon Bismark Beiderbecke, better known as Bix, taught himself to play cornet largely by ear, leading him to adopt a non-standard fingering some critics have associated with his original sound.
In 1927, he recorded “In a Mist”, one of his few piano compositions, which blended classical and jazz influences.
The next year, he joined the most prestigious dance orchestra in the country, the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. He played on four number one records with Whiteman in 1928 alone. Along with Louis Armstrong, Bix was one of jazz’s first soloists.
Tragically, the heavy touring schedule and Bix’s alcoholism led to a decline in his health. Despite intervention by both Whiteman and his family, Bix left the orchestra in 1930 and died the following summer in his New York apartment. He was only 28 years of age.
Today, his childhood home on Grand Avenue in Davenport is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And he was posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
If you go to LeClaire Park in Davenport, you’ll see a memorial to Bix Beiderbecke, the local musician who became nationally known…and who was born on this date in 1903…120 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 10th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Thursday, March 09, 2023
"Death By Hanging"
It was a gruesome scene in the basement of the one-room schoolhouse near Dorchester in Allamakee County. On December 12, 1921, a 23-year-old teacher, Inga Magnussen, was bludgeoned in the head with a log by a man named Earl Throst. Throst fantasized about having a relationship with Inga, and when she spurned his advances, he killed her.
Throst was characterized as a local misfit; even his parents said he was very troubled. Once identified as a suspect, bloodhounds were brought in from Waterloo to help with the search for Throst, who was apprehended in Postville, just as he was about to board a train.
The crime was brutal and attracted attention for that fact. But it got even more attention because the Allamakee County Sheriff at the time was Gunda Martindale. She had been appointed to fill the rest of her husband's term, after he died while in office. It was not uncommon at the time for spouses to be given the job, since sheriffs did not have pensions to benefit their families.
Papers around the country exaggerated her role in the search and capture of Throst. One said she saved him from a lynch mob by taking him into custody. Another quoted her as being anxious to personally spring the trap at his hanging.
When a reporter actually talked to her, Sheriff Gunda Martindale was clear that the active investigation that led to Throst's capture was carried out by deputies, and denied that she had followed the bloodhounds day and night on the trail. It was a good story, but not true. Her term in office ended on January 1, 1923. She did not run for election because, in her words, "the job of sheriff belongs to a man".
As for Earl Throst, he admitted killing Inga Magnussen. And he became the tenth person executed by hanging in Iowa history, in the prison yard at Fort Madison, on this date in 1923…100 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 9th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Death By Hanging"
It was a gruesome scene in the basement of the one-room schoolhouse near Dorchester in Allamakee County. On December 12, 1921, a 23-year-old teacher, Inga Magnussen, was bludgeoned in the head with a log by a man named Earl Throst. Throst fantasized about having a relationship with Inga, and when she spurned his advances, he killed her.
Throst was characterized as a local misfit; even his parents said he was very troubled. Once identified as a suspect, bloodhounds were brought in from Waterloo to help with the search for Throst, who was apprehended in Postville, just as he was about to board a train.
The crime was brutal and attracted attention for that fact. But it got even more attention because the Allamakee County Sheriff at the time was Gunda Martindale. She had been appointed to fill the rest of her husband's term, after he died while in office. It was not uncommon at the time for spouses to be given the job, since sheriffs did not have pensions to benefit their families.
Papers around the country exaggerated her role in the search and capture of Throst. One said she saved him from a lynch mob by taking him into custody. Another quoted her as being anxious to personally spring the trap at his hanging.
When a reporter actually talked to her, Sheriff Gunda Martindale was clear that the active investigation that led to Throst's capture was carried out by deputies, and denied that she had followed the bloodhounds day and night on the trail. It was a good story, but not true. Her term in office ended on January 1, 1923. She did not run for election because, in her words, "the job of sheriff belongs to a man".
As for Earl Throst, he admitted killing Inga Magnussen. And he became the tenth person executed by hanging in Iowa history, in the prison yard at Fort Madison, on this date in 1923…100 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 9th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Wednesday, March 08, 2023
"An Attack on Settlers"
The winter of 1856 and 1857 was especially harsh. Supplies were hard to come by, and tensions were high between Iowa frontier settlers and some Native Americans in northwest Iowa.
The federal government had set up a reservation along the Iowa/Minnesota border, pursuant to terms of a treaty. But promised improvements were not made on time, supplies were shipped too late, and what was shipped was not adequate for survival.
On the morning of March 8, 1857, one Native American pushed his way into a cabin occupied by the Rowland Gardner family, a log structure on the south shore of West Okoboji. He demanded food, which was provided. Then another 14 Sioux under the leadership of the renegade chief Inkpaduta entered the cabin. They ate and left.
But they returned that afternoon, and what became known as the Spirit Lake Massacre began. Between 35 and 40 settlers were killed over a five-day period, and four young women were taken captive.
One of the four was Abbie Gardner, a 13-year-old whose family was murdered in that cabin after providing food to the intruders. She was ransomed a few months later to a federal agent who paid two horses, 12 blankets, 20 pounds of tobacco, cloth, calico and ribbon, and two kegs of powder.
Some 30 years after the killing, Abbie Gardner published a memoir, which became popular as one of the last captivity narratives of European Americans being held by Native Americans.
In 1891, she bought the cabin where the events occurred and turned it into a tourist site, where she sold her book and other items for 30 years. The state of Iowa now maintains the Abbie Gardner Sharp home site and park.
The renegade chief Inkpaduta was never found, but the killing spree he organized led to strained relations for decades, and retaliation against innocent individuals. The last Native American attack on settlers in Iowa began on this date in 1857.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 8th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"An Attack on Settlers"
The winter of 1856 and 1857 was especially harsh. Supplies were hard to come by, and tensions were high between Iowa frontier settlers and some Native Americans in northwest Iowa.
The federal government had set up a reservation along the Iowa/Minnesota border, pursuant to terms of a treaty. But promised improvements were not made on time, supplies were shipped too late, and what was shipped was not adequate for survival.
On the morning of March 8, 1857, one Native American pushed his way into a cabin occupied by the Rowland Gardner family, a log structure on the south shore of West Okoboji. He demanded food, which was provided. Then another 14 Sioux under the leadership of the renegade chief Inkpaduta entered the cabin. They ate and left.
But they returned that afternoon, and what became known as the Spirit Lake Massacre began. Between 35 and 40 settlers were killed over a five-day period, and four young women were taken captive.
One of the four was Abbie Gardner, a 13-year-old whose family was murdered in that cabin after providing food to the intruders. She was ransomed a few months later to a federal agent who paid two horses, 12 blankets, 20 pounds of tobacco, cloth, calico and ribbon, and two kegs of powder.
Some 30 years after the killing, Abbie Gardner published a memoir, which became popular as one of the last captivity narratives of European Americans being held by Native Americans.
In 1891, she bought the cabin where the events occurred and turned it into a tourist site, where she sold her book and other items for 30 years. The state of Iowa now maintains the Abbie Gardner Sharp home site and park.
The renegade chief Inkpaduta was never found, but the killing spree he organized led to strained relations for decades, and retaliation against innocent individuals. The last Native American attack on settlers in Iowa began on this date in 1857.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 8th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, March 07, 2023
"Routing A Railroad"
Some 30 years after it was first discussed, the first transcontinental railroad in this country was built in the 1860s, connecting a well developed railway network in the eastern United States with the newly settled areas of the west.
Building the rail line was an important goal of President Abraham Lincoln. It was motivated in part to tie California to the Union during the Civil War.
But where to lay the tracks for the new line? There were several options, and the choice was an important one, because towns that had a rail line running through them quickly grew into major cities. Some advocated a southern route, avoiding the Rocky Mountains by going through Texas to Los Angeles. A northern route, along the path taken earlier in the century by Lewis and Clark, was deemed impractical due to winter snow.
Congress opted for a central route in 1862, and the Central Pacific was hired to lay 690 miles of track starting in Sacramento, California. The Union Pacific was to start at the eastern end of the line, and the 1,087 miles of track they built connected with the Central Pacific track, with a golden spike driven into the rail to denote the connection, at Promontory Summit, Utah.
On March 7, 1864, President Lincoln signed an order that directed the eastern part of the line be located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, even though at the time, the closest rail line was 150 miles east of there. He had visited the location back in 1859 before he had even run for president, working as a private attorney for Thomas Durant. Durant was a central figure in building the transcontinental line.
That past working relationship and Lincoln's personal familiarity with the location is why Council Bluffs was selected as the location of the transfer depot, where up to seven railroads could transfer mail and other goods to west bound trains.
It was considered by some to be the greatest technological feat of that century, the building of the transcontinental railroad. And its easternmost point was Council Bluffs, thanks to a presidential order issued on this date in 1864.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 7th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Routing A Railroad"
Some 30 years after it was first discussed, the first transcontinental railroad in this country was built in the 1860s, connecting a well developed railway network in the eastern United States with the newly settled areas of the west.
Building the rail line was an important goal of President Abraham Lincoln. It was motivated in part to tie California to the Union during the Civil War.
But where to lay the tracks for the new line? There were several options, and the choice was an important one, because towns that had a rail line running through them quickly grew into major cities. Some advocated a southern route, avoiding the Rocky Mountains by going through Texas to Los Angeles. A northern route, along the path taken earlier in the century by Lewis and Clark, was deemed impractical due to winter snow.
Congress opted for a central route in 1862, and the Central Pacific was hired to lay 690 miles of track starting in Sacramento, California. The Union Pacific was to start at the eastern end of the line, and the 1,087 miles of track they built connected with the Central Pacific track, with a golden spike driven into the rail to denote the connection, at Promontory Summit, Utah.
On March 7, 1864, President Lincoln signed an order that directed the eastern part of the line be located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, even though at the time, the closest rail line was 150 miles east of there. He had visited the location back in 1859 before he had even run for president, working as a private attorney for Thomas Durant. Durant was a central figure in building the transcontinental line.
That past working relationship and Lincoln's personal familiarity with the location is why Council Bluffs was selected as the location of the transfer depot, where up to seven railroads could transfer mail and other goods to west bound trains.
It was considered by some to be the greatest technological feat of that century, the building of the transcontinental railroad. And its easternmost point was Council Bluffs, thanks to a presidential order issued on this date in 1864.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 7th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, March 06, 2023
"Seeking The Vote"
The headline in the Evening Times-Republican in Marshalltown on March 6, 1911, likely gave readers an idea of how the paper viewed the topic.
It read "Suffragists Invade Iowa State House".
The story says that women suffragists from all parts of the state appeared before a state Senate committee discussing constitutional amendments that day. Leaders of the national suffrage movement also attended, urging support for what was known as the Allen resolution, which would have put the suffrage question to a direct vote of the people. And it was not just a women's issue, as one of those speaking that day was the head of a group called the Men's League for Women's Suffrage.
The struggle had been going on for some time. The first women's suffrage association in the state was formed in Dubuque in 1869, and the first state convention on the topic was held the next year, in Mt. Pleasant.
To give women the vote, the Iowa Constitution would have to be changed. It takes a positive vote of two sessions of the legislature, and back then, they only met every two years. The effort passed in 1870, but failed the next time the legislature met, in 1872. It went on like that for a while.
In 1894, the legislature granted partial suffrage to women, allowing them to vote on public issues, but not elections for public officials.
Momentum was gathering, and 1910 was a year when the movement was gaining a lot of support, which is why the group was testifying before a Senate committee on this particular date in 1911.
It took until 1916 before the Iowa legislature approved a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, but it had to be approved by voters. It failed.
Finally, the U.S. Constitution was amended so women could vote throughout the U.S. in 1920, more than 60 years after the issue had come up in Iowa. But only due to the perseverance of dedicated Iowans, like those who invaded the state capitol in Des Moines, on this date in 1911.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 6th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Seeking The Vote"
The headline in the Evening Times-Republican in Marshalltown on March 6, 1911, likely gave readers an idea of how the paper viewed the topic.
It read "Suffragists Invade Iowa State House".
The story says that women suffragists from all parts of the state appeared before a state Senate committee discussing constitutional amendments that day. Leaders of the national suffrage movement also attended, urging support for what was known as the Allen resolution, which would have put the suffrage question to a direct vote of the people. And it was not just a women's issue, as one of those speaking that day was the head of a group called the Men's League for Women's Suffrage.
The struggle had been going on for some time. The first women's suffrage association in the state was formed in Dubuque in 1869, and the first state convention on the topic was held the next year, in Mt. Pleasant.
To give women the vote, the Iowa Constitution would have to be changed. It takes a positive vote of two sessions of the legislature, and back then, they only met every two years. The effort passed in 1870, but failed the next time the legislature met, in 1872. It went on like that for a while.
In 1894, the legislature granted partial suffrage to women, allowing them to vote on public issues, but not elections for public officials.
Momentum was gathering, and 1910 was a year when the movement was gaining a lot of support, which is why the group was testifying before a Senate committee on this particular date in 1911.
It took until 1916 before the Iowa legislature approved a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, but it had to be approved by voters. It failed.
Finally, the U.S. Constitution was amended so women could vote throughout the U.S. in 1920, more than 60 years after the issue had come up in Iowa. But only due to the perseverance of dedicated Iowans, like those who invaded the state capitol in Des Moines, on this date in 1911.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 6th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Friday, March 03, 2023
"The Courthouse Is On Fire"
Around 2 o'clock in the morning of March 3rd, 1882, Marshal James Hammond was making his night rounds in Guthrie Center when he saw a light in the sheriff's office on the second story of the county courthouse. At first, he thought someone was working...but then he smelled something burning, and what he thought was a light was actually a fire burning in the courthouse.
County Clerk of Court F. M. Hopkins was the first to arrive after hearing the alarm bells ring in town. His office was directly under the sheriff's office, but when he entered his office, he found the ceiling had already burned through, and fire was falling down from the second story. He quickly ran upstairs to the court room, to save the records in place there for use in the morning. Meanwhile, County Recorder T.C. Hayden and a group removed all the records from that office, and Treasurer J.D. Lennon gathered some items from his office's vault.
As the Guthrie County Journal newspaper told the story, "While these labors were being performed, the fire gathered headway with rapidity and everybody was driven out of the building...the burning of the dome was a grand spectacle lighting up the surrounding scenery a great distance."
The courthouse was only five years old, but soon was reduced to ruins by the fire. The citizens who responded kept the fire from spreading to the nearly Baptist church, real estate office, ice house, and grocery store.
The building was insured, and with the $15,000 of proceeds, the citizens soon built a new courthouse at a total cost of $25,000, including furniture. It took two years to build, but lasted far longer than the first one...81 years, in fact, until it, too, was destroyed by fire as the current structure was being built in 1964.
But the first county courthouse in Guthrie Center burned to the ground, on this date in 1882.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 3rd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The Courthouse Is On Fire"
Around 2 o'clock in the morning of March 3rd, 1882, Marshal James Hammond was making his night rounds in Guthrie Center when he saw a light in the sheriff's office on the second story of the county courthouse. At first, he thought someone was working...but then he smelled something burning, and what he thought was a light was actually a fire burning in the courthouse.
County Clerk of Court F. M. Hopkins was the first to arrive after hearing the alarm bells ring in town. His office was directly under the sheriff's office, but when he entered his office, he found the ceiling had already burned through, and fire was falling down from the second story. He quickly ran upstairs to the court room, to save the records in place there for use in the morning. Meanwhile, County Recorder T.C. Hayden and a group removed all the records from that office, and Treasurer J.D. Lennon gathered some items from his office's vault.
As the Guthrie County Journal newspaper told the story, "While these labors were being performed, the fire gathered headway with rapidity and everybody was driven out of the building...the burning of the dome was a grand spectacle lighting up the surrounding scenery a great distance."
The courthouse was only five years old, but soon was reduced to ruins by the fire. The citizens who responded kept the fire from spreading to the nearly Baptist church, real estate office, ice house, and grocery store.
The building was insured, and with the $15,000 of proceeds, the citizens soon built a new courthouse at a total cost of $25,000, including furniture. It took two years to build, but lasted far longer than the first one...81 years, in fact, until it, too, was destroyed by fire as the current structure was being built in 1964.
But the first county courthouse in Guthrie Center burned to the ground, on this date in 1882.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 3rd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Thursday, March 02, 2023
"Iowa's World-Renowned Voice"
As an African-American growing up in Centerville in the 1930s and 1940s, a young man called Billy by his family endured his share of racism, such as not being allowed into the community swimming pool.
His father was a coal miner; his grandfather, a former slave who had been sold at auction for $500.
He and his family were active in the Baptist church, and that's where he discovered a talent for music.
At age 13, his then soprano voice earned him top honors when the Bill Riley State Fair Talent Search came to town. As he grew older, his voice developed into a rich bass-baritone and by the time he began studies at the University of Iowa in 1957, others began to notice his gift...including vocal teacher Charles Kellis, who encouraged the young man to make singing his career after his work as a member of the UI's Old Gold Singers...the first black singer in the group's history.
He studied at the Juilliard School of Music for a year, then made his professional stage debut in Germany in 1965. He first graced the Metropolitan Opera stage in New York in 1982. In all, he has performed throughout the world in 101 operatic roles, including as Porgy in Porgy and Bess. His first White House performance was in 1966...in all, he has sung for five U.S. presidents.
He now spends much of his time in Iowa, teaching at various Iowa colleges, giving benefit concerts, and working to combat malaria and AIDS in Africa.
He was named for his father, but to avoid confusion, as a boy he was called Billy. But you know him by his given name, Simon...the world-renowned singer Simon Estes, who was born on this date, in 1938…85 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 2nd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Iowa's World-Renowned Voice"
As an African-American growing up in Centerville in the 1930s and 1940s, a young man called Billy by his family endured his share of racism, such as not being allowed into the community swimming pool.
His father was a coal miner; his grandfather, a former slave who had been sold at auction for $500.
He and his family were active in the Baptist church, and that's where he discovered a talent for music.
At age 13, his then soprano voice earned him top honors when the Bill Riley State Fair Talent Search came to town. As he grew older, his voice developed into a rich bass-baritone and by the time he began studies at the University of Iowa in 1957, others began to notice his gift...including vocal teacher Charles Kellis, who encouraged the young man to make singing his career after his work as a member of the UI's Old Gold Singers...the first black singer in the group's history.
He studied at the Juilliard School of Music for a year, then made his professional stage debut in Germany in 1965. He first graced the Metropolitan Opera stage in New York in 1982. In all, he has performed throughout the world in 101 operatic roles, including as Porgy in Porgy and Bess. His first White House performance was in 1966...in all, he has sung for five U.S. presidents.
He now spends much of his time in Iowa, teaching at various Iowa colleges, giving benefit concerts, and working to combat malaria and AIDS in Africa.
He was named for his father, but to avoid confusion, as a boy he was called Billy. But you know him by his given name, Simon...the world-renowned singer Simon Estes, who was born on this date, in 1938…85 years ago today.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 2nd...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Wednesday, March 01, 2023
"Selling A Television Station"
On February 21st, 1950, local television came to central Iowa, as WOI-TV began broadcasting from the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, the first station to serve the region.
Even after other stations signed on, the station still claimed a number of firsts, including being the first station in the Des Moines market to produce a live local newscast, and in 1981, the first local station in the country to originate a live broadcast of an NCAA athletic event via satellite.
The station maintained a close relationship with ISU and was a laboratory for students in journalism and meteorology. In 1987, in order to allow WOI-TV to operate independently from the university, a separate corporation was established to run Channel 5. The profits from the station and rent paid for using university facilities often added up to a half-million dollars a year of revenue for ISU.
But on June 17, 1992, the state Board of Regents voted to sell the station for $14 million, which was to be placed in trust and the revenue used to support Iowa State.
Alumni, faculty, students and members of the public objected, since at that time WOI was one of only three commercial stations in the country to be owned by a university. A lawsuit ensued, challenging the Regents' authority to sell off university assets. However, the sale went through and the new owners took over on March 1st, 1994.
Major changes were immediately evident, including the abrupt cancellation of the longest-running, locally-produced children's program in U.S. television history, The Magic Window.
The station was sold again in September of 2013, this time as part of a three-station cluster that brought $88 million.
But the check for $14 million from that first sale had cleared, and the keys to WOI-TV were given to private owners, on this date in 1994.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 1st...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Selling A Television Station"
On February 21st, 1950, local television came to central Iowa, as WOI-TV began broadcasting from the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, the first station to serve the region.
Even after other stations signed on, the station still claimed a number of firsts, including being the first station in the Des Moines market to produce a live local newscast, and in 1981, the first local station in the country to originate a live broadcast of an NCAA athletic event via satellite.
The station maintained a close relationship with ISU and was a laboratory for students in journalism and meteorology. In 1987, in order to allow WOI-TV to operate independently from the university, a separate corporation was established to run Channel 5. The profits from the station and rent paid for using university facilities often added up to a half-million dollars a year of revenue for ISU.
But on June 17, 1992, the state Board of Regents voted to sell the station for $14 million, which was to be placed in trust and the revenue used to support Iowa State.
Alumni, faculty, students and members of the public objected, since at that time WOI was one of only three commercial stations in the country to be owned by a university. A lawsuit ensued, challenging the Regents' authority to sell off university assets. However, the sale went through and the new owners took over on March 1st, 1994.
Major changes were immediately evident, including the abrupt cancellation of the longest-running, locally-produced children's program in U.S. television history, The Magic Window.
The station was sold again in September of 2013, this time as part of a three-station cluster that brought $88 million.
But the check for $14 million from that first sale had cleared, and the keys to WOI-TV were given to private owners, on this date in 1994.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 1st...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
