"Iowa Almanac" is a copyrighted production of Stein Enterprises, L.L.C.
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Copyright 2025 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 2025 by Stein Enterprises, L.L.C.
Iowa Almanac for Sunday, March 23, 2025
"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 23, 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.
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 23, 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.
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 Saturday, March 22, 2025
"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.
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.
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 Friday, March 21, 2025
"A Deadly Derailment"
March 20, 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 21. 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 20, 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 21. 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 Thursday, March 20, 2025
"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 Wednesday, March 19, 2025
"Sartorial Splendor"
It used to be one of the rites of passage for a young man when he learned how to tie his own necktie. Despite how fashionable they still are, however, many of us have never gotten the hang of tying a bowtie.
It was that way more than a hundred years ago, too…bowties were an important part of a gentleman’s wardrobe, but it was hard to get them to look just right.
Those who operated a Waterloo-based business, United Neckwear Manufacturing Company, thought their business might improve if they could figure out a way to make an easier-to-use bowtie.
So company president Robert C. Pedersen and manager Erskine C. McConnell worked on creating a fastener that allows a bowtie to clip on to a collared shirt. They filed for a patent with the U.S. Patent Office in the summer of 1917.
Eight months later, the patent was awarded and they set up shop in the 300 block of East Fourth Street in downtown Waterloo, making their patented clip-on bowties. Business was booming for a time, leading to two different expansions within the city before the company moved to Minneapolis in the late 1920s.
If you look at a clip-on bowtie made today, the mechanics are pretty much the same as when two neckwear manufacturers came up with the idea…because good ideas don’t have to change much.
The patent for the first clip-on bowtie was awarded to two Waterloo men, on this date in 1918.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 19th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Sartorial Splendor"
It used to be one of the rites of passage for a young man when he learned how to tie his own necktie. Despite how fashionable they still are, however, many of us have never gotten the hang of tying a bowtie.
It was that way more than a hundred years ago, too…bowties were an important part of a gentleman’s wardrobe, but it was hard to get them to look just right.
Those who operated a Waterloo-based business, United Neckwear Manufacturing Company, thought their business might improve if they could figure out a way to make an easier-to-use bowtie.
So company president Robert C. Pedersen and manager Erskine C. McConnell worked on creating a fastener that allows a bowtie to clip on to a collared shirt. They filed for a patent with the U.S. Patent Office in the summer of 1917.
Eight months later, the patent was awarded and they set up shop in the 300 block of East Fourth Street in downtown Waterloo, making their patented clip-on bowties. Business was booming for a time, leading to two different expansions within the city before the company moved to Minneapolis in the late 1920s.
If you look at a clip-on bowtie made today, the mechanics are pretty much the same as when two neckwear manufacturers came up with the idea…because good ideas don’t have to change much.
The patent for the first clip-on bowtie was awarded to two Waterloo men, on this date in 1918.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 19th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, March 18, 2025
"A Founder of the Tractor"
In 1892, two students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with similar names met...one was Charles Hart, the other was Charles Parr. They had other interests in common, too, besides their first name. They worked on a special honors thesis together, and from that plan built three working internal combustion engines on the campus there.
After graduation in 1897, Hart and Parr secured $3,000 in capital and founded their own business, the Hart-Parr Gasoline Engine Company. But they needed more money in order to expand the business and explore a new project. Near the end of 1899, Hart visited his parents in Charles City and mentioned his financial dilemma. Hart's father said there were people with money in that area who might be interested. Local attorney Charles Ellis was one of those; he invested $50,000 in the Hart-Parr project.
As a result, the two men moved their business to Charles City in 1901, and the next year, debuted Hart-Parr Tractor number 1. A salesman ran demonstrations at county fairs, and slowly the new machine gained favor. Some of the first tractors delivered were demonstrating usefulness far surpassing that of steam engines.
They used the phrase "traction engine" to define their creation, but in 1906, Hart-Parr's sales manager, W.H. Williams, decided the phrase was too vague and too long to use in news releases, so he invented the word "tractor", combining traction and power.
As a result, and because the Charles City plant was the first to be continuously and exclusively used for tractor production, Hart and Parr were given the title as founders of the tractor industry.
In 1929, the company merged with a number of other similar manufacturers, all thereafter using the name Oliver...and while the Hart-Parr name disappeared from machines, Charles Parr stayed with the company he founded until his death in 1941.
Today, we remember one of the founders of the tractor, Charles Parr, for he was born on this date in 1868.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 18th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"A Founder of the Tractor"
In 1892, two students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with similar names met...one was Charles Hart, the other was Charles Parr. They had other interests in common, too, besides their first name. They worked on a special honors thesis together, and from that plan built three working internal combustion engines on the campus there.
After graduation in 1897, Hart and Parr secured $3,000 in capital and founded their own business, the Hart-Parr Gasoline Engine Company. But they needed more money in order to expand the business and explore a new project. Near the end of 1899, Hart visited his parents in Charles City and mentioned his financial dilemma. Hart's father said there were people with money in that area who might be interested. Local attorney Charles Ellis was one of those; he invested $50,000 in the Hart-Parr project.
As a result, the two men moved their business to Charles City in 1901, and the next year, debuted Hart-Parr Tractor number 1. A salesman ran demonstrations at county fairs, and slowly the new machine gained favor. Some of the first tractors delivered were demonstrating usefulness far surpassing that of steam engines.
They used the phrase "traction engine" to define their creation, but in 1906, Hart-Parr's sales manager, W.H. Williams, decided the phrase was too vague and too long to use in news releases, so he invented the word "tractor", combining traction and power.
As a result, and because the Charles City plant was the first to be continuously and exclusively used for tractor production, Hart and Parr were given the title as founders of the tractor industry.
In 1929, the company merged with a number of other similar manufacturers, all thereafter using the name Oliver...and while the Hart-Parr name disappeared from machines, Charles Parr stayed with the company he founded until his death in 1941.
Today, we remember one of the founders of the tractor, Charles Parr, for he was born on this date in 1868.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 18th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, March 17, 2025
"The Dairy King"
Sherwood Noble was born in the Marshall County town of Clemons in 1908. Sherb, as he was known, first became interested in dairy products as a boy, washing milk cans at the local creamery. In the mid-1920s, he enrolled in a dairy course at Iowa State. Students were expected to get some experience in the dairy business, so Sherb got a job at the Hutchinson Ice Cream Company in Cedar Rapids, making mix.
By 1931, dairy was his career, and at only age 23, he became the manager of the Minerva Valley Creamery in Clemons. Not long after, he met J.F. McCullough, who with his son was in the dairy mix business in Illinois. That led Sherb to move to Illinois and open “Sherb’s Ice Cream Store” in locations ranging from Kankakee to Chicago Heights and Blue Island. The stores sold hard ice cream, but the McCulloughs always had an idea of selling soft ice cream to the public.
On August 4, 1938, they experimented with the new soft ice cream by offering an “all-you-can-eat” for 10 cents sale at Sherb’s store in Kankakee. Some 1,600 portions of the new treat were sold that day, and how we consumed ice cream changed forever.
Sherb Noble and his partners opened the first Dairy Queen in Joliet, Illinois on June 22, 1940, selling soft ice cream. It became a major success, with some 7,700 stores in 30 countries today. Sherb and his family oversaw as many as 38 stores in Illinois alone at one point.
Sherb Noble died in Kankakee, Illinois—just two days before his 83rd birthday. He was buried in Clemons, the place where he first learned about the dairy industry…an industry he would revolutionize. Sherwood “Sherb” Noble, the founder of Dairy Queen, died on this date in 1991.
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.
"The Dairy King"
Sherwood Noble was born in the Marshall County town of Clemons in 1908. Sherb, as he was known, first became interested in dairy products as a boy, washing milk cans at the local creamery. In the mid-1920s, he enrolled in a dairy course at Iowa State. Students were expected to get some experience in the dairy business, so Sherb got a job at the Hutchinson Ice Cream Company in Cedar Rapids, making mix.
By 1931, dairy was his career, and at only age 23, he became the manager of the Minerva Valley Creamery in Clemons. Not long after, he met J.F. McCullough, who with his son was in the dairy mix business in Illinois. That led Sherb to move to Illinois and open “Sherb’s Ice Cream Store” in locations ranging from Kankakee to Chicago Heights and Blue Island. The stores sold hard ice cream, but the McCulloughs always had an idea of selling soft ice cream to the public.
On August 4, 1938, they experimented with the new soft ice cream by offering an “all-you-can-eat” for 10 cents sale at Sherb’s store in Kankakee. Some 1,600 portions of the new treat were sold that day, and how we consumed ice cream changed forever.
Sherb Noble and his partners opened the first Dairy Queen in Joliet, Illinois on June 22, 1940, selling soft ice cream. It became a major success, with some 7,700 stores in 30 countries today. Sherb and his family oversaw as many as 38 stores in Illinois alone at one point.
Sherb Noble died in Kankakee, Illinois—just two days before his 83rd birthday. He was buried in Clemons, the place where he first learned about the dairy industry…an industry he would revolutionize. Sherwood “Sherb” Noble, the founder of Dairy Queen, died on this date in 1991.
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 Sunday, March 16, 2025
"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…40 years ago today.
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…40 years ago today.
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 Saturday, March 15, 2025
"The Last Execution"
On March 15, 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.
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 15, 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.
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 Friday, March 14, 2025
"Mr. Speaker"
When David Henderson was born on March 14, 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 25, 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 14, 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 25, 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 Thursday, March 13, 2025
"The Dillinger Robbery"
On the afternoon of 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 had 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 the afternoon of 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 had 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 Wednesday, March 12, 2025
"Setting New Standards"
Prior to 1907, Iowa's hospitals set their own individual educational standards as a condition of employment. There was nothing to prohibit a person from claiming to be a nurse...no uniform requirements regarding training, no licenses, no competency examinations.
On March 12, 1907, the Iowa Legislature took the first step toward making sure those who provided nursing care to Iowans were qualified. That came with passage of the Nurse Practice Act, which required education and licensure by examination.
That law required applicants to be at least 23 years of age, and of "good moral character". That last requirement remained part of Iowa law until 1964, and was often proven by references from clergy and teachers.
Licenses could be revoked for fraud, immoral or unprofessional conduct, or violation of Board of Health rules. And those who practiced nursing without a license were guilty of a misdemeanor.
But there was no definition of what nursing was. That did not come until 1938, when language referencing licensing and actual duties of the profession was included in Iowa law.
The first licensing exam had 50 essay questions. There were 10 questions on "diseases of men", but those were taken by men only. A total of 695 nurses were licensed right away without a test, based on their past experience or education. Seven people took that first exam in 1908...all passed.
Nearly a century later, in 2000, legislation was passed making Iowa the 9th state to join the multi-state licensure compact agreement, to allow nurses licensed in one state to practice in any other state that was part of the compact.
But the regulation of nursing as a profession began when the first Nurse Practice Act was passed, on this date in 1907.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 12th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"Setting New Standards"
Prior to 1907, Iowa's hospitals set their own individual educational standards as a condition of employment. There was nothing to prohibit a person from claiming to be a nurse...no uniform requirements regarding training, no licenses, no competency examinations.
On March 12, 1907, the Iowa Legislature took the first step toward making sure those who provided nursing care to Iowans were qualified. That came with passage of the Nurse Practice Act, which required education and licensure by examination.
That law required applicants to be at least 23 years of age, and of "good moral character". That last requirement remained part of Iowa law until 1964, and was often proven by references from clergy and teachers.
Licenses could be revoked for fraud, immoral or unprofessional conduct, or violation of Board of Health rules. And those who practiced nursing without a license were guilty of a misdemeanor.
But there was no definition of what nursing was. That did not come until 1938, when language referencing licensing and actual duties of the profession was included in Iowa law.
The first licensing exam had 50 essay questions. There were 10 questions on "diseases of men", but those were taken by men only. A total of 695 nurses were licensed right away without a test, based on their past experience or education. Seven people took that first exam in 1908...all passed.
Nearly a century later, in 2000, legislation was passed making Iowa the 9th state to join the multi-state licensure compact agreement, to allow nurses licensed in one state to practice in any other state that was part of the compact.
But the regulation of nursing as a profession began when the first Nurse Practice Act was passed, on this date in 1907.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 12th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, March 11, 2025
"From Peking to the Medal of Honor"
On March 11, 1902, the first-year plebes were assembled at the West Point military academy. Their commander in chief, President Theodore Roosevelt, was there. He walked over to Iowa native Calvin Titus, pinned a Medal of Honor on his coat, and said, “Now, don’t let this give you the big head.” The action even impressed one of the second year classmen, named Douglas MacArthur.
Calvin Titus was born in Vinton. After his mother died, he left the state at age 11, and accompanied his uncle, who was a travelling preacher, around the country. In 1898, the 19-year-old Calvin heard that the battleship Maine had sank, and that prompted him to enlist.
By the summer of 1900, Titus was an Army bugler, marching toward Peking in scorching heat as part of an international military rescue operation. Their mission was to free a group of foreigners trapped there. The Boxer Rebellion was escalating, and the 14th Infantry from the Philippines was advancing toward Peking. They were stopped by a 30 foot wall surrounding a compound where the foreigners and a group of Chinese Christians were being isolated.
The troop commander looked up at the wall and wondered aloud if it was possible to climb it. Calvin Titus spoke up, saying, “I’ll try it, Sir.” The men of his company watched as Titus made his way up the wall, placing his feet in the cavities and clinging with his fingers to the projecting bricks. Higher and higher he climbed, until he reached the top. But would danger, in the form of Chinese troops, be waiting for him there?
Calvin Titus carefully peered over the top of the wall. The Chinese soldiers had left the scene, and Titus urged his fellow soldiers to follow suit, climbing the wall to liberate those inside the compound. The Allied troops lifted the siege, the Boxer Rebellion was stopped, and Titus was a hero. His hometown of Vinton made him the guest of honor at its 1901 Independence Day celebration.
His phrase, “I’ll try, Sir,” became the motto of the 14th Infantry. In honor of his bravery, President William McKinley granted Titus a West Point commission. He later became a lieutenant colonel, and ran the Coe College ROTC program until retiring around 1930. But the president personally awarded Iowa’s Calvin Titus the Medal of Honor, on this date in 1902.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 11th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"From Peking to the Medal of Honor"
On March 11, 1902, the first-year plebes were assembled at the West Point military academy. Their commander in chief, President Theodore Roosevelt, was there. He walked over to Iowa native Calvin Titus, pinned a Medal of Honor on his coat, and said, “Now, don’t let this give you the big head.” The action even impressed one of the second year classmen, named Douglas MacArthur.
Calvin Titus was born in Vinton. After his mother died, he left the state at age 11, and accompanied his uncle, who was a travelling preacher, around the country. In 1898, the 19-year-old Calvin heard that the battleship Maine had sank, and that prompted him to enlist.
By the summer of 1900, Titus was an Army bugler, marching toward Peking in scorching heat as part of an international military rescue operation. Their mission was to free a group of foreigners trapped there. The Boxer Rebellion was escalating, and the 14th Infantry from the Philippines was advancing toward Peking. They were stopped by a 30 foot wall surrounding a compound where the foreigners and a group of Chinese Christians were being isolated.
The troop commander looked up at the wall and wondered aloud if it was possible to climb it. Calvin Titus spoke up, saying, “I’ll try it, Sir.” The men of his company watched as Titus made his way up the wall, placing his feet in the cavities and clinging with his fingers to the projecting bricks. Higher and higher he climbed, until he reached the top. But would danger, in the form of Chinese troops, be waiting for him there?
Calvin Titus carefully peered over the top of the wall. The Chinese soldiers had left the scene, and Titus urged his fellow soldiers to follow suit, climbing the wall to liberate those inside the compound. The Allied troops lifted the siege, the Boxer Rebellion was stopped, and Titus was a hero. His hometown of Vinton made him the guest of honor at its 1901 Independence Day celebration.
His phrase, “I’ll try, Sir,” became the motto of the 14th Infantry. In honor of his bravery, President William McKinley granted Titus a West Point commission. He later became a lieutenant colonel, and ran the Coe College ROTC program until retiring around 1930. But the president personally awarded Iowa’s Calvin Titus the Medal of Honor, on this date in 1902.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 11th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, March 10, 2025
"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.
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.
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 Sunday, March 09, 2025
"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 forThrost, 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.
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 forThrost, 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.
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 Saturday, March 08, 2025
"Marshalltown's Missing Monet"
A community theater group was rehearsing a play at the Fisher Community Center in Marshalltown late in the evening of March 19, 1987. Then they heard an alarm. A man had entered the building and used a sharp object to cut a century-old original Claude Monet painting from its frame. A watchman saw a man leave through a side door, carrying the rolled-up artwork.
The alarm was wired to the painting’s frame, and even though police arrived within a single minute, they were not able to capture the thief.
In his hurry, the thief cut a jagged edge on one side, damaging the painting, which was titled “The Fishing Boats In Front Of The Cliffs AtEtretat.” The two foot by three foot painting had hung in the center for 29 years and was valued at $175,000.
But the thief had apparently not counted on how hard it would be to sell such a unique piece of art, especially since the theft drew national attention.
Then nearly one year to the day later, on March 8, 1988, a postmaster making his rounds in nearby LeGrand found the painting in a postal drop box. Charles Polley said he thought it was a piece of trash, then realized it was a painting. He remembered police were looking for missing artwork and contacted Marshalltown postal officials, who notified police.
As Marshalltown police Lt. Darrell Templeton said at the time, “It could have been anywhere in the world, and it ended up 9 miles from here.”
Monet painted the work in 1881. For three decades, it hung on a gallery wall in Marshalltown before being stolen…and then returned nearly a year later, apparently by a remorseful thief…on this date in 1988.
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.
"Marshalltown's Missing Monet"
A community theater group was rehearsing a play at the Fisher Community Center in Marshalltown late in the evening of March 19, 1987. Then they heard an alarm. A man had entered the building and used a sharp object to cut a century-old original Claude Monet painting from its frame. A watchman saw a man leave through a side door, carrying the rolled-up artwork.
The alarm was wired to the painting’s frame, and even though police arrived within a single minute, they were not able to capture the thief.
In his hurry, the thief cut a jagged edge on one side, damaging the painting, which was titled “The Fishing Boats In Front Of The Cliffs AtEtretat.” The two foot by three foot painting had hung in the center for 29 years and was valued at $175,000.
But the thief had apparently not counted on how hard it would be to sell such a unique piece of art, especially since the theft drew national attention.
Then nearly one year to the day later, on March 8, 1988, a postmaster making his rounds in nearby LeGrand found the painting in a postal drop box. Charles Polley said he thought it was a piece of trash, then realized it was a painting. He remembered police were looking for missing artwork and contacted Marshalltown postal officials, who notified police.
As Marshalltown police Lt. Darrell Templeton said at the time, “It could have been anywhere in the world, and it ended up 9 miles from here.”
Monet painted the work in 1881. For three decades, it hung on a gallery wall in Marshalltown before being stolen…and then returned nearly a year later, apparently by a remorseful thief…on this date in 1988.
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 Friday, March 07, 2025
"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 Thursday, March 06, 2025
"A Worldwide Bounce"
In 1930, a 16-year-old from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids named George Nissen attended a circus performance. He watched as performers dropped from their trapezes up high in the big top, landing softly with a bounce on the safety net below.
And that gave the young gymnast an idea. What if there was a device that would allow a person to keep bouncing?
Nissen pursued gymnastics at the University of Iowa, winning three NCAA titles. Along the way, he and his coach, Larry Griswald, produced a prototype of a device made from angle iron, canvas, and inner tubes to give the device its bounce. The rubber parts were soon replaced by metal springs, for durability and strength.
The two started a company to promote their tumbling device in 1942. The military saw value in George Nissen’s invention as a training device for pilots. That relationship would later extend to the U.S. space program.
In 1945, Nissen got a patent for his device, which he later called a “trampoline”—a variation of the Spanish word for diving board.Trampolining was recognized as an international sport in 1962.
George Nissen toured the world promoting his trampoline…for gymnastics, as well as for its exercise benefits.
Nissen’s dream of trampolining being an Olympic sport came true in 2000; he attended those games in Australia to see it in person, at age 86. Eight years later, he had the honor of officially testing the Olympic trampoline at the Beijing games.
But it all began when Blairstown native George Nissen got a patent for his “tumbling device”—the trampoline--on this date in 1945...80 years ago today.
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.
"A Worldwide Bounce"
In 1930, a 16-year-old from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids named George Nissen attended a circus performance. He watched as performers dropped from their trapezes up high in the big top, landing softly with a bounce on the safety net below.
And that gave the young gymnast an idea. What if there was a device that would allow a person to keep bouncing?
Nissen pursued gymnastics at the University of Iowa, winning three NCAA titles. Along the way, he and his coach, Larry Griswald, produced a prototype of a device made from angle iron, canvas, and inner tubes to give the device its bounce. The rubber parts were soon replaced by metal springs, for durability and strength.
The two started a company to promote their tumbling device in 1942. The military saw value in George Nissen’s invention as a training device for pilots. That relationship would later extend to the U.S. space program.
In 1945, Nissen got a patent for his device, which he later called a “trampoline”—a variation of the Spanish word for diving board.Trampolining was recognized as an international sport in 1962.
George Nissen toured the world promoting his trampoline…for gymnastics, as well as for its exercise benefits.
Nissen’s dream of trampolining being an Olympic sport came true in 2000; he attended those games in Australia to see it in person, at age 86. Eight years later, he had the honor of officially testing the Olympic trampoline at the Beijing games.
But it all began when Blairstown native George Nissen got a patent for his “tumbling device”—the trampoline--on this date in 1945...80 years ago today.
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 Wednesday, March 05, 2025
"The World's Largest Store"
It was the depth of the Great Depression...not exactly a time to open a new retail business. But Sears, Roebuck and Company was different, and on March 5, 1936, Mason City residents saw a Sears store open in their city.
The famous Sears catalog was well known, but at that time, Sears stores had only been around for a decade.
The two-story store was located at 23 to 25 E. State Street in downtown Mason City, welcoming residents with a wide range of affordable merchandise. That year, the company's net sales totaled nearly a half billion dollars. The Mason City store was one of 440 in the U.S.
Before long, the downtown store was too small, and as part of the emerging trend toward a new concept, the shopping center, Sears moved to the new South Federal Avenue shopping center in 1959. The store was a major tenant at the shopping center, which was located on ground formerly occupied by the North Iowa Fair. The new single story, medium size store was one of 16 Sears stores that relocated to larger quarters that year alone. The new 80,000-square foot store featured a large furniture and appliance showroom, of course, but also a candy counter, employee cafeteria, and an 8-car service station. The Mason City store began the 1960s as the second largest Sears store in Iowa, employing 120 people. And as the 1990s began, Sears expanded its store in the Southport Shopping Center by taking space formerly used by two neighboring stores.
Like many famed 20th century retailers, Sears has had to reposition itself due to increased competition, including from online stores. But north Iowans were on the forefront of something new when the original Sears, Roebuck and Company store in Mason City opened on this date in 1936.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 5th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"The World's Largest Store"
It was the depth of the Great Depression...not exactly a time to open a new retail business. But Sears, Roebuck and Company was different, and on March 5, 1936, Mason City residents saw a Sears store open in their city.
The famous Sears catalog was well known, but at that time, Sears stores had only been around for a decade.
The two-story store was located at 23 to 25 E. State Street in downtown Mason City, welcoming residents with a wide range of affordable merchandise. That year, the company's net sales totaled nearly a half billion dollars. The Mason City store was one of 440 in the U.S.
Before long, the downtown store was too small, and as part of the emerging trend toward a new concept, the shopping center, Sears moved to the new South Federal Avenue shopping center in 1959. The store was a major tenant at the shopping center, which was located on ground formerly occupied by the North Iowa Fair. The new single story, medium size store was one of 16 Sears stores that relocated to larger quarters that year alone. The new 80,000-square foot store featured a large furniture and appliance showroom, of course, but also a candy counter, employee cafeteria, and an 8-car service station. The Mason City store began the 1960s as the second largest Sears store in Iowa, employing 120 people. And as the 1990s began, Sears expanded its store in the Southport Shopping Center by taking space formerly used by two neighboring stores.
Like many famed 20th century retailers, Sears has had to reposition itself due to increased competition, including from online stores. But north Iowans were on the forefront of something new when the original Sears, Roebuck and Company store in Mason City opened on this date in 1936.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 5th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Tuesday, March 04, 2025
"From Iowa Boy To President"
With a simple, "I Will", Herbert Clark Hoover took the oath of office as the 31st president from Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft, himself a former president.
For most, becoming president would be the highlight of a career resume. But not for Herbert Hoover.
Herbert Hoover was born in West Branch, Iowa on August 10, 1874. By the time he was 9, young Bertie was an orphan, and soon left Iowa to live with relatives in Oregon. He became the first student at Stanford University and became a mining engineer.
When World War I began, Hoover helped organize the return of 120,000 Americans from Europe. By war's end, Hoover was recognized around the world for spearheading global efforts to ward off famine caused by the devastation of war.
A fiscal conservative, one of Hoover's favorite sayings was, "Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt."
Both Democrats and Republicans wanted him to run for president as their respective party's nominee in 1920. Instead, he became Secretary of Commerce, and by 1928, having declared himself to be a Republican, he became his party's nominee. He was the overwhelming choice of his countrymen to lead them, winning 58 percent of the popular vote in the 1928 election.
At the time of his swearing in, Hoover could hardly have known that in only six months, the stock market would crash and the U.S. would plunge into the Great Depression. He took the blame, and was defeated in his re-election bid by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932.
But Hoover's talents were used by two other presidents: Harry Truman sought his help in feeding the hungry overseas after World War II, and both Truman and Dwight Eisenhower called upon Hoover to lead separate government reorganization efforts.
But that was all in the future, a future that was filled with hope and optimism, as the only native Iowan to become president took the oath of office on this date in 1929.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 4th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
"From Iowa Boy To President"
With a simple, "I Will", Herbert Clark Hoover took the oath of office as the 31st president from Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft, himself a former president.
For most, becoming president would be the highlight of a career resume. But not for Herbert Hoover.
Herbert Hoover was born in West Branch, Iowa on August 10, 1874. By the time he was 9, young Bertie was an orphan, and soon left Iowa to live with relatives in Oregon. He became the first student at Stanford University and became a mining engineer.
When World War I began, Hoover helped organize the return of 120,000 Americans from Europe. By war's end, Hoover was recognized around the world for spearheading global efforts to ward off famine caused by the devastation of war.
A fiscal conservative, one of Hoover's favorite sayings was, "Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt."
Both Democrats and Republicans wanted him to run for president as their respective party's nominee in 1920. Instead, he became Secretary of Commerce, and by 1928, having declared himself to be a Republican, he became his party's nominee. He was the overwhelming choice of his countrymen to lead them, winning 58 percent of the popular vote in the 1928 election.
At the time of his swearing in, Hoover could hardly have known that in only six months, the stock market would crash and the U.S. would plunge into the Great Depression. He took the blame, and was defeated in his re-election bid by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932.
But Hoover's talents were used by two other presidents: Harry Truman sought his help in feeding the hungry overseas after World War II, and both Truman and Dwight Eisenhower called upon Hoover to lead separate government reorganization efforts.
But that was all in the future, a future that was filled with hope and optimism, as the only native Iowan to become president took the oath of office on this date in 1929.
And that's Iowa Almanac for March 4th...Listen to the extended audio version of today's story by clicking on the audio player above.
Iowa Almanac for Monday, March 03, 2025
"The Courthouse Is On Fire"
Around 2 o'clock in the morning of March 3, 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 3, 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 Sunday, March 02, 2025
"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.
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.
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 Saturday, March 01, 2025
"Selling A Television Station"
On February 21, 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 1, 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 21, 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 1, 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.
