Events

Iowans You Should Know: Stories from the Iowa Almanac (new in 2021)Did you know that the Eskimo Pie® was invented in Iowa? So was the electric razor, the clip-on bow tie, and the self-filling fountain pen. Iowa was also the childhood home of four Academy Award®-winning performers, and three different Iowa-born musical acts had national #1 […]

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BethHoffman was living the good life: she had a career as a journalist andprofessor, and a comfortable home in San Francisco. Yet in her late 40s, sheand her husband decided to leave the big city and move to his family farm inIowa—all for the dream of becoming a farmer, to put into practice everythingshe had […]

Iowa’s Ethnic Heritage, or “Who Do You Think We Are?”Enjoy the unfolding and changing adventure of Iowa’s immigration history. Beginning with the Ioway, one of 17 distinctive indigenous tribal groups, we’ll trace chronologically who we are as Iowans. From Spanish explorers and French trappers, traders and priests; to the dominant English, Germans and Irish; to Scandinavians, Dutch […]

Savor Iowa’s Culinary History Savor Iowa’s amazing food heritage! Iowa’s delectable cuisine is quintessentially Midwestern, grounded in its rich farming heritage and spiced with diverse ethnic influences. From the chili-and-cinnamon-rolls phenomenon to Maid-Rites to the moveable feast known as RAGBRAI, discover the remarkable stories behind Iowa classics and savor a smorgasbord of other unique Iowa […]

Glimpses of Iowa’s Capitol: Its History, Art, Architecture and RestorationJoin former state restoration painter, Rosa Snyder, as she divulges untold stories and reveals hidden treasures of Iowa’s most recognized landmark. When the building was constructed back in the 1870s-1880s almost every one of the 120 rooms was decorated with intricate designs on the ceilings and […]

Off the Map: Stories of Abandoned and Disappearing Towns Around IowaThousands of towns and communities were established during Iowa’s pioneer and railroad era. In some instances, they were small towns built around the time of the height of a coal industry that just could not thrive while others supplemented the needs of the countless farmers, […]

Working with the Enemy: German, Italian and Japanese Prisoners of War in Iowa during the Second World WarAs part of a relatively quiet and under-publicized government program, thousands of enemy soldiers invaded Iowa in 1943. With the hugely successful 1942 Allied campaign against Adolf Hitler’s vaunted Afrika Corps in North Africa, the number of enemy […]

Iowa’s Cultural KaleidoscopeThis program presents a rich selection of photographic images that document recent immigration to Iowa from areas as diverse as Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Iowa’s Cultural KaleidoscopeThis program presents a rich selection of photographic images that document recent immigration to Iowa from areas as diverse as Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Lewis and Clark in Iowa“Lewis and Clark in Iowa” begins with the story before the expedition: the sale of the Louisiana Purchase to the United States. Tracing the 1803 course from Elizabeth, Pennsylvania to St. Charles, Missouri, Shurr discusses the background of the many “players” of the expedition including York, the engages and Seaman. Moving […]

Beth Hoffman was living the good life: she had a career as a journalist and professor, and a comfortable home in San Francisco. Yet in her late 40s, she and her husband decided to leave the big city and move to his family farm in Iowa—all for the dream of becoming a farmer, to put […]