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The holiday season is here. If you are in the mood to give gifts to family and friends, buy local. You can also prove to family and friends living outside of the state why Iowa Made products are the best. Here is a list of great products made in the Hawkeye State....
Iowa is famous for quality beef, which you can find in great burger spots all around the state. It’s easy to find the popular ones in and around Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Iowa’s other large cities, but finding an awesome burger in Iowa’s small towns is a little...
Since 2007, Record Store Day occurs each year on one Saturday in April and every Black Friday after Thanksgiving. This celebration of independent record stores and their distinctive culture seeks to bring together fans and artists, especially those who want vinyl....
Iowa is famous for its charming small towns and farms, home to beautiful rolling hills and picturesque prairies. But Iowa is also home to a strong entrepreneurial spirit, which we find both in the farms and fields and in cities. Innovative Iowans have given us...
Whether you are going it alone or you and your family would rather simply skip the hoopla of preparing Thanksgiving dinner and go out to eat, you will find several places in Iowa to enjoy dinner on Thanksgiving. You can always find some national chains that are open...
The Great River Road runs the entire length of the Mighty Mississippi, from northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. The river serves as the entire eastern border of Iowa and gives residents and visitors 328 miles of historic towns and panoramic views of the lengthy...
While election deniers were rejected in high-profile races around the country last week, Iowa will see several 2020 conspiracy theorists arrive (or return) in the state legislature this coming January. In local races that saw less scrutiny than statewide contests in...
You hate to cook. You’re a bad cook. You have to work. You are too busy with other things. You don’t have the help you need. You have a huge family. You have a small family. You would rather spend your time with your family than in the kitchen. You would rather argue...
What year did Iowa become a state? 1846 1833 1852 1861 The world's first electronic digital computer was built at which Iowa college in the 1930s? Iowa State University University of Iowa University of Northern Iowa Grinnell College Who was the first governor of Iowa?...
Republicans cruised to large victories in multiple statewide races Tuesday evening, while also defending their three congressional districts and maybe capturing all four. Zach Nunn claimed victory Tuesday night, although incumbent Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne is waiting...
In the final days and weeks before the election, Republicans have pivoted to an old but effective tactic: Bringing up crime rates and blaming Democrats and their policies for the rise. “The chickens have come home to roost for the anti-law enforcement movement....
Part of the fun of going for a Sunday drive or taking a road trip to a new place is seeing unique, funny, and simply weird names for villages, cities, and towns. Sometimes names come from other countries and languages. Other times they are named for people or an...
Iowa Republicans have honed in on a message to finish the campaign season: Chaos, uncontrolled crime, inflation, and blaming Democrats. Rather than talk about solutions or better alternatives, they’re trotting out the familiar talking points and whipping up division....
Iowa offers so many things to see and do for residents and visitors alike—you know it and we know it. We’re so much more than political caucuses, corn fields, and being the nation’s top pork producer. That’s why when out-of-state friends come into town, we try to go...
If there's one constant in Iowa politics, it's this: We're always in the middle of everything. Despite many analysts and operatives' attempts to write Iowa off of the competitive 2022 battleground map, there's late momentum and intrigue growing on the ground in the...
The holiday shopping and travel season are coming, so spending a huge amount on a fall getaway isn’t exactly ideal. Fortunately, you don’t have to miss retreating into the crisp autumn air, enjoying the harvest season, and watching the leaves changing color on the...
People who deny that Joe Biden is the President of the United States aren't just a fringe group in Arizona or Florida anymore. They're right here in Iowa—and they want to be in the Iowa Legislature. You might remember the traveling Ohio math professor peddling the Big...
Small, rural food processors just got another big boost of support from the Biden Administration with the Friday announcement of a new loan program to increase production capacity. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an $11.1 million loan for Crystal...
Pet owners know the look well: Just as you’re handing over your dog’s leash to the kind caretaker at the boarding facility because you’re getting ready to leave town for a fun trip, Bingo turns to you, his eyes staring you down. They say: How dare you abandon me. It...
Nearly 180 public unions in Iowa are currently in the midst of being forced to vote on keeping their union, or else the state will take it away. It's called "recertification," and it's mandatory of certain public unions in Iowa since the Republican-majority...
If you've ever been denied overtime pay or been paid less than minimum wage, it's likely you've been a victim of wage theft, which a new report shows has grown to become a nearly billion-dollar problem in Iowa. According to Common Good Iowa, employers were stealing...
Coastal folks sometimes refer to Iowa as a flyover state. To live in or have visited Iowa is to know all the exciting, beautiful, and fun destinations across the Hawkeye State. What’s more is that many of the activities and must-visit destinations in Iowa are free....
Second in a two-part series on Dollar General coming into rural Iowa towns, and how rural grocers can still compete with them. Read Part 1 here. When Dollar General opened a store in Paullina, a small Northwest Iowa town, in 2018, Prairie Market Owner Laura Palmer...
Did you know that voluntary scary experiences increase your mood? This is especially true for those who are challenging or facing their fear when they enter a haunted house or other scary attraction. That's according to a team of researchers from the University of...
First in a two-part series on Dollar General coming into rural Iowa towns, and how rural grocers can still compete with them. Read Part 2 here. Scott Vogelaar started working at his parents' grocery store, Sanborn Foods, when he was 12 years old. Around 11 years ago,...
As far as fall family outings go, hunting for the best pumpkins to decorate and carve is a must. Sure, you could buy a pumpkin at some big-box store, but that’s no fun. Iowa has dozens of pumpkin patches throughout the state, and those farmers deserve your support. ...
Over the last few months, the Starting Line team has noticed an interesting trend in Iowa social media: Stories about electric vehicles drive huge engagement and draw intense debate among supporters and detractors, mostly on Facebook. And while wild comment threads on...
Spending time with family and friends while sipping a delicious craft beer is fun all year round. But something about the leaves changing color, the crisp air, and knowing winter is on its way makes celebrating beer in the fall more special. Whether you prefer a...
Corn is king in Iowa. Look out any window or drive outside of the city, and it is the landscape. While it is used in a variety of products ranging from corn syrup to livestock feed to ethanol, another other important corn product is made in Iowa: Popcorn! Iowa is one...
In the midst of running her first Iowa Senate campaign, Deb VanderGaast had another big life change to deal with: Closing Tipton Adaptive Daycare, her disability-friendly daycare of 17 years. VanderGaast, a 54-year-old Tipton resident, talked about the ways she'd...
