Iowans may be strapped for cash, but plans to travel are still on summertime agendas. Rather than cut warm-weather trips, many Eastern Iowans are compromising with close-to-home trips on a tighter budget.
If you’re hitting the road this weekend, expect to see a few more of your fellow Americans traveling than last Memorial Day — as well as law enforcement officers checking how fast you’re driving and if you’re wearing your seat belt.
BROOKLYN, Iowa — Audrey Carlson and Barb Cummings missed the Brooklyn exit on Highway 63. “We were way on the other side of the freeway and had to turn back,” Carlson said. The friends stopped in Brooklyn for its Community of Flags attraction. Standing underneath the flags fluttering in the wind, the two said they’re happy they added Brooklyn to their list of Iowa sites to visit.
With the cost of travel – and everything else – skyrocketing, it is a great time to discover – or rediscover – the treasures in Iowa’s backyard. From beautiful landscapes and recreational areas to museums and good eats, Eastern Iowa and neighboring Galena, Ill., has plenty of places to explore without traveling far from home.
IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa Museum of Natural History’s Tarkio Valley Sloth Project has identified a bone from a type of giant ice age sloth never before recorded in Iowa, called Paramylodon harlani.
Lambda Legal, an organization that filed the lawsuit seeking marriage rights for same-sex couples in Iowa, is encouraging couples to take extra legal steps to protect their rights. They are advising married same-sex couples to draw up health-care powers of attorney, wills and guardianships, and to carry copies with them when they leave the state.
Cedar Rapids historian Mark Stoffer Hunter talks about historic areas in flooded parts of town on a Cedar Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau bus tour.
As the Museum of Natural History kicks off its 150th anniversary celebration, officials say in a collection that numbers more than 100,000 items, the treasures extend far beyond the mysterious ice age mammal.
If you find yourself trout fishing in Iowa or simply enjoying the quiet beauty of a chilly Iowa trout stream, chances are good you’re in Allamakee County in the far northeast corner of the state. That’s especially true if majestic bluffs loom along the Mississippi River not far away and you followed a winding trail to find your secluded spot.
In addition to wildlife, environmental education and hiking, DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri Valley in Western Iowa offers a unique insight into life on the Missouri River during the 19th century. Its visitors center displays thousands of artifacts from the riverboat Bertrand, which sank more than 140 years ago. Plexiglass walls hold environmentally preserved collections of champagne, cherries, peaches and other finds.
Going the extra mile for a neighbor in need is common in Monticello. The Jones County town of about 3,800 embraces small-town friendliness.
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