By Cindy Hadish/for Lure magazine Josh Spece, co-owner of In the Country Garden & Gifts, was on the cutting edge of a garden trend when his shop in rural Independence opened seven years ago. Fairy gardens were coming in vogue at the time and have since seen their popularity soar, moving into the mainstream with […]
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Year: 2018
Battling the return of the Japanese beet...
Hopes for a late appearance of the Japanese beetle were dashed when I saw the first cluster of the voracious pests on June 22, a few days to more than a week earlier than I’ve spotted them in the past. The excruciatingly late winter weather in Iowa, which dragged well into April, was followed by […]
Photos: Czech School students learn art ...
Master Czech Folk Artist, Marj Nejdl of Cedar Rapids, led the older division Czech School students through the steps of kraslice, the art of decorating eggs. Students learned how to use wax and dye to create designs and layers of color and even how to blow the yolk out of the eggs, at the Glovik […]
Stewarding our planet’s resources: one r
By Cindy Hadish/for Lure magazine Chris and Eryn Cronbaugh had multiple reasons to “go solar” with their home in Cedar Rapids. The two cited their concern for the environment, a stewardship of the Earth’s resources and economics behind their decision to retrofit the 1929 home with a ground mount system. “It seemed like a good […]
Cedar Rapids marking 10-year flood anniv...
By Cindy Hadish/Homegrown Iowan The coming week begins a retrospective on the 10 years that have passed since the epic 2008 floods in Eastern Iowa, including Cedar Rapids. For those who say the June 11-13 disaster was the best thing to ever happen to this city, it’s not a stretch to guess what they did, […]
Photos: St. Ludmila Kolach Festival
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The Kolach Festival has been an annual tradition at St. Ludmila’s Catholic Church for decades, first getting its start in 1938. This year’s festival, from June 8-10, 2018, was particularly poignant, as St. Ludmila’s School closed at the end of this school year, due to declining enrollment. Part of the Holy […]
Photos: Czech National Cemetery Memorial...
CEDAR RAPIDS – It’s been years since the Czech National Cemetery’s Memorial Day Service was actually held at the cemetery, at 2200 C St. SW in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Weather on Memorial Day in Iowa often fluctuates between wet and dreary and, as was the case today, hot and humid, so the St. Wenceslaus Glovik […]
Photos: Opening day at the Downtown Farm...
CEDAR RAPIDS – Organizers of the Downtown Farmers Market pushed the opening day of 2018 into May, instead of June, but the season was still off to a sultry start on Saturday, May 26. Shade and a light breeze made temperatures that soared into the 90s tolerable and market vendors saw steady crowds. Those selling […]
Inside the fairy tale rise of Iowa insec...
UPDATE: In April 2021, organic lip care brand leader, Eco Lips, acquired Simply Soothing, a fellow Iowa-based personal care company responsible for bringing Bug Soother Insect Repellent to the market. By Cindy Hadish/for the Corridor Business Journal The fairy tale success of Simply Soothing, Inc., a family-owned business based in Columbus Junction, tells only part […]
American Idol winner Maddie Poppe to per...
CEDAR RAPIDS – She was still an American Idol contestant when Maddie Poppe was announced as one of the performers at Market After Dark, the nighttime version of the Downtown Farmers Market. After being crowned the winner of this season’s American Idol on Monday, May 21, organizers of the market note that Poppe still plans […]