CEDAR RAPIDS – Thousands of Iowans withstood sweltering heat to hear from nearly half of potential Democratic presidential candidates during the fifth annual Progress Iowa Corn Feed on Sunday, July 14. Though initially with 12 confirmed candidates, two didn’t make the event: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who left Iowa to address a […]
CEDAR RAPIDS — In its early years, the Czech School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, ended sessions with an ice cream social, a tradition that continues today. Past students recalled the socials held along the banks of the Cedar River, behind the school on Second Street SE. The school building is no longer used for Czech […]
INDEPENDENCE, Iowa — The Spece family has held their Hosta and Dessert Social for nearly 15 years, but the event later this month offers up a different type of treat. “We’ve never brought in a famous speaker before,” said Josh Spece, co-owner of In the Country Garden & Gifts, in rural Independence, Iowa. “This is […]
The buzzing of cicadas provides the quintessential sounds of a midsummer’s night in Iowa. A bulk of periodical cicadas, which emerge en masse every 17 years, is scheduled to make an appearance in Iowa again in 2031, but annual cicadas can be heard every summer in many parts of the state. Entomologist Donald Lewis, of […]
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Sultry weather didn’t appear to diminish the crowds or spirits of the participants in Saturday’s Freedom Festival Parade. Temperatures that reached the 90s, teamed with high humidity, led some families to stake out shade along the route through New Bohemia and Czech Village as early as two hours before the parade’s […]
Pale purple coneflower, the bright yellow of oxeye sunflower and more muted yarrow bloom among native plants in a newly dedicated prairie at Squaw Creek Park in Marion. The 6.6-acre site was formally dedicated Tuesday, June 25, as the Orlan Love Prairie, named in honor of Love, a Gazette reporter and columnist for 24 years. […]
(UPDATE: A short-lived reprieve; first two Japanese beetles of the season spotted on our raspberry bushes on June 26.) The first Japanese beetles of the season are typically spotted around this time in east-central Iowa, but so far there appear to be no signs of the voracious invaders, at least in our Cedar Rapids gardens. […]
Both the Linn County Master Gardeners and Project GREEN have garden walks scheduled for July, with significant changes this time. The 2019 Linn County Garden Walk, set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 13, will be free this year. Not only will there be no charge for admission, but tour-takers who visit all […]
VINTON — Sharon Happel has long pondered the question: How do you encourage the community to take ownership of a community asset? Such has been the conundrum with the historic Ray House in Vinton, Iowa, one of three properties owned by the Benton County Historical Society, and the most expensive to maintain. Related: Couple leaves […]
Its flowering season is fleeting, but catch the scent of a linden tree in mid-June and the rewards are extraordinary. With fragrance akin to a lily, but not as overpowering as some, lindens embody the spirit of the dawning summer in Iowa. The tree — called lípa in Czech — is not only the national […]