Even as late as mid-September, monarch butterflies are depositing eggs on milkweed in Eastern Iowa. If Iowa’s weather cooperates, those eggs will hatch in about four days to become tiny larvae, or caterpillars, which feast on the milkweed for two weeks before transforming into a chrysalis. More: Cicada emergence For advocates who raise monarchs indoors, […]
IOWA CITY — Proponents of clean energy see electric cars as a major piece in the battle against climate change. For the second year, the Iowa City Farmers Market will offer an opportunity for people to talk to local owners of electric vehicles, during the Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, market. Related: Find times and locations […]
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Organizers couldn’t have asked for a better night to launch a new event for the Czech Village/New Bohemia Main Street District. Clear skies and temperatures in the 70s on Friday, Sept. 6, provided the first Dinner on the Bridge of Lions with a picture-perfect evening. Main Street Executive Director Abby Huff […]
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Hundreds of veterans, family members and the public turned out to pay their respects for an Iowa sailor killed Dec. 7, 1941, in the attack on Pearl Harbor. William James Shanahan Jr., 23, of Cedar Rapids, died while serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Oklahoma. One of his sisters […]
CHELSEA, Iowa — Carefully kept records describe dinner donations from parishioners of St. Joseph’s Church for its annual Fall Festival. “Mrs. Anthony Novak: strudel, kolaches, potato salad, cream. Mrs. Jos. Musil: meatloaf, sauerkraut, potato salad. Mrs. John Sichra: loaf of rye bread, qt. pickles, 1 pie,” notes a portion of the more than 100 donations […]
UPDATED: Aug. 28, 2019, with statement from Cargill. By Cindy Hadish CEDAR RAPIDS — The City Council put the brakes on Cargill’s plan to build a railyard next to a nature corridor in a southeast Cedar Rapids residential neighborhood, at least for now. After more than 20 people spoke against the proposal during a public […]
UPDATE, Aug. 28, 2019: The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, which hosts Market After Dark, said this year’s event had a record number of attendees, at nearly 50,000. “We heard from many of the 100 Market After Dark vendors that they were sold out or nearly sold out of products well before the closing bell […]
CEDAR RAPIDS — Location, location, location. Cedar Rapids made Livibility.com‘s list of best home base cities for road trippers, but not necessarily for any attractions here. Coming in at #2, Cedar Rapids was cited for its affordable housing (the median home price is $134,0000) paired with “amazing job opportunities at Fortune 500 companies, quirky startups […]
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The popular nighttime farmers market in downtown Cedar Rapids returns Saturday, Aug. 24, for its fifth year. Market After Dark runs 6:30-11 p.m., with nearly 100 vendors selling prepared foods, honey, baked goods, flowers, clothing, handcrafted items and more. A few vendors sell fruits and vegetables, but the focus differs from […]
For the past decade, my insect nemesis has been the voracious Japanese beetle, but this summer, we’ve been battling an aphid invasion. These tiny sap-suckers are particularly fond of milkweed, the sole food source for monarch caterpillars. They appear uninterested in ironweed, (Vernonia fasciculata) and other native plants that are beneficial for pollinators. More: Differences […]