CEDAR RAPIDS – A week’s delay in this year’s scheduled date for Houby Days translated into picture-perfect weather for the three-day festival. Carnival rides, live music, and of course, the festival’s Czech namesake – mushrooms – drew large crowds to Czech Village in Cedar Rapids. The event kicked off on Friday, May 20, with a […]
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Tag: Iowa
March against Monsanto in the Heartland
By Cindy Hadish/Homegrown Iowan Cedar Rapids-area residents joined in global efforts Saturday, May 21, 2016, during the March Against Monsanto. More than two dozen people were joined in the march by candidates Tom Fiegen, who is hoping to unseat Republican Senator Chuck Grassley in this fall’s election, and Joe Stutler, who is challenging Joel Miller […]
Lion Bridge features mushroom beer for H...
CEDAR RAPIDS – Lion Bridge Brewing Co., in Czech Village, is combining two things that many Iowans love: beer and mushrooms. Mushroom beer has become somewhat of a tradition for the neighborhood brewery during the annual Houby Days celebration, happening May 20-22, 2016. And this time, they’re doing it twice. Chanterelle Disaster (Mushroom Porter, 5.8%) […]
Houby Days mushroom festival begins May ...
By Cindy Hadish/Homegrown Iowan CEDAR RAPIDS — This year’s Houby Days is scheduled a bit later than in years past, but given this weekend’s forecast, that might be fortunate. Hopefully by the time the annual mushroom festival begins later this month, the weather will be looking up. Houby, the Czech word for mushrooms, are central […]
Market After Dark returning to downtown ...
By Cindy Hadish/for the Corridor Business Journal An experiment with an unconventional farmers market is moving to the next phase after a wildly successful trial run. Market After Dark, which debuted last August in downtown Cedar Rapids, will be repeated this summer with some tweaks, said Melissa McCarville, communications manager for the Cedar Rapids Metro […]
Heeding the Three Kings frost warning
With temperatures expected to hit the 80s in Iowa today, it might seem that the risk of frost is far behind for this season. But it’s often prudent to heed the Three Kings frost warning, regardless. According to the Czech legend, the three kings or saints – Pankrac on May 12, Servac on May 13 […]
Milkweed plants at Noelridge Mother’s Da
UPDATE (May 2, 2016): The city sent out a corrected press release to note that visitors don’t need to make a purchase to take home a free milkweed plant and also changes the schedule of events. Original post: Mother’s Day this year falls on Sunday, May 8, the earliest date possible for the celebration, which […]
Plant sales sprout in Eastern Iowa
We’ve been fortunate to experience beautiful weather this spring and recent rains should boost those seeds planted outdoors. If you’re looking for your own gardening boost, a number of plant sales scheduled in the coming weeks should do the trick. Master gardeners and other organizations sell perennials such as hosta and daylillies, along with vegetable […]
Photo gallery: EcoFest 2016
Pollinators have been a worthy focus of habitat restoration efforts, one of the themes at this year’s EcoFest in the New Bohemia area of Cedar Rapids. Members of Monarchs in Eastern Iowa, along with numerous willing young volunteers, made milkweed seed balls during the event, which will be used by RAGBRAI riders to spread across […]
Beauty of weeds in the eye of the “bee”h
Overnight, my yard has exploded into a sea of yellow. Rather than go through my usual, futile, efforts to eradicate the dandelions this year, though, I’m turning them over to the bees. Dandelions are among the early plants that provide pollen and nectar for bees when they emerge in the spring. Increasingly, more people are […]










