It was a white-knuckle drive home from Manchester to Cedar Rapids late Sunday afternoon, with torrential rains, tornado warnings and blindingly bright flashes of lightning. With rain forecast for the next four days, the fear of flooding is on the minds of many Eastern Iowans. In Manchester, I stopped at Bushel & A Peck, a […]
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Tag: Iowa
Plant swap, farmers market and gardening...
Great things are happening in Ely. This town between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City is cutting-edge when it comes to local foods, with its own farmers market, seed lending library and community gardens. Ely’s final indoor farmers market of the season is Saturday, April 26, from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Ely Public Library, […]
Wind knocks Iowa’s national champion tre
Bad news for Iowa’s national champion tree was reported, ironically, on Arbor Day. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced today that the 114-feet-tall black ash was damaged in a wind storm, ending its reign as the tallest ash in the country. Damage was discovered Thursday by a team planning to give it a preventive […]
How to celebrate Arbor Day in Eastern Io...
Arbor Day – celebrated this year on Friday, April 25 – seems to have taken a back seat to Earth Day in recent years, but at Trees Forever, every day is Arbor Day, and Earth Day, combined. In fact, the Marion-based nonprofit is marking the milestone of its 25th anniversary this year, and has openings […]
Brush fire takes life of homegrown busin...
“How is your mother?” The question was an odd way for an interview to start, as I’m usually on the other end of the queries. A photojournalist and I had traveled to the small community of Oneida in northeast Iowa to talk to Genny Bennett about her business, Oneida Nameplate Co., which makes medical alert […]
Earth-y events happening Saturday in Ced...
This Tuesday, April 22, is Earth Day, but many activities are happening Saturday, including special events in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. Backyard Abundance has its fourth annual plant sale scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 26, in Iowa City and EcoFest will take place the same day in the NewBo City […]
Noelridge Greenhouse ready to open for E...
CEDAR RAPIDS – The annual Easter showcase inside the balmy greenhouses at Noelridge Park will offer a tropical getaway for Iowans weary from an especially cold spring. Admission is free to the event on Saturday, April 19, 2014 and Sunday, April 20 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The park is at 4900 Council Street […]
Grandma’s miracle flower
Our challenges in saving the family farm continue and it looks like, despite all of our efforts, it probably won’t remain intact. I found one message of hope, however, in all of the despair that surrounds losing something you love. A little background: our uncle was living on the family farm in rural Chelsea, Iowa, […]
DNR reports first case of chronic wastin...
Bad news for Iowa’s deer. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reported today that chronic wasting disease was detected for the first time in a deer in the wild. The deer was killed in Allamakee County in December, but the announcement was not made until today. Previously, the disease – which is always fatal – […]
How to bring native pollinators back to ...
Just love this new statewide program coming from the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. The zoo is teaming up with 10 organizations to introduce Plant.Grow.Fly., a conservation effort to bring back native pollinators. Through Plant.Grow.Fly., Iowans are encouraged to plant pollinator habitat in yards, schools and businesses.