Fort Lauderdale looks to lure in Hawkeye fans

Tens of thousands of Iowans will head southeast to see the Orange Bowl in Miami in a few weeks and a nearby community is trying to lure them to stay longer. Besides the football game, Fort Lauderdale is campaigning for Hawkeye fans to hang around and indulge in the things that can’t usually be done in Iowa in December — like surfing, scuba diving, kite surfing or playing golf on one of the 56 area golf courses. Francine Mason, of Fort Lauderdale’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, says south Florida is a tempting getaway for frozen Iowans.Mason says the wives of all those Iowa football fans who aren’t into watching the game can easily keep themselves occupied. Mason says Lauderdale’s also home to the world’s largest designer outlet mall with more than 400 stores. For more information, the city’s website is “www.sunny.org.”