Iowans are warned every Fourth of July about the risks of losing fingers or hands to fireworks, but explosives can also do serious damage to eyesight, even causing blindness. Doctor Rao Chundury, an ophthalmologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, says last Independence Day … [Read more...]
Keokuk leaders appeal for help rebuilding road to Civil War-era cemetery
Iowa's only national cemetery, created by President Lincoln during the Civil War, is said to be a beautiful, peaceful place, but the street leading to the manicured graveyard is a pot-holed moonscape. Keokuk Mayor Kathie Mahoney is making an appeal for money to replace the eight blocks of road, … [Read more...]
Thousands of classic cars expected at weekend Heartland Nationals
For Iowans who love glistening paint, shiny chrome and loud engines, one of the Midwest's largest car shows will take over the Iowa State Fairgrounds this holiday weekend. Stephanie Schoennagel, spokeswoman for the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association, says this will mark the 31st annual … [Read more...]
Consumer Protection Division sees solar power complaints shoot up
The consumer protection division of the Iowa Attorney General's office is seeing a dramatic upturn in complaints about solar energy companies in recent months. AG's spokesman Lynn Hicks says people go into the endeavor hoping to lower their energy bills, but some are finding more costs and … [Read more...]
Senator Grassley comments on potential for other U.S. Supreme Court cases
Some demonstrators at weekend Iowa rallies expressed concern issues like same-sex marriage or contraception might be next to be revisited by the U.S. Supreme Court, after last week's rulings on guns and abortion. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley doubts such issues would be reconsidered by the high … [Read more...]
Unique exhibit features the work of Van Goh in Council Bluffs
An immersive art exhibit is bringing its global tour to southwest Iowa, showcasing the work of Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh. The high-tech display features 300 of Van Gogh's works projected on 50-thousand square feet of walls, floors and ceilings at the Mid-America Center in … [Read more...]
AAA Iowa predicts lots of people traveling for 4th of July
Travel industry experts predict the upcoming Fourth of July holiday will be the busiest-ever for travel by car, truck, SUV and van in Iowa and nationwide, despite record or near-record gasoline prices. Meredith Mitts, spokeswoman for AAA-Iowa, says the forecast predicts nearly 48-million people … [Read more...]
Cedar Falls boy turns love of cats into book
It's said writers should write about what they know, and a Cedar Falls youngster who loves cats is releasing his first book, "Pet That Cat!", based on his popular Instagram and Twitter accounts. Twelve-year-old Nigel Kidd says it's a how-to handbook for making feline friends. Kidd says cats are … [Read more...]
Wine from Iowa State University grown grapes now available
The next must-have hot commodity for Iowa State University fans and graduates could be a cool glass of ISU-grown and produced wine. Jennie Savits, an enology program specialist at the ISU-based Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute, says they have several hundred bottles of the very first … [Read more...]
Iowa joins network to track animal and insect migration patterns
Iowa is now part of an international network of radio receiver stations, stretching from Canada to South America, tracking long-distance migration patterns of birds, bats and insects. Anna Buckardt Thomas, an avian ecologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says it's called the … [Read more...]