Water extremes are starting to become the norm in Iowa. It is important to know what to do to counter the side effects of drought as well as excess water. Linn County Master Gardener Lisa Slattery fills you in on what to expect with all this moisture. Q: What are the effects of too much [...]

  Fresh produce, baked goods and live entertainment are on the agenda for Eastern Iowa’s farmers markets. Iowa City marketgoers have a new destination this year. A Mercer Park Farmers Market replaces the Sycamore Mall Farmers Market. Market attendees can expect to see some of their favorite vendors from the Sycamore Mall market, as well [...]

  Just 3 miles long and less than a mile wide, Arsenal Island in the Quad Cities has more history per square foot than almost anywhere in the Midwest. This smidgen of land in the middle of the Mississippi River played a vital role in two wars, is home to the U.S. Army’s second oldest [...]

By Deb Neyens Doug Koempel wants to make sure no one forgets Tommy Stahr and his contributions to Iowa’s rock and roll legacy. Tommy, the long-time lead guitarist for the Rubber Band, a 2010 Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, lost a long battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in September 2012. After Tommy’s death, [...]

Sam Fathallah is known around the Linn-Mar High School community as “the video guy.” Considering the camera he nearly almost always has handy and the more than 150 videos on his YouTube channel that boast a collective 124,000 views, it is clear how he’s earned the moniker. His signature style is now well-known on campus. [...]

  CEDAR RAPIDS — Kari Hamilton received her master’s degree in social work from St. Ambrose University in Davenport in May of 2012. Less than a month after graduation, she was putting her skills to use thousands of miles away in Uganda. Hamilton, of Cedar Rapids, spent four months volunteering with Children of Peace Uganda, [...]

VIDEO: The Paramount bounces back after 2008′s devastation Jim Hoffman is hoping he can “take a massive deep breath” on Nov. 4. The driving force behind the Paramount Theatre’s $35 million renovation is a bundle of energy and enthusiasm as he sits on the edge of a new and wider deep-red seat that features a [...]

  It’s as if Mother Nature woke up last weekend, saw the coming forecast and thought she’d better make sure the landscape matched the cooler fall weather. Overnight, it seems, the trees have turned from summer’s lush greens to autumn’s rich crimson, golden, burnt and plum hues. As quickly as it came, though, so it [...]

IOWA CITY – When the time came for University of Iowa Golden Girl Chelsea Russell to pass the baton – literally – she had no trouble handing it to Whittney Seckar-Anderson. Russell first met Seckar-Anderson at a competition. Seckar-Anderson was six years old. “She was performing with her twirling team and they were doing a [...]

  Some of the most accomplished cooks around — the ones willing to scout the best ingredients and splurge on the really good pots — have never put up food in jars. It’s not all that difficult to identify stumbling blocks. No family role models. Memories of seasonal family servitude. Misperception or laziness. Fear. The [...]