Heavy rains and mild flooding earlier this month left standing water across parts of Iowa, a condition ripe for mosquitos and the spread of the West Nile virus. Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey recently urged horse owners to make sure their animals have been vaccinated against the West Nile virus. Local equine veterinarians say [...]

  A nonprofit for nonprofits is in need of a permanent space. The Animal Resource Foundation of Iowa has served as the Iowa affiliate of Rescue Bank National for nearly two years. This program works directly with pet food manufacturers to distribute donated pet food to reputable pet rescue groups and animal shelters. “When a [...]

  MARION — Larry Hoffman will never forget his first bicycle. The year was 1948. A trip to Hebron, Neb., led to the purchase of a 1943 U.S. Army bicycle. “My dad bought it in a junkyard after World War II,” Hoffman says. While the U.S. Army had used bicycles before World War II, they [...]

  CEDAR RAPIDS — At first glance, the concrete flowers, vines and leaves of the plaster mural wrapping around the walls of Brucemore’s sleeping porch are beautiful. Look closer. The mural is whimsical, too. Exotic birds and squirrels perch on several branches while a tiny mouse hides underneath a window. “I still find things I [...]

  IOWA CITY — A few summer showers couldn’t dampen their pride. Rainbow umbrellas dotted downtown Iowa City, which quickly were replaced by rainbow flags as the sun began to shine. “To fight for the right to be yourself it’s important to show up,” said Jewell Amos, chair of Iowa City Pride. “Water is nothing [...]

The door between the bank and the theater opened onto a food related business more often than anything else. As far back as 1918, 310 Third Ave. SE was Sleight’s Restaurant. W.L. Sleight and his son ran the restaurant for a little more than a year, but on April 1, 1919, patrons were given notice [...]

Pedal cars and ambulance tours are not a part of a normal summer camp experience – but are mainstays of the two-week long annual camp called Safety Village in Iowa City. Children ages 5, 6 and 7 get the opportunity to learn about safety through hands-on presentations, demonstrations by groups like local law enforcement, ambulance services and Mercy [...]

Plans to travel across the country were put on hold when images from Moore, Okla., came across Juanita Limas’s TV screen. “I had an extensive summer vacation already planned,” Limas said. “I was going to travel across the country and go backpacking and sightseeing for a few weeks but after seeing the coverage on the [...]

Just as Osgood Shepherd is credited with building the first cabin on the east side of the Red Cedar River, a pioneer named William Stone is believed to be the first pioneer on the west side of the river. For a time, there were two towns on the Cedar River at the river’s rapids, one [...]

  MARION — Luke, a 1- year-old golden retriever, trotted along the dog park walking trail on a sunny Saturday morning, stopped occasionally for a greeting sniff from a Labrador or corgi that gallop up to him. His owners, Leslie and Mike Buscher, were a few paces behind with their grandchildren and golden retrievers, 5-month-old [...]