Cliff Easley experienced the hell of war in Vietnam, but has found a slice of heaven at his home in Iowa. Easley, 66, who served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1988, including two stints in Vietnam, was one of the first veterans in the area to benefit from a new program through Cedar [...]

Republicans will need to examine their strategy moving forward, political analysts said, as Iowa concurred with the rest of the nation in voting for a second term for President Obama. Iowa State University political science professor Steffen Schmidt pointed to the gridlock in Congress as an example of a game plan that didn’t work and [...]

  “So they stood us up against the wall, and my little cousin, who was about 6, she saw her father. … She jumped off and went to him, and this guy said ‘We are ready to shoot, what is this, the kid?’ So the German commander said ‘Oh for heavens’ sakes guys, they’re just children [...]

Sex was a taboo subject when Deb Anderson attended Clear Creek Community Schools. “You just didn’t talk about it back then,” said Anderson, 46, of North Liberty. “Growing up, I learned about it on my own.” Fast-forward 30 years and few questions are off-limits in the health course required for Clear Creek Amana sophomores, which [...]

  CEDAR RAPIDS – Health advocates are hoping to increase participation in National Walk to School Day next week. The event, set for Wednesday, Oct. 3, had 72 participating schools statewide last year. “We would like to increase participation this year to over 100 Iowa schools,” said John Phipps, program director for the Iowa Bicycle [...]

Earlier this summer, we set up a camera at the beautiful Lowe Park in Marion in hopes of recording the vegetable garden to give viewers a better understanding of how food grows. We originally hoped to offer a livestream view, but it worked out better to record footage that was developed into a time-lapse of [...]

Iowans who rely on government health care programs often turn to free clinics for basic care when they fall through the system’s cracks. Elizabeth Busler, 35, works odd jobs when she can and needs five insulin shots daily to control her diabetes. She found help as a recent enrollee in IowaCare — the state’s health care program [...]

  CRESCO — Most parents say they would do anything for their children, but how far would they actually go? Amie Phillips decided the benefits outweighed the risks when she and her unborn child became the first patients at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to undergo surgery to repair spina bifida in the womb. The [...]

  CEDAR RAPIDS – Commercial real estate broker Scott Byers is hard-pressed to think of a similar building that’s gone on the market in recent years in the Cedar Rapids area. A former house-turned funeral home known as Turner Mortuary or the George B. Douglas mansion , 800 Second Ave. SE, has been listed for sale by [...]

  CEDAR RAPIDS — No road map exists to guide families after traumatic events, said retired NASA astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly, whose wife, former U.S. representative Gabby Giffords, survived an assassination attempt. That extends to troops injured in combat and tragedies such as last month’s movie theater shooting rampage in Colorado. “I certainly feel for [...]

TIPTON — Cedar County Public Health will hold a community screening of the HBO documentary “The Weight of the Nation,” at 1 p.m. Friday at Hardacre Theater, 112 E. Fifth St. The 90-minute event will include a discussion of health issues facing Cedar County. Panelists include Mike Boyle, USDA Rural Development; Nancy Carlisle, clinical dietitian [...]

In a typical year, Iowa farmers rely on Mother Nature for enough rain to satisfy needs of the state’s corn and soybean crops. This has been anything but a typical year, causing some growers to supplement the meager rainfall with irrigation. “Some of our corn looks decent and some does not,” said Johnson County farmer [...]

4:10 UPDATE: Betty and Dean Nezerka signed up to host RAGBRAI riders this year. A lot of riders, in fact. The husband-wife duo got up early Thursday morning to do the final preparations before support groups and riders rolled into their backyard. This year, there will be 53 tents and 78 people camping out in their backyard [...]

Iowa State University Extension & Outreach (ISUEO) is hosting several live free presentations dealing with the current drought conditions. The first one is today (Friday, July 20) from noon to 1 p.m., and deals with commercial and consumer horticulture. There will be a FAQ session after each webcast to answer questions raised during the presentation, [...]

You don’t have to be Czech to enjoy this weekend’s celebration in Czech Village. The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library reopened its doors to throngs of visitors Saturday, four years and one month after the Floods of 2008. Events continue today. “We’re Irish – very Irish,” said Tiernan Dolan, 55, of Cedar Rapids, [...]

Deegan Mizaur’s heart-melting smiles, sweet babbles and unending curiosity belie his traumatic start in life. Born without a pulse during an emergency C-section in October, Deegan was revived and immediately placed in a cooling blanket in hopes of minimizing potential disabilities. “They didn’t think he’d survive the first night,” said his mother, Graham Ziese, 30, of [...]

Following a nationwide search, Czech Village/New Bohemia Main Street District has selected Jennifer Pruden as executive director. Pruden holds a master’s degree in Historic Preservation from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has served on the board of directors, Master Plan Steering Committee and Urban Living Committee of Downtown Eau Claire Inc. [...]

  CEDAR RAPIDS — A hard hat on the file cabinet in Gail Naughton’s new office serves as a reminder of her past four years with the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library . While she no longer has a need for it, the white construction hat also reminds Naughton — the museum’s CEO and president [...]

CEDAR RAPIDS — The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library ’s expanded building, 1400 Inspiration Place SW, is not the only property owned by the museum in Czech Village . President and CEO Gail Naughton said the museum purchased the Joens Bros./Kuncl Mall building, 59 16th Ave. SW, this spring. The building, with 70-linear feet of storefront, could have [...]