IOWA CITY — Gavin Brown faces Lauren Clapp, a Velcro paddle in his right hand. “Do it the highest as you can!” he shouts. Lauren, a sophomore at Regina High School, tosses a ball high in the air. Gavin holds the paddle out, laughing when the ball sticks to it. “My turn,” the 8-year-old cries. [...]

I received an e-mail in April from Chef Luke Peters of the Edgewood Road Hy-Vee. He was having a recipe contest at the store and asked if I’d like to be a judge. Food judging is perhaps my favorite perk of this job, so I wrote back “Yes!” and marked the date on my calendar. [...]

  IOWA CITY — The blue and white bus sat in the middle of the Ped Mall last Saturday, its new logo — Antelope Lending Library Bookmobile — encouraging people to stop and ask questions. “What it this?” “Will it work like a regular library with cards and everything?” “Do you need more books?” Antelope [...]

“You, OK? I learned it from watching you!” I was in elementary school when that anti-drug public service announcement first aired on television, but that iconic line still strikes a chord, albeit a humorous one. I’ve seen that scene parodied on TV shows and in greeting cards, and have even shouted it a few times [...]

Salsas, jams, vegetables – choose a canning category and its likely Diane Roupe has at least one blue ribbon from the Iowa State Fair in it, if not more. Not too shabby for a woman who once had very little canning experience. “My mother and my grandmother both canned, but I actually never canned myself until [...]

It is the park that shall not be named – only because it doesn’t have one. The City of North Liberty recently broke ground on a new 40-acres community park on the west side of town, near North Bend Elementary School. The park has an address – 1565 St. Andrews Drive. Now it needs a [...]

When I started working for The Gazette in January 2008, I was the community reporter. My job was to write feature stories about interesting people and places in Eastern Iowa. It was a broad job description, but one I enjoyed because I was forced to leave the comfort of the newsroom behind and into small towns [...]

Yara Shoemaker worried her husband the first time she experimented with shot glass salads. “My husband came home and he saw all those shot glasses on the counter,” Shoemaker says with a laugh during a recent phone interview. “He said, ‘Are you OK?’” A former model, aesthetician and boutique owner, Shoemaker grew up in Syria [...]

“Don’t forget, I have to work Friday night.” I said that to my husband as we were loading the dishwasher on a recent Sunday evening, enjoying the final few hours of the weekend before the busy week ahead. He noted it on the family calendar hanging in our kitchen, and then added it to his [...]

  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 [...]

Less than five years after a devastating flood caused $11 million in damages to the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, it is being honored for its service to the community. The museum is a recipient of this year’s National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the highest honor given to museums and libraries. [...]

‘Excuse me. Are you a big reader?” I asked that question several times Tuesday. The responses ranged from “Not really,” to “I used to be.” I had fewer odd looks than I expected. Most people were curious to know why I asked. Twenty paperback copies of Lisa Genova’s “Still Alice” were my answer. I was [...]

  ‘Be prepared” will soon have new meaning for members of the Cedar Rapids and Coralville police departments, former University of Iowa athletes and local celebrities. These groups will form teams of three and take on area Boy Scouts in the Hawkeye Area Council’s “Are You Tougher than a Boy Scout?” competition. Based on the [...]

I went to my son’s last parent teacher conference as a middle schooler this week. He’ll be a freshman in the fall. Wow. I don’t want to say my parents were right, but kids really do grow up fast. The teachers pulled a 12-hour+ day on Monday, so parents volunteered to bring in food so [...]

  CEDAR RAPIDS –— The African American Museum of Iowa will celebrate its 20th anniversary next week, but Executive Director Tom Moore remembers when it was a simply an idea. “We started out very small at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church,” Moore says. “It was an idea to educate our children about African American history [...]

Pizza is one of the few foods everyone likes in my house. Of course, none of us like the same toppings. B likes cheese only while E is OK with plain cheese or pepperoni. I prefer vegetarian or taco, while Scott likes meat combinations. I make homemade pizza pretty regularly, but decided to try something [...]

I decided to count my cookbook collection the other day. I stopped counting at 200. I didn’t think that sounded like a huge number. The looks I’ve gotten from friends and colleagues suggest that they don’t agree. Apparently, in an informal poll of eight people, 10 is an acceptable number of cookbooks. Acceptable is boring. [...]

CEDAR RAPIDS — When people ask Lon Peper why he wants to bring a curling club to Cedar Rapids, his answer is simple: “Because it’s not here.” Peper moved to Eastern Iowa from South Carolina in September. A member of an active curling club on the East Coast, Peper searched for a similar group here. [...]

I had a little accident in the kitchen this morning. Here’s a picture of my stove. The tea kettle and the Dutch oven are always on it because I use the kettle every morning the Dutch oven nearly every night. There’s no use putting them away. I decided to boil water for tea, so I [...]

  Chris Christensen wanted to delay getting “a real job” with a suit and a cubicle. At least that’s the joke version of why the Cedar Rapids native became a winemaker in California. In truth, it’s the combination of craftsmanship and science — two things Christensen loves — that piqued his interest. “I’ve built furniture [...]