One girl wanted a coat. Another wanted sparkly boots. Many of the children wanted shoes and needed socks. And their teacher, Steph Stulken, wanted them all to have everything. “I’m a true believer that you have to take care of the whole child,” said Stulken, a first-grade teacher at Johnson School of the Arts in [...]

  By John Sheda —-   My grandma taught me everything about Christmas when I was a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: “There is no Santa Claus,” she jeered. My grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. [...]

BERLIN (AP) – The hunt for the perfect Christmas tree may soon become a lot easier: just pick a nice clone. That’s what German scientists are now working on: They are searching a way to ensure that the sensitive saplings of the popular Nordmann fir species grow into impressive specimens. The fir is native to [...]

Today’s column is written by guest columnist Susan Mires: Oh, the waiting! The excruciating agony of waiting. Through long months of summer and fall for that one time of year when sugar cookies are made. Then, when it was December, Mom would let us get out the cookie cutters – tin bells, stars and trees. [...]

The poinsettia is one of the most popular potted flowers in the United States. ISU Extension horticulturists Richard Jauron and Willy Klein describe how to select a healthy plant and the care involved to keep the plant attractive through the holiday season. What should I look for when buying a poinsettia? Poinsettias are available in [...]

I gave in to peer pressure. Today was a rough day – and not just for me. It seemed everyone on the features desk was putting out small fires, so when someone mentioned craving a cookie, I mentioned that I had considered taking on a 12 Days of Christmas Cookies challenge for Everybody Eats. “That’s a [...]

  To borrow an observation: Only in America could we spend one day giving thanks for what we’ve got and then turn around and spend the next three days buying more junk. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday — before the pumpkin pie even settled, we were off to the stores again this year [...]

  MIDDLE AMANA – Christmas in the Yoder house means tradition. From the homemade stocking displayed on the staircase to the advent calendar displayed on the hall table, each holiday item in the house has a story – even the antler tree created earlier this month. The tree sits in Bill and Kristie Yoder’s dining [...]

I have a theory that every chef, home cook, culinary student or whatever has one recipe that they make very well and one that they can’t make at all. Mine is sugar cookies. For as long as I can remember, I have not been able to make a decent batch of sugar cookies. I mastered [...]

AMES — Christmas time led to a pleasant trip home for Iowa State sharp-shooting gaurd Tyrus McGee. “The weather down there was great,” said McGee, a southern Oklahoman who is shooting a team-best 46.8 percent from 3-point range. “I went down with no coat. Came back up here and had to have a coat.” It [...]