Exactly 50 years ago today, Soviet Premier and Cold War Villain Nikita Khrushchev was denied a visit to Disneyland. He was in Southern California as part of a cross-country tour of the U.S.A.* (Can you imagine an enemy of the US doing that today?). The reasons for the denial? Security Logistics and Time Limitations (you have to devote a whole day for The Magic Kingdom). Instead, he visited a sound stage at 20th Century Fox (shooting "Can Can") and a housing development in a San Fernando Valley suburb. The next day, he got a warmer, but semi-stunned, reception in San Luis Obispo, CA. Not the only place that welcomed him. Farmers in Coon Rapids, Iowa were happy to show off American agriculture in an event recently commemorated.
*Look Inside book at Amazon link for more content. Also lots more coverage in the L.A. Times' Nostalgia Blog)
posted by wendell on Sep 19, 2009 - 32 comments

First, there was the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. Now, everyone's favorite super-premium conglomerate-owned sticking-to-its-righteous-roots ice cream company has transformed "Chubby Hubby" into Hubby Hubby (only in VT, only for September), in support of same sex marriage, which is legal in Vermont as of this month. No word yet whether Iowa-based Winnebago will follow suit with a specially-named RV.
posted by ericbop on Sep 3, 2009 - 46 comments

'Artisanal butters' are favored and appreciated by cooks and gourmands -- especially those crafted by "garage entrepreneurs" from Maine [video]* and Vermont (churned by Diane St. Clair and favored by Thomas Keller at his noted restaurants, The French Laundry and Per Se). Butters from Canada, France, Ireland and elsewhere are also cherished. [more inside]
posted by ericb on Aug 2, 2009 - 36 comments

It's nearly state fair time and you know what that means - Butter Sculptures! Yes, year after year several fairs contract with artists to sculpt meltable works of art. Perhaps the most famous is the Iowa State Butter Cow, carved year after year since the early 1900s. Of course, with butter art comes rivalry. Not to be outdone, state fairs in Minnesota, Texas, New York...oh, the list is long...each display these chilled masterpieces. However, this year Iowa has taken the rivalry to a new level and not without controversy - The Iowa State Fair has decided that this year they will do a Butter Michael Jackson.
posted by Muddler on Jul 2, 2009 - 23 comments

Los Marauders live on Public Access TV [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue on May 4, 2009 - 4 comments

Today, the Vermont Legislature voted to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill allowing same sex marriage, making Vermont the 4th state in the nation (and the second state this week) to legalize same sex marriage. Vermont is the first state to do it legislatively; it happened in the other three states via court ruling.
posted by booksherpa on Apr 7, 2009 - 252 comments

The Iowa Supreme Court has just unanimously declared the state's ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional. "The decision strikes the language from Iowa Code section 595.2 limiting civil marriage to a man and a woman. It further directs that the remaining statutory language be interpreted and applied in a manner allowing gay and lesbian people full access to the institution of civil marriage." (full summary PDF) The ruling effectively legalizes same-sex marriage in the state of Iowa.
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Apr 3, 2009 - 221 comments

A recently divulged casualty of the Iowa floods (previously covered on Mefi here) is the Mighty Wurlitzer organ at the Paramount Theater. The pictures are pretty awful, and the video is even worse. If you grew up in Cedar Rapids any time in the last 80 years, you'll have heard the Wurlitzer on at least one occasion. Cedar Rapidians are vowing to "Return and Rebuild". [more inside]
posted by thanotopsis on Jun 20, 2008 - 5 comments

Hoping for the best for Mefites in eastern Iowa. I was CR born and raised, and just watching the feed on KCRG is ...disturbing. It looks like the height of the Cedar River is estimated at 25.4 feet, and it hasn't crested yet. They've lost a railroad bridge downtown so far, and the news feed keeps tracking the rise of the river by standing outside the studio and watching the water approaching. [more inside]
posted by thanotopsis on Jun 12, 2008 - 53 comments

The (U.S.) National Weather Service has released its report on a strong tornado that occured in Iowa the evening of May 25th. On the evening of May 25th, 2008 a tornado rated at EF5 (estimated wind speed was around 205 MPH!!) obliterated half of the town of Parkersburg, Iowa. Eight people have died, and 70 were injured. Here is a PDF containing incredible pictures of the damage (taken by employees of the NWS during their survey). [more inside]
posted by ArgentCorvid on Jun 4, 2008 - 36 comments

…you are brilliant and subtle if you come from Iowa and really strange and you live as you live and you are always well taken care of if you come from Iowa. [more inside]
posted by quadog on Dec 18, 2007 - 52 comments

The times, they are a-changing? [pdf]: A Survey of Iowa State University Students' preferences in the presidential primaries. [spoilers inside] [more inside]
posted by orthogonality on Nov 27, 2007 - 47 comments

Undular Bore Waves
posted by geos on Oct 19, 2007 - 17 comments

The latest victory for gay rights occurs in ... Iowa?
posted by kyrademon on Aug 31, 2007 - 82 comments

Blandlands. Videoblogger Aaron Valdez (previously) has entered his minimalist phase. These short, wordless scenes of suburban landscapes are quiet meditations on beauty and decay. Great for people who don't have windows in their offices. Other Valdez offerings include The Life and Times of Robert Kennedy Starring Gary Cooper, America's Way, and Subterranean Homesick 41 Frame Delay Blues.
posted by roll truck roll on Feb 9, 2007 - 7 comments

Paco Rosic is nearing completion of a one-half scale replica of the Sistine Chapel in Waterloo, Iowa - all painted with about 2,000 cans of spray paint.
posted by madamjujujive on Oct 1, 2006 - 5 comments

"I would have your wife right in front of you. I would smoke the last of your glaucoma medication. Then I will surely drink your liquor cabinet dry. However, know this my friend. I will never break an oath to uphold the public trust. My affidavit will be signed in my own blood. A Pirates crimson mark, with real binding effects into my after life. Laugh if you will then ask yourself if you could do it." James Hill is running for congress in Iowa's first district. He accepts no money from anybody.
posted by Navelgazer on Aug 25, 2006 - 54 comments

Why did I annoy that black squirrel in Council Bluffs? I hope they don't put me in their special haunted jail.
posted by Astro Zombie on Aug 21, 2006 - 15 comments

Explosion at Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Interesting to note, this plant which is just a few miles from my hometown remained relatively dormant after the cold war ended.
posted by Tablecrumbs on Jun 13, 2006 - 40 comments

The Oxford Project: in 1984, Peter Feldstein photographed every single citizen in the town of Oxford, Iowa (676 pictures in all). In 2006, he attempts to do it again.
posted by JPowers on Jun 6, 2006 - 24 comments

The vision: a federally funded 5-acre enclosed rainforest, supposedly the world's largest, will make Coralville, Iowa into a world-class destination city and ignite the imagination of its heretofore benighted citizens. The problem: a federally funded rainforest. In Iowa. Read some entertaining background and analysis on the inspiring project here and here.
posted by thirteenkiller on Jan 13, 2006 - 36 comments

Whatever happened to Howard Dean?

"He was assassinated by Bill and Hillary with the assistance of Chris Lehane, the political hit man who first worked for Kerry and now backs Clark.
Desperate to keep control of the Democratic Party, the Clintons used their negative researchers and detectives to the ultimate and generated a story-a-day savaging Dean. The Vermont governor, not ready for prime time, cooperated by being thin-skinned, surly and combative. "

caveat: I'm not trolling, but as a democrat I find this interesting. Ok, nauseating.
posted by mecran01 on Jan 24, 2004 - 102 comments

Exit polls are back from the dead. After a total failure in both the 2000 and 2002, exit polls return to the national election scene, with the Iowa caucus exit poll results (PDF). But can the new team overcome the strong distrust of the previous organization?
posted by calwatch on Jan 19, 2004 - 7 comments

Scott County, Iowa A very informative website about Scott County, Iowa. Including, but not limited to, Meet Meet Your Motor Grader Operator and Scott County's most wanted.
posted by lazy-ville on Oct 7, 2003 - 10 comments

For students in one Iowa school district this year, it's "sit down, shut up and eat your lunch." The principal says it curbs the noise level and makes sure kids eat all of their meal. Because if there's one thing this country (not to mention the rest of the world) needs, it's more fat kids.
posted by emelenjr on Aug 21, 2003 - 53 comments

RAGBRAI (the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa). Perhaps a better way to experience Iowa than the CornCam... or consider smaller rides.
posted by weston on Jul 24, 2003 - 13 comments

No winner in MoveOn primary... but Dean places first, with 4387%. No candidate getting over 50% means no endorsement for now. But more people voted in this virtual Democratic primary than voted in the New Hampshire, Iowa, and North Carolina Democratic primaries/caucuses in 2000.
posted by Artifice_Eternity on Jun 27, 2003 - 67 comments

For decades, Iowans found jobs making atomic bombs and non-nuclear weaponry at the Middletown Ammunition Plant. Now their bodies are paying a heavy price.. According to today's installment, the US government and other groups denied knowledge of this plants' role in our nuclear history.
posted by justlisa on Dec 23, 2002 - 2 comments

Remember this thread regarding Planned Parenthood of Iowa, confidentiality and a murder investigation? The county attorney has now dropped the case due to lack of resources. I was looking forward to the ruling on this one.
posted by justlisa on Oct 9, 2002 - 4 comments

"we're good at growing hogs, and we ought to be selling our hogs all across the world." Bush stumps at Pork Party about nixing the Estate Tax.
posted by crasspastor on Jun 8, 2002 - 33 comments

The 14th annual World Pork Expo starts today in Des Moines. 50,000 visitors and people from 50 countries are expected to be in attendance this weekend. Also in attendance will be George W. Bush.
posted by Kevin Sanders on Jun 6, 2002 - 15 comments

Ronald Reagan is joining the war on speeders in Malvern, IA. "Someone had put a dummy in there with a uniform and he has a big smile on his face," City Clerk Julie Powles said. I don't think it's very nice to call a former president a dummy, though.
posted by Kevin Sanders on May 22, 2002 - 2 comments

Mailbox bomber at large. "More than a half-dozen pipe bombs were placed in rural mailboxes in Illinois and Iowa on Friday, and at least two people were injured in explosions, the post office said." Part of the note that accompanied the bomb said "PS. More info. will be delivered to various locations around the country." If you live in the midwest, be careful.
posted by Kevin Sanders on May 3, 2002 - 19 comments

Art Fights Back — an exhibit of poster art at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa — displays images dedicated to the memory of September 11 and support of the Unites States and its troops. Seems like a typical thing to do around war time, right?

Take a close look at the actual poster design. Don't they seem rather non-American in their artistic style? In fact, they recall an era of poster design for a dramatically different context than what was typically thought of as U.S. patriotism.
posted by Down10 on Mar 11, 2002 - 39 comments

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack received a bill Wednesday that would make English the official language of the state May be in violation of US law, but that aside for the moment, is this a good or bad idea?
posted by Postroad on Feb 28, 2002 - 48 comments

Iowa Businessman Bob Vander Plaats announced his campaign for governor saying he wants to "run government like a business," according to the Des Moines Register. The Quad City Times notes that Vander Platt says his management experience "forms the foundation of his run for the GOP nomination." Taegan Goddard and Chris Riback say in an essay from their book that you can't run government like a business. Who is right?
posted by flip on Oct 24, 2001 - 17 comments

Bush could ask for Iowa recount / Des Moines Register web site uses something other than ASP/WinNT
Describes possible moves and legal requirements for a recount in Iowa. Did you know that there's nothing in the Constitution about voting for president? A new state could come up with some other method of choosing electors!
posted by rschram on Nov 8, 2000 - 5 comments

Gore pulls even with Bush in the Iowa Electronic Markets.
posted by dhartung on Sep 1, 2000 - 10 comments

This is the most action-packed webcam site I've seen in ages. Look at it grow! I think I saw a seedling sprout! It's hours and hours of fun, you can't see it all in one visit...
posted by mathowie on Jun 3, 2000 - 7 comments

It looks like Dan Savage is in a bit of trouble for that stunt he pulled and wrote about for salon. He volunteered for Gary Bauer's campaign in Iowa before their caucuses and attmpted to infect the candidate and his staff with the flu he was suffering from. Now he may be charged with voter fraud and assault. Also see salon's reader's reactions. So was Dan just kidding in the article or did he really lick doorknobs? Think he's going to get in serious trouble?
posted by palegirl on Feb 1, 2000 - 3 comments

Bush and Gore won their respective Iowa primaries. Excuse while I let out an enormous yawn. I was talking about Bill Bradley to a friend the other day, and he thought I was a crackpot. So I dug up the old Select Smart URL, and made him fill out the form. Given his stance on issues, Bill Bradley came up as his first choice too. He went nuts, and said instead of punch cards with names in the voting booth, we should answer questions like the Select Smart site, and submit a vote for the candidate that most matches our stances on issues. Instead of pointless political advertising, candidates' positions on real issues would determine who would vote for them. Wouldn't that be great?
posted by mathowie on Jan 25, 2000 - 1 comment