Notes on Iowa

Notes on Iowa Exploring the Heart of the Heartland

08/27/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On August 27, 1972, Dan Gable captured an Olympic gold medal at 149.5 lbs in Munich. One of the greatest freestyle wrestlers and coaches of all time, Gable excelled on the mat in high school (64-0), college (117-1), and internationally. As a coach, Gable’s teams at Iowa captured 15 team wrestling titles and 45 individual national champions.

Although wrestling success came eventually, swimming was the first sport in which Gable excelled as a Waterloo youth. At twelve years old, he captured the YMCA state championship in the backstroke. Attending Waterloo West, Gable switched from swimming since the school did not have a program. However, football, baseball, and wrestling offered Gable opportunities to compete. In high school wrestling, Gable put up a perfect 64-0 record. Committed to Iowa State, Gable carried his success on the mat into Ames, where he posted an incredible 117-1 record, not falling until the NCAA finals in his senior year. A two-time NCAA Wrestling National Champion and three-time All-America, Gable set a record that still stands for pin streaks.

Following college, Gable went on to become a World Champion in 1971 and an Olympic Gold Medalist at the 1972 Munich Games. Despite arriving in Germany with a nagging knee injury, Gable still dominated the field. In six matches, the Iowan pinned three opponents and did not allow a single point over the course of the tournament. "I knew because in '71, I beat the top-flight competition in the world," Gable said. "I honestly never thought about the pressure of this being the Olympics."

Following his retirement from the circle, Gable became the most iconic coach in the history of the sport at the University of Iowa. During his time with the Hawkeyes, Gable amassed a stunning 15 NCAA team wrestling titles while also coaching 152 All-Americans and 45 individual national champions. Coaching at Iowa from 1976 to 1997, Gable’s teams compiled a dual record of 355-21-5.

08/27/2026

The answer to yesterday’s what Iowa town: Osage, Iowa

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On August 27, 1889, the Creston Bluegrass Palace opened to the public. The 92-foot-tall structure, ...
08/27/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On August 27, 1889, the Creston Bluegrass Palace opened to the public. The 92-foot-tall structure, built of veneered bales of hay and straw, featured exhibits from 12 of the 18 counties represented in the Blue Grass League of Southwest Iowa.

During the 1880s, southwestern Iowa joined Kentucky and Russia as major international growers of bluegrass. By late February 1889, a group from Union, Adair, and Clarke counties came together at the Union County Courthouse in Creston. Inviting fifteen other counties known to grow bluegrass to join up, the Blue Grass League of Southwest Iowa formed.

A cash crop used globally during the era to produce ink dye, the league focused on promoting bluegrass globally. Starting with pamphlets, efforts eventually fixated on constructing a ‘hay palace’ for the annual fair the following August. Following in the footsteps of Sioux City’s Corn Palace, locals soon decided to build a palace of hay.

By August, the huge pressed bales stretched 100’ on each side and 120’ in the air at the Union County Fairgrounds. Exhibits included a Greek goddess made of corn, a horse covered in bluegrass, and other attractions. Specific events during the August 27 to September 7 run included Old Settlers’ Day, county celebrations, and even a wedding. The Palace Fair continued in 1890 and 1891 before discontinuation in the run-up to the Chicago World’s Fair.

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On August 27, 2020, legendary University of Iowa basketball coach Lute Olson passed away. The head ...
08/27/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On August 27, 2020, legendary University of Iowa basketball coach Lute Olson passed away. The head coach for the Hawkeyes from 1974-1983, Olson led Iowa to new heights on the hardwood.

Upon taking the Iowa job in 1974, Olson noted, "People didn't go from Long Beach to Iowa. They went from Iowa to Long Beach," Olson said. "I thought, 'Well, I'm just going to break that trend.” Olson quickly turned around the Iowa basketball program, posting a 167-91 record as the head coach of the Hawkeyes.

Taking over a team that went 8-16 the year prior, Olson’s Hawkeyes rose to capture the Big 10 Conference Title during the 1978-1979 season. The title led to Iowa's first of five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the Final Four in 1979-80.

After leading the Hawkeyes to the Final Four, Olson's Hawkeye teams continued to find success, including advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in the 1982-1983 season, his final at Iowa. Olson surprised many by leaving Iowa for an Arizona program that had just suffered the worst season in school history, having won only four games overall and one in Pac-10 play. He said he left Iowa because life there had become a "fishbowl," and he needed a change.

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On August 27, 1931, a tornado tore through Clear Lake’s waterfront, killing one person. The tornado...
08/27/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On August 27, 1931, a tornado tore through Clear Lake’s waterfront, killing one person. The tornado’s path through Bayside, City Park, and downtown turned a summer resort town into a scene of wreckage.

By 1931, Clear Lake had developed into a regional destination shaped by its shoreline. The city had been incorporated in 1871, and Bayside Amusement Park opened in 1909, joining parks, docks, entertainment venues, and lake recreation that drew residents and visitors. The storm also came during the opening years of the Great Depression, when damage to homes and commercial attractions carried added weight for families and local businesses with little margin for financial loss.

The tornado first touched down at Bayside, where it killed one person in the Rist Cottage. It damaged the amusement park and destroyed its roller coaster before tracking north along the lakefront. The wind ripped porches from the Outing Club, demolished the White Pier beside City Park, and severely damaged the Park Theater at 211 Main Avenue.

Clear Lake rebuilt, though the storm altered the physical setting of its public shoreline. In 1936, the city constructed the seawall on the site of the destroyed White Pier, creating a durable waterfront feature that later earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Bayside also continued to offer recreation for decades, and a later roller coaster operated there from 1942 until the park closed in 1958.

08/27/2026

What Iowa Town?

08/26/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On August 26, 2011, Urbandale’s Allen Lazard set a state record when he successfully returned three interceptions for touchdowns. An all-time great at Urbandale and Iowa State, Lazard set a standard for on-field dominance while starring for the J-Hawks and Cyclones.

Born in Des Moines, Lazard proved to be an immediate impact player for Urbandale as a two-way star. As a four-year starter, Lazard racked up school records in receptions (105), receiving yards (2,349), and interceptions (14). He earned USA Today All-American status, as well as captured the Des Moines Register Defensive Player of the Year in 2012 and Offensive Player of the Year in 2013. The four-star receiver opted to stay local and enroll at Iowa State over offers from Notre Dame, Nebraska, Stanford, California, and Iowa.

Lazard arrived at Iowa State and set about putting together one of the most remarkable careers in the school’s gridiron history. Over four seasons, Lazard racked up 241 receptions, 3,360 receiving yards, and 26 touchdowns. He garnered honors as First-Team All-Big 12 in 2016 and 2017 while helping establish the program’s national profile under Coach Matt Campbell.

Undrafted after his senior season, Lazard initially signed as a free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars before finding success in Green Bay. After breaking out with 103 yards and a touchdown in a December 2019 game against the Giants, Lazard solidified his status as an NFL contributor. Lazard has racked up 2,547 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns over the first six years of his NFL career.

08/26/2026

The answer to yesterday’s what Iowa town: Murray, Iowa

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On August 26, 1873, Lee de Forest, the inventor of the audion vacuum tube and “Father of Radio,” wa...
08/26/2026

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On August 26, 1873, Lee de Forest, the inventor of the audion vacuum tube and “Father of Radio,” was born in Council Bluffs. Over a tumultuous career, Lee de Forest obtained over 300 patents while developing the technology that made radio broadcasting and long-distance telephone lines possible.

After spending his early childhood in Pottawattamie County, Lee de Forest’s Presbyterian father moved the family to Alabama. Taking over the Talladega College, a learning institution for the city’s African-American community, the elder de Forest encouraged his children to break social norms around segregation. Although the effort to educate all people alienated the family from the town’s white community, Lee de Forest spent his childhood learning firsthand about the equality of all people.

Although his father hoped he would join the ministry, Lee de Forest enrolled at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University in 1893. Six years later, he completed a PhD in Physics. Lee de Forest soon started working on radiotelegraphic communication (wireless telegraphy). After making unsuccessful inquiries about employment with Nikola Tesla and Italian radio innovator Guglielmo Marconi, de Forest struck out on his own. He returned to the Midwest to work at the Western Electric Company's telephone lab in Chicago, Illinois. While there, he developed his first receiver.

A series of successes and failures eventually led to his invention of the first practical electronic amplifier, the three-element "Audion" triode vacuum tube in 1906. His invention kick-started the Electronic Age while enabling the development of the electronic oscillator. Lee de Forest’s work made radio broadcasting and long-distance telephone lines possible while also leading directly to the development of talking motion pictures, among countless other applications.

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