One of Iowa's most strategic pieces of of real estate is up for sale; The Des Moines Register is preparing to vacate its long time headquarters next month. Now, nearly a hundred years of history is making news again. We take a tour and listen to old recordings.
It was code-named Operation Homecoming, when the U.S. and North Vietnam signed a peace agreement and our prisoners of war started coming home.We remember the defining events of that time, with historic sound from our Iowa Archives project.
When Iowans gather in Des Moines tomorrow to thank veterans for their service, one of the National Guard's most decorated units will be among those leading the parade. Historic 1965 audio from the 34th Army Band in Burlington and the Val Air Ballroom in 1967.
The WNBA opens play this weekend and former University of Iowa player Tangela Smith will be in uniform for the San Antonio Silver Stars. It was here in Iowa, 34 years ago, where women's professional basketball was born. We look back at charter team and its biggest star. Historic audio from the Iowa Women's Archives.
As Iowa tries to retain its last jet fighter base in Des Moines, a non-profit group is hoping to save one of the last remnants of an air station that closed at the end of World War Two. Historic audio from Stearman training film and You Tube.
Mention the New Deal, and most Iowans would think of a bridge, state park or school gymnasium. But the arts also flourished during the Great Depression, thanks to federal programs that gave jobs to painters, sculptors, writers and performers. A museum director calls it, "the greatest art movement in Iowa in 100 years."
Seventy-five years ago, the federal government bankrolled countless infrastructure programs that put tens of thousands of Iowans to work; many of the projects are enjoying a revival, of sorts. Some are being renovated, others are endangered, and many are just as vital as they were in the 1930s.
One of the most tragic days in America's history comes flooding back this weekend, as we commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9-11. Citizens of Iowa were casualties, mourners, and heroes. Our historic sound project looks back at those terrifying days, using audio recordings gathered by IPR reporters.
A birthday party, a secret, and something found in most refrigerators. That combination will surely entice visitors to an iconic exhibit at the State Fair next month. Sculpting has commenced for the centennial of the butter cow. But the celebration will be tempered by the passing of the tradition's most famous artist.
Memories were flowing at a reunion of the Stepperettes, a legendary precision drill team that represented Iowa for two decades. Audio clip from 1967 sound track filmed at Veterans Auditorium in Des Moines.
On Memorial Day weekend 70 years ago, a large Irish family was at home in eastern Iowa enjoying its last spring together. No one knew that the five Sullivan brothers were bound for history, in a tragedy that would shake the nation in a time of war. Historic audio from 1943-1944.
A new museum exhibit is coming together that will tell the story of how gender equality came to the U.S. Army. It all started at Fort Des Moines and Iowa Public Radio’s Rick Fredericksen has the story in this edition of Iowa Archives.
