Charity Nebbe

Iowans over the age of 65 are working longer than ever before, and the reasons are varied. Several retirees are still working past their retirement age and chose to live in a retirement community.

Some work because they feel the need to stay busy and it's an ideal way to keep money in their pocket, others keep working because they can't afford to support themselves mostly because they do not have enough retirement savings. 

On this episode of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with researcher Brian Kaskie about this trend and speaks with several Iowans who are working into their golden years. 

The average American consumer is responsible for 234 pounds of plastic waste each year, and of the 30 million tons of plastic produced each year across the globe, about half are created for single-use purposes. Used once, then thrown away.   

This program originally aired on 2-9-18. 

For Nate Staniforth, a coin trick was his gateway to magic. He was 9-years-old and living in Ames.

"I just was captivated by the idea that I could perfect this and make it look like I made a coin disappear. That's all I wanted."

So, he did the trick on the playground. "The kids didn't laugh. They didn't clap. They just started shrieking and ran away."

The Iowa State Fair opened last Thursday and hundreds of thousands of visitors have already passed through the gates to see what this year's fair has to offer. 

For this special Iowa State Fair hour of Talk of Iowa, our host Charity Nebbe visited the fairgrounds the day before it opened. She talks to the fierce competitors of the popular jams, jellies and fruit butter competitions, then introduces a mother-son baking duo who have been competing in the baking contests for the last four years.

Remember those afternoons at the lake, road trips with the sun blazing through the windshield, hot summer nights? The moments that make up our summer memories are often accompanied by music. 

Nate Sherwood grew up in a time when skateboarding was viewed as rebellious and countercultural. Now skateboarding is viewed in an entirely different light with clinics for young skaters, family skateboard outings, and cities all across Iowa constructing skateparks. This fall the City of Des Moines will be opening the Lauridsen Skatepark, which will be the largest skatepark in the United States with 88,000 square-feet of skatable surface.  

Hibiscus blooms can be big and showy, or small and delicate. Growing hibiscus can be an easy way to add a little bit of exotic beauty to your yard or garden.

On this horticulture day edition of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe and Cindy Haynes, Associate Professor of Horticulture at Iowa State University, chat about how to grow sun-loving, flowering hibiscus plants in Iowa.  

This program originally aired on 8-15-18.

Corn dogs, baby ducks, and a butter cow to boot!

The Iowa State Fair is a time-honored tradition for many Iowans, and has gained a reputation for being one of the largest fairs in the nation.

Do you remember your first fair? 

This program originally aired on 1-25-18.

"Wine is to women as duck tape is to men: it fixes everything. " "I make wine disappear, what's your super power?" "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, but if the white runs out, I'll drink red."

These are supposed to be jokes, but they may also be indicative of a growing problem. During this hour on Talk of Iowa, Charity Nebbe talks with Ann Dowsett-Johnson, author of "Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol," about women's relationship with drinking culture. 

In 2016, Lyz Lenz’s life was turned upside down. She found herself questioning her faith, leaving her church and leaving her marriage. She felt that what she was experiencing was part of something bigger.  She set out on a journey to explore how personal faith and congregations were evolving with modern challenges. 

Julie Knight met Julie Freese in a candy store in downtown Iowa City in the early 1980s. Knight had been battling Type 1 diabetes since she was ten years old and says she felt like one of the misfit toys from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." After moving into a house together on Ash Street the two Julies, of course, became even closer. But their relationship only grew stronger after parting ways in Iowa City.

On this edition of Horticulture Day on Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe and Michael Dosmann, Keeper of the Arnold Arboretum, discuss how plant collections are cultivated and evolve. They converse on starting and maintaining museums of trees, such as the Brenton Arboretum in Dallas Center, Iowa that has been developing for just about 20 years. 

Dosmann says the need for plant exploration and collection has never been greater, since he says one out of five plants globally are threatened with extinction.

This program originally aired on 1-10-18.

Pediatricians agree that breast milk is the healthiest source of nutrition for a newborn baby, and breast feeding rates are on the rise in the United States. But, nursing a baby isn’t always an option.

“Our daughter was full-term,” says Sarah Fillmore of Des Moines, “but she had to be in the NICU for about a week, and she had some breathing problems when she was born that made it difficult for her to learn how to latch.”

This program originally aired on 1-08-18.

Domestic violence usually happens in private. It is unseen and underreported. Helping a loved one in an abusive relationship can be easier said than done. During this hour of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with guests about this common type of abuse. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that one in three women and one in four men in the United States have experienced some kind of violence at the hands of an intimate partner.

This program originally aired on 11-29-17.

Artist Rose Frantzen grew up in Maquoketa and started painting portraits when she was in high school. Since then, she’s gained national and international acclaim for her oil paintings. She lives and works with her husband, Chuck Morris, an acclaimed artist of his own right.

Iowa seems like an unlikely destination for two very successful artists who met in New York City’s Central Park, but Rose Frantzen and Chuck Morris have made Maquoketa their home, their workplace, and an artistic destination.

This program originally aired on 11-09-17.  

Music is a powerful medium, allowing us to access and experience an entire spectrum of feelings. For children, music is an important educational tool as well, and all too often, children's music has a tendency to become bland. Host of IPTV's Kids Club Dan Wardell and musician Jim Sieck are on a mission to create interesting kids music, while also teaching them valuable lessons. One song in particular teaches kids about the alphabet.

This program originally aired on 11-08-17.

When New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf gets writer's block, she takes her dog, Lolo, on a hike at the Mines of Spain, a vastly wooded recreation area just south of Dubuque. This area is where the inspiration for Gudenkauf's latest novel, Not a Sound, emerged.

This program originally aired on 11-21-17. 

We go through life surrounded by other people, but for many people, the isolation of the modern world takes a serious toll on health and happiness. During this hour of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy about what he sees as an epidemic of loneliness in the U.S. 

"If you're not lonely, and you're listening to this radio segment, there are people around you who are," he says.

This program originally aired on 10-18-17. 

Dyslexia is a condition in the brain that makes it hard to read, write, and spell. It's the most common learning disability in children, but it can be difficult to diagnose and manage. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, dyslexia affects anywhere from 5-20 percent of the population depending on the severity of definitions. 

This year the Iowa Master Gardener Program celebrates 40 years of community engagement through gardening initiatives and educational outreach. Since 1979, over 14,300 Iowans have received master gardening training. 

Some fences are utilitarian, some are purely aesthetic, and others are both. However, no matter what, if you’re going to put up a fence there are some important things you should know. Before building any fence, home improvement expert, Bill McAnally, recommends talking to your neighbors and researching any regulations in your city and county.

Many people are willing to pay a lot of money for thrilling adventures. They ride ziplines and roller coasters, go bungee jumping, paragliding, cliff jumping, and sky diving. For some, thrill-seeking is the ultimate kind of fun. For others, the idea of getting on a plane, let alone jumping out of it, is terrifying. 

Water quality is one of the greatest environmental challenges in the state of Iowa. There are many sources of pollution and finding and implementing solutions is complicated. Jim Pease, Emeritus Associate Professor of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University, developed an exercise designed to spark problem-solving creativity when it comes to water quality.

In the past year, seven different Iowan writers with very different backgrounds participated in the second BiCultural Iowa Writers Fellowship, hosted by the Iowa Writers House in Iowa City. "We the Interwoven- Volume 2" is the second collection of original stories that celebrates the diversity of the state from the perspective of immigrant, first generation, and bicultural Iowans.

Hot and cool, wet and dry, Iowa weather can be inconsistent and the changes dramatic, which can negatively impact plants. On this Hort Day edition of Talk of Iowa host Charity Nebbe talks with horticulture experts about how the heat of an Iowa summer affects our plants. And we get some advice on watering strategies to keep your plants happy and healthy. 

Also during the program, Charity and our panel of horticulture experts answer listener questions on all things green and growing.

Guests include:

The Meskwaki people have worked very hard to preserve their history, protect their culture, and reclaim their heritage. The Meskwaki Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Initiative is one of the latest projects designed to reconnect and preserve the Meskwaki historical culture and empower modern Meskwaki people. 

The average American has about 38,000 dollars in personal debt, and that doesn't include mortgages. On this personal finance edition of Talk of Iowa host Charity Nebbe tackles the problems of personal debt with Chris Arnold, NPR Personal Finance Correspondent and a host of NPR's personal finance Life Kit podcasts, and author of A Girls's Guide to Personal Finance, Joey Beech.