Talk about the power of crystals! Rising out of the small town of West Bend, a part of Iowa where the landscape is seldom disturbed by anything larger than a grain silo, lies the Grotto of the Redemption.
Okay, it’s concrete, but Albert is gigantic … complete with huge eyelashes … and hey, it lights up! In Audubon, Iowa, Albert the Bull “steaks” his claim to “world’s largest.”
It’s been immortalized by Don McLean as “The Day the Music Died.” On February 3, 1959, a 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, killed three American rock and roll legends: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, as well…
Preservation Wins: Dubuque Yard Grotto to be Preserved By Sarah Oltrogge An eleventh-hour rescue to save a rare Dubuque “yard grotto” will ensure its future as a link to a larger regional tradition. With a strong history for preserving grotto environments such as this, the…
I love this piece of art attributed to the artist Clyde Angel, aka Vern Willits. After it found it’s way into my home, I tried to find out more about the artist and walked into a world of point/counterpoint. Of course, I am very aware…
It had been a few years since I have been to the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, and wow, it was just as exciting. It took me a bit to calm down and literally focus the camera…there are so many amazing sights, and…
I had gone hunting for this before, and somehow missed it. OK – I know exactly how I missed it…it isn’t really on any maps. Luck with with me today, along with the ability to surf the web at a local restaurant. Father Dobberstein, of…
I fled soggy KC to head a bit north to Iowa and test out the upcoming travel app “Best Road Trip Ever!” Traveling the back roads, you can’t help but find something to make you stop the car and go “Huh?” Giant Princess Pocahontas Pocahontas,…
Treasure trove By MELODY PARKER, Courier Arts / Special Sections Editor WATERLOO — One might expect the largest public collection of Haitian art in the United States would be tucked away in an art center in New York, Chicago or other big American city. Not…
Here is the word from Bill Angrick, the Ombudsman for the state of Iowa… Kelly, It has been tragic for many and a challenge for most. Personally our property has had some lower level flooding where the creek is about a 100 yards back of…