Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 29, 1949, Iowa State’s Jim Doran set the (then) NCAA record for receiving yards in a game when he pulled in eight passes for 203 yards against third-ranked Oklahoma. A two-way star for the Cyclones, Doran went on to an eight-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions. While attending Beaver High School, Doran starred in baseball and basketball. The school didn’t have a football team, but the future NFL wide receiver’s athletic ability shone through

Iowa Time Machine ⏰:  On October 29, 1955, Des Moines’ Roger Williams (originally Louis Jacob Weertz) topped the charts with his classic hit ‘Autumn Leaves.’ The breakthrough hit for Williams, ‘Autumn Leaves,’ was the first of 22 hit singles spread over 38 albums for the iconic Iowa musician. Although born on the Omaha side of the Missouri River, Williams moved to Des Moines with his family before his first birthday. Flourishing in Iowa’s capital city, Williams started on pia

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 29, 1897, actress, vaudevillian, nightclub performer, and strongwoman Hope Emerson was born in Hawarden. Physically imposing, she stood 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed over 200 pounds. After a childhood in northwestern Iowa, Emerson made her Broadway debut in “Lysistrata” in 1930 , when theatrical producer Norman Bel Geddes cast her as Lamputo, an Amazon. She made her film debut in “Smiling Faces” (1932) before returning to the theater briefl

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 28, 2019, Lawrence Joseph “Happy Joe” Whitty passed away. The originator of taco pizza and home to many Iowans' fondest childhood birthday party memories, “Happy” Joe Whitty grew a single pizza and ice cream parlor into one of Iowa’s favorite franchises. Originally from North Dakota, Joe Whitty moved to Davenport in the 1960s to run the Super Value Bakery on Fourth Street before opening his first restaurant. Whitty then took a job as manager fo

Iowa Time Machine ⏰:  On October 28, 1874, Janette Stevenson Murray was born in Traer. The pioneering educator, suffragist, author, and activist even won “Mother of the Year” from the American Mothers’ Committee of the Golden Rule Foundation. A glass-ceiling-shattering Iowa woman, Murray embodied the changing societal role of women during her lifetime. The daughter of Scottish immigrants who settled in rural Tama County, Stevenson spent her early years in Iowa country schools

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 28, 1932, Cap’n Ernie (Ernie Mims) was born. Mims, the beloved host of WOC-TV's children’s program Cap’n Ernie’s Show Boat from 1964 to 1974, endeared himself to a generation of children spread across eastern Iowa. A native of Nashua, New Hampshire, Mims served as a trumpet player in the United States Air Force Band. He decided to pursue a career in broadcasting and got his first job at WQUB radio in Galesburg, Illinois. Soon after, Mims moved

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 28, 2000, legendary Hawkeye Bob Sanders made his first start at safety for Iowa. The 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Sanders gained the respect of fans and opposing players as a hard-hitting force for the Hawkeyes. Sanders earned all-state honors as a running back at Erie Cathedral Prep in Pennsylvania. During his senior season, Sanders racked up 1,100 yards and 15 touchdowns. Kirk Ferentz’s high school coach, Joe Moore, told his former

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 27, 1854, the first-ever Iowa State Fair ended in Fairfield. From a three-day event only a few years after statehood to one of Iowa’s fondest traditions, the Iowa State Fair continues to draw visitors for a variety of displays, activities, and other opportunities to celebrate all things Iowa. In 1853, two eastern Iowa men, Thomas Clagett of Keokuk and Fairfield’s J.M. Schaffer, sought to bring together local and county agricultural associations

Iowa Time Machine ⏰:  On October 27, 1889, Iowa’s 27th Governor, Nelson G. Kraschel, was born. A farmer and livestock auctioneer turned governor, Kraschel helped Iowa navigate the Great Depression during the mid-1930s. In 1910, Kraschel moved to Harlan to farm and raise livestock. Kraschel later diversified his operation, working as a livestock auctioneer and selling more than $ 50 million in property during the 1920s.  Kraschel entered politics in 1932, serving as Iowa's lie

Iowa Time Machine ⏰:  On October 27, 1983, Robert Hansen, originally from Estherville, Iowa, was taken into custody in Alaska after a long investigation into a series of violent crimes. Known in national headlines as the “Butcher Baker,” Hansen was later connected to numerous disappearances and tragic events between 1971 and 1983. Born in Estherville, Hansen grew up working in his family’s bakery. His early years were marked by frequent moves, including a period in California

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 26, 1846, the people of Iowa Territory elected Ansel Briggs to serve as the first governor of the soon-to-be-admitted State of Iowa. A true American success story, Briggs rose from stagecoach driver to Iowa’s First Governor. Born in Vermont to a farm family that eventually moved west to Ohio during the 1820s, young Ansel Briggs found himself working as a stagecoach driver after his father died in an accident. For six years, Briggs continued to

Iowa Time Machine ⏰:  On October 26, 1836, the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature met for the first time and subdivided a portion of the territory now encompassed in Iowa into Lee, Van Buren, Henry, Muscatine, and Cook (now a part of Muscatine) counties. Most of the area in the Iowa Territory originally formed part of the Louisiana Purchase and later the Missouri Territory. When Missouri gained statehood in 1821, the area (along with the Dakotas) effectively became unorganized

Iowa Time Machine ⏰:  On October 25, 1949, President Harry S. Truman signed a presidential proclamation to create Effigy Mounds National Monument. At the time, the 1,000-acre monument consisted of today’s South Unit, including the Marching Bear Group, and today’s North Unit, including the Little and Great Bear Groups of mounds. Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves more than 200 prehistoric mounds built by pre-Columbian Mound Builder cultures, mainly in the first millenni

Iowa Time Machine ⏰:  On October 25, 1948, Dan Gable was born in Waterloo. 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 (Olympic Gold Medal 1972). As a coach, Gable’s teams at Iowa captured 15 team wrestling titles and 45 individual national champions. Although wrestling success eventually came, swimming was the first sport in which Gable excelled as a Waterloo youth. At

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 25, 1930, Iowa’s all-time winningest high school football coach, Dick Tighe, was born. Over 63 seasons, Tighe racked up 432 victories while leading Webster City, Carroll-Keumper, Iowa Falls, and Fort Dodge St. Edmond to success on the gridiron. Born on a family farm near Homer, Nebraska, as the seventh of nine children in an Irish-Catholic family, Tighe attended Notre Dame. Despite not playing football for the Fighting Irish, he knew he wanted

Iowa Time Machine ⏰:  On October 24, 1913, businessman Fred H. Wells and local dairy farmer Ray Bowers from Le Mars signed a contract establishing the business, which became the iconic Iowa company Wells Blue Bunny. The largest family-owned and managed ice cream manufacturer in America, Wells Blue Bunny, still calls Le Mars home today. The initial contract between Wells and Bowers was quite a bargain: for $250, Wells purchased a milk delivery route, a horse and wagon, and oth

Iowa Time Machine ⏰:  On October 24, 1852, George Washington Clarke, Iowa’s 21st governor, was born. Clarke established a legacy of building roads and consolidated country schools (and begetting an incredibly ‘Iowa famous’ grandson); Clarke stands out as an essential early-20th-century visionary of Iowa’s changing future. Born in Indiana in 1852, Clarke’s family heeded the call of the age and headed west to Iowa in 1856. Settling in Drakesville, Davis County, the young Georg

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 24, 1971, the Old Creamery Theater was first mentioned in an Iowa newspaper, signaling the beginning of what would become one of the state’s oldest professional theater companies. The reference marked a significant moment not just for the theater group, but also for Iowa’s burgeoning rural arts movement, demonstrating that quality live performance could be cultivated outside of urban centers. Founded by a small group of young theater enthusiast

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 23, 1915, the small town of Kellerton, Iowa, made history by hosting the first national horseshoe throwing championship in the United States. This seemingly modest event marked a pivotal moment in American recreational sports, transforming a casual barnyard pastime into an organized competitive activity with standardized rules and national recognition.  The tournament drew participants from across the country to this rural Iowa community of few

Iowa Time Machine ⏰:  On October 23, 1991, Jane Smiley’s modern adaptation of “King Lear” , set on an Iowa farm titled “1000 Acres”, debuted. The book won the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Jane Smiley arrived in Iowa in the early 1970s for graduate study at the University of Iowa. After obtaining an MA, an MFA, and a PhD while in Iowa City, she headed west to serve as a faculty member at Iowa State University. While at Iowa

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 22, 1980, David Letterman aired an episode of his show hosted from a home in Cresco. During the early fall of 1980, Jane Goldsworthy of Cresco submitted a 100-word essay explaining why “The David Letterman Show” should broadcast live from her family’s home. Still a daytime show that aired at 9:00 a.m. local time before the host’s iconic move to late-night stardom, the show featured several segments familiar to viewers throughout its run. The sh

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 22, 1864, American General Samuel Ryan Curtis, former mayor of Keokuk, combined forces with General Alfred Pleasonton to crush Confederate raiders at the Battle of Westport. The last significant fighting in the trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War, the life of sometimes Iowan Samuel Curtis, serves as an interesting representation of life in mid-1800s America. Born as the youngest child in a large farm family, Curtis attended West

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 22, 1992, legendary Iowa Hawkeye hooper Samantha Logic was born. An all-time great NCAA women’s basketball player, Logic left a hardwood legacy while starring at Iowa from 2011-2016. Logic turned heads as a McDonald’s All-American, WBCA All-American, Parade All-American, and Gatorade Player of the Year for Wisconsin while dominating at J.I. Case High School in Racine, Wisconsin. Committed to Coach Lisa Bluder, Logic arrived in Iowa City after a

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 22, 1987, the first mention of chicken appeared in a Pizza Ranch newspaper advertisement as part of a Tuesday night buffet promotion. Started in northwest Iowa, the company grew into one of the Midwest’s most prolific pizza and chicken restaurants. Adrie Groeneweg opened the first Pizza Ranch in Hull, Iowa, in December 1981. At 19, he was convinced he could open a pizza place while working part-time as a welder after high school. To earn extra

Iowa Time Machine ⏰:  On October 21, 1957, the Everly Brothers of Shenandoah topped the charts with their hit “Wake Up Little Susie.” The iconic early rock and roll duo of Isaac Donald ‘Don’ and Phillip ‘Phil’ Everly harmonized over steel-string acoustic guitar to go from southern Iowa to success as one of the greatest musical duos of all time. Born before their arrival in Iowa, the Everly family first stopped in Waterloo, where the brothers attended Longfellow Elementary Sch

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 21, 1995, the decades-long efforts of the Czech American community of Cedar Rapids to preserve their distinct local heritage culminated in the dedication of the National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library. With the leaders of the United States, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia on hand, over 7,000 gathered to celebrate Czech heritage in Iowa. In 1974, a group of Cedar Rapids area residents descended from Czech immigrants came together to found th

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 21, 1934, Knoxville High School and Iowa State football player Dwight Nichols was born. The Big Seven Conference MVP in 1958, Nichols also stood out as a part of the legendary Cyclones “Dirty Thirty” team of 1959. Born and raised in Marion County, Nichols excelled on the gridiron before entering the military to serve in the Korean War. Nichols spent three years serving in the Marines before returning to Iowa and taking up Cyclone coach J.A. Mye

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 20, 1964, Herbert Hoover died. The first President of the United States from west of the Mississippi River, Hoover also stands as the only Iowan ever to hold America’s highest office. Born to Jesse and Hulda Hoover, Herbert spent six idyllic years of childhood in late-19th-century Iowa. Tragedy struck when his blacksmith father suffered a heart attack in 1880 and again when his mother died of pneumonia in 1883. The orphaned Hoover headed west t

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 20, 1990, both Iowa and Iowa State pulled off road upsets in one of the most memorable days in the state’s college football history. Iowa edged out tenth-ranked Michigan 24-23 in Ann Arbor, while Iowa State upset sixteenth-ranked Oklahoma 33-31 in Norman. Hayden Fry’s twenty-third-ranked Hawks entered the Big House as 13-point underdogs to face the reigning Big 10 Champion Wolverines. The Hawkeyes trailed 14-7 at the half, and Michigan led 20-1

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 20, 1951, a racially motivated incident sidelined Drake football star Johnny Bright during a game against Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) in Stillwater. Arguably the greatest Drake athlete of all time, the resultant injury knocked Bright out of contention for the Heisman Trophy. Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Bright excelled athletically as a three-sport athlete in high school. Arriving in Des Moines at Drake, Bright’s unique athletic gifts set