Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 14, 1957, Gary “The Roland Rocket” Thompson and the Iowa State Cyclones went toe-to-toe with Wilt Chamberlain and the Kansas Jayhawks. The Cyclones won 39-37 in front of 8,000 fans on a Don Medsker shot with time winding down. Born in Story County, Thompson first gained the attention of Iowans as a 5’6” sophomore leading the Roland Rockets to the 1951 Iowa high school basketball tournament title game. For three years, Thompson led his team to t

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 14, 1973, Vern Den Herder helped the Miami Dolphins close out the only perfect season in NFL history with a Super Bowl victory. A standout basketball and football player at Sioux Center High School and Central College, Den Herder spent 12 seasons in the NFL. An exceptional athlete from a young age, Den Herder excelled at basketball during his freshman and sophomore years, but did not play on the gridiron because Sioux Center lacked a team. Howe

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 14, 1983, Terry Branstad took office as Governor of Iowa. By the time Branstad retired from office for the second time, his 22 years, 4 months, and 13 days in office made him the longest-serving governor in United States history. Born to a farm family in rural Winnebago County near Leland, Branstad graduated from Forest City High School in 1965. After studying political science at the University of Iowa, Branstad served as a military policeman

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 14, 1995, the puck dropped for the first Waterloo Black Hawks game at Young Arena in Waterloo. 3,250 fans packed in to celebrate a new chapter in Waterloo hockey as the Black Hawks dropped a 5-3 game to the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Formed as a semi-professional senior team in the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 1962, the Black Hawks first took the ice at McElroy Auditorium. Dating to 1919, the 5,155-seat multipurpose arena at the National

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 13, 1988, Johnny Orr’s no. 14 Iowa State took down no. 16 Kansas at a raucous Hilton Coliseum. A balanced ISU attack featuring Jeff Grayer overcame a 32-point performance from Danny Manning to ensure a Cyclone victory. Orr entered his eighth season at Iowa State with a veteran squad captained by Grayer and Gary Tompkins. The Cyclones got off to a hot start, notching notable wins over No. 2 Purdue and No. 7 Iowa. Entering the Big 8 rivalry game

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 13, 1935, William A. Krause was born. Co-founder of popular Iowa convenience store chain Kum & Go, Gentle created one of Iowa’s most recognizable brands while helping to pioneer the convenience store concept. In 1959, Tony Gentle bought a gas station in Hampton, Iowa, and started a partnership with his son-in-law, W. A. "Bill" Krause. The first station, known as the Hampton Oil Company, proved successful, and the two men eventually formed the K

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 13, 2014, Iowa Defensive Coordinator Norm Parker passed away. The man behind the hard-nosed Hawkeye defenses from 1999 to 2011, Parker left a legacy as one of the most beloved assistant coaches in University of Iowa history. Born and raised in Michigan, Parker spent his college days on the gridiron at Eastern Michigan. After graduation, he transitioned to coaching and made stops at Eastern Michigan, Wake Forest, Minnesota, Illinois, East Caroli

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 13, 1927, the University of Iowa officially dedicated the Iowa Field House. Holding up to 13,365 at its peak, the area once served as the home of Hawkeye athletics. Construction started on the roughly $500,000 facility during the mid-1920s and featured an original seating capacity of 7,000, a 50-yard-long swimming pool, and an iconic gymnasium complete with steel-pillar obstructed views. Although the Hawkeye men’s basketball team played its fir

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 12, 1936, the freighter SS Iowa crashed at Peacock Spit near Cape Disappointment in the Columbia River of Washington state, sinking and taking the lives of all 36 people aboard. The tragic wreck of a seabound ship named for a landlocked state, the sinking of the SS Iowa, stands as one of the worst domestic maritime disasters of the 20th century. The SS Iowa rolled off the line as one of 18 standard ‘type 1019’ steel-hulled cargo ships built bet

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 12, two important pieces of Iowa weather history occurred. In 1888, the “Children’s Blizzard” claimed the lives of at least 235 across the Midwest. In 1912, the town of Washta, Iowa, set the state’s all-time record for low temperature when thermometers reached -47 Fahrenheit. The “Children’s Blizzard” arrived unexpectedly after unseasonably warm weather greeted Midwesterners following a few snowy days earlier in the month. As the storm raced ea

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 12, 1888, a faithful dog saved Gerritt Draayom of Hospers during a blizzard. Draayom, a native of the Netherlands, immigrated to America shortly after turning 18. After first settling in Alto, Wisconsin, he later moved on to start a farm on a watering stop for the Sioux City and St. Paul Railroad in northwestern Iowa called Hospers. Married in 1874 and widowed just a year later after the birth of the union’s only son, Draayom attempted to scrat

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 12, 1931, the Iowa Hawkeyes topped Purdue 25-23. The upset of the reigning Big 10 champion Boilermakers featured a young man named John Wooden, who would forever change college basketball. The 1930-31 basketball season existed in a drastically different world from the game fans recognize today. Teams averaged in the 20s and 30s in total points per contest, making a 25-23 score competitive rather than the defensive slugfest it would represent in

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 11, 1957, the Drake University Bulldogs hosted the Iowa State Cyclones in the first college basketball game played at Veterans Auditorium in Des Moines. Gary “The Roland Rocket” Thompson helped lead the Cyclones past the Bulldogs 97-71 to start the historical record of one of Iowa’s most iconic venues. As construction crews toiled to erect the massive brick structure near the Des Moines River just north of the primary downtown district, followi

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 11, 1976, word came out that Ottumwa's far-famed “Canteen Lunch in the Alley” wouldn’t undergo demolition. Dating back to 1927, Canteen Lunch has cooked up loose-meat sandwiches and homemade pies for almost 100 years. In 1936, the business relocated to its current location of 112 2nd St. East in downtown Ottumwa. An outstanding example of an early-to-mid-20th-century lunchroom, the “Canteen Lunch” reflects on this eating establishment that gain

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 11, 1944, Jim McAndrew, Miracle Met and Iowa Hawkeye great, was born in Lost Nation. The hard-throwing right-hander dominated on the mound for the Iowa Hawkeyes before helping the Miracle Mets win the World Series in 1969. Growing up on a 750-acre farm in Clinton County, McAndrew quickly proved a multi-sport star while donning the Purple and Old Gold for the Lost Nation High School Bobcats. Following high school, he headed to Iowa City to play

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 11, 1887, famed American naturalist, writer, ecologist, and conservationist (Rand) Aldo Leopold was born in Burlington, Iowa. An influential voice for environmental ethics and wilderness conservation, Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac” continues to inspire people around the world. Born to a Burlington walnut desk maker named Carl Leopold, Aldo spent his early life on many expeditions into the outdoors with his father. He later recalled spending

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 10, 1981, Pella Corporation co-founder Peter (Pete) Kuyper passed away. After investing in a small company, Pete and his wife Lucille built Rolscreen-Pella Corporation into one of the world’s most recognizable window brands, which is ‘viewed to be the best.’ In 1925, Peter and Lucille Kuyper invested $5,000 to buy a small window screen manufacturing company in Des Moines called “Rolscreen”. The Kuyper’s soon took complete control of the company

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 10, 1893, John Froelich founded the forerunner to the iconic American tractor brand John Deere in Waterloo. The first company to ever manufacture and sell gasoline-powered farm tractors, the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, eventually became the John Deere tractor after being purchased by the popular plow company. Froelich, born in a northeastern Iowa village named for his father, started experimenting with machinery after attending the Colleg

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 10, 1928, Iowa MLB legend John Douglas “Jack” Dittmer was born in Elkader. The sweet-swinging second baseman from Elkader went on to hit for a .232 average over six seasons for the Boston/Milwaukee Braves and the Detroit Tigers. Born in northeastern Iowa’s Clayton County, Dittmer showed signs of athletic prowess at an early age. During high school, Dittmer earned all-state honors in football and basketball and accumulated 12 varsity letters. Re

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 9, 1975, Iowans braced for the storm of the century as the infamous “Super Bowl Blizzard” prepared to shake the state. The storm unleashed 45 tornadoes while killing 12 in the southeastern United States and claimed 58 lives as the blizzard swept across the Midwest. Coming in off the Pacific with gale-force winds, the storm quickly strengthened as it moved over the Rocky Mountains. Colliding with arctic air blowing fiercely from the north and st

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 9, 1961, Marshal J. (Alexander “Jay” Kotkis Jr.) last raced toward the camera on his trusty golden Palomino to invite Iowa’s children into his tack room for an hour of cartoons and cowboy antics. The popular afternoon television program ran on Iowa’s airwaves for seven years before the 6’6” tall cowboy took his Marshall J. Show west to California. Cued up by the theme “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” Marshal J. brought his bona fide cowboy credentials t

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 9, 1907, a mob swarmed the Floyd County Jail and extracted vigilante justice on James Cullen. The last recorded case of extrajudicial punishment marked a grim milestone, exposing the fragile nature of law and order even in communities that prided themselves on progress and civility. The tragedy began at three o'clock in the morning of January 8 when Cullen fatally stabbed his wife, Ellen, as she slept. He then entered his stepson Roy Eastman's

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 9, 1981, Iowa State Heavyweight Dave Osenbaugh shocked the wrestling world when he pinned Iowa’s Lou Banach in front of a frenzied Hilton Coliseum crowd. The pin helped Iowa State stun the top-ranked Hawkeyes. Harold Nichols and his Iowa State grabblers entered the meet ranked third in the country and rode a five-dual meet win streak. Dan Gable’s Hawkeyes headed to Ames with a 23 dual meet win streak dating back to the previous season. The meet

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 8, 1930, Doreen Wilber was born in Rutland. Wilber captured the gold medal in archery at the Munich Summer Olympics. Wilber, the first Iowa woman to win gold, picked up a hobby inadvertently and went on to win Olympic Gold. Born in Rutland and a 1948 graduate of Jefferson High School, Wilber took up archery after her husband, Paul “Skeeter” Wilber, accepted a bow and arrow set as payment for auto repairs at his shop. With only Skeeter to teach

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 8, 1911, Frederick Louis Maytag II was born. President and Chairman of the Maytag Company, founder of Maytag Dairy Farms, and Iowa State Senator, “Fred II” also established the Fred Maytag Family Foundation during a life balancing a wide array of interests and business acumen. Born to Elmer “E.H.” Maytag, son of Maytag Industries founder Frederick Louis Maytag I, Fred II left Iowa for educational opportunities at the Culver Military Academy and

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 8, 1937, early iconic Iowa catch wrestler and coach of the state’s first-ever high school wrestling champions of Cedar Rapids, Washington, Martin “Farmer” Burns, died. A true hall-of-famer in early wrestling, Burns left a legacy of legendary proportions. Born in a rural Cedar County, Iowa, log cabin in 1861, while the American Civil War raged, Burns showed a talent for wrestling at an early age. According to legend, Burns won fifteen cents at e

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 8, 1968, Hawkeye Quarterback Matt Rodgers was born. Known for his fierce determination, exceptional leadership, and unforgettable plays, Rodgers was a cornerstone of the Hawkeyes' success in the early '90s. As Iowa's starting quarterback from 1990-1991, he led the team to two consecutive 10-win seasons and back-to-back New Year’s Day bowl games. A second-generation Hawkeye and son of back-to-back men’s basketball team MVP Jimmy Rodgers, Matt ar

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 7, 2016, legendary Iowa hooper John Johnson passed away. A prolific scorer who played the game with fluid grace, Johnson left a legacy of excellence on the hardwood for the Hawkeyes. Johnson, born October 18, 1947, in Carthage, Mississippi, played high school basketball at Messmer High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a senior, he helped lead Messmer to the Wisconsin state title in 1966. After attending Northwest College in Wyoming, Johnson

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 7, 1989, Dr. Tom Davis’s ninth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes went on the road for a top-10 showdown with sixth-ranked North Carolina. Roy Marble hit a controversial game-winning free throw after officials seemingly mixed up the correct shooter to lift Iowa to a 98-97 win. A red-hot Hawkeye hoops squad entered the contest with a 12-1 record. Featuring the all-time great Iowa duo of Marble, BJ Armstrong, and Ed Horton, Iowa came into the game fresh off a

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 7, 1902, former Iowa Governor Leslie M. Shaw became the United States Secretary of the Treasury during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt. Hardheaded, logical, and shrewd, Shaw helped guide American fiscal policy during the early 1900s. Born in Vermont, Shaw dreamed of moving west to get a college education and become a landowner. Shaw worked on his father’s farm to save a few hundred dollars before heading west to attend Cornel

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 7, 1950, at 2:06 a.m., the first calls came in reporting one of the worst fires in Iowa’s history at the St. Elizabeth’s mental health facility on the Mercy Hospital campus in Davenport. As the flames raged, 41 women lost their lives as the structure burned. Operated by the Sisters of Mercy, Mother Mary Borromeo Johnson started the facility in 1869. In 1893, St. Elizabeth’s opened to provide mental health services for Iowans. As a psychiatric t

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 6, 1855, a bill was introduced in the Iowa legislature to create a state geological survey, an essential step in formalizing the scientific study of Iowa’s land, minerals, and natural resources. Iowa achieved statehood in 1846, becoming the 29th state. The territory had filled rapidly with settlers drawn by cheap land and the promise of rich soil, yet these newcomers knew remarkably little about what lay beneath their feet. Rumors circulated a

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 6, 1942, an important Iowa advocate of women’s education, suffrage, and general equality, Eleanor Elizabeth Gordon, died. A Unitarian minister of the “Iowa Sisterhood,” Gordon lived a life dedicated to breaking glass ceilings for Iowa’s women. Born just across the river from Keokuk in 1852, Eleanor Elizabeth Gordon learned and spent time with her good friend and future “Iowa Sisterhood” member, Mary Safford. She credited the reading and debate

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 6, 1984, Lorri Bauman set the NCAA record for most field goals in a game when she hit 27 shots while Drake beat Missouri State. The first woman in NCAA history to score 3,000 points, Bauman starred at Des Moines East before setting a bunch of records for her hometown Drake Bulldogs. Starting in the Salvation Army League of Des Moines at age 10, Bauman’s abilities stood out from a young age. Bauman arrived at East High School in the late 1970s r

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 6, 1933, McDonald's CEO Fred Turner was born in Des Moines. Credited with massively expanding McDonald's through introducing new meals and setting service standards for the company, Turner went from burger flipper to man in charge. Born in Iowa’s capital city, Turner attended Dowling Catholic High School before finding his way to Drake University. Turner earned his degree in 1954 and served in the US Army for the next two years. After discharge

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 5, 1914, future Superman George Reeves was born in Woolstock. Best known for his work as the Man of Steel in the 1950s era Superman television series, Reeves captured the imaginations of people throughout the country as the first ‘Man of Steel.’ Born to newlyweds George Keefer and Helen Lescher in the rural Wright County town of Woolstock, Reeves moved to Kentucky with his mother at a young age when his parents separated. Eventually relocating

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 5, 1961, American Olympic sprint kayaker Curt Bader was born in Bloomfield. Sprint kayaking became a full Olympic discipline at the 1936 Berlin Games. Throughout the mid-20th century, European nations dominated the sport, winning around 90% of medals at major international competitions. American kayakers faced steep challenges breaking into this European-dominated arena. The sport's technical complexity required years of dedicated training, wi

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 5, 1983, Iowa men’s basketball played the team’s first game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With 15,245 in attendance, a last-second shot that appeared to fall through the net was waved off by officials, and Iowa lost to Michigan State, 61-59, in the first basketball game ever played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. For nearly six decades, Iowa basketball teams had played in the Iowa Field House, a facility dating to 1926 that featured steel balconies, poor a

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 5, 1934, a controversial last-second shot forced overtime in a rivalry game between Nile Kinnick’s Adel HS and Dallas Center HS. Inspired by the local fallout from the closely contested game, Elmer Foster ended up inventing the Fair-Play Scoreboard. Foster, physics teacher and Dallas Center superintendent, found himself surrounded after a hotly contested rivalry game with Adel in January 1934. The contest came down to the final basket, and anar

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 4, 1923, Duane Ellett was born. Ellett was the man behind the popular WHO-TV Des Moines program “The Floppy Show.” Duane and Floppy endeared themselves to Iowans on the popular children’s show from 1957 to 1987. Ellett, a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, attended Drake University. Initially interested in studying law, a journalism class led to a job with WHO Radio in 1947. Developing various entertainment skills, including ventriloquism, Elle

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 4, 1965, MLB pitcher Kevin Wickander was born in Fort Dodge. Wickander spent seven seasons in the major leagues, pitching for Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Milwaukee. Wickander's path to professional baseball took him far from Iowa. His family moved to Arizona, where he attended Cortez High School in Phoenix, just ten miles from what would become his college home. He later admitted he had never heard of Grand Canyon University until three

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 4, 1885, Dr. William Grant made medical history by successfully removing an inflamed appendix from 22-year-old Mary Gartside. At the time, the procedure was almost unheard of, as appendicitis was typically fatal due to a lack of treatment options. Dr. Grant, a self-taught surgeon with a bold approach to medicine, recognized that Mary’s condition was critical and decided to attempt a groundbreaking operation. With no precedent to follow, he reli

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 4, 1904, the Iowa State Capitol building in Des Moines caught fire. Resulting from work to convert gaslights to electricity, the fire swept through the chambers of the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa House of Representatives. Although workers completed initial construction on the iconic five-domed Capitol building gracing the eastern bank of the Des Moines River in 1886, by the early 1900s, upgrades necessitated a new phase of construction. The

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 3, 1990, the Northern Iowa Panthers beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 77-74 in men’s basketball in front of a record crowd of 22,797 in the UNI Dome. Eldon Miller’s Panthers upset 20th-ranked Iowa after storming back from down five with under three minutes to play in the game. The Panthers entered the 1989-90 campaign as a team on the rise. Paced by key contributors Troy Muilenberg, Cedrick McCullough, and Steve Phyfe, the Panthers stormed out to a 5-0 st

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 3, 1970, the Iowa Fieldhouse rocked as the Hawkeyes beat no. 17 Purdue 94-88 in front of a packed house. Coach Ralph Miller’s Hawkeyes went on to go 14-0 in the Big 10 to claim the school’s most recent outright conference title. The season started rocky for the Hawks as the team went 3-4 out of the gate. However, the high-powered Hawkeye offense proved ready for the Big 10. Led by a nucleus of players known as the "Six Pack" – John Johnson, Cha

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 3, 1983, the Iowa Hawkeye wrestlers officially opened Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Over 8,000 fans packed the new facility to watch the Hawkeyes demolish Oklahoma 35-7. The arena's namesake never saw the building completed. Roy J. Carver, a Muscatine industrialist, donated $9.2 million to the University of Iowa before he died in 1981. His generosity extended far beyond athletics, funding medical research, scholarships, and educational programs across

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 3, 1859, the Palo Alto County seat was officially established at Paoli. Within sixteen years, the county seat would move to Emmetsburg, and Paoli would vanish from Iowa maps, remembered only as a curious footnote in frontier history. Palo Alto County took its name from the first significant battle of the Mexican-American War, fought on May 8, 1846, near present-day Brownsville, Texas. General Zachary Taylor led approximately 2,300 American tro

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 3, 1856, the crowds cheered in -20-degree temperatures to celebrate the arrival of the railroad in Iowa’s (then) capital city of Iowa City. The culmination of years of hoping and planning, the arrival of the railroad in Johnson County represents an important moment of connection for the Hawkeye state. Early attempts at improving transportation in Iowa ranged from the failed Des Moines Lock & Navigation Co. to the ‘Calico Railroad' project’s dem

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 2, 1981, Sioux City West and NBA basketball player Kirk Hinrich was born. Iowa’s Mr. Basketball in 1999, the Wolverine star went on to help Kansas to back-to-back NCAA Final Four appearances before going No. 7 in the NBA Draft to the Chicago Bulls. Born into a basketball family, Hinrich played for his father, Jim, at Sioux City West. The Wolverines went 82-9 over Hinrich’s four-year career, capturing a state championship during his senior year.

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 2, 1812, Augustus Caesar (AC) Dodge was born. One of Iowa’s first Senators, a key participant in one of the region’s most significant military campaigns against Indigenous residents, and the delegate to introduce the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dodge’s legacy represents the times he lived in. Born the son of a Colonel of the Michigan Militia, eventual Territorial Governor of Wisconsin, and namesake of Fort Dodge, Iowa, Henry Dodge, AC Dodge, grew up