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Best of Curious Iowa 2024
What were readers’ favorite questions answered in 2024?
Dec. 30, 2024 5:30 am
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Since launching the series in May 2023, The Gazette has answered readers’ questions about our state, its people and its culture in detailed articles every Monday. This year, we received more than 210 questions from readers across the state, topping last year’s total of 150 questions received.
A majority of the questions were submitted by residents of Cedar Rapids, although we received questions from other parts of Iowa. Submissions also came in from California, Nebraska, Oregon and North Dakota.
We catalog every question received for future reporting, whether that is within Curious Iowa or our daily news content. If we receive a question that’s already been answered, we share the story with the person who asked the question.
This year, we responded to 52 questions in print and gave readers two opportunities to engage with the series live at our annual Iowa Ideas conference. You can watch replays of those sessions at iowaideas.com/replays/2024.
Below, find summaries of the most-read Curious Iowa stories in 2024. All of these stories are available at thegazette.com/curious, where you also can sign up for the Curious Iowa newsletter and submit questions.
Why does Iowa have a city west of the Missouri River?
Darrel Wrider of Cedar Rapids was planning a trip to Omaha earlier this year and wanted to visit Carter Lake, the only Iowa city that’s located west of the Missouri River. You have to drive through Nebraska to get there.
Wrider wondered how this town came to be, so he asked us to investigate. An 1877 flood was the catalyst for a recurring boundary dispute with Nebraska. We spoke with Pottawattamie County Historical Society historian Troy Stolp, who is an expert on this story. His curiosity about Carter Lake dates back to his childhood and he even wrote his master’s thesis on this topic.
Why do some barns have quilt blocks on them?
If you’ve driven through the Iowa countryside, it’s not uncommon to come across barns decorated with colorful geometric patterns. These adornments are called barn quilts and they are part of a grassroots art movement started by the late Donna Sue Groves in Adams County, Ohio in 2001. Groves’ quilt block was made to honor her late mother, a quilter, and to show appreciation for the barns that dot the country’s rural landscapes.
The project caught on as a way to honor family heritage and promote tourism in rural communities. Not long after Groves’ project launched, organized efforts began cropping up elsewhere. In 2003, Grundy County was the first to bring a barn quilt project to Iowa.
In 2007, the art movement arrived in Washington County, home to Kalona, the “Quilt Capital of Iowa.” By 2011, four barn quilt loops were completed.
The loops saw a resurgence in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic when outdoor and social-distanced recreation boomed.
The May 27 Curious Iowa story looked into the development of Washington County’s barn quilt loops, the preservation of old barns and the stories behind the quilt blocks.
Why does Iowa have so many gravel roads?
An intricate maze of gravel roads surrounds Iowa’s towns and cities. Drive down a gravel road on a dry day and your car will kick up a cloud of dust. Travel on a wet day and you may find yourself in a muddy, slippery situation.
The state of Iowa has more than 115,000 miles of roads. Gravel roads make up about 58 percent of the state’s total road miles.
In the July 1 installment of Curious Iowa, we investigated why Iowa has so many gravel roads and how much it costs to maintain them annually.
How are THC drinks and edibles legal in Iowa?
A growing number of hemp-based products and places to buy them in Iowa over the last year say at least one thing about consumers: more and more, they’re becoming A-OK with THC.
But as the United States continues to muddle through a patchwork of state-by-state cannabis legalization, the emerging hemp-based market generating a new buzz has prompted confusion, too. From THC and CBD to Delta 8 and Delta 9, it can be hard to discern legal products from illegal ones.
In the Feb. 12 installment of Curious Iowa, we talked to law enforcement, retail owners, hemp-based THC product manufacturers and local brewers. We asked them about new products flooding the market, how to stay within the confines of the law and why more are trying a THC drinks to unwind.
Since the Curious Iowa story published, the Iowa Legislature passed — and Gov. Kim Reynolds signed — a law that restricts the THC potency in consumable hemp products in the state. The law — House File 2605 — also requires products to have a warning label and bans sales to minors.
Since that law went into effect in July, beverage producers have launched new cannabis-infused drinks to comply with a new restrictions.
What were the Underground Railroad stops in Iowa?
The story of the America’s Underground Railroad — a network of routes and safe spaces that helped enslaved people escape from the south before the Civil War — still is being pieced together, nearly 200 years later.
Dave Holmgren, lead researcher with the Iowa Freedom Trail Project, said verifying stories is difficult. Some records and histories written during the period are available, but family stories can get warped and distorted while being passed from person to person.
Holmgren said historians are discovering new information about the Underground Railroad “all the time.” He joined the Freedom Trail Project in 2011 when there were 900 names in its database. Now, there are about 1,500.
We looked into how active Iowa’s portion of the Underground Railroad was, where it was located and what remains of it.
Why is the Midwest known for supper clubs?
For decades, Midwestern diners have relied on supper clubs for family gatherings, special occasions and date nights. Supper clubs are where you can indulge in prime rib, classic cocktails and, if you’re lucky, a relish tray.
John Allen of Robins wrote to Curious Iowa asking about supper clubs. Allen had fond memories of the Ced-Rel Supper Club, which closed after the 2020 derecho. We decided to explore what makes supper clubs special and how they became a staple in the Midwestern restaurant scene.
This story was published before the historic Lighthouse Inn Supper Club in Cedar Rapids was destroyed in a fire on Aug. 14.
How did Cedar Rapids and other Iowa cities get their names?
Quasqueton, What Cheer, Fruitland. These are Iowa towns, but where did those names come from? And what do they mean?
In the Feb. 19 installment of Curious Iowa, we tracked down how a number of Iowa cities and towns got their names, from Jamaica to Zwingle.
Why is ‘Star Trek’s’ Capt. James T. Kirk from Riverside?
In a movie based on the “Star Trek” television series, fictional character USS Enterprise Capt. James T. Kirk says, “I'm from Iowa, I just work in space."
But how did the character’s “future birthplace” in Iowa come to be in Riverside, a town of about 1,000 people in Washington County? Cliff Fry of Kalona wondered how it was chosen.
We set out to look into this intergalactic question and found answers from a fellow Iowan, who predates the fictional captain by 200 years.
Where can ATVs and UTVs be driven in Iowa?
Growing up, Dan Kleen enjoyed spending time driving dirt bikes and go-carts on his family's farm.
So when Kleen, 66, of Pocahontas, started the Iowa Off-Highway Vehicle Association in 1988, he was simply trying to establish a legal place to ride these types of vehicles.
"Unless you were on back roads with little jurisdiction, you couldn't ride them," Kleen said.
Nearly four decades later, the sentiment about these vehicles — and their popularity — in Iowa has changed drastically. In 2022, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill standardizing rules for ATVs and UTVs across all 99 counties in Iowa, allowing these vehicles to be driven on public roads.
In the July 8 installment of Curious Iowa, we looked at the laws around operating ATVs and UTVs on public roads where they’re permitted in Iowa.
What happens to recycled plastic bags?
Are plastic shopping bags really recyclable? While grocers like Hy-Vee and Fareway accept returns of plastic bags in their stores, Coralville resident Mary C. McCarthy asked whether that’s just an act to make customers feel good.
McCarthy wasn’t the only one curious about plastic bag recycling. Cedar Rapids resident Seth Lane also wrote to Curious Iowa with a similar question: What happens to the bags after they’re returned to the store? He told The Gazette he’s passionate about recycling. He’s been collecting cans and bottles from ditches along Iowa roadways even before the five-cent redemption law was enacted.
To answer McCarthy and Lane’s questions, we spoke with an Iowa-based company that recycles plastic bags, turning them into benches and picnic tables. Read the full story to find out how they make their products.
Have a question for Curious Iowa?
The Gazette will continue Curious Iowa in 2025, publishing stories every Monday. Tell us what to investigate next.
Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com
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