Flooded Northeast Iowa

Sunset in Manchester, Iowa

Iowa is again in the news for flooding. Just two years removed from the flood of all floods, a dam break brings in the national media for a look at our situation. Iowa set a record for wettest month ever. July, to this point, is the 7th wettest on record.

Again, eastern Iowa is the spot. But this time, a little more north than before. I did hit some of the homelands in the damage tour on Friday and Saturday.

Fontana Park, Buchanan County, Iowa

That included spots in Buchanan County at Fontana Park, just north of  Independence. The park was mostly open, but you didn’t want to get to close to the edge of the river, because it was moving quickly into the Wapsie.

I did get to have a nice conversation with a couple of Amish boys who were checking out the water.

Then I got a look at the Fayette County town of Oelwein.

A couple of people told me Friday afternoon to check out City Park on the southside of town. I did. The park was closed to the south, but you could still look at the dam from the east side. You know, the place with the big jet airplane on stilts? For the second time in 2 weeks, Oelwein had almost 10 inches of rain in just a few hours.

A drive east on Highway 3 saw water had been around. Lots of matted down grass along the road and in the waterways was visible.

The Maquoketa River through Backbone State Park

I made it partially into Backbone State Park. The Maquoketa River runs through the park. Just upstream in Strawberry Point, almost 9 inches of rain fell Friday morning. That water just ran down stream. The view here is off the river running through the park before it got to the boat house.

JHS friend Brian Stark works in Strawberry Point most days and said if he was going to work on Friday, he wouldn’t have made it as the water was partially blocking the driveway to his workplace.

Lamont, IA

Just east of the park is the town of Lamont. Volunteers were helping city crews sand bag around the water plant.

The stream that runs through town is regularly no bigger than what a garden hose produces. But early Friday, it was a raging river and debris was left behind.

This too, is the second time Lamont was hammered with a lot of water in a short period of time. This water eventually flows into the Maquoketa River.

Are you detecting a pattern yet?

Follow the money, or in this case, follow the water.

Manchester's downtown from Main Street looking east from the Maquoketa River bridge.

That’s what I did when I ended up in Manchester Friday evening where the Maquoketa River set a record of over 22 feet. The record was last set in 2004 with two previous high water marks coming in 2008. The images from these places are amazing. Thanks to Jesse Gavin for the help in navigating town.

I did find an interesting thing in looking at NOAA’s Advanced Hydrological historical data for Manchester. All of the historic crests have been in the last 10 years.

Historical Crests
(1) 21.66 ft on 05/23/2004
(2) 20.80 ft on 05/26/2008
(3) 20.50 ft on 06/09/2008
(4) 20.10 ft on 05/30/2008
(5) 18.95 ft on 04/25/2008
(6) 18.35 ft on 06/04/2002
(7) 14.17 ft on 05/31/2004
(8) 12.18 ft on 04/04/2007
(9) 11.37 ft on 07/09/2003
(10) 10.31 ft on 06/17/2004

Hardee's drive thru in Manchester. July 23, 2010.

Even the lowest level was in 2005. What’s going on there?

That is where the media was camped out for evening live shots.

Also, Manchester was one week away from hosting RAGBRAI riders on the last overnight stop of the trip. There was no denying the town, they were going to be back and ready for all those bike riders when they peddled into town.

But it was Saturday that provided the historic moments.

I stayed in Jesup with my parents to be closer to Independence and other northeast areas if the forecasted rains came through as predicted. A tremendous amount of lightning hit with this storm, but the rain wasn’t as heavy in the hard hit areas of Friday night. But I saw a tweet from Justin Gehrts of KCRG-TV Saturday morning that got my attention.

It was about concerns over the dam at Lake Delhi. I knew that wasn’t far away, so I headed the IPTV cruiser to that direction.

Delaware County bridge just above Lake Delhi's beginning.

I did find a flooded crossing of Highway D5x and X 21 that was going around the bridge to a low road to the west. I kept heading downstream to get a look at the dam. My father had said that dam was a favorite place to fish of his. (There’s a story written Wednesday that says the fishing species will drastically change now that the dam is gone.)

I did get a look at the dam from the east side, but at that time, no water was over the dam. That would start happening about 90 minutes later and then the failure of the dam would happen around 1pm Saturday.

Those images were captured by many outlets. The Des Moines Register has good shots, so does the Gazette of Cedar Rapids.

IPTV’s Steve Carns was back at Lake Delhi on Monday. He said what was left of the lake looked like a movie set. The water that broke through the side of the dam drained the lake in just a few hours. It was like pulling the plug on the bathtub.

Thanks to KMCH radio for regular updates on the flooding. They were doing what local radio is meant to do, inform the locals on what’s happening. I struggled to find fresh newscasts that morning that weren’t pre-recorded or not covering this story.

This week I’ll be writing a story on the flood situation in Iowa and what impact that has on rural America for Market to Market. That story will air at 8p Friday night in Iowa.

Childhood Obesity in Iowa – Links

Source: National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality

Iowa ranks 8 in overall prevalence with 26.5% of children considered either overweight or obese. That’s according to the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality.

Iowa kids are overweight and obese. So are kids from every other state in the United States. But that’s not the news about it. We know we have a problem, so how do we reverse the trend before we all end up with diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure?

That’s where Iowa Public Television’s Iowa Journal program comes in for your viewing and informing pleasure.

A little more background can be found here on a previous pre-show blog post.
Our panel included Tom Newton, the director of the Iowa Department of Public Health. Newton talked off-camera about efforts by IDPH employees. Some are now using standing desks and some sitting on exercise balls to help burn more calories and build core muscles while working.

Jim Hallihan of Live Healthy Iowa, The Iowa Sports Foundation and the Iowa Games was also on our panel. Hallihan was an assistant basketball coach at Iowa State University under Johnny Orr from 1982 to 1994. He coached new head Cyclone Fred Hoiberg during that time as well. Hallihan also wanted to mention Live Healthy Iowa Kids and how that impacts kids in this state.

Also on the panel was Brian Tate. He’s the Dean of Students at Des Moines North High School. Tate is a Hoover High alum and also coached football there after his before going to play at Simpson College. Tate was at Simpson from 1987-1989 which means he played under legendary coach Jim Williams at Simpson. That was after playing for some guy named Chet Culver, who was an assistant coach while Tate was a student and player at Hoover High.

Yes, the same Chet Culver that 3 republicans from Iowa want to unseat in the fall election. Terry Branstad, Rod Roberts and Bob Vander Plaats were at IPTV on Thursday for the final debate before the June 8th primary. You can watch that televised debate here sponsored by the Des Moines Register. If you want to compare to the last debate held by the Iowa Broadcast News Association, click here. The IBNA debate was held in Cedar Rapids on May 1.

Now back to Iowa kids. Tate and Hallihan are both members of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Nutrition.

Our discussion talked about serious this problem is now for our state and how it is everyone’s problem. It did take us 40 years to get here, but we need to continue to get kids in better shape, moderate their eating, changing eating habits and help families and communities better understand a healthy life.

Tate talked about how it takes a village to raise a child and the same approach needs to be used in fighting childhood obesity in Iowa and the nation.

You can view the entire program here. The show airs Friday at 630p on IPTV and Saturday morning at 830p on IPTV World.

Grundy Center, Iowa

Our discussion was set up by a visit to Grundy Center. We looked at the PE4Life program as it was shown to international visitors as part of the Global Forum For Physical Education. Rick Schupback was kind enough to spend some time with us to explain his, the administrators and the community’s role in teaching fitness for life and not just for the time during school. We also interviewed Shellie Pfohl, the Executive Director of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Pfohl had been to Grundy Center for a visit before. She’s a Dubuque native and also graduated from the University of Northern Iowa. UNI also has graduate students come to Grundy Center as part of the PE4Life. Those students use the PE4Life program to further their learning  of teaching physical education.

You can view the feature on Grundy Center here.

Newton said after the broadcast that another success story is in George, Iowa. They have a new recreation trail that was built to surround the town. It is paved and open for all. Newton said the peer pressure for everyone to take part in physical activity has been a huge positive for the community. This includes an 82-year-old man who recently got a bike and now rides around town quite often.

Hallihan added that there are good things going on in northeast Iowa as the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative.

And a last discussion point off camera was the need for more community gardens to help grown fresh food to make them accessible to more people.

We closed the show with a clip from His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet and his visit to Cedar Falls and UNI. You can see the clip here.

Again, the entire Iowa Journal program is here.
Enjoy and please share with your friends.

Carroll and the Economy – links

Here’s a rundown of links for Thursday’s Iowa Journal program.

Downtown Carroll, Iowa

You can now watch the feature on Carroll, Iowa and their economic balance by clicking here.
The background post from me is here. That has lots of links to places featured in our story.

Our studio discussion with Joe Crookham of Musco Lighting, Charles Sukup of Sukup Manufacturing and Eric Lohmeier of NCP, Inc. can be found here. That discussion covers topics of big ideas, healthcare, liquidity of banks — especially mid-range/level banks in metro/rural Iowa and status reports of their business. Again, the link to the entire show can be found here.

If you want to watch a quick behind the scenes video of the technical crew getting ready for the Journal, here is that. The video is a little blurry, but the audio is good. You’ll see Brian, Dave, Deb and Judy. We don’t zoom in on Gretchen. So, Gretch, you’re in the clear.

You can still watch the Iowa Journal, Friday at 630p on Iowa Public Television. Later in the night, you can watch Governor Chet Culver on Iowa Press as he mentions Jesup, Iowa. What exactly did he say about Jesup? Tune in at 730p to find out.

Next week we are talking childhood obesity and looking at the PE4Life program in Grundy Center.

And finally, one last Carroll story to share. It was a sad day in Carroll following a crash involving a long-time nurse who was in an ambulance on a patient transport Thursday. A story can be found here from the Des Moines Register. One of the victims, Sheryl Stoolman, received the Iowa Hospitals Association’s “Hospital Heroes” award in 2007. She was one of the first recipients.

Carroll is bucking the trend

The Iowa Journal spent last Wednesday on a road trip. We are getting ready for another economic roundtable and needed a feature before the discussion. Last year, we went to Forest City and looked at one of county’s with the highest unemployment rate. Winnebago Industries drives that region and they were in a downturn last year at this time.

This year we decided to go in a county or region that seems to be doing well. The discussion will air Thursday at 8p on Iowa Public Television’s Iowa Journal program. The background to the show is here.

Carroll County has the second lowest unemployment rate in the state right now at 5.1%. Lyon County, in far northwest Iowa, has the lowest rate for those of you keeping score at home. This statement uses March 2010 numbers from the Iowa Workforce Development website.

City and county leaders tell me this low unemployment is nothing new for the region. They’ve built a balanced economy since coming out of the farm crisis in 1985. City fathers vowed to not have a downturn like that happen again to them. So, the city went looking to balance their economy. Pella Corporation had already helped start that in 1982, with the company’s first expansion outside of Pella.

It appears Carroll has succeeded in setting up a balanced economy. Certain industries drive it, food manufacturers and distributors for one, but one of the big 3 employers is Pella Corporation, makers of home windows, and American Home Shield and in-bound call center for home warranties, and Farner-Bocken, a local company that has grown to be a major distributor of candy, food and other items on your store shelves.

Downtown Carroll, Iowa

20 companies in the county employ more than 50 workers. Jim Gossett with the Carroll Chamber of Commerce and Carroll Area Development Corporation said those 20 companies employ 4,069 people which is 36% of the total jobs in the county. The big 4, when you include St. Anthony’s Regional Hospital, employs only 17% of the workforce. At last count, there were 11,390 jobs in Carroll County.

Gossett adds Carroll County has been in the bottom 10% of unemployment for most of the last decade and a half. They pride themselves on the consistency.

And some companies are actually hiring. Pella has called back workers. One business that moved to Carroll in the last year was MarketLink, out-bound/in-bound call center based in Des Moines.

So what is the secret to their success in Carroll? City fathers say it is two simple things, leadership and communication.

Here’s who we talked to help get our story:
Shirley Phillips, is the Western Iowa Advantage Chair for this year. She’s also with the Sac County Economic and Tourism Development office.

Gary Riedmann is President and CEO of St. Anthony’s Regional Hospital and nursing home. This year he’s serving as the President of Carroll Area Development Corporation.

Arthur Neu says he’s just a resident of Carroll. But he’s known across the state a former Lieutenant Governor under Governor Bob Ray’s first tem. Art is well-known in the state and knows how to get things done.

Robert Beaman is the Senior Vice President of Operations for MarketLink. He told us about the 46 jobs they’ve already added in Carroll with the plan for 17 more part-time jobs.

Also thanks to Richard Hunsaker and Joe Behrens of the Region 12 Council of Governments.

By the way, the day we were in Carroll, a wind advisory was in place. It was so windy…. my hair actually moved. Enjoy the video tease.

See the story on Carroll Thursday night at 8p on Iowa Public Television. The story will also live on the Iowa Journal website as well.

You can watch last week’s discussion on music education or the beer show. We haven’t decided if we’ll do much with the Sioux City internet video viral sensation called “We built Sioux City.” I’ll leave that up to you to watch.

Economic Recovery in Iowa?

We are talking about the economy this week on the Iowa Journal.

We’ll be featuring the efforts of Carroll and then holding an in-studio discussion. A post about Carroll is in the works.

Her now, the official press release.

Economic Recovery in Iowa?
On the Thursday, May 13 edition
of The Iowa Journal

(Johnston, Iowa) –Thursday’s episode of The Iowa Journal will look at the state of Iowa’s business climate and job opportunities. This program airs Thursday, May 13 at 8 p.m. It will be rebroadcast Friday, May 14 at 6:30 p.m. on statewide Iowa Public Television and Saturday, May 15 at 8:30 a.m. on IPTV WORLD. It will also be available online at iptv.org/iowajournal.

While key economic indicators show Iowa’s economy is gaining strength, job growth continues to lag. Although Iowa’s unemployment rate of 6.8 percent is well below the 9.9 percent national rate the number of Iowans unemployed rose to 114,600 statewide.

But not all of Iowa suffers as high a loss of jobs. The Iowa Journal visits the town of Carroll, where the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.1 percent – the second lowest in the state. The community has helped build a diverse range of industry through strategies including the Western Iowa Advantage partnership that utilizes the strengths of an eight county region. 

In the studio to discuss Iowa’s economic recovery are Joe Crookham, president and principal owner of Musco Lighting in Oskaloosa; Charles Sukup, president of Sukup Manufacturing Company in Sheffield and a former chair of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry; and Eric Lohmeier, co-founder and managing director of NCP, Inc. in Des Moines.

For more information about The Iowa Journal, visit http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal or call (515) 242-3146. For information on how to watch IPTV WORLD in your area, visit Iptv.org.

Insiders, Farm Bills, Music Ed, and the Gunderburger this week on IPTV

Another great weekend of programming on Iowa Public Television.

We begin with the greatest show on television, but the host is pretty weak, and the Iowa Journal. We’re talking about music in education. What exactly does music do for our brain development? Next week, we’ll be talking about the economy in Iowa, including a trip to Carroll to see what is happening there.

Here’s the official release from the press shop at IPTV.

Tonight at 6:30, The Iowa Journal examines the state of music education in Iowa. You can also watch the program at 8:30 a.m. Saturday on IPTV WORLD, or online at http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal. (you can read my post on the show here).

At 7:30 p.m., Iowa Press features an interview with two veteran Iowa political professionals – Jerry Crawford (D-Des Moines) and Doug Gross (R-Des Moines) – about Campaign 2010. This program is rebroadcast at 9 a.m. Saturday on IPTV WORLD, 11:30 a.m. Sunday on IPTV, and online at http://www.iptv.org/iowapress.

At 8 p.m., on Market to Market, House Agriculture Committee members begin the arduous task of writing the next Farm Bill, an explosion on a Gulf Coast oil rig creates an environmental nightmare for the petroleum industry, and the Crave Brothers Dairy relies on innovation to produce more milk and weather economic storms. This program is rebroadcast at 8 a.m. Saturday on IPTV WORLD, noon Sunday on IPTV, and online at http://www.iptv.org/mtom. (There’s also a new blog and twitter feed for Market to Market.)

Following the end of production of two Friday night programs (NOW and Bill Moyers Journal), two new series will begin this week. At 8:30 p.m., Need to Know debuts with hosts Jon Meacham and Alison Stewart. At 9:30 p.m., don’t miss a weekly news roundup with BBC Newsnight.

Looking for a weekend project? Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Woodsmith Shop demonstrates how to build timeless tables in a weekend.

Foyle goes head to head with the US Army when a girl is murdered and suspicion points to a GI on an all-new Masterpiece Mystery Sunday at 8 p.m. Foyle’s War, Series VI, Killing Time is sure to give Foyle fans something to enjoy.

Have you seen Priceless British Antiques Roadshow? This series, an episode of which airs Monday at 6:30 p.m., features some of the greatest treasures found on the British series that started it all.

Tuesday at 7 p.m., NOVA: Hunt for the Supertwister takes you on a hair-raising journey in search of highly destructive tornadoes, and explores the science behind the search to better predict them.

Johnny Depp narrates a new documentary on American Masters: The Doors: When You’re Strange Wednesday at 9 p.m.

Thursday at 8:30 p.m., Iowa’s Simple Pleasures with Dan Kaercher takes viewers to a race track in Southwest Iowa, to Gunder for the 20-oz. Gunderburger, to Storm Lake, and to a state park near Forest City.

The Iowa Economy: Improving?

Good news about Iowa’s economy continues to trickle in, but does this mean the economy is turning the corner or a case of we had nowhere to go but up?

Iowa’s unemployment rate is 6.8% or 114,600 Iowans out of work. The lowest rate is in Lyon County (4.8%) in far northwest Iowa. The second lowest is Carroll County at 5.1%. The highest level is in Allamakee at 11.8%.

Job openings are starting to appear in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Is that a good sign? The fields hiring? According to the story:

The top categories for jobs were general help, followed by accounting, general administration, sales, nursing and social work.

Another story in the Des Moines Register shows the Iowa economy has seen gains for six months in a row.

What does that exactly mean?
Where is the growth happening?
Are you getting back to work yet?

We have put together another economic roundtable for May 13 on the Iowa Journal. Our feature piece will likely be about Carroll, Iowa. What have they done in Carroll County to keep that number low and be a regional economic engine? We hope to find out in our visit this week.

What other spots are improving? Where do you live and what is the economy like there? Tell your story below in the comments or send us an email to IowaJournal@IPTV.org.

Beer, Obama, Republicans and Neil Harl this weekend on IPTV

A big few days ahead for Iowa Public Television. It starts with a replay of our Beer Industry show on Friday night at 630p. But also includes the republican candidates for governor debating at the Iowa Broadcast News Association’s annual convention in Cedar Rapids.

Iowa Journal host Paul Yeager, left, talks with, from left, Iowa Brewers Guild president Dave Coy, Sioux City Journal beer writer Tim Hynds and John

First off, here’s the background on our TIJ beer show. The feature is already posted which includes a visit to Olde Main in Ames and Beer Crazy in Urbandale. The discussion will post later is posted now and lives here.

Thanks to our guests of Dave Coy, Doug Alberhasky and Tim Hynds. Tim made the farthest trip from Sioux City, but he also turned out a blog post about the show you can find here. That is where we stole the picture from as well. Thanks Sioux City Journal!

The IBNA debate will air live at 330p on IPTV World or our .3 channel. Then it will air again in primetime on our main service at 8p. The event will also stream on our website of http://www.iptv.org. I will be a panelist for the debate with Todd Dorman of the Gazette of Cedar Rapids and Jeneane Beck of Iowa Public Radio. Bob Fisher of KGLO/KRIB Mason City is the moderator.

Here’s the official rundown of programs on IPTV this weekend as written by the IPTV press shop.

Tonight at 6:30 The Iowa Journal looks at how consumer demand for more varieties of beer in Iowa has affected local breweries and even state laws. You can also watch The Iowa Journal at 8:30 a.m. Saturday on IPTV WORLD, and online at http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal.

At 7:30 tonight, watch Iowa Press as the statehouse reporters discuss the rural economy with economist Neil Harl. The program can also be seen Saturday at 9 a.m. on IPTV WORLD, Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on IPTV, and online at http://www.iptv.org/iowapress.

Market to Market focuses on the rural economy tonight with coverage of President Obama’s “White House to Main Street” tour of the Midwest at 8 p.m. This episode covers President Obama’s town-hall meeting in Ottumwa, the President’s visit to Fort Madison, and his stop in Macon, Missouri. You can also watch Market to Market Saturday at 8 a.m. on IPTV WORLD, Sunday at noon on IPTV, and online at http://www.iptv.org/mtom.

Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on IPTV WORLD, watch live coverage of a debate among candidates for the GOP nomination for governor. The debate, sponsored by the Iowa Broadcast News Association, will also be streamed online live at http://www.iptv.org/live. You can also see the debate in its entirety at 8 p.m. on IPTV.

A crime wave has swept across England after V-E day and Foyle stumbles upon an international cover-up in Masterpiece Mystery! Foyle’s War, Series VI: The Russian House Sunday at 8 p.m.

Monday – Thursday of next week at 6:30 p.m., tune in for the 2010 Iowa Jazz Championships.

Also on Monday, Roads to Memphis: American Experience (8 p.m.) tells the disparate yet entwined stories of James Earl Ray and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., against the backdrop of the turbulent forces that led these two men to their violent and tragic collision.

On Tuesday at 7 p.m., NOVA: Mt. St. Helens Back from the Dead documents the dramatic return of plant and animal life to the disaster zone’s barren landscape. (Rebroadcast Thursday at 7 p.m. on IPTV WORLD)

Wednesday at 8 p.m., Live from Lincoln Center: Perlman, Ax, and Ma @ The Penthouse features masters of the concert stage – Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Emanuel Ax – playing Mendelssohn and more.

Thursday at 8 p.m. on IPTV WORLD, award-winning scientist and author (and ISU professor) Sean Carroll talks about his latest book, Remarkable Creatures, which was a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award, on Intelligent Talk Television: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of Species. You can see this and other Intelligent Talk Television episodes at http://www.iptv.org/intelligenttalktv.

Iowa brewed beer here, are you drinking it?

We’re talking beer in Iowa this week on The Iowa Journal. We will be looking at the brew process, the growing popularity, the higher alcohol content and other facets of the industry. A preview to the preview was done here this week.

Here’s some of my research notes for tonight.

• 23 Breweries and brew pubs in Iowa.
• New law brings in higher-alcohol brews to Iowa. Now beer in Iowa can be up to 12% alcohol content. This levels the playing field with out-of-state breweries.
• Iowa Brewers Guild is active in building discussion and promotion of the Iowa beer industry
• Millstream in Amana opened in 1985. At the time, it was one of 4 microbreweries in the U.S. Now 1,500 are in operation. Millstream’s Schild Brau took first place in the Vienna lager style category at the World Beer Cup in Chicago.
• Craft beer industry defined by 4 markets: brewpubs, microbrews, contract brewing companies and regional craft breweries.
• In 2009, craft brewers represented 4.3% of volume and 6.9% of retail dollars for the total U.S. beer category. (Brewers Association)

Those are some of the stats we’re working from for the feature about beer in Iowa. Producer Judy Blank took a trip to Olde Main in Ames and Beer Crazy in Urbandale. The piece will set up our roundtable on the issues mentioned above.

See our work Thursday at 8p on Iowa Public Television and Friday at 630p.

Here’s the official release from the IPTV press shop.

The Beer Industry in Iowa
On the Thursday, April 29 edition of The Iowa Journal

(Johnston, Iowa) –Thursday’s episode of The Iowa Journal will look at the growth of the beer industry in Iowa. This program airs Thursday, April 29 at 8 p.m. It will be rebroadcast Friday, April 30 at 6:30 p.m. on statewide Iowa Public Television and Saturday, May 1 at 8:30 a.m. on IPTV WORLD. It will also be available online at iptv.org/iowajournal.

Nationally, the number of small, independent microbreweries and brew pubs has grown to more than 1,540. Some of that growth has occurred in Iowa, where craft breweries have popped up in towns of all sizes including Ames, Des Moines, Davenport, Amana, Northwood and Shenandoah. The Iowa Journal visited Olde Main Brewery & Restaurant in Ames. The company boasts it has doubled production every year since opening in 2004 and now distributes beer across the state. The Iowa Journal also visited Beer Crazy, a retail specialty beer and home brew supply store located in Urbandale.

In the studio to discuss what’s brewing in the Iowa beer industry are three guests: Dave Coy, president of the Iowa Brewers Guild and head brewer at Raccoon River Brewing Company in Des Moines; Doug Alberhasky, store manager and bier guy at John’s Grocery in Iowa City; and Tim Hynds, chief photographer and beer writer for the Sioux City Journal.

This episode of The Iowa Journal will also feature an excerpt of a speech by author and film maker Peter Hedges. The West Des Moines native first gained national attention with his book “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” which was later made into a movie.
For more information about The Iowa Journal, visit http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal or call (515) 242-3146. For information on how to watch IPTV WORLD in your area, visit Iptv.org.

Here’s a few of the comments generated earlier in the week about folks’ favorite Iowa brew.

Christine ‘Darby’ Weydert Paul – any Millstream beer is great. The brewers/owners are a great assest as well. They work closely with the Thirsty homebrew club in Iowa City. And John’s Grocery can’t be beat for beer selection from around the world! While Old Main here in Ames has a great relationship with our brew club – ABL – their beer just doesn’t compare to Millstreams – pale ale and pilsner.

Sean Smith What about the new law regarding alcohol content that seriously benefits Iowa’s micro-brewers? WIN!

Trent Rice The kids at Olde Main Brewing in Ames do a nice job. Not only do they sell their product in the restaurant, they also have deals worked out with Fareway, Hy Vee, etc.

Robert Lehmann I put in a plug for Millstream ‘Brewing Co, Amana. Schild Brau Amber and Hefeweissen are a couple of theirs.

Randall Schroeder Iowa Pale Ale from Millstream! Anybody passing through Michigan? Bring some. Signed, desperate displaced and thirsty Hawkeye.

From Twitter:
@MarcMorehouse: Millstream, but Peace Tree has a chance to unseat it.

@ryanbrancheau Check with @mikebgp. A local beer enthusiast I used to work with. He would be a good one to talk with. http://bit.ly/aMLYZT

@MikeBGP there are certainly a number of items worth talking about regarding Iowa’s new laws and brewers.

What’s your input on our program?
Which Iowa brewed beer do you like?

Obama Ottumwa Links

Looking to view President Barack Obama’s speech in Iowa on April 27, 2010, well Iowa Public Television can help.

We’ve got the speech and town hall here that took place in Ottumwa. Here’s the link to that speech.

Then The Iowa Journal took the discussion a step further with Bill Brown, chairman of the board of directors of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry. Brown also is a lawyer with BrownWinick in Des Moines. His clients largely are manufacturing companies. Also on the panel was David Swenson, associate scientist in the economics department at ISU.

Both have been on the program before.

Here’s our discussion which includes reaction to the Obama speech, what is unique about the southeast Iowa economy and how is Iowa doing when we talk economy.

We do mention Waverly, Jesup, Jewell and Jefferson to name a few spots on the map. What context ask? Click here and find out for yourself.

The Iowa Journal will also discuss the economy again on May 13.