Iowa’s Simple Pleasures: Season Two

Phil Blobaum shoots the conversation between Dan Kaercher and Mike Rastrelli in Clinton.

A restaurant is great place to put Dan Kaercher, host of the IPTV program Iowa’s Simple Pleasures.

I spent a few days on the road with Dan for season two of ISP, including a couple of restaurants. (You can watch Season 1 by clicking here.)

We went to Rastrelli’s in Clinton where Dan made some sausage and pizza. We had  a great time that night and ate our selves silly. When I was editing, all I could think about was bread, pizza and hot fudge sundae. That is a good thing about traveling with Dan, eating well. He must live on his treadmill when not on the road with us.

Phil captures the conversation between Dan Kaercher and Heidi Plummer of Kernel Cody's Popcorn Shoppe.

We also took a trip to the best tenderloin in Iowa at Goldie’s in Prairie City and even a visit to the Mississippi River town of LeClaire. The stop in LeClaire led us to Kernel Cody’s Popcorn Shoppe along the riverfront.

Dan and I also made a trip to Templeton and expose a secret. Ok, it is not that big of a secret, but it is where they bottle Templeton Rye. Back in July, I attended the Rock ‘n Rye event for part of the story.

 

For the rest of the week, I”ll be posting stories about those trips.

You too, can see a preview of the show during our Festival programming on Iowa Public Television. The preview show runs March 10th at 8:30 PM. I know part or all of my LeClaire piece will air that night.

Thank you for your support of IPTV and our programming.

Summer at IPTV

The view from behind home as IPTV was at Modern Woodman Park in Davenport in 2009.

Summer means road trips for Iowa Public Television.

Many of us hit the road for various projects.

There’s getting ready for the Iowa State Fair with some prep pieces (any ideas click here), Iowa’s Simple Pleasures and Saturday in the Park in Sioux City. Maybe more Lenka this year?

Dan Wardell brings the squid show to Ankeny.

Then there’s the real Iowa Traveller, (sorry Cary J) Dan Wardell. He gets to almost every library in Iowa during the summer months.

This week Dan goes to Council Bluffs, Hamburg, Essex, Lenox (home of O. Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa), Lamoni (if it doesn’t wash away because of all the rain they’ve had this month), Murray and Moulton.

So what will you see in Dan’s story this year?

Hypno-parrots. Trying to make a whale laugh. Bullfighting with a minotaur. These unique story elements are part of Dan Wardell’s original story for the fourth-annual Reading Road Trip! These and other fun topics will help Dan tell a story that encourages kids to turn off the TV and spend time playing outside and reading.

Follow Dan’s adventures by visiting http://www.iptv.org/dantastic. Check back often – you won’t want to miss a day!

I’ll let you know where I’ll be headed here. Last year there were Iowa Journal stories in the Midwest League, wineries and the Park Inn Hotel. Those stories were also for Simple Pleasures. BTW, if you have an idea for Iowa’s Simple Pleasures, drop me an email to IPTVPaul@gmail.com or post it below in the comments for all to see.

Honk or take a picture of IPTV when it shows up in your town. We’ll post the pic here.

Festival 2010 on IPTV

Festival is here on IPTV

The time you either really love, or really hate is here on Iowa Public Television. It is Festival time. This is our one big fundraising event of the year. We do a December pledge event, but this is it for us. IPTV has one of the lowest rate of pledge events in the country.

Read the descriptions below, something for everyone. Even Urbandale gets a shout out with Straight No Chaser.

Here’s a look at some of the fun stuff we’ll be bringing you.
Iowa’s Radio Homemakers: Up A Country Lane
http://www.iptv.org/iowastories/detail.cfm/iowas-radio-homemakers-up-a-country-lane Producer Deb Herbold is bringing you this story.

Iowa’s Simple Pleasures Producer Anrdea Coyle oversaw this project. I also got to do a couple of features for this show including trips to the Cedar Rapids Kernels game and Fireside Winery in Marengo. We also feature the Shanti in Gunder and the Gundgerburger.

TV Iowans Grew Up On
I’ll be pledging the show with Jeff Stein of Wartburg College. We’ll be talking about Dr. Max, Bart’s Clubhouse, Captain Ernie and Floppy. I’ll be writing more on this one soon.

Here’s a rundown of more items:
Monday, March 8, 2010 - 6:30 PM on IPTV

IPTV studio converted to studio for Blenko glass studio. Special patrons of IPTV got to see the glass creations up close and personal before Monday's pledge event.

Blenko: The Spirit of American Stained Glass

8:30 PM on IPTV
Antiques Roadshow
Pledge for tickets & events around Antiques Roadshow filming in Des Moines this August.

10:00 PM on IPTV
Rounder Records 40th Anniversary Concert
The Rounder Records 40th Anniversary Concert is a gala featuring the best and brightest stars from the Rounder roster. Film and television star Minnie Driver hosts this spectacular star-studded variety concert with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Steve Martin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Madeleine Peyroux, “Soul Queen of New Orleans” Irma Thomas, Bela Fleck, and Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas
Preview: http://www.iptv.org/video/detail.cfm/6897/roun_20100225_preview

Other programs of note during Festival 2010

Wednesday, March 10 @ 6:30PM
The Moody Blues at the Royal Albert Hall

Wednesday, March 10 @ 10:00PM
Get Down Tonight: The Disco Explosion
My Music brings back the disco years with live performances from the legends of the lighted dance floor. Hosted by KC and The Sunshine Band, Karen Lynn-Gorney (Saturday Night Fever co-star) and Dance Fever’s Denny Terrio – - this program includes the hit-makers featured on the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever: KC & The Sunshine Band (That’s The Way I Like It, Get Down Tonight), The Trammps (Disco Inferno), Yvonne Elliman (If I Can’t Have You), Tavares (More Than A Woman) and more bring back the days of polyester suits, big hair, mirror balls and 8-track tapes.

Thursday, March 11 @ 8:00PM
Iowa’s Radio Homemakers: Up A Country Lane
In the 1950s, domesticity dominated the lives of most rural Iowa women. Somewhat isolated on the farm, many turned on the radio to hear a friendly voice – someone to share their sometimes-lonely lives. Radio homemakers were a popular radio program choice. They served as “neighbors on the air” and helped women with everything from menu planning to child rearing. In this heartwarming documentary, Evelyn Birkby, famed KMA radio homemaker, shares her knowledge about Shenandoah, Iowa’s radio homemakers and offers personal and engaging stories about rural life in the 1950s. “The Iowa Boy” Chuck Offenburger along with Iowa historian Tom Morain also give perspective on a simpler time when the American family ideal was foremost on Iowans’ minds.
Website:
Preview:
Longer segment: http://www.iptv.org/video/detail.cfm/6604/irh_20100202_sneak_peek

Sunday, March 14 @ 7:00PM
TV Iowans Grew Up On
Starting in the 1950s and continuing well into the 1990s, young Iowans faithfully tuned in to watch children’s television programs like Dr. Max and Mombo, Betty Lou and her Magic Window, The Floppy Show and many more. These locally-produced broadcasts taught important educational concepts, entertained and enthralled our children. Iowa Public Television is proud to present this encore presentation of engaging content we produced in the 90s. Tune in and relive your own personal memories of TV Iowans Grew Up On.
Video clips: http://www.iptv.org/video/browse.cfm/program/20874/tv_iowans_grew_up

Monday, March 15 @ 8:00PM
Iowa’s Simple Pleasures
Dan Kaercher, founding editor-in-chief of Midwest Living magazine, and host of several Iowa Public Television series like Best of the Midwest, Taste of the Midwest, Parklands of the Midwest, and Best of Iowa, returns to IPTV in search of fun things for Iowans to do, see, and taste, right here at home in a brand new special, Iowa’s Simple Pleasures. Kaercher and the series producers poured over the State’ s abundant options of “things to do” and they discovered Iowa treasures that aren’t necessarily well-known outside their own local areas. Activities like tubing down a winding river, bike riding on the Wabash Trace Nature Trail, and so much more! And then of course there was a lot of EATING! From international fare at Café Dodici in downtown Washington, to the 20-ounce Gunderburger at The Irish Shanti in Gunder, there’s no doubt there is plenty here in Iowa to tempt your taste buds! And if your appetite is for fun, we’ ll also visit some of Iowa’s newer destinations like King’s Pointe in Storm Lake, along with some old favorites, like the Blank Park Zoo.

Monday, March 15 @ 9:00PM
Peter, Paul and Mary: Carry It On: A Musical Legacy
Features rare performances of songs that energized the spirit of the nation’s cultural renaissance.
Video from the program: http://www.iptv.org/video/browse.cfm/program/20774/iowas_simple_pleasures

Thursday, March 18 @ 9:00PM
Straight No Chaser – Live In New York: Holiday Edition
The a cappella phenomenon perform of classics from the 1950′s and 1960′ and contemporary pop hits.
Group member Tyler Trepp live in-studio