Iowa History Journal

01/24/2025

There are many choices, but only one Iowa History Journal!

Please support our small, Iowa business as we compete with national titles on newsstands at Barnes & Noble, Hy-Vee, Books-A-Million and select Walmart, Mills Fleet Farm and Hy-Vee Drug stores.

01/22/2025

Sit back, relax and tune in to our segment today on Iowa Live! 😀

The Iowa History Journal is available at stores across Iowa or by mail. Purchase a subscription for more about Iowa's fascinating history!

01/20/2025

IHJ 2025 Quiz, Week 3: Can you name the longtime host of WOI-TV’s weekday show Iowa Live, who for years prior to his work on television was a radio broadcaster?

Tune in Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. when we visit “Iowa Live!”

Find the answer in the Jan/Feb issue of Iowa History Journal sold at Barnes & Noble, Hy-Vee, Beaverdale Books, Books-A-Million and select Walmart, Mills Fleet Farm and Hy-Vee Drug stores. To find a store in your town, or to order it online visit iowahistoryjournal.com.

We Are Iowa Local 5 News

01/16/2025

The pleasure was all ours talking to our friend Jeff Stein, host of "Live & Local" on News/Talk 1540 KXEL. Tune in!

01/16/2025

Thanks to Jeff Stein for hosting us on "Live & Local" to talk about the new issue of Iowa History Journal! Tune in!

News/Talk 1540 KXEL is an AM radio station serving the Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids areas in Iowa. The Voice of Eastern Iowa, News/Talk 1540 KXEL features "The KXEL Morning News" weekdays fro

01/13/2025

IHJ 2025 Quiz, Week 2: What is the name of the state park located in southern Iowa that is named after a loose confederacy created by the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi tribes, and was built as the result of the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration?

Find the answer in the Jan/Feb issue of Iowa History Journal sold at Barnes & Noble, Hy-Vee, Beaverdale Books, Books-A-Million and select Walmart, Mills Fleet Farm and Hy-Vee Drug stores. To find a store in your town, or to order it online visit iowahistoryjournal.com.

01/10/2025

Get to know Iowa!
Get it at Barnes & Noble, Hy-Vee, Beaverdale Books, Books A Million, select Walmart and Mills Fleet Farm stores. Visit iowahistoryjournal.com to find a store in your town!

01/09/2025

With the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter underway this morning at Washington National Cathedral, where all five living U.S. presidents are in attendance to pay their respects to the 39th president who died on Dec. 29 at age 100, we are reminded of how Carter put the Iowa caucuses on the map during his successful campaign for the White House in 1976.

In our Jan/Feb 2016 cover story, “First in the nation: A history of the Iowa caucuses,” author Jerry Harrington identified two ironclad rules about the event’s early years that Carter and his campaign staff embraced during their year-long stint in the Hawkeye State: the caucuses are not primaries or popularity contests, they are organizational battles; and the “expectation game” became part of the mix.

Here’s an excerpt from Harrington’s story:

While McGovern suffered a crushing defeat against incumbent President Richard Nixon in the fall of 1972, the political lessons of the Iowa caucuses were still valid. And they were taken to heart by a one-term governor of Georgia aspiring to the presidency by the name of Jimmy Carter.

Carter was assisted by his political aide Hamilton Jordan who drew up an overall plan to win the presidency for this Southern governor. This included concentrating on Iowa, vigorously contesting in the Hawkeye State’s caucuses and using that publicity to catapult this “dark horse” to the presidency.

Carter was about as unknown a presidential candidate as there was, often cited as “Jimmy Who?” after he was introduced. In the national polls among Democratic presidential candidates, Carter was barely registering in the single digits. But beginning in February 1975, when Carter made his first trip to Des Moines, the candidate came to the state repeatedly, often staying overnight in Iowans’ homes, to meet people one-on-one in small gatherings and practicing what some have called “retail politics.” At the same time, the Carter organization, led by Tim Kraft who moved to Iowa full time, was busy organizing the state for the governor.

“For one brief moment in time, this was a chance to show what a long-shot could do,” said Kraft. “Over my career, I’ve worked on the county, state, regional, national and international level. By far, the Carter campaign in Iowa in 1975 and 1976 was the best one I’ve been involved in.”

A key event was the Democrat’s Jefferson-Jackson dinner held at Hilton Coliseum in Ames in late-October 1975. Knowing that the Des Moines Register was going to take a straw poll among participants, Kraft and the Carter organization — calling the poll “a giant bulls-eye” — packed the event with supporters. The result was Carter as the clear poll winner. New York Times writer R.W. Apple highlighted Carter’s win in the poll in his front-page story in the newspaper the next morning, providing national publicity for Carter. The former governor flew to New York City from Iowa, making the rounds on the morning talk shows who wanted to interview this new star of the Democratic party.

That January, Carter finished first among the Democrats in delegate counts at the Iowa caucuses (but second to “undecideds”) and, like McGovern, used this spotlight in the sun to propel him to the Democratic nomination. Unlike McGovern, Carter won the presidency in the fall by defeating Gerald Ford.

“I think that Iowa, as well as New Hampshire, are the last vestiges of citizen democracy,” said Kraft. “It’s citizen-talking-to-citizen, asking direct questions of candidates. And, in Iowa, it’s local people continuing to run the campaign, not national staffs.”

Copies of the Jan/Feb 2016 issue can be purchased at iowahistoryjournal.com.

Jimmy Carter Presidential Library

01/08/2025

Thanks to our friends Lou Iowa Live and Jeff Stein with News/Talk 1540 KXEL for the plug today on Iowa Live! Tune in to their conversation about the subject of today's Iowa Almanac!

Dr. Nancy Hill, the first female doctor in Dubuque and founder of Hillcrest Family Services, passed away on this date in 1919.

01/06/2025

IHJ 2025 Quiz, Week 1: The Friedman twin sisters—Esther and Pauline—who became the preeminent newspaper advice columnists in the United States during the second half of the 20th century were the authors of the popular “Ann Landers” and “Dear Abby” columns read by millions of readers. In which Iowa city were they born and raised?

The first three people to answer correctly win a FREE back issue of their choice, 2014-2024!

Find the answer in the Jan/Feb issue of Iowa History Journal sold at Hy-Vee, Barnes & Noble, Beaverdale Books and select Walmart, Mills Fleet Farm, Books-A-Million stores. Or get it online at iowahistoryjournal.com.

01/04/2025

Iowa History Journal Jan/Feb 2025 preview

12/31/2024

Our office wasn’t the same today without our beloved companion, Jake, who crossed over the rainbow bridge on Friday at age 16. Though we are grateful for the years of joy that our beloved rescue dog brought us, including the last four months as he battled cancer, we are heartbroken and will miss his daily presence in the office. What’s more, chances are if you ordered back issues, or a subscription that required us to mail the magazine to you after it went to press, Jake was riding shotgun with us to the post office to mail your order. It was one of his favorite things to do, riding high in his booster seat during the last year so he could steady himself in his old age. He always wanted to be with his pack. Jake will be missed, but he will live in our hearts. His love and life is a beautiful reminder of the humanity of rescuing dogs that deserve a furever home. RIP Jake. 💔❤️🐶

12/30/2024

IHJ 2024 Quiz, Week 52: As we wrap up our 16th year of publishing Iowa History Journal we want to know what was your favorite story that you read in IHJ in 2024?

12/30/2024

Former President Jimmy Carter, who died today at age 100, put the Iowa caucuses on the map during his run for the White House. Read how he did it and other interesting facts about the history of the caucuses in our Jan/Feb 2016 issue. Copies remain:
https://iowahistoryjournal.com