During his long career as an editor and writer, Dan Kaercher crisscrossed the Midwest region. After returning to his home state of Iowa, he always found a renewed sense of pride in this extraordinary state. Join Dan as he searches for the best of Iowa. He visits some of the treasures he found on previous road trips, and uncovers some new gems. From rich natural areas to one-of-a-kind food stops to tributes to Iowan's heritage, Dan spotlights some of the best that Iowa has to offer.

Stories

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More Iowa Stories

• Rising Above: The National Czech and Slovak Museum This documentary chronicles the dramatic history of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, from its origins and early locations to becoming a major tourist attraction in the Midwest.
• City of Literature How did the midwestern college town of Iowa City, Iowa become the capital of creative writing in America? It’s an unlikely story of literary ambition, academic innovation, and a promising young poet who became a cultural entrepreneur.
• Iowa's Firefighting Family The trust and cooperation that is required to risk one’s life to help others makes the 20,000 firefighters in the state of Iowa one giant family. This special bond is illustrated with the Butler family of Harlan, Iowa.
• Lost In History: Alexander Clark Despite an historic court victory for civil rights and a lifetime of other significant achievements, Alexander Clark's story has been all but lost from history.
• Iowa Soldiers Remember Afghanistan After record deployments during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Iowa National Guard troops reflect on their experiences and tally the emotional toll.
• Templeton Rye: Iowa's Good Stuff This locally-produced documentary takes a glimpse at the whiskey cookers of Carroll county and their spirit to hold a community together.
• Searching for Buxton A young African-American goes searching for his family past in a long-disappeared Iowa coal mining town and discovers that much of the prosperity and goodwill his relatives enjoyed nearly a century ago is elusive today. Narrated by Simon Estes.
• Iowa Outdoors IPTV's Iowa Outdoors series highlights outdoor recreation, environmental issues, conservation initiatives, and Iowa’s outdoor natural resources.
• Iowa State Fair Iowa Public Television celebrates over 40 years of in-depth coverage of the Iowa State Fair. Browse IPTV's collection of hundreds of fair video features from current and past years.
• TV Iowans Grew Up On From the 1950s to 1980s, local television stations to produced their own programs to accompany children's cartoon shows. This documentary is a nostalgic look back at several local children's programs and the impact they had on young Iowans.
• Iowa's Radio Homemakers: Up a Country Lane In this heartwarming documentary, Evelyn Birkby, famed radio homemaker, shares her knowledge about Shenandoah, Iowa’s radio homemakers and offers personal and engaging stories about rural life in the 1950s.
• Iowa's Simple Pleasures Hosted by Dan Kaercher, Iowa's Simple Pleasures is a new series produced by Iowa Public Television that highlights fun things for Iowans to do, see, and taste, right here at home.
• Picture Perfect: Iowa in the 1940s Photographs show the faces, fields and porches of small-town America before World War II and stand as a historical record of both a bygone time and a rural Iowa that's fading away.
• Iowa's One-Room Schoolhouses Glance through the windows, walk in the doors and relive the charm of Iowa's one-room schoolhouses.
• More Than A Game: 6-On-6 Basketball In Iowa takes a look back at girls' 6-on-6 basektball and what it meant to generations of young women who played it.
• Best of Iowa Host Dan Kaercher takes you on a tour of Iowa that includes parks, towns, waterways, historic sites and restaurants.
• A Promise Called Iowa documents how Iowa became a place of refuge and freedom for many Southeast Asians.
• Iowa Places of Worship Discover sacred sites hidden around the state, from the pleasingly plain Meeting Houses of the Quakers to the gilded glory of Iowa's two Catholic Basilicas.
• Iowa's World War II Stories This Emmy® award winning program preserves the memories of some of those Iowans who served on the home front and the battlefront.
• Best of the Midwest Join Dan Kaercher on three separate journeys through 12 Midwest states.
• A Century of Iowa Architecture The details and drama of some of the finest buildings in the world, located right here in Iowa.
• Henry A. Wallace The story of a man whose innovations revolutionized the production of food.
• The People in The Pictures Stories from the Wettach Farm photos taken by Pete Wettach between the 1920s and 1960s.
• This Old Statehouse This award-winning documentary features the work and workers who restored Iowa’s most important architectural icon, the state Capitol.
• The Iowa Heritage The Iowa Heritage covers Iowa's history from prehistory through the present. The series provides a vivid and personal look at Iowa's development, culture and achievements.

Iowa Pathways

Explore Iowa's history in a whole new way

From the first farmers to pioneer settlers; new immigrants to Iowa innovators, discover how the experiences of the past tell the story of who we are as Iowans. Produced in partnership with the State Historical Society of Iowa, IPTV's Iowa Pathways brings together vast resources into an online destination examining the people, places, events and ideas of Iowa.

• Over 300 articles about Iowa history topics
• Nearly 1,000 images, videos, and interactive maps
• Interactive timeline of over 500 historical events
• Over 1,000 links, activities and classroom resources

Visit Iowa Pathways at www.iptv.org/iowapathways.