My Blog

Ian Moore’s on a midwestern tour - his last tour for a while, and his only Iowa stop will be at Morning Star Studio in Fairfield (not Cafe Paradiso, as previously announced) on Sunday, October 19th, 8 p.m. “We have a slew of new songs," Ian writes, “and will be recording soon so you can get a preview of what the next record will sound like. These are full-band, harmonically filled affairs, so

We’ve been feeling a little anxious about facing fall without the usual stellar season of events from Hancher Auditorium. So we’re thrilled to report that, yes, there will be a 2008-09 season—although not exactly at Hancher. Venues all around Iowa City will host events while ongoing renovations continue inside the flood-damaged building on the river. (Below: West side of Hancher on June 17,

Speaking of Spam (see Tony Ellis's blog on the other kind of spam), my dad wrangled a summer job in a Spam factory when he was a college student in the late 1940s. His dad, my grandpa, worked for Lester Armour in the Harris Bank in downtown Chicago. Armour Meats was one of his companies. Meat packing and banking and I don't know what else.

Anyway, my dad loved to tell us about that job, how

In an unpredented collaboration, six Cedar Rapids arts organizations are putting together an outdoor benefit production at Brucemore that will feature music and stories inspired by the city's recent floods. This event will replace the previously scheduled "Classics at Brucemore" production of Lysistrata. The new production, titled Moving Home, represents the largest joint production the area

Take a look at these extraordinary photos of the flooding June 11-16—they capture the fury and devastation of the rising waters—at this Boston Globe site. To give you an idea of their impact, here's one of flood waters from the Iowa River deluging Oakville, Iowa, on  June 15.  (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

We all need to pitch in to help those who have lost everything. Here are some ways