Happy National Iowa Day!

Travel 2 Minutes

If you’re planning a trip to Iowa, Trip Advisor says these places are among the MUST SEE places in Iowa!

Maquoketa Caves State Park

Unfortunately, all modern facilities in the park, including the shower building have closed for the season they will reopen MAY 2026. Frost free hydrants remain on in the campground. Pit toilet is available at the youth group parking lot.

Field of Dreams Movie Site

Is this Heaven? No, it’s Iowa. A place of fertile soil, traditional values and simple pleasure. And, in Dyersville, Iowa, at the century-old Lansing family farm with its quaint, and oh-so-recognizable house, baseball still ranks as a favorite pastime for all ages. What better place to carve a baseball diamond from a corn field and to make a movie about pursuing one’s dream, no matter how much effort it takes? From tours of the inside of the iconic Field of Dreams Farm House, to our retail store, to our concessions stand, there certainly is plenty to do at the place dreams come true!

National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium

Part aquarium, part museum, part science center, the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium inspires stewardship by creating educational experiences where history and rivers come alive! Our 14-acre campus on the banks of the Mississippi River features two separate two-story buildings and an expansive outdoor plaza. The Museum & Aquarium is home to over 200 species of animals and thousands of historic artifacts.

Fenelon Place Elevator Co.

Historic cable car. Also known as the Fourth Street Elevator, this funicular railway has been called “the world’s steepest, shortest scenic railway.” Great view of downtown Dubuque, the Mississippi River and 3 states. Buses should go to the bottom of the bluff. Please use 4th and Bluff Streets for GPS. Narrow streets with parking on both sides at the top of the bluff.

Pappajohn Sculpture Park

Open to visitors since September 2009, the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park features artwork by 22 of the world’s most celebrated artists. The 4.4 Acre park, located within a major crossroads of the urban grid, creates a pedestrian friendly entranceway to downtown Des Moines. This accessible setting, coupled with the skilled landscape design and caliber of the art, makes it unlike any other sculpture park in the United States. The Pappajohns’ contribution of 28 works for the park is the most significant donation of artwork ever made to the Des Moines Art Center.

SOURCE: TRIPADVISOR.COM

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Published by pat frederick

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100 thoughts on “Happy National Iowa Day!”

    1. Morning, Pat! 29 here this morning and the turtle doves were cooing before I even got up. Just think how nice it’s going to be once spring finally arrives in your neck of the woods! No sign of Wheezer overnight – tuna still untouched but not completely frozen at least.

      “A Warning from Americans!”

      Michael T. Flynn LTG USA (RET), Feb 07, 2026

      “A famous American General once said, the only things worth counting on are people you can count on…so never waste a minute worrying about people who don’t like you or aren’t helping you make a difference in your life. Instead, focus on people who will help you make a difference.

      I say this because something is happening in our country, and most of us don’t fully understand it. The world feels upside down. Every day brings more confusion, more lies, more fear. We’re told who to trust, who to doubt, and who to ignore, but how are we supposed to know who is telling the truth?

      The institutions we were taught to rely on—our government, the media, the courts, even big corporations—feel broken. Allies turn into enemies overnight. Yesterday’s heroes are today’s villains. Stability feels like it’s slipping through our fingers. So many are left scared, frustrated, and searching for answers that don’t come.

      We want brutal honesty. We want safety. We want a future for our families. Instead, we get manipulation, deception, and chaos. Too many of the wrong people have been protected for far too long. To change this, we must educate ourselves, ask tough questions, and demand transparency from those in power.

      We are at a turning point in America, not red versus blue, but truth versus lies, the people versus the system, freedom versus control.

      If justice comes, if corruption is truly exposed, it won’t just change politics; it could shake the foundations of our country and the world!

      We feel the weight of history pressing down, and deep down, we know this isn’t normal. What we need now is collective courage, honesty, and moral clarity. Most of all, we need to stop pretending everything is fine because it isn’t. A society that abandons truth abandons everything.

      As Thomas Paine once said, “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”

      Stick to those people you can count on. Take control of what you can control. Get involved and speak up. One life to live, make it matter.”

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        1. Seems that way for you anyway…..but early spring, like I’m getting this year, has it’s drawbacks, too. Plants, animals, farmers – all are affected in good and bad ways. We’re still considered to be in a drought and this will exacerbate that.

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          1. just another heads up…Kimi’s birthday is the 15th and jam’s is somewhere from the middle to end of February…she never gave me a straight answer. M’s hubby is the 20th, but not sure I should wish him a happy birthday????

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  3. Mike Benz just exposed a plan by the former HEAD OF THE DNC on “how to overturn the election results if Trump won — The exact phrase was, provoke a breakdown on January 6th to disrupt the proceedings to prevent the vote from going through”

    This is Treason

    “All of the major DNC apparatchiks, including Donna Brazile, the former head of the DNC, and John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, who was then promoted to a $375 billion slush fund to run inside the Biden White House, planned a simulation about how to overturn the election results if Trump won in, quote, a clear Trump win.

    As part of that plan, they planned to, I think the exact phrase was provoke a breakdown on January 6th to disrupt the proceedings to prevent the vote from going through.

    The addendum to that war game exercise, it was called will Trumpism survive Trump even if he loses? Clearly laid out a necessity to create a predicate to go after Trump’s entire base to, quote, demobilize them, that they won’t automatically demobilize on their own. And so some legal predicate is necessary to go after the entire base”

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  8. EXCERPT: “Lindsey Vonn was the 13th skier to hit the slopes in the alpine ski women’s downhill at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday and her dreams of powering through a devastating knee injury to make the medal podium came to a crashing halt.

    Vonn was entering the first sector when she fell hard onto the slopes. The crowd gasped as they came to terms with the wipeout. She writhed in pain as medical professionals came to check on her. A helicopter came to get Vonn off the mountain.

    The Olympic legend was attempting to medal in the event despite a devastating knee injury she suffered while at the World Cup. She made clear in subsequent social media posts that her ACL was “100% gone.”

    An ACL tear normally involves a recovery that lasts about a year, but Vonn planned to fight through it…..”

    https://www.foxnews.com/sports/lindsey-vonn-crashes-winter-olympics-alpine-ski-womens-downhill-event

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      1. I thought so, too. She was just asking for it….but I’m guessing her age maybe played a role in pushing her to it? IDK anything about skiing but I expect, like everything else, it is a young person’s game and she’s been at it for quite a while now.

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  9. Just The News: “Key figures from the international sporting world said that they have reached agreement on a new, unified policy for transgender athlete eligibility that will apply across major competitions, including the Olympic Games and world championships, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Saturday.

    The move marks a shift away from the current system, in which individual sports federations set their own rules, often leading to a patchwork of different standards. 

    Under the anticipated framework, transgender competitors who have experienced full male puberty before any medical transition would face tighter restrictions in women’s categories, but the full details have yet to be finalized.

    The effort has been championed by IOC President Kirsty Coventry, the first woman to lead the organization. She took the helm in June and has prioritized a more consistent global approach.

    At a press briefing during the Milano-Cortina Winter Games in Italy, IOC spokesman Mark Adams emphasized the importance of the initiative, saying that “protecting the female category is one of the key reforms she wants to bring in.”

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  10. Just The News: “President Donald Trump has issued a presidential proclamation that reopens nearly 5,000 square miles of ocean off the New England coast to commercial fishing, overturning long-standing federal protections.

    The area affected is the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a federally protected marine zone east of Cape Cod that was originally created under former President Barack Obama to safeguard underwater ecosystems. Biden reinstated the rules in 2021.

    Trump’s proclamation revokes the Biden-era ban on commercial fishing, restoring access for U.S. fishing fleets and industry groups.

    In announcing the move, the White House said it would help reduce regulatory burdens on the fishing industry and bolster coastal economies, especially in places like Maine. The White House argued that existing federal laws already provide sufficient environmental protections and that sustainable fishing can continue without threatening protected habitats.”

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  11. Just The News: “U.S. athlete Breezy Johnson won the gold medal in the women’s alpine skiing downhill on Sunday. She claimed the first gold medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics in a time of 1:36.10 while Germany’s Emma Aicher won silver and Italy’s Sofia Goggia took bronze. 

    U.S. athlete Lindsey Vonn crashed in the race at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Milano Cortina. She was competing with a torn ACL.”

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  15. funneling money through rwanda for a “drug rehab” facility in Oregon

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  17. Geislingen, Germany 1900

    Luh-Sa-Coo-Re-Culla-Ha (Special Time of Day or Estimated Sun). Pawnee. Photo by Jackson Brothers (Omaha, NE). C. 1869.

    Emerald Bay, Tahoe

    Custom

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  19. Ah! The Blue Jays are here! I put the seed feeder out but I’m not putting the seed block out yet – the Jays will just gobble it up in no time. I’ll wait until I see a Woodpecker! I’ve got plenty of jelly left over from last year but I can’t imagine I’ll see any Orioles any time soon! I also ordered 3 difference sizes of seed blocks for all my feeders.

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  20. NF: Some of his memes have been posted here before but I’m not going to go thru and delete them since it’s possible they weren’t seen the first time.

    “Sunday Strip: Just the Facts Ma’am.”

    Dr. Robert W. Malone, Feb 08, 2026

    Just the facts…

    liberal women report lower levels of happiness and life satisfaction compared to conservative and moderate women. According to the 2024 American Family Survey, only 12% of liberal women aged 18–40 said they were “completely satisfied” with their lives, compared to 37% of conservative women.

    Similar disparities were found in mental health and feelings of loneliness, with liberal women being the least happy and loneliest group in the survey.

    A 2020 Pew Research Center study found that 56% of white liberal women aged 18–29 had been diagnosed with a mental health condition by a medical professional, more than double the rate among conservative women (27%) in the same age group.

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  25. SMH – just talked to my Sis, whose grandson tried to talk to Mom about taking the apartment that his Mom found for her. She claims it won’t work because she can’t take her full-size free-standing freezer; Tyler suggested putting it in the bedroom but that wasn’t acceptable either since she claims it’s too small and her bed wouldn’t fit. He offered to put the big freezer at their house and bring a smaller freezer over for her to use. Nope – wouldn’t do! She also wouldn’t be able to bring her dishwasher since it’s a galley kitchen. It ended up with her telling him to go fuck himself and him hanging up on her.

    See how she is??? WTF are you supposed to do with someone like that, except walk away?!?! Our cousin in KS who worked in social services claims she has Mom scheduled to move into another assisted living complex in Beatrice. Tyler & Mandy know people who work there and they have been having a problem with bed bugs for over a year now, not to mention the horrible smell that hits you the minute you walk thru the door.

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    2. I talked to Mom today and hasn’t been eating lunch for a few days because she says they serve too much food at breakfast…even though she tells them smaller portions, please.
      I’m not sure if i should worry or not?

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      1. I don’t think so….has she ever had issues with eating before? Bear in mind, not being active she doesn’t need as much food….but all she has to do is not eat all of her breakfast. But she’ll probably say she can’t do that – it would be wasting food! LOL

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  38. I know you don’t wanna hear this but…..the temp on my south-facing thermometer is now 77!!! Bright sunshine and the wind has stopped. Crazy!!!!

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  39. more do as i say, not as i do crap from a dem

    FTA

    Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff has drawn criticism from political rivals by telling people attending one of his campaign events they must present a government-issued photo ID, even as he has positioned himself against similar requirements for voters in federal elections.

    An email sent to supporters ahead of Ossoff’s Saturday rally in Atlanta said that attendees would need to show identification that exactly matched the name on the RSVP list. 

    “A matching government-issued ID will be verified against the RSVP list by name to enter,” the message instructed.

    That directive quickly became a point of contention on the campaign trail. 

    Rep. Mike Collins, the Republican challenger seeking to unseat Ossoff in 2026, seized on the apparent contradiction. 

    “Typical Jon Ossoff to say one thing and do another. It’s ridiculous that Jon Ossoff would require a government ID to listen to him speak about why you shouldn’t need a government ID to vote,” he said in a statement to Fox News.

    https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/democratic-senator-requires-photo-id-enter-campaign-event-while-opposing

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  42. Mr. Pool @MrPool_QQ 🚨 TRUMP JUST MADE 5 MOVES IN 48 HOURS. And nobody is connecting the dots.

    MOVE 1: Signed executive order threatening 25% TARIFFS on any country trading with Iran. Target: China. India. Turkey. The petrodollar stranglehold is ENDING.

    MOVE 2: Threatened to SUE his own Federal Reserve nominee if he doesn’t lower rates. “It was a joke.” No. It was a WARNING. The Fed’s days are numbered.

    MOVE 3: Pentagon CUT ALL TIES with Harvard. Military training. Fellowships. Programs. ALL GONE. The Ivy League pipeline to power is DEAD.

    MOVE 4: Launched TrumpRx. 43 medications. Ozempic included. Big Pharma’s monopoly: BROKEN. They charged you $1,000. He’s giving it for $300.

    MOVE 5: DHS funding expires February 13th. 6 days from now.

    Controlled shutdown incoming. Why? Because you can’t RESTRUCTURE what’s still running. Connect the dots: Iran tariffs = END of petrodollar Fed threat = END of central banking control Harvard cut = END of Deep State recruitment TrumpRx = END of Big Pharma monopoly DHS shutdown = RESTRUCTURING of homeland security

    This isn’t chaos.

    This is a DEMOLITION. Piece by piece. System by system. Pillar by pillar. The old world is being dismantled in REAL TIME. And the new one is being built while you watch.

    🔺 DARK TO LIGHT 🔺

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  43. EXCERPT: “The people claiming to have kidnapped NBC News’s Today show host Savannah Guthrie’s elderly mother are reportedly demanding a $6 million ransom.

    KGUN9’s JJ McKinney said his outlet received a ransom note and “in the letter, the potential kidnappers demanded that the Guthries pay them $6 million before this Monday,” the New York Post reported Sunday.

    The outlet said the alleged kidnappers have demanded the ransom in Bitcoin.

    Nancy Guthrie, 84, has been missing since noon on February 1 after she was last seen at her home outside Tucson, Arizona, the prior evening. Law enforcement has been investigating her disappearance as a criminal case, according to Breitbart News.

    McKinney’s report showed law enforcement vehicles at the elderly woman’s home. He noted that multiple ransom notes have been sent to media outlets: (Tweet removed)

    The deadline for the ransom was reportedly set at 5:00 p.m. Monday, and if it is not met, her life could be in danger, per the Post article. In their message on Saturday, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings pleaded for the return of their mother, adding “we will pay” and “this is the only way we will have peace.”

    Authorities with the Pima County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation is active but there are not any suspects or persons of interest….”

    https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2026/02/08/video-nancy-guthrie-ransom-demand-reaches-6-million/

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    1. I went looking for this comment i read on tcth…

      Aggiegirl

      February 8, 2026 5:17 pm

      https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/02/dennis-michael-lynch-asks-tough-questions-about-coverage/

      The video in this article brings up a good point…that given the wealth Savannah Guthrie has…he mentions that if it he were in those circumstances, he would have every high level investigator and private investigator looking for his missing loved one. And that seems to not be the case….?

      Has anyone heard otherwise?

      Am wondering if this is a tragic accident perhaps that went bad…

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  45. EXCERPT: “…..Hours later, updates brought some relief. The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team announced that Vonn had undergone surgery for a fracture in her left leg and was in stable condition, under the care of American and Italian physicians. Reports confirmed the injury as a broken left leg, but her responsiveness immediately after the crash suggested no immediate life-threatening issues. This development shifted the focus from fear to recovery, though it ended her participation in the Games, where she had planned to compete in additional events.

    Amid the heartbreak, there was a silver lining for Team USA. Vonn’s teammate, Breezy Johnson, seized the moment to claim gold in the women’s downhill, marking America’s first medal of the Milano-Cortina Games. Johnson’s victory, clocking in just over 1:36 in training the day before, underscored the depth of U.S. talent and provided a poignant counterpoint to Vonn’s misfortune.

    Vonn’s crash serves as a stark reminder of downhill skiing’s inherent dangers—a sport where athletes hurtle down mountains at speeds exceeding 80 mph, with little margin for error. Yet it also highlights her indomitable spirit. In a world quick to write off comebacks as folly, Vonn’s pursuit embodied the essence of athletic pursuit: pushing boundaries not for guarantees, but for the sheer love of the challenge. As she begins her recovery, her legacy remains secure—a warrior who stared down adversity and refused to back away.”

    https://truthbasedmedia.com/lindsey-vonn-undergoes-surgery-after-valiant-olympic-return-cut-short-by-devastating-crash/

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  48. Just The News: “Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi clinched a historic landslide victory in the country’s snap parliamentary election Sunday, according to exit polls that showed her ruling coalition storming toward a commanding supermajority in the lower house.

    Broadcast results and exit polling suggested that Takaichi’s conservative political bloc, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and its coalition partner are on track to win a decisive power in Japan’s legislative process.

    The victory came after Takaichi called the early election just months after becoming the nation’s first female prime minister. In a televised statement following the results, Takaichi said she was “humbled and honored” by the public’s backing and promised to use the mandate to pursue her agenda.”

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