on location: midwest ❖
randy mink
mages of cornfields, barns and livestock inevitably come to mind when anyone mentions Iowa. In a state that leads the nation in pork production, it’s not surprising that these visions of rural America tend to “hog” the spotlight. But the Hawkeye State is more than endless green acres sprinkled with farm towns. For groups touring Iowa— and for people living in its quiet hamlets—the cities have their own allure. Oases of culture waiting to be discovered, these urban centers offer museums, amusements, theater, music and fine cuisine. Fresh attractions are pumping new life into historic cities that have figured out Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines how to reinvent themselves.
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Iowa’s Urban Pleasures
Beyond the silos and waves of grain, country sights give way to city lights in population centers like Dubuque, Des Moines and Waterloo
In Dubuque (population 57,000), one of the Midwest’s great Mississippi River towns, much of the past decade’s redevelopment has occurred along the downtown riverfront. The America’s River Project, a complete overhaul of the Port of Dubuque, invites visitors with a conference center, riverwalk, outdoor plaza, amphitheater, the Grand Harbor water park hotel and new Diamond Jo Casino. The National Mississippi River Mu62 June 2010
seum & Aquarium will double the size of its Port of Dubuque campus with an $18-million expansion set for completion by the end of June. New museum features will include a gallery that covers America’s river history and a Gulf of Mexico aquarium with sharks, rays and other ocean creatures. Guests at the Rivermax 4D/3D Digital Theater will feel their seats rumble and experience wind, water and scent in a completely immersive experience.
Youth groups and others who don’t mind rustic surroundings can stay overnight in dorm-like quarters on the museum’s William M. Black dredge boat, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operated on the Missouri River from 1935-1973. Adjacent to the steamboat, a boardwalk trail features a fur trader’s log cabin, Indian hut, boatyard and wetland habitat. Groups will enjoy an outing on the mighty Mississippi with Dubuque LeisureGroupTravel.com
The revitalized Mississippi riverfront is a gathering place in Dubuque.
River Rides. Its 377-passenger Spirit of Dubuque paddle wheeler offers sightseeing, lunch and dinner cruises. The company also operates Miss Dubuque, a sleek motor yacht. Another group-friendly venue on the riverfront is Star Restaurant, occupying an 1892 brick building that once housed Dubuque Star Brewery. The East Dining Room, built around an old copper brewing tank, offers river views, and there’s an open-air patio off the bar. Special menus and cooking demonstrations are available for groups. The historic brewery building, with beer memorabilia on display, also is home to Stone Cliff Winery, where groups can have a tour/tasting or a meal. Murder mysteries can be arranged. Stone Cliff turns out 100,000 bottles of wine each year, producing cabernet, riesLeisureGroupTravel.com
ling and chardonnay, plus fruit wines like cherry and cranberry. The winery has a piano bar and riverside patio. The Quad Cities area, straddling the Mississippi on the Iowa-Illinois border, also abounds with group tour possibilities. Favorites in Davenport (pop. 101,000) include the Figge Art Museum, housed in a dramatic facility overlooking the Mississippi, and the newly expanded German-American Heritage Center, which chronicles German immigration to the Upper Mississippi region. Also in Davenport are Modern Woodmen Park, home of baseball’s Quad Cities River Bandits, and Putnam Museum of History and Natural Science, which has an IMAX theater. For gaming fun, try the Isle Casino Hotel Bettendorf (Iowa’s largest hotel complex, with over 500 rooms) or
Rhythm City in Davenport. Sightseeing and meal cruises are available on the Celebration Belle excursion boat out of Moline, Ill. Waterloo (pop. 67,000) blossoms with new attractions. If your group sees only one of them, it should be the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum, named after five Waterloo brothers who perished together on the USS Juneau during a World War II battle in the South Pacific. You can learn about their family’s sacrifices and those of other Iowans who have served the nation, on the battlefront and the home front, from the Civil War to the present. Exhibit areas on each war feature artifacts (weapons, uniforms, mess kits), a review of home front happenings and a mini-theater. There’s also an interactive Communication Station for each war. Visitors get involved in activities like testing their speed at packing cans of food in boxes, a task that many Iowa women factory workers did in World War II. The Sullivan Brothers, portrayed in the 1942 movie The Fighting Sullivan Brothers, are remembered with a statue, replica of their home’s interior and five unopened letters that were returned to their mother after they died. Groups at the veterans museum can enjoy a catered meal underneath the lobby’s P-51D Mustang fighter plane. They also can book historical re-enactment presentations by a soldier or home front personality like Rosie the Riveter. Connected to the Grout Museum of History & Science, the military museum is part of the Grout Museum District, which includes Bluedorn Science Imaginarium and two historic houses. Galleria de Paco, a downtown Waterloo restaurant, has become an attraction in itself since opening in 2006. Operated by Bosnian war refugees who left their country in the 1990s, Galleria de Paco is decorated with vivid scenes replicating Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel in Rome. It’s all the work of June 2010 63
on location: midwest ❖ spray-paint artist Paco Rosic, who also is the chef. Group menu options are available; a tour and documentary movie on the artwork can be part of the package. Groups also might enjoy a factory tour at the John Deere Waterloo Operations. Visits to the Engine Works or Tractor Assembly Division include a 20minute video and one-hour riding tour.
Des Moines, Iowa’s capital and largest city (metro pop. 556,000), brims with cultural exclamation points, including downtown’s new Pappajohn Sculpture Park. The 24 sculptures are worth $27.5 million. Other downtown cultural meccas include the Civic Center (touring Broadway fare), Des Moines Art Center (19th, 20th and 21st century masterpieces) and Science Center of Iowa & Blank IMAX Dome Theater. The Iowa State Capitol with its signature
gold dome offers guided tours, and the State Historical Museum of Iowa lies at its foot. The Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, bring baseball excitement to riverside Principal Park. Tour groups also like Historic Valley Junction, a charming shopping district in West Des Moines. Perfect for browsing, this eclectic, Main Street-style collection of old storefronts has art galleries, fashion boutiques, antique shops, vintage clothing and other specialty stores. The Heart of Iowa gift shop abounds with souvenir possibilities, from corncob candles and stuffedanimal pigs to John Deere tractors and logo wear. Even in the larger cities, reminders of the state’s farming culture are never far away. LGT
PLAN IT ! • Iowa Tourism Office, 515-725-3083, traveliowa.com
WHERE MEETINGS COME TO LIFE Over 24,000 square feet of flexible meeting and banquet space. Connected via skywalk to over 500 comfortable hotel rooms at the Isle. Quick and easy access from I-74, I-80, I-280 and I-88. Within minutes of Quad City International Airport. For facility rental and reservations, call our sales team at 1-800-724-5825 and mention code FORUM. Visit www.theislebettendorf.com and click on the meeting tab for more Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center details. Follow us on
at twitter.com/QuadCitiesWCC.
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