I-80 Wine Trail tempts travelers to sample Iowa wines

A new wine country, emerging amongst the rolling hills of corn and soybeans in Iowa, is tempting cross country travelers to exit the Interstate and sample the new fruits of the land – Iowa grown and made wine!

The Iowa (and Midwestern) wine industry is growing by leaps and bounds in recent years. Many wineries have banded together to help tourists identify local wineries by creating wine trails. However, cross-country travelers have had difficulties finding conveniently located wineries near I-80. The I-80 Wine Trail was developed in response to this tourism need.

A colorful and informative I-80 Wine Trail brochure, including a map, winery contact information and exit number, is available at all State of Iowa Interstate Welcome Centers. Visitors planning a trip through Iowa via I-80 are encouraged to visit http://www.i80winetrail.com/ to plan ahead.

Current members of the Iowa I-80 Wine Trail, include (from east to west):


• Brick Arch Winery (West Branch)


• Fireside Winery (Williamsburg)


• Jasper Winery (Des Moines)


• Penoach Vineyard and Winery (Adel)


• Dale Valley Vineyard and Winery (Stuart)


• Danish Countryside Vines & Wines (Exira)


• Breezy Hills Winery (Minden)


Down the road, organizers of the I-80 Wine Trail envision working with other I-80 connected states and adding them to the trail, until ultimately, tourists traveling coast-to-coast can visit I-80 Wine Trail wineries from New York to California.

Cassie Bott, Fireside Winery

Love Grant Wood? Then hurry to Dubuque!

If you’re a Grant Wood fan, you won’t want to miss the God Bless America sculpture inspired by Wood’s famous American Gothic painting now on display outside the Dubuque Museum of Art.

Seward Johnson’s 25-foot sculpture has been on display in Chicago, among other cities. It’s nice to see it in Iowa, where it belongs. It seemed very out of place on Michigan Avenue.

The sculpture of the iconic American Gothic painting seem perfectly at home in Dubuque. But if you want to see it there, go soon. Its exhibition run ends Sept. 1.

Unlike many of the parodies of the famous painting, God Bless America does not attempt to satirize Wood’s art but rather enlarges and adds dimension to it. The sculpture shows the famous couple full-length with a large suitcase at their feet.

Inside the museum there’s a small but quite nice collection of Grant Wood paintings, some created in Europe prior to the adoption of his well-known American Regionalist style.

The Dubuque Museum of Art is located at 7th and Locust. Admission is free.

Carole Gieseke, Iowa Girl on the Go

Play MONOPOLY Iowa’s Way!

You’ve got the chance to play MONOPOLY with an Iowa twist in our newest promotion!

At the end of July, our new MONOPOLY scratch game hit the streets and we kicked off our Iowa Lottery MONOPOLY – Great Iowa Getaway Promotion that offers you the chance to win vacation getaway packages to some of the coolest spots in the state.

Feel like visiting the Boardwalk? Well, they’ve got one at Honey Creek Resort State Park. Hoping to land on a railroad? There’s always the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad. Feel like taking a chance? You can do it at Harrah’s Council Bluffs.

Get it? It’s MONOPOLY, Iowa style!

To enter the Great Iowa Getaway Promotion, you’ll need to be a member of our VIP Club. (And remember, it’s always free to be a VIP Club member.) Once you’ve joined, you can use nonwinning tickets in the MONOPOLY game to enter the promotion now through noon on Sept. 6.

We’ll hold the drawing on Sept. 7 to determine the winners of the Great Iowa Getaway Promotion.

Up for grabs are vacation getaway packages to:

•Honey Creek Resort State Park, near Moravia
•Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad and Hilton Garden Inn, Ames
•The Inn at Okoboji, Okoboji
•King’s Pointe Waterpark Resort, Storm Lake
•The Historic Park Inn Hotel, Mason City
•Hotel Julien, Dubuque
•Hotel Blackhawk, Davenport
•Harrah’s, Council Bluffs

Have fun entering and good luck as you play MONOPOLY the Iowa way!

Mary Neubauer, Iowa Lottery

The MONOPOLY name and logo, the distinctive design of the game board, the four corner squares, the MR.MONOPOLY name and character, as well as each of the distinctive elements of the board and playing pieces are trademarks of Hasbro for its property trading game and game equipment. © 2011 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro. © 2011 Iowa Lottery. All Rights Reserved.

Quirky Sites and Stops

Recently I had to travel from my home base in Des Moines to Okoboji in one day. This is a nearly four hour drive (one way) which, for restless me, is an eternity. As I mapped out my course I realized that this was a great opportunity for me to see a couple of quirky Iowa attractions that I hadn’t seen before, but had always wanted to.

On my way up to Okoboji I went through Sac County. Sac County was neat to drive through because many of the barns have barn quilts on them. A barn quilt is a large colorful wooden block, typically eight feet square. They are all different and its fun seeing them scattered throughout the countryside. The county seat is, of course, Sac City, and home of the World’s Largest Ball of Popcorn. Built in 2009, the popcorn ball is 5,000 pounds and stands more than 8 feet tall. It’s located on Highway 20 across from the Casey’s General Store. I was amazed at its size and am glad that I earned the bragging rights to say that I have seen the world’s largest popcorn ball.  

CC Image courtesy of rocketjim54
on Flickr.




I took Highway 30 on my way back which is part of the Historic Lincoln Highway. The State of Iowa just put up new signage to help travelers follow this historic highway and travelers need the help. The Lincoln Highway was not designed like the highways and interstates we know today, it was a variety of paved, gravel and dirt roads only connected together by signage. Traveling on Highway 30, the highway would curve and the Lincoln Highway would go straight on a gravel road. I stayed on the paved road and stopped in Jefferson to check out the Mahanay Bell Tower. Those not afraid of heights will enjoy going up 14 stories to the 120-foot high observation deck. It offers amazing views of Jefferson and the surrounding countryside. It features 14 bronze bells that chime the time of day with concerts offered regularly.

What quirky things have you seen when you were on the road? Share them with me in the comments!

Colleen Murphy, Iowa Tourism Office

Captivated by Jackson Pollock

In the movie Mona Lisa Smile, Julia Roberts’ character, Katherine Ann Watson, challenged her Wellesley College students to pause front of a Jackson Pollock painting. She advised them to take their time and absorb the painting before making an opinion. They were startled by the request, but they did. By taking their time, they formulated an opinion far different than their initial reaction.

So on a recent trip my husband and I took to the Quad Cities to attend the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival (which exceeded expectations by the way), I was eager to go to the Figge Art Museum to see Jackson Pollock’s ‘Mural’ and do just that. (Flooding in Iowa City in 2008 led to the temporary relocation of the piece, normally on display at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, to the Figge.)

Tim and I seem to find ourselves in art museums when we travel, we separate and reconnect through the exhibits. We share our thoughts and get immersed in our own worlds as we wander through the sculptures, paintings and sometimes quirky exhibits.

Upon arriving at the Figge we wandered through a chair exhibit and finally found ourselves in front of Pollock’s ‘Mural.’ I made myself stop and take a deep breath, I stood dead center and scanned the painting. I walked back and forth, moved up closed and stood back. I was captivated.


The University of Iowa Museum of Art, Gift of Peggy Guggenheim, 1959.6



My opinion of Jackson Pollock’s ‘Mural’ will stay with me. I want you to formulate your own. So go. Breathe deep and take your time, your opinion may shift during the process.


LuAnn Reinders, Iowa Tourism Office

That's billion, with a "b"

In a state without oceans, mountain ranges or a Disneyland theme park, it’s easy to question the impact of the travel industry in Iowa. Or, sometimes, people ask me whether a tourism industry exists in Iowa at all. Rest assured, it does. In fact, tourism is big business in Iowa, generating an estimated $6.1 billion in spending annually.

Two weeks ago I saw proof of tourism’s impact here when I visited two Iowa attractions - one very small and rather unknown destination and another attraction that is making a name for itself as one of Iowa’s true vacation gems.

Matthew Edel Blacksmith Shop

First, I visited the Matthew Edel Blacksmith Shop in the tiny town of Haverhill, just outside Marshalltown. A German immigrant, Edel was a renowned blacksmith who operated a small shop until 1940. Today the shop looks exactly as it did when Edel left it. It’s brimming with hand-made tools, thousands of horse shoes and other unique metalworks that Edel created as part of his business. Our tour guide told us that only about 200 people visit this attraction annually, but a quick glimpse through the visitor book surprised me. In just the first couple weeks of July, the Matthew Edel Blacksmith shop entertained guests from Michigan and Texas. Earlier in the summer, it welcomed a group from Germany who were interested in learning more about their native son who eventually settled in Iowa.



Lobby of Honey Creek Resort

During the weekend, nearly 20 members of my family enjoyed an evening at the Honey Creek Resort State Park near Moravia in south central Iowa. It was my third trip to this resort on the shores of Lake Rathbun, and each time I come here I’m amazed at the number of out-of-state visitors. One this visit, I saw cars in the parking lot from Nebraska, Oregon, Michigan, Arkansas and Alabama. The resort, cabins, restaurant and waterpark were buzzing with activity as families and friends gathered for a reunion or a quick weekend away.
Tourism is a huge economic engine across America, and no one can argue that Florida, California and New York are major destinations. But Iowa is home to our own diverse mix of attractions, events, natural resources, restaurants and lodging properties that on any given day delight visitors from around the region, nation and world.

Next time you’re traveling Iowa, I encourage you to check out the license plates in the parking lot or thumb through the guest book. I think you’ll be surprised with what you find.


Shawna Lode, Iowa Tourism Office