Iowa History Journal

11/09/2025

Preview the Nov/Dec 2025 issue!

11/07/2025

That was fun! Thanks to Jeff Stein and "Live & Local" at News/Talk 1540 KXEL for hosting us today! If you missed our in-depth conversation about the history of Christmas celebrations and traditions in Iowa, among other topics in the new issue of IHJ, tune in.
https://on.soundcloud.com/NTi7rhEncyVlJWn599

News/Talk 1540 KXEL is an AM radio station serving the Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids areas in Iowa. The Voice of Eastern Iowa, News/Talk 1540 KXEL features "The KXEL Morning News" weekdays fro

11/06/2025

Tune in Friday at 8 a.m. to News/Talk 1540 KXEL "Live & Local" when Jeff Stein hosts IHJ Publisher Michael Swanger!

News/Talk 1540 KXEL

11/05/2025

If you missed today's conversation on The Culture Buzz between John Busbee and retired State Historical Society of Iowa Curator Jerome Thompson about the Cow War of 1931 and other stories in the new issue of IHJ tune in! Catch "The Buzz" every Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on kfmg.org.
Iowa Gold Star Military Museum

The Nov-Dec 2025 issue of Iowa History Journal is available, and Jerome Thompson returns to shares peeks into the second part of his two-part story, The Cow...

11/05/2025

iowahistoryjournal.com/store/

11/03/2025

IHJ 2025 Quiz, Week 44: Before statehood, European immigrants from England, Germany, Norway, Ireland, Sweden and the Czech Republic, among other nations, had begun descending on Iowa, bringing their Yuletide customs with them. In what year did Christmas become a legal holiday in Iowa? (Hint: It was before it was declared a national holiday.)

Find the answer in the Nov/Dec issue of Iowa History Journal sold at Barnes & Noble, Hy-Vee, Beaverdale Books, Books-A-Million, Natural Grocers, Whole Foods (WDM) and select Walmart, Mills Fleet Farm and Hy-Vee Drug stores, or iowahistoryjournal.com. A subscription to IHJ makes a great gift during the holidays! Add $2 for “current issue” to receive the Nov/Dec issue.

11/03/2025

A large crowd gathered today for the 25th annual Día de los Mu***os (Day of the Dead) at the Des Moines Art Center, one of the center’s most popular celebrations of the year. The Mexican holiday is celebrated on Nov. 1-2 to remember family and friends who have died.

This year’s milestone event billed as “A Legacy of Collaboration” commemorated “not only the lives we’ve lost, but also the unifying spirit of the holiday and the community members who have built and sustained this event with vision and care,” according to a statement by the center.

It featured a processional; music by Mariachi Los Aguilares and Isabella Franco; a Catrina costume showcase; a performance by the dance group Jovenes Embajadores; and a film by Vincent Valdez about this year’s honorees Gary McKay, Aurora Bejarano Lumadue, Vincent Bejarno and Patty Rios Iseminger.

The celebration was inspired by the concurrent exhibitions “Manuel Álvarez Bravo: Collaborations” and “Aliza Nisenbaum: Día de los Mu***os,” both featuring important Latino artists exploring portraiture and legacy, at the Des Moines Art Center.

10/29/2025

Happy Halloween! Sharing our publisher's 2023 column about Iowa's Halloween urban myths, legends and folklore including "The Black Angel" and the "Van Meter Visitor." 🎃👻💀

Sept/Oct 2023 (Volume 15, Issue 5) By Michael Swanger In this day and age when disinformation, rumor, heresy and conjecture is misconstrued and hurriedly propagated as fact on social media and ta**ry television shows I am reminded of … Continue reading →

10/28/2025

As the only statewide, popular magazine devoted exclusively to Iowa’s history we work diligently and humbly to offer a variety of content that appeals to ALL Iowans. We appreciate those who support our work and share our belief that Iowa history is a people’s history.