Iowa History Journal

08/04/2025

IHJ 2025 Quiz, Week 31: This chemist was a renowned expert on rare earth elements and on extraction of metals from minerals. He was a professor of chemistry and head of the department of physical chemistry at Iowa State College for decades, including during World War II when his expertise helped make it possible for the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bombs. What was his name?

Find the answer in the July/Aug 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. To find a store in your town or to subscribe, visit iowahistoryjournal.com.

Iowa State University

08/02/2025

OTD: Aug. 2, 1979. HOF manager Tony La Russa is promoted from the Iowa Oaks in Des Moines to the Chicago White Sox.

After catching the eye of Hall of Famer Bill Veeck as a manager the minor leagues, Tony La Russa was hired to lead the White Sox in 1979. La Russa would earn the first of 2,884 career victories the next day. https://ow.ly/2Fix50Wz04b

08/01/2025

Thanks to Jeff Stein with News/Talk 1540 KXEL "Live & Local" for hosting IHJ Publisher Michael Swanger for a great conversation yesterday about Iowa State University's role in developing the atomic bomb, the attack on Judge Charles Bradley, Chicago White Sox founder Charles Comiskey's Dubuque roots and more. Tune in!

07/31/2025

Congratulations to KCCI for 70 years of broadcasting excellence! It was on this day, July 31, 1955, that KCCI made its on-air debut.

To learn more about its history tune in tonight at 8 p.m. to Eric Hanson KCCI as he hosts "This is Iowa: KCCI Salute to 70 Years."

Loyal viewers might also want to pick up the July/August issue of Iowa History Journal to learn more about the TV station's history.

07/28/2025

IHJ 2025 Quiz, Week 30: This award-winning, central Iowa television made its on-air debut on July 31, 1955. In the beginning it was affiliated with KRNT radio. What are its call letters?

Find the answer in the July/Aug 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. To find a store in your town or to subscribe, visit iowahistoryjournal.com.

07/26/2025

OTD: USPS was founded as the U.S. Post Office Department on July 26, 1775, by decree of the Second Continental Congress. In 1970, Congress reorganized USPOD from a cabinet-level department into an independent agency—the modern US Postal Service. Historians see the establishment of a national postal service as a crucial factor in ensuring the young country stayed unified during the Revolutionary War. The founders believed a free exchange of news, ideas and opinions was crucial to developing a democracy. Through horseback, steamboat, rail and train, the mail has been delivered in both cities and rural communities. Today, USPS processes around 371 million pieces of mail per day.

Though recent price increases for stamps and other mailing services by USPS continue to challenge our small, family-owned business, we rely on USPS to sustain our business by delivering thousands of copies of Iowa History Journal to our readers as well as other mailing services. What's more, we believe that the Postal Service should not be privatized or that it should become an appropriated part of the federal government.

07/23/2025

With the state baseball tournament underway, now is a good time to read our publisher's column in the July/Aug issue of IHJ about the late Iowa High School Athletic Association executive director Bernie Saggau. Read it for free online.

  July/Aug 2025 (Volume 17, Issue 4)   By Michael Swanger   One would think that Bernie Saggau must have known his legacy of serving young Iowans—particularly their high school athletic experiences—was firmly in hand. But for a man who … Continue reading →

07/23/2025

Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath frontman and heavy metal legend, died today at age 76, just 17 days after his farewell “Back to the Beginning” show in Birmingham, England.

The “Prince of Darkness” sold more than 100 million albums, including his solo work and Black Sabbath. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006 and and as a solo artist in 2024.

A part of Osbourne’s legacy includes the infamous incident in Des Moines on Jan. 20, 1982, when the 33-year-old Osbourne bit the head off a bat during his “Diary of a Madman” tour concert at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. A 17-year-old fan named Mark Neal brought a dead bat in a baggie to the show and threw the bat onstage. Osbourne, who thought the bat was a rubber toy, sank his teeth into it, biting its head off, before throwing it back into the audience.

In his book “I Am Ozzy,” Osbourne wrote, “Immediately, though. Something felt wrong. Very wrong. For a start, my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid, with the worst aftertaste you could ever imagine. I could feel it staining my teeth and running down my chin.”

After the show, Osbourne was taken to Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines to get tetanus and rabies shots. Osbourne was given a supply of vaccine to take with him for follow-up shots.

He returned to Vets for one of his final Iowa concerts in 2007, alongside fellow rocker Rob Zombie.

In 2019, Osbourne celebrated the 37th anniversary of the bat-biting incident in Des Moines by releasing a collectible plush toy bat—complete with removable head.

07/21/2025

IHJ 2025 Quiz, Week 29: This Chicago native moved to Dubuque in 1878 to play professional baseball and to work for the Western News Agency. He would leave a lasting legacy in Dubuque and across the baseball world in the years to come, eventually being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. What is his name?

Find the answer in the July/Aug 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. To find a store in your town or to subscribe, visit iowahistoryjournal.com.

07/19/2025

Tune in to John Busbee of The Culture Buzz as he interviews Judge CJ Williams, author of our July/Aug issue story about how farmers nearly lynched a northwest Iowa judge during the Great Depression.

Judge C. J. Williams shares insights about his feature story in the July-August 2025 issue of Iowa History Journal about Judge Charles Bradley. During the...

07/14/2025

IHJ 2025 Quiz, Week 28: At the nadir of the Great Depression, a mob of Iowa farmers in northwest Iowa nearly lynched a judge when he refused to stop signing foreclosure orders. The judge’s insistence on the rule of law showed judicial courage that nearly cost him his life. What was his name?

Find the answer in the July/Aug 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. To find a store in your town or to subscribe, visit iowahistoryjournal.com.