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185 years & counting: Retiree’s new book reveals Iowa City’s amazing history – image after image

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185 years & counting: Retiree’s new book reveals Iowa City’s amazing history – image after image


The sweet smile of an elderly Kathryn Bartosky mixing donuts in her kitchen greets you on page 131 of Tom Schulein’s just-released book covering 185 years of Iowa City history.

An immigrant from Bohemia, this woman baked beaucoup batches of pastries for church socials and her neighbors well into her 90s. She was locally famous as the city’s beloved oldest resident when she died in 1954 at age 103.

On page 45, you’ll find a mysterious-looking stone cottage with an elfish “Lord of the Rings” vibe, one of more than 100 built by Howard Moffitt in the early 1900s. Moffitt was also a local legend with his unique designs and penchant for repurposing materials – old railroad rails for support beams and even wooden toilet seats for plaster lath in his houses.

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These are two of Schulein’s favorite entries among about 250 captivating historical photos which form his book Images of America: Iowa City, hot off the press this month.

The work joins an astounding 21,566 active titles from Arcadia Publishing, well known for their books covering the history of almost anything and anywhere – from Alcatraz Island and Hoover Dam to Ford’s Theatre and Hilo, Hawaii.

“I’ll get a small royalty,” the author told me, “but I’m not doing it for the money. It’s for the pleasure of promoting Iowa City.”

More: Five major publishers join federal lawsuit against Iowa law that bans books from schools

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A deep passion for Iowa City history

You’d be hard-pressed to find anybody around who has a greater fondness and expertise for Iowa City’s amazing past than Schulein.

Since retiring from teaching at the UI School of Dentistry, he’s spent his days collecting antique sewing machines and typewriters, plus giving some 160 presentations – most of them about Iowa City’s unique development from a pioneer town to a world-class community.

When another local Arcadia author and historian, Timothy Walch, recommended him for this book, Schulein hesitated because he saw it as “a daunting task.” But armed with access to the Press-Citizen archives and permission from the University of Iowa to use Fred Kent’s historic photo collection, plus his own exhaustive 10 years of study, the Iowa City man forged ahead.

More: Halfloves: Iowa City’s sonic trailblazers and their genre-bending journey

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Standout images from a long-ago era

Spend an hour or two reading this book—an easy read with historical photos and captions offering insight—and you will come away with a better sense of this amazing community’s vibrant past.

 A few of my favorites:

  • A 1920 photo of a battery-powered University of Iowa Hospital bus in front of the original 1897 hospital, indicating Iowa City had electric vehicles 100 years before they became popular today.
  • A flock of WWI-era biplanes lined up at a 1929 fly-in at the Iowa City airport.
  • Esther Winders, University Heights town marshal in the 1950s, a colorful character who packed a pearl-handled pistol and patrolled the streets on a Harley-Davidson.
  • An early photo showing a massive clinic floor at the School of Dentistry crammed with some 100 student treatment areas, each with its own elaborate antique dental chair and wooden cabinet.
  • Photos of world-famous locals, such as Grant Wood in his UI studio, James Van Allen, Ignacio Ponseti and George Gallup.

More: Iowa City’s 150-year-old Pagliai’s Pizza building a step closer to historic landmark status

Iowa City’s stint as a commercial and industrial hub

Schulein finds the city’s commercial and industrial past fascinating.

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There were three breweries on a single block of Market Street in the late 1800s and there were once four different glove factories in town. Another manufacturer of jewelry and novelties here billed itself as “largest in the U.S.”

An early photo shows a dry goods store founded in 1848. That building has been John’s Grocery since 1948 and was labeled as “the only surviving ‘mom and pop’ in Iowa City.”

“We are a city of many firsts,” Schulein said.

For example, Iowa City’s Mayor Emma Harvat, who served in the 1920s, was not only the city’s first woman mayor but was also said at the time to be the first female mayor of any U.S. city with a population over 10,000.

Lifelong resident Irving Weber wrote more than 800 historical columns for the Press-Citizen, which the Lions Club then published into eight volumes as a fundraiser. He also had a little-known “first” as the University of Iowa’s first All-American swimmer. Likewise, Hawkeye tackle Duke Slater, whose name now graces Slater Hall and the field at Kinnick Stadium, is pictured as the University’s first Black All-American football player.

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Also in this category, there’s a 1972 photo of the control room at the city water plant. Schulein said it was considered to be the first fully computerized surface water plant in the world.

“So many interesting things,” the author said. “On page 155 you’ll find the War Art Workshop, where the UI Art Department made posters alerting local residents to a practice ‘blackout’ in November of 1942.”

The list goes on and on.

“It’s kind of like a coffee table book, but in a smaller format,” Schulein said. “It was a labor of love for me, and my joy to make this contribution.”

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Find this new book locally at Barnes & Noble, or online through Amazon or the Arcadia Publishing website.

Richard Hakes is a freelance columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.



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Vote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)

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Vote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)


Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for April 13-18. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

Taylor Roose, Pella boys track and field

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Roose competed in three events at the Norwalk Invitational, winning all three in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump.

Daxon Kiesau, Urbandale boys track and field

Kiesau swept the throwing events at the Norwalk Invitational, taking first place in the shot put and the discus.

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Alex Burger, Southeast Valley boys track and field

Competing at home, Burger dominated, earning four gold medals. He won the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump while running on the winning 4×200-meter relay and shuttle hurdle relay.

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Kolby Hodnefield, Clear Lake boys track and field

Hodenfield, a defending state champion, broke the meet, venue and school record in the 200 and the 400 at the Clear Lake Invitational. He added victories as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Both relays also set meet records.

Easton Moon, North Polk boys tennis

Moon has started off his senior season on the courts unbeaten, winning all four matches while dropping just one game in 44 played.

Ava Lohrbach, Gilbert girls golf

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One of the top golfers in the state, Lohrbach has had a hot start, firing a 35 in her nine-hole debut and a 72 for her 18-hole opener.

Nathan Manske, Algona boys golf

An elite quarterback and basketball player, Manske is showing his golfing skills this spring, coming out with a state-low 30 in a nine-hole event.

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Ella Hein, Tipton girls track and field

Hein set school records in the 400-meter run and long jump at the Tiger/Tigerette Relays while also locking in the Blue Standard and qualifying for the Drake Relays. She won the long jump (18-6) and was second in the 400.

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Maeve Bowen-Burt, Iowa City High girls track and field

The sophomore helped the Little Hawks land three Drake Relays events on the last night of qualifying, advancing in the 400 hurdles, along with the sprint medley and 4×400 relays.

About Our Athlete of the Week Voting

High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.

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Houston icon George Foreman laid to rest in Iowa, drawn by a peaceful 1988 visit

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Houston icon George Foreman laid to rest in Iowa, drawn by a peaceful 1988 visit


The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.

Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.

The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.

After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.

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“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”

Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).

“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.

A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”

A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.

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Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.

He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.

A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.

Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.



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GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn pitches Iowa-first platform at Dubuque town hall

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GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn pitches Iowa-first platform at Dubuque town hall


DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) — About 50 Iowans braved the threat of severe storms to hear from Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn at his town hall in Dubuque Friday night.

Lahn, a farmer and businessman, said his campaign is about solving the long-term systemic issues facing Iowans.

One priority is addressing what Lahn calls a cancer crisis in Iowa, as the state has the second-highest cancer rate in the country. Solving the crisis means ensuring Iowans have access to clean, nitrate-free drinking water, working with farmers to reduce agricultural runoff.

“Iowans are just ready for something that they should be able to count on, like clean drinking water,” Lahn said. “We have ways to clean up the drinking water in Iowa that isn’t on the backs of farmers, but is working alongside with them because they’re drinking the water too, and they want to do what’s right.”

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Lahn also wants to stop Iowa’s “brain drain,” as more of Iowa’s college graduates left the state for opportunities elsewhere.

“Don’t leave! Give me some time! I’m going to fight to keep you here,” Lahn said. “I was one of these kids. I thought I had to leave the state to find something better. We have to prioritize Iowa’s incentive dollars to make sure they’re going to grow Iowa businesses that are going to be here for the long haul, so our kids have places to work.”

Running a distinct campaign feels challenging this election, as Lahn is one of five GOP candidates who want to be Iowa’s next governor, facing U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, former Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen, state Rep. Eddie Andrews and former state Rep. Brad Sherman.

Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is the only Democrat running for the state’s top office.

Lahn said he stands out by promising Iowa will be for Iowans, pledging to ban the use of eminent domain for private gain and tax out-of-state landowners and data centers at higher rates to lower property taxes.

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“It always goes back to follow the money, so when it comes to not being a weak-kneed Republican today, I believe the paramount piece of that is answering only to the citizens of Iowa, not to special interests to pad their bottom line, but what’s best for the people of Iowa,” Lahn said.

Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.



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