Des Moines isn’t same old town it was in 1997

Any city changes in 16 years, but the developments in downtown Des Moines since 1997 — the last time the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa spent the night in town — are especially pronounced. Public and private entities have spent hundreds of millions...

Much about RAGBRAI remains the same

By Leo Landis In 1973 many Iowans marked their calendars by the time for detasseling seed corn, walking soybeans to clear weeds and attending the Iowa State Fair. On July 22 of that year, during the peak of summer farm work, John Karras announced in the Des Moines...

Exhibit shows how Iowa cycling has evolved since 1869

After three days of riding across Iowa, bicyclists may have the week’s routine down. Iowa State Historical Museum curator Leo Landis stands in the entrance of its newest exhibit, “Riding Through History”, a historical look at RAGBRAI, complete with...

Munson: What’s in store for next 40 years of RAGBRAI?

While reporting a column in tiny Searsboro I happened to spot Bob Saar’s signature on the side of a building downtown. This would have seemed odd — he’s a musician, writer, journalist and Renaissance man who hails from Burlington in the southeast corner of the state —...