Volume 18, Issue No. 6, Nov/Dec 2026
Happy 180th birthday, Iowa! With the attention that America250 garnered this year we would be remiss not to recognize our state’s milestone origin story. Dig into Jeff Stein’s cover story as he explores Iowa’s journey to statehood from the Louisiana Purchase, to becoming a territory, to being admitted as the 29th state of the United States on Dec. 28, 1846.
Publisher Michael Swangercelebrates the 80th anniversary of the iconic holiday movie “It’s A Wonderful Life,” co-starring Denison native Donna Reed.
Daniel Kueper tells the story of his great-uncle Ambrose Kueper’s sacrifice and how the soldier earned the Purple Heart and Silver Star for his selfless gallantry during World War II.
Read the chronicles of Iowa’s 1956 Big Ten champion football team that won the Rose Bowl for the first time in program history 70 years ago from Don Doxie.
Did you know the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail moved more than people? Find out what else it moved from Clark BreDahl.
Arvid has been digging around again! “Country Roads” columnist Arvid Huisman shares his genealogical search for a hidden ancestor.
TO READ MORE FASCINATING STORIES ABOUT IOWA HISTORY, subscribe to Iowa History Journal. You can also purchase back issues at the store.