In honor of Election Day, I offer three short stories of nineteenth century political games in Mississippi River towns. As new areas were settled, communities fought contentious political battles over the location of the county seat, like these places did. Enjoy! Rock Island County (Illinois) In 1833, Hampton and rival Farnhamsburg (now Rock Island) competed
On Labor Day weekend, the streets of downtown Rock Island are converted into a race track for souped-up go karts.
In North Dakota, artist Gary Greff built monumental metal sculptures and placed them along a desolate county road that connects the village of Regent with the rest of the world via Interstate 94. He dubbed this 30 mile stretch of road The Enchanted Highway. Even if you don’t see the magic in his creations,
A few random thoughts from the road: A big boat Fun Fact #1: Last week I visited a marina that, like many marinas along the Mississippi, is home to a lot of boats that have more bedrooms than your average suburban house. What I didn’t know is that most of those big boats
Places along the Mississippi from Quad Cities south to northern Missouri experienced near-record flood levels in the summer of 2008.
Part of the reason I love being on the road is that I get to check out a lot of music. Even though I’m not a music critic – hell, I don’t have a lick of formal training in music - when I come across musicians that get me excited, I want to share the
