Our Iowa Magazine

Welcome!

It’s fun! Upbeat! And different from any magazine you’ve ever seen! Welcome to Our Iowa, the magazine that celebrates all that’s great about living in Iowa.

Inside This Month's Issue

June/July 2025

Inside This Month's Issue

June/July 2025

A City of Compassion

Keokuk was a place of healing for Civil War wounded after battles, and for some, their eternal resting place. 

A Legacy of Cheer for 30 Years

Reiman Gardens is a destination where memories bloom for thousands who visit annually to enjoy its beauty.

Io-Ways...Backroads and Byways

Featuring a summertime photo tour of our byways and backroads. When you can't take a drive...browse these pages instead!

Amish Farm Wife's Diary

Hosting church services means the house got a good floor-to-ceiling cleaning. Many hands pitched in to help!

Also In This Issue
And More!

Reader Reminders

Featured Contributors

Cristen Clark

My name is Cristen, and I’m an Iowa farmer. In my family we raise corn, soybeans and pigs. I love cooking, writing and sharing contest winning recipes with people I know. Memories made in the kitchen are some of the most treasured memories I have. I am a mom of two—a daughter who loves pigs and sports, and a son who loves pigs, tractors and…tractors. He gets that nowhere strange as I, too, love big tractors.

Steve Gottschalk

Steve is a self-taught weather observer and student of weather folklore from Lowden. His observations come from his decades-long hobby of keeping meteorological logs and studying old weather records and almanacs. He teaches readers about weather trends, planet movements and what the forecast means for our crops!

Mary Helmuth

Mary writes our Amish Diary, cataloguing a week in her life for each issue. You won’t see her picture, because Amish adults don’t wish to have close-up photos taken of themselves, but what you will get is a peek inside the daily life of our Amish neighbors. Mary, along with her husband and children, raise dairy goats and have a flock of 2,000 laying hens.

Alene Bailey

Alene Bailey is our June/July featured cook from Ankeny. Alene's zucchini casserole is a hit at every potluck, and the recipe has been shared many times over! And she didn't come by it easily, either. "My mother tried very hard to teach me to cook when I was young, but I simply wasn't interested," laughs Arlene. When she had her own family to cook for though, she had to learn by trail and error!

Cristen Clark

My name is Cristen, and I’m an Iowa farmer. In my family we raise corn, soybeans and pigs. I love cooking, writing and sharing contest winning recipes with people I know. Memories made in the kitchen are some of the most treasured memories I have. I am a mom of two—a daughter who loves pigs and sports, and a son who loves pigs, tractors and…tractors. He gets that nowhere strange as I, too, love big tractors.

Steve Gottschalk

Steve is a self-taught weather observer and student of weather folklore from Lowden. His observations come from his decades-long hobby of keeping meteorological logs and studying old weather records and almanacs. He teaches readers about weather trends, planet movements and what the forecast means for our crops!

Mary Helmuth

Mary writes our Amish Diary, cataloguing a week in her life for each issue. You won’t see her picture, because Amish adults don’t wish to have close-up photos taken of themselves, but what you will get is a peek inside the daily life of our Amish neighbors. Mary, along with her husband and children, raise dairy goats and have a flock of 2,000 laying hens.

Alene Bailey

Alene Bailey is our June/July featured cook from Ankeny. Alene's zucchini casserole is a hit at every potluck, and the recipe has been shared many times over! And she didn't come by it easily, either. "My mother tried very hard to teach me to cook when I was young, but I simply wasn't interested," laughs Arlene. When she had her own family to cook for though, she had to learn by trail and error!

Thank You to Our Advertisers

© 2025 Our Iowa Magazine. All rights reserved.