
“All along the southbound odyssey The train pulls out at Kankakee Rolls along past houses, farms and fields” Steve Goodman wrote those words while aboard along a passenger train that was actually named “City of New Orleans”. It ran from Chicago to New Orleans. I couldn’t help hearing the song (Arlo Guthrie’s version) as...
The Indian Motorcycle Factory Tour in Spirit Lake, IA offers a unique, up close and personal look at how one of the most storied motorcycle brands in the world is made. Polaris Industries, the owner of Indian Motorcycles, assembles each motorcycle, along with their Victory brand of motorcycles, at their facility in Spirit Lake....
Just off the I-90 in Blue Earth, MN, stands a 55 1/2 foot tall statue of the “Jolly Green Giant”, the corporate symbol of Green Giant brand of frozen and canned foods. It was actually a Facebook friend of mine, Stephen Johnson, a fellow craft beer aficionado (who happens to share my name), that...
What is exactly in SPAM? Is it bad for you? Is it good for you? How is it made? When was it invented? All these questions and more are found in none other than… …The SPAM Museum! Located in the tiny town of Austin, MN, just a hop-skip-jump away from the factory where SPAM...
When I heard of “Minnesota Sushi” I imagined slices of raw muskellunge, crappie, or walleye, buddied up with a cheese curd, then stuffed inside balls of rice. It turns out it was nothing of the sort. Instead, a lovely young auburn-haired server presented me with a plate of sliced pickles smeared with cream cheese...
Steve’s Place in Burlington, IA may not seem like much of a place from the outside, and if you haven’t read about it, you’ll likely pass it by. During the day, it’s a quiet place to get a cheap beer and a decent lunch for not a lot of money. But by night, the...
When you think of the crookedest street in the world, you think of Lombard Street in San Francisco. It turns out it’s actually Snake Alley in Burlington, IA.