IA Travel Guide

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American Airlines May Be the Latest to Fly SUX

November 16, 2011 at 10:21 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you recall, one of our favorite airports to follow is the one in Sioux City, Iowa and that’s cause it sucks. Actually there’s nothing about Sioux Gateway Airport that’s particularly awful or irritating, it’s just that the place’s IATA airport code is SUX.

Although when we last spoke about the airport there was some bad news, as Delta was planning to pull its services from the airport. Well now there’s some good news, as it sounds like American Airlines is thinking about connecting SUX to ORD with a flight or two. The airport is going to get some cash from Uncle Sam to support the flights as part of a government Essential Air Service Grant, so now there’s two airlines wanting to bring in some flights.

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One of Iowa's Airports Proudly Sucks

May 25, 2011 at 8:40 AM | by | Comments (2)

We all know that flying sometimes sucks. For whatever reason, flights get delayed, things cost more than expected, and who knows what sort of weird company you’ll end up sitting next to. There are some airports and airlines that are better that most, but there’s one place where you are guaranteed a flying experience that sucks.

The place is Sioux Gateway Airport, but it’s not because the airport in Iowa is especially bad, it’s just because its IATA airport code is SUX. It may seem a little cheesy, but when the airport gods hand you lemons—and what could be worse than SUX—you make airport lemonade.

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Get Going in a Winnebago with a Visit to Their Iowa RV Factory

May 28, 2010 at 10:49 AM | by | Comments (0)

As you jam and shove those last minute essentials into your car before taking off and diving deep into the middle of traffic on the turnpike, you might realize that a little more room could make a summer road trip more pleasant. An RV is always an option, as long as you can get the thoughts of cliché family vacations out of your head. Sure they aren’t for everyone, but if you want to see what they’re all about before whipping out the checkbook you can always take a tour of the Winnebago factory in Iowa.

Winnebago Industries will be happy to show you around their facilities, and best of all they’ll give you the factory tour for free. You’ll see employees putting final touches on different aspects of the motor homes, as well as robots doing their thing to make sure all those welds are textbook perfect. Be on the lookout for upside down RVs outside of the factory, as the Winnebago workers like to flip over their final products to check for structural integrity.

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There's Nothing Corny About Iowa's 'Shuckfest 2009'

August 12, 2009 at 11:44 AM | by | Comments (0)

When you think of Iowa, one of the first things that comes to mind has got to be corn. The state has loads of it, and there's no better way to celebrate all things corn than hanging out at the West Point Sweet Corn Festival. Where else can you take a free ear of fresh corn and gnaw on it during the coronation of the Corn Festival Queen?

The highlight of this week’s events kicks off tomorrow, as volunteers get to business to prepare for the festival. At Shuckfest 2009, community members will happily shuck bushels and bushels of corn. In 2003 they prepared over 17 tons of corn; let’s hope there’s an equal amount of butter to slather on top.

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Possible Presidents Travel: Giving Iowa a Try

August 25, 2008 at 2:50 PM | by | Comments (0)

After a triumphant stop in his home state of Illinois with new road buddy Joe Biden, Barack Obama is speaking in Davenport, Iowa this morning at a "One Nation" town hall meeting. While his wife Michelle Obama is making tracks to Denver to speak at the DNC tonight, her husband is wending his way there, stopping in the battleground state of Missouri tomorrow. John McCain is polling 10 points ahead of Obama in the Show Me State, according to last week's numbers.

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Fourth of July Travel: Independence Day in Independence

July 3, 2008 at 11:35 AM | by | Comments (0)

The weekend's finally here! By now you should've finalized some sort of holiday action plan, but here's one last Fourth of July suggestion: Independence, Iowa. With just over 6,000 residents at last count, the town is certainly small, but as they say, "Everybody observes the Fourth of July, we celebrate it!"

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Airport Travel: Does Hysterical Signage Make Us Safer?

February 6, 2008 at 3:30 PM | by | Comments (0)

Despite the variety of signs which have sprung up around security checkpoints in the past five years about your coat, shoes and electronic devices, it seems like there's always a new instruction that has been literally tacked on to the existing rules and regulations. Passive Aggressive Notes shares this snap by Timoni Grone at Sioux City Gateway Airport (the infamous SUX). Northwest Iowa is taking that quart-size regulation very seriously!

We still think that Ziploc sponsored this regulation in order to force us to buy more plastic bags. (Despite what the cheeky TSA bloggers might say.) We've found this rule to be unevenly enforced; some airports didn't even require us to take our liquid sack out of our carry-on.

What's the most ridiculous signage you've seen out in the field?

Related Stories:
· If We Give Up Our Exclamation Points, the Terrorists Win! [PAN]
· TSA Circus Continues; Ziplock Stock Gets a Boost [Jaunted]
· Airport Security coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: timoni]

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2008 Candidates Travel: To the Polls, Iowa!

January 2, 2008 at 2:00 PM | by | Comments (0)

Visit our Candidates Travel Map to plan your attack on the Hawkeye State.

It's almost here! The Iowa caucus is tomorrow, officially kicking off the 2008 Presidential primary season. Do you know who you're voting for? Neither do we!

If you're in Iowa right now, you're probably within a stone's throw of a major candidate. Barack Obama's Stand for Change tour takes him to Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Des Moines tonight, while Hillary Clinton can be spotted in Indianola, Mason City and Burlington. John Edwards threw a midnight caucus party in Atlantic, Iowa today, but he's hitting Iowa City and Cedar Rapids as well, with a caucus learning event in Grinnell tonight and a free rally with Bruce Springsteen concert afterwards.

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney has been attending house parties and has scheduled an Election Night party in West Des Moines. Both John McCain and Mike Huckabee are splitting their time in Iowa with other destinations; McCain's coming to Dubuque from Derry, New Hampshire where he's been stumping with Sen. Joe Lieberman, while Huckabee's off to Southern California tonight to be the first post-strike guest on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

The New Hampshire primary is next Tuesday, so don't let down your guard yet! Ready or not, the race is on for real.

Related Stories:
· Hillary's Stump Man Endures Robot Protest [Jaunted]
· Fred Finds Iowa's Heart Three Sizes Too Small [Jaunted]
· Candidates Travel Map [Jaunted]

[Photo: PoliticalPulse.net]

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2008 Candidates Travel: Fred Finds Iowa's Heart Three Sizes Too Small

December 26, 2007 at 2:20 PM | by | Comments (0)

Go straight to our Candidates Travel Map

'Twas the day after Christmas, all through the Midwest
Each candidate snuggled in his war-room nest
Except for Fred Thompson. Poor Fred and his bus
Went plowing through snowdrifts, campaigning for us.

With less than a week before the primary
Fred's not doing hot and it's getting quite scary.
Was it because we don't like "Law and Order"?
Or was it because his platform was disordered?
Yet to Creston, Urbandale, Chariton he'll go
His fitness as president he hopes to show.

If you see his gold bus, give a honk or a wave.
He's not quitting yet, and that's pretty brave.
Thompson vows his support will get finer.
After Iowa find him in South Carolina.

Related Stories:
· Fred Thompson's Upbeat in Iowa [NYDN]
· Fred Thompson coverage [Jaunted]
· Candidates Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Fred in September: bmcvey]

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2008 Candidates Travel: The Reason for the Season

December 21, 2007 at 12:30 PM | by | Comments (0)

Mike Huckabee is glad to remind you that Jesus is the reason for the season. The former Arkansas governor traveled further into Iowa's heartland this week, hitting up the small towns of Dike, Marshalltown, Waterloo and Manchester. While John McCain chose to share a message with audiences in Iowa about a Christmas spent as a POW, Huckabee didn't let his audience forget that he is, after all, a Baptist minister.

Huckabee's latest campaign vid, above, is catching a little heat from conspiracy theorists who say there's a well-positioned cross in the background. We say it's too bad Chuck Norris doesn't show up in this clip, like he has in the past.

If you're not planning a trip to rural Iowa anytime soon [Ed. note: You're not?!], don't despair. You can still see the tech savvy Huckabee during his live webcast on New Year's Day. Don't worry: It's at 7:30 pm, so you'll have plenty of time to recover from the night before.

Related Links:
· Huckabee, Back in Iowa, Brings Christmas Message [NYT]
· Huckabee Live from Des Moines, January 1 [Official Site]
· 2008 Candidates Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

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2008 Candidates Travel: The Dem Debate

Where: 6450 Corporate Dr [map], Johnston, IA, United States, 50131
December 14, 2007 at 11:03 AM | by | Comments (0)

The last debate before the Iowa caucus concluded last night in a Des Moines-area TV studio. Here's the rundown.

Despite rumblings behind the scenes--a Clinton staffer resigned after comments that Obama's cocaine use as a teen would hurt his bid for the presidency--the fight last night seemed clean, and even friendly at times. Obama offered Hillary a job as his advisor and also forgave Senator Joe Biden for referring to him as "clean" and "articulate."

I have absolutely no doubt about what is in his heart and the commitment that he has made with respect to racial equality in this country. So I will provide some testimony, as they say in church, that Joe is on the right side of the issues and is fighting every day for a better America.

Biden stood out from the pack for the first time, really. His discussion of the tragic car accident that took the life of his wife and daughter seemed heartfelt rather than a sympathy ploy, and he seemed to finally shirk the accusations of racism against him. Twenty days till the Iowa caucus!

Related Stories:
· 2008 Candidates Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Candidates Travel Map [Jaunted]

[Photo: Des Moines Register]

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Candidates Travel: Hillary's Stump Man Endures Robot Protest

December 12, 2007 at 1:00 PM | by | Comments (0)

While stumping for Senator Hillary Clinton in Iowa, former President Bill Clinton was heckled by a robot in a prank by a University of Iowa associate professor.

Communications Professor Kembrew McLeod writes on his website that he dressed up as a robot and disrupted the speech because he wanted Clinton to apologize for misquoting African-American activist Sister Souljah in 1992 and painting her as a militant. After McLeod tossed hundreds of little slips of paper in the air, Clinton asked him to protest in a more environmentally sound manner, but Professor McLeod didn't apologize.

Even Hillary supporters have to admit she has drawn a certain benefit from having her husband on the stump. Michelle Obama shows us the "stinky" side of Barack, and Elizabeth Edwards' inspiring battle with cancer has touched a chord with millions, but Bill's political career might bring back warm memories of a pre-W age for many Democrats. Still, that history can also be a liability.

If you, too, want to get thrown out of a Clinton appearance while dressed as a robot, Madame Senator will be at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey tonight for a fundraiser with New Jersey governor Jon Corzine and singer Tony Bennett. Next up is an event in her hometown at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on December 18.

Thanks to our Iowa friend "Bill S. Preston" for the tip!

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