performs Tuesday, April 22, at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines.
Grammy nominated European singing sensation and star of two new PBS specials, SISSEL has captured the hearts of concert audiences all over the world. Sissel's astonishingly crystal clear voice has made her one of the most amazing musical repertoires of any modern artist.
Bill Richardson: Defining a Good Man
In an excerpt from her book-in-progress "Kids, Dogs and Democrats Running Wild: Campaigning for Sanity in Iowa," Jody talks about Presidential Candidate Governor Bill Richardson's visit to her mother's home following the death of "Dad Earl."
Homecoming: Jim Brickman's Annual Holiday Concert
Jody and her family are once again off to see composer and bestselling recording artist Jim Brickman perform with guests during this year's Homecoming holiday concert.
A Conversation with Jim Brickman (from the 2006 Christmas Tour)
Jody talks with composer and platinum-selling recording artist Jim Brickman about his music and Holiday Concert Tour.
Bridging Cultural Gaps Through Music: A Talk with Brulé's Paul LaRoche
Adopted at birth off the Lower Brule Sioux Indian Reservation, Paul LaRoche discovered his Lakota heritage in 1993 after the death of both adoptive parents. The discovery of his true heritage greatly affected LaRoche, who turned his powerful feelings to humanitarian causes through music and later was selected as a musical ambassador and speaker for the the UN Peace Conference.
Memorial Courtyard, Amphitheater Celebrates Late Student's Life
Restoration Captures Grandeur of Orpheum Theatre
Sparkling crystal chandeliers hang elegantly in the lobby, cherub and swan sconces populate the walls, and the newly restored auditorium boasts a gold-leafed, hand-glazed ceiling and brilliant chandelier; it's a bit like stepping back in time.
Akron Opera House Sets Stage for 100th Anniversary
As the Akron, Iowa, Opera house gears up for its 100th anniversary, community theatre board members are busy with preparations for placement on the National Register of Historic Places.
Blencoe Builds New Home for Fire Department
On Christmas Eve in 1998, the Blencoe Volunteer Fire Department faced a disaster. A train with the Union Pacific Railroad derailed at 6 a.m., overturning an anhydrous tank and spewing out 40,000 gallons of anhydrous. Nearly five years later, they faced another type of crisis.
After 26-Year Hiatus, Morningside Wrestlers Head to NAIA Championships
Morningside College's first-year head wrestling coach Tim Jager takes six first-year wrestlers to 48th Annual NAIA championships.
Unexpected Art: Finding Beauty Every Day
Photo by Jody Ewing
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," wrote the 19th-century author Margaret Wolfe Hungerford in her novel "Molly Bawn." More than 100 years after her death, the obscure romance writer's words still ring true.
40 Days and 40 Nights: Navy Corpsman Scribes Details of Iraqi War
His section of TOW missile-equipped Humvees had just been attached to an infantry company and was to follow them to an intersection a few klicks south of the only bridge over the river Basra. They never made it that night. Matthew Clayton - a Navy hospital corpsman who served with the Marine Corps' 1st Tank Battalion - talks about the first of his 40 days and nights in Iraq, where a small barking dog, Iraqis with AK-47s, one little boy and pitch-black conditions set off a chain reaction of gunfire and what he calls "archetypal gut reactions."
Restoring a treasure: Onawa craftsman helps rebuild organ for return to Orpheum Theatre
Once home to symphony performances and hosted by entertainers such as Fred Astaire and Katherine Hepburn, the Orpheum had become a one-story movie house with a projection booth carved into the former mezzanine balcony. There'd been no place - and no use - for the $60,000 Wurlitzer organ that for years had provided silent movie sound effects.
A Call to Serve: Today's Fire Fighters
A day in the life with Sioux City, Iowa's, Fire Station No. 3.
I Found it on eBay
Lee Holmes, a Vietnam veteran who spent 20 years with the Marine Corps, currently is using eBay to build a World War II collection of wartime memorabilia. He helps chart your course from search to sale.
Inside Iraq: Filmmaker chronicles Iraqis', U.S. soldiers' lives
Mike Shiley - photographer, filmmaker and free-lance journalist - spent two months in Iraq chronicling the lives of the Iraqi people and U.S. soldiers at the height of the conflict while on assignment for ABC News. His 80-minute film highlights the challenges, opportunities and inside lives in a visual - and visceral - behind-the-scenes journey.
Returning to 'NAM
Siouxland Sports Legend Al Buckingham
Coach Al Buckingham's career spanned more than 60 years, and included stints at Morningside College, with the NAIA and with the Olympics.
Read-in Chain Pays Tribute to Black Writers
The Harlem Renaissance led to a flourishing of literature in the 1920s, with James Weldon Johnson editing "The Book of American Negro Poetry" in 1922. The book included works by Langston Hughes, one of the era's most recognized writers who went on to publish "The Weary Blues" in 1926 and "Not Without Laughter" in 1930.
BookCrossing Combines Serendipity, Adventure
Some call it fate. Some call it karma. Whatever you want to call it, it's that remarkable chain of events that occurs between two or more lives and one piece of literature. It also is the premise behind BookCrossing.com, an online site where members register books and release them "into the wild," then follow the books' journeys and the lives they happen to touch.
9-11 Books Serve as Reminders, Help Heal
Nowhere more than in a bookstore is the message clearer: Americans will not forget 9-11. As the first anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, we look back through the pages of a year marked with sadness and hope, heroism and loss.
Monona County Leads Iowa in Graying Population Trend
Monona County is the only Iowa county to have more people over age 65 than under 17. Population experts report that many rural Iowa counties could possess the same demographic characteristics in a few years. Monona County leaders address the issue in a two-part series.
Banned Books Week Celebrates 20th Year
People and groups of all persuasions, for all sorts of reasons, have attempted throughout history to suppress anything that conflicts with or anyone who disagrees with their own beliefs.