Articles by Steve Semken

In the middle of the middle land in the United States we have the greatest variety of weather possible: four distinct seasons, temperatures that plunge below zero by the double digits and escalate into triple digits, placid zephyrs and brutal tornadoes, gentle spring rains and mountains of snow, the crispness of autumn air and the […]

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Great journeys are often inspired by simple questions and observations. Join Chef Kurt Michael Friese as he travels through our nation’s Heartland. When he recognized that the epicenters of the world’s different culinary heritages have always been in the heart of a nation’s grain belt, whether it be France, India, China, Italy, or Germany, he […]

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A best-of collection by Homer Croy, Missouri’s prize-winning humorist, the United State’s first student of journalism, and the world’s first novelist to film his way around the globe. One part Mark Twain, and two parts Garrison Keillor, award-winning humorist and essayist Homer Croy was a man of many distinctions: “The first student of the first […]

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Fevers, pneumonia, and alcohol soaked clothes? A few clues as to how and when Foxes wore red vests. For the full story check out the Sioux City Journal article. The deep values of place learned during childhood can extend to living an enriched, responsible, creative, and authentic life in adulthood. The lessons in this collection […]

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What Cheer won the Silver Medal Award in Foreword Reviews 2010 Book of the Year Awards Part romantic comedy, part whodunit, part great American road trip, What Cheer asks a lover’s ageless questions: where, when, and with whom? Here’s a celebration of love sprung from perfectly surreal yet real places—What Cheer, Lost Nation, Story County. […]

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In our seasons of darkness, when snow lays deep upon the land and winds blow cold, winterberries are a gift of hope. Coated in heavy ice, the bright red orbs shine as sparkling memories on the bare  twisted stalk of age. These poems are reflections on the season and on life. They remind us to […]

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Excellent Joy was a Silver Finalist Award Winner in Foreword Reviews’ Book of the Year Award A summer hit with a foreword by Frederick Kirschenmann “Michael R. Rosmann proves to be a unique breed of American …”–Foreword Reviews (July, 2011) Praised by the New York Times and President Bill Clinton, Michael Rosmann has appeared on […]

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Author Zachary Michael Jack is tells about his real-life sequel to his fictional search for love in What Cheer: A Love Story. Native Soulmate reveals where and what his search for local love taught him about the Midwest. Love Fresh. Love Local. What happened during the author’s search for a bride this past year (What […]

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A guide to better understand the world around you, through nutrition, medicine, and of course through the power of the plants all around us. A tradition-rich and practical guide. An educational guide to the power and use of plants and trees. If you have your plant identification down, that’s just the start, this guidebook is […]

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