Photographer Jayson Hinrichsen and personal blogger Rachel Mallas both audibly groan when they talk about the struggles of building a career through Instagram in the Midwest. “People ask me where I’m from, I tell them Iowa, and they say ‘Idaho’?” Hinrichsen explains. “Like, they don’t even know where Iowa is.” “It’s so hard,” Mallas adds. …

The Iowa governor’s office exhibits the work of female artists. Successful women are often noted as trailblazers in every field. Art has been kept away from women for centuries, partly because women were not allowed to obtain formal education during the biggest art moments in history. For a long time artforms women specialized in were …

Companies and subscription boxes are changing who they’re catering to by adding great fashion choices for plus-size women. Shopping for clothes can be a challenge. But when someone is plus-size, it makes the task twice as hard. According to Forbes, “The average size of a woman is now between size 16 and 18.”  The stigma …

Music is rapidly growing in the Midwest For a split second the world seems to stop. Hands reach for the stars while heads are thrown back beaming with ear to ear smiles and eyelids pressed gently shut. Mouths are open in unison waiting patiently to sing the next lyric. Regardless of the artist performing, the …

In a thriving and growing community, women of color are still vastly underrepresented in Iowa and especially in the art community. These three women tell all on their experiences living in Iowa, struggles in feeling alone, challenging their community, pushing forward to represent, drawing attention and inspiring women of color as a whole. Meanz Chan …

The workers who empty your bins prefer “senior refuse collectors” Photo by: Ayana Anderson As the snow continues to fall, David Schervish wraps chains around the oversized tires on his orange truck. The chains are supposed to prevent the garbage truck from slipping and sliding down the unpaved streets of Des Moines, Iowa. He starts …

Advice on how to be an ally to people with disabilities Conversations about what it means to be an ally dominate the media. With articles from Huffington Post and Buzzfeed to Youtube channels and blogs run by nonprofit advocacy groups, there’s no shortage of information on how someone can ally themselves with a minoritized community. …

The Midwest is known for its notoriously frigid winters. Most recently with a polar vortex making its way through the region, many people have begun to question how to dress for a night out. Most notably, what to do with a winter coat and if one should be worn. Young adults across Des Moines are …

“I met my wife on top of a mountain in the Himalayas and the skies parted when I saw her for the first time.” Everyone knows “that couple.” The couple of friends that met in the most romantic way possible and love telling the story of how they met every chance they get. The stories …

Why we celebrate March is Women’s History Month. A month dedicated to “commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history,” says womenshistorymonth.gov,  dedicated to Women’s History Month. The celebration of Women’s History Month began in 1981 with Women’s History Week. Since 1988, Congress has authorized the …

Women are making strides to advance their careers in the male-dominated industry of craft beer making. The beer making industry has been dominated by men for decades. Advertisements and commercials have created a skewed image of women and their relationship with beer — ranging from their taste in beverages to their ability to properly brew …

The floors of The Plant are cleaned with beer. Okay, not beer, per se. More like leftover beer water — or at least the water Whiner Beer Co. has at the end of the beer-making process. It doesn’t smell. It doesn’t have any alcohol. It’s just water. And normally it’s just flushed down the drain. …

The commercial ice making process uses a lot of plastic. For every crystal-clear ice cube or block that’s crafted, the machines and ice trays are coated in a new sheet of plastic. Chicago’s Just Ice custom designs ice for local restaurants and bars, and a new sheet of plastic is used to ensure the proper …

An extremely Wisconsin festival celebrates the state’s quintessential delicacy. …

Running your own business can be hard. Getting started as a female can be harder. One successful Des Moines entrepreneur offers her advice for young women interested in the industry. …

How community pets were doing their best to survive freezing temperatures Through late January and early February, the Midwest and Northeast were bundling up and hunkering down against drastic arctic temperatures. With winter winds reaching speeds of 30 miles per hour, cities had been hit with frigid temperatures falling far into the negatives. Chicago reached …

The recent “polar vortex” spells only the beginning of environmental trouble for the Midwest This year’s winter has led heavy piles of snow and extremely cold temperatures in the Midwest, but summer will ultimately prove the damages climate change will bring to the region./ Picture by Jacob Reynolds Earlier this year, a “polar vortex” barraged …

How to make simple and strategic steps to living a more sustainable lifestyle. Our garbage cans are stinking up more than just our kitchens; they’re smelling up our conscience. The United States Environmental Protection Agency reported that in 2013, the U.S. produced 250 million tons of waste, with about 150 million tons sent to sit …

Epilepsy. AIDS. Cancer with severe pain. Multiple Sclerosis. These medical conditions seem completely unrelated, with one exception: They respond to treatment with medical cannabidiol, which can be purchased – with proper documentation – in Iowa. The first law legalizing medical marijuana was passed in California in 1996. Iowa is now one of many states where some form …

Dan Abbott gave the first tattoo of the fundraiser in honor of a dear friend. Abbott, the owner of Insidious Ink Tattoos in Hiawatha, Iowa, was holding a fundraiser for suicide awareness after losing both a friend and a cousin to suicide in the same year. He gave the first tattoo of the fundraiser to …

Mitch McNeil knows what clean water looks like. He’s a surfer and has spent years on the water. So he can tell that one of his favorite spots to surf, the southern part of Lake Michigan off the shore of Indiana, is not clean. The Indiana shoreline is home to a national park. It’s a …

https://youtu.be/Q9r_bD2i_m0 Elephants hate the cold. They’re physically huge creatures. They demand lots of space. They like to keep in packs. That’s why you won’t find any at Des Moines’ Blank Park Zoo. “Right away, we noticed that elephants need warm weather,” says Ryan Bickel, Blank Park Zoo’s chief marketing officer. “When you have an elephant …

Take a road trip through the Midwest, and you’re likely to pass any number of various sideshow attractions: from the National Hobo Museum in Britt, Iowa, to the magic capital of the world in Colon, Michigan; Lamar, Missouri’s birthplace of Harry Truman, to Riverside, Iowa’s future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk. Trekkies and hobo-enthusiasts …

The floors of The Plant are cleaned with beer. Okay, not beer, per se. More like leftover beer water — or at least the water Whiner Beer Co. has at the end of the beer-making process. It doesn’t smell. It doesn’t have any alcohol. It’s just water. And normally it’s just flushed down the drain. …

Off of a two-lane road in unincorporated Plymouth, Michigan, hidden among a thick tree line, is an American icon. Its striking lines and burnt-red color are out of sight, obscured by the rise of a sloping driveway. A closed gate and security cameras send a very clear message to visitors: don’t bother us here. At …

Sitting in the fluorescently lit room of a church basement gave me a strange sense of nervousness. Prior to the flip of the cards, I didn’t necessarily believe that psychic ability was real, and I certainly didn’t put a lot of stock in it, but I had a feeling that something was about to happen. …

In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, five men moved into an underground bunker just outside of Wilson, Kansas, a small town in the Smoky Hills. They lived inside the steel walls 24/7, guarded by heavy blast doors built to withstand a nuclear explosion. The men had everything they needed inside the two-floor, …