Cool Iowa small towns

[ianoconnor]

Anyone here ever had a Gunder Burger from Gunder, IA? 1lb of ground beef deliciousness.

[TarHeelHawk]

There is a small burger shack near Sully (I think), right off county road T-22 in Jasper county that advertises itself as Iowa's best burger barn.

[superdorf]

I think Iowa Falls is pretty neat.

What is the deal with the castles in Ida Grove? I've driven through numerous times, but never gotten the story.

[IsUaClone2]

I lived in Sac City most of life growing up, and besides the movie theatre and rainbow bridge, I never thought of Lake City being that interesting.

Although a few years back they had the Rumbles after the rodeo... That was fun.

Things are changing. Small towns are fighting for survival. As the rural population declines, the small towns are losing critical mass and dying. My wife grew up on a farm south of Lytton and we are saddened by the decline of Sac, Lytton, and Rockwell City. Comparatively Lake City seems to have made the biggest effort at trying to stay alive and vibrant.

[bellzisu]

Things are changing. Small towns are fighting for survival. As the rural population declines, the small towns are losing critical mass and dying. My wife grew up on a farm south of Lytton and we are saddened by the decline of Sac, Lytton, and Rockwell City. Comparatively Lake City seems to have made the biggest effort at trying to stay alive and vibrant.

Rockwell is nothing anymore along with Lytton. It's only a matter of time before they are combining again with someone else. Don't they share baseball with Lake City... Or Southern Cal I guess??

Sac City is completely pathetic... It became nothing but a damn retirement community. Younger people tried to pump new life into it by getting into city politics, board of supervisors, and other groups, but the older folk always discredit every idea they have. Hard to revive a town when everyone in it is waiting to die. Completely a joke...

The only thing younger people have a say in is rec athletics and it's a complete joke. Most people have never played a sport in their life, are trying to coach, run, or tell people how to run stuff. Plus, summer rec is nothing more then a baby sitting service since most of the parents in town with younger kids are dead beats.

Sorry, hate to rag on my hometown. And I really don't care if someone their reads this. They would easily know who I am.

I would say... Stay clear of Sac City. It's a dead town, that keeps trying to cling to the fact they have the "worlds biggest popcorn ball". Which they have to rebuild every two years since people always have to challenge that stupid record. They care more about that then attracting people to that then the historic chatauqua building, 1 of only 3 left in Iowa.

[Al_4_State]

Anyone here ever had a Gunder Burger from Gunder, IA? 1lb of ground beef deliciousness.

The Gunder Burger is indeed tasty. I think the Bubba Burger in Schley (about 10 miles SW of Cresco) tops it in both size and taste (if that place is still in business). It too is about 1LB. If I remember (haven't been in there in 10 years) they have a Double Bubba Burger. 2 pounds of beef. Not joking.

[trevn]

I think Iowa Falls is pretty neat.

Thanks for the shoutout to my hometown! Iowa Falls is pretty scenic (it's called the Scenic City) with the limestone cliffs and Iowa River cutting right through the middle of town. I'm a little biased though!

As far as people suggesting Hampton goes...seriously? Hampton? That might be my bias coming out again

I will give Hampton the Franklin County Fair. It's the best fair around the north central part of the state.

[jumbopackage]

Things are changing. Small towns are fighting for survival. As the rural population declines, the small towns are losing critical mass and dying. My wife grew up on a farm south of Lytton and we are saddened by the decline of Sac, Lytton, and Rockwell City. Comparatively Lake City seems to have made the biggest effort at trying to stay alive and vibrant.

That's been going on for at least 75 years, though.

With good roads and good, reliable, cheap transportation, people are far more willing to drive 20-30 minutes to a bigger town to do their shopping.

The small towns that actually have a reason to attract people for reasons other than just their existence I think will do well going forward. The ones that exist purely for utilitarian purposes will continue to decline and all but disappear in the next 25 years or so.

[garn91]

Rockwell is nothing anymore along with Lytton. It's only a matter of time before they are combining again with someone else. Don't they share baseball with Lake City... Or Southern Cal I guess??

Sac City is completely pathetic... It became nothing but a damn retirement community. Younger people tried to pump new life into it by getting into city politics, board of supervisors, and other groups, but the older folk always discredit every idea they have. Hard to revive a town when everyone in it is waiting to die. Completely a joke...

The only thing younger people have a say in is rec athletics and it's a complete joke. Most people have never played a sport in their life, are trying to coach, run, or tell people how to run stuff. Plus, summer rec is nothing more then a baby sitting service since most of the parents in town with younger kids are dead beats.

Sorry, hate to rag on my hometown. And I really don't care if someone their reads this. They would easily know who I am.

I would say... Stay clear of Sac City. It's a dead town, that keeps trying to cling to the fact they have the "worlds biggest popcorn ball". Which they have to rebuild every two years since people always have to challenge that stupid record. They care more about that then attracting people to that then the historic chatauqua building, 1 of only 3 left in Iowa.

I used to live in Lake City...years and years ago, probably pre pre-school days. My Dad grew up outside of Auburn and for the first time in 9 years, I was through Auburn the first of this month and went to the cemetery were my grandparents are buried in and drove around town. Other than for some changes on 71, Auburn hasn't changed that much at all....a neat, clean small town.

[Wesley]

Ruthven and Lost Island Lake.
Glenwood and its parks.
Another for decorah and Ida Grove. IG may be the tops.
MacGregor and Spook Cave.
Manchester and toy museum. Field of Dreams nearby.

[hiwhatis]

i'd recommend checking out my hometown of parkersburg just to see the developments after the tornado and such. it's awesome seeing all of the new houses and everything but it could just be me.

[CycloneErik]

Is the Kiron Food Palace somehow still open?

[clonerules]

Are you drinking? If so you have to stop in Jefferson, IA at the Ol Time Saloon (I think thats the name)

A buddy of mine and I do small town IA pub crawls, and we got 2 Bud light bottles and 2 Jaegerbombs for a whopping $5 there!!! Needless to say we didnt leave anytime soon

And if you make it that far, may as well hit the family restaurant/strip club in Carroll....Fun times

[MoreCowbell]

Thanks for the shoutout to my hometown! Iowa Falls is pretty scenic (it's called the Scenic City) with the limestone cliffs and Iowa River cutting right through the middle of town. I'm a little biased though!

As far as people suggesting Hampton goes...seriously? Hampton? That might be my bias coming out again

I will give Hampton the Franklin County Fair. It's the best fair around the north central part of the state.

Funny, my first thought was WTH is there in Iowa Falls besides the river? We only went there if we needed something from the grocery store on Sunday or wanted Dairy Queen.

This year is the 150th Franklin County Fair, so they're doing some special things to commemorate the anniversary. We always go back for the weekend and take the kids. You can't beat the homemade ice cream or church food stands!

[AIT]

I think Iowa Falls is pretty neat.

What is the deal with the castles in Ida Grove? I've driven through numerous times, but never gotten the story.

Castles

It sounds like the castles were started by one rich guy who liked castles. He built a few for his business, and others followed. If you go to Ida Grove, you have to see the Pizza Hut if for no other reason than to see what's probably the world's fanciest Pizza Hut.