In Dubuque (population 57,000),one of the Midwest’s great MississippiRiver towns, much of the past decade’sredevelopment has occurred along thedowntown riverfront. The America’sRiver Project, a complete overhaul ofthe Port of Dubuque, invites visitorswith a conference center, riverwalk,outdoor plaza, amphitheater, the GrandHarbor water park hotel and new Dia-mond Jo Casino.

The National Mississippi River Mu-

seum & Aquarium will double the sizeof its Port of Dubuque campus with an$18-million expansion set for comple-tion by the end of June. New museumfeatures will include a gallery that cov-ers America’s river history and a Gulf ofMexico aquarium with sharks, rays andother ocean creatures. Guests at theRivermax 4D/3D Digital Theater willfeel their seats rumble and experiencewind, water and scent in a completelyimmersive experience.

Youth groups and others who don’tmind rustic surroundings can stayovernight in dorm-like quarters on themuseum’s William M. Black dredgeboat, which the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers operated on the MissouriRiver from 1935-1973. Adjacent to thesteamboat, a boardwalk trail features afur trader’s log cabin, Indian hut, boat-yard and wetland habitat.

Groups will enjoy an outing on themighty Mississippi with Dubuque

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on location: midwest � randy mink

Images of cornfields, barns and livestock inevitably cometo mind when anyone mentions Iowa. In a state that leadsthe nation in pork production, it’s not surprising that these

visions of rural America tend to “hog” the spotlight. But theHawkeye State is more than endless green acres sprinkledwith farm towns.

For groups touring Iowa—and for people living in itsquiet hamlets—the cities havetheir own allure. Oases of culture waiting to be discov-ered, these urban centersoffer museums, amusements,theater, music and fine cui-sine. Fresh attractions arepumping new life into historiccities that have figured outhow to reinvent themselves. Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines

Iowa’sUrban Pleasures

Beyond the silos and waves of grain, country sights give way to city lights in population centers like Dubuque, Des Moines and Waterloo

LeisureGroupTravel.com June 2010 63

River Rides. Its 377-passenger Spirit ofDubuque paddle wheeler offers sight-seeing, lunch and dinner cruises. Thecompany also operates Miss Dubuque, asleek motor yacht.

Another group-friendly venue onthe riverfront is Star Restaurant, occu-pying an 1892 brick building that oncehoused Dubuque Star Brewery. TheEast Dining Room, built around an oldcopper brewing tank, offers river views,and there’s an open-air patio off the bar.Special menus and cooking demonstra-tions are available for groups.

The historic brewery building, withbeer memorabilia on display, also ishome to Stone Cliff Winery, wheregroups can have a tour/tasting or a meal.Murder mysteries can be arranged.Stone Cliff turns out 100,000 bottles ofwine each year, producing cabernet, ries-

ling and chardonnay, plus fruit wineslike cherry and cranberry. The wineryhas a piano bar and riverside patio.

The Quad Cities area, straddling theMississippi on the Iowa-Illinois border,also abounds with group tour possibili-ties. Favorites in Davenport (pop.101,000) include the Figge Art Mu-seum, housed in a dramatic facility over-looking the Mississippi, and the newlyexpanded German-American HeritageCenter, which chronicles German im-migration to the Upper Mississippi re-gion. Also in Davenport are ModernWoodmen Park, home of baseball’sQuad Cities River Bandits, and PutnamMuseum of History and Natural Sci-ence, which has an IMAX theater.

For gaming fun, try the Isle CasinoHotel Bettendorf (Iowa’s largest hotelcomplex, with over 500 rooms) or

Rhythm City in Davenport. Sightsee-ing and meal cruises are available on theCelebration Belle excursion boat out ofMoline, Ill.

Waterloo (pop. 67,000) blossomswith new attractions. If your group seesonly one of them, it should be the Sul-livan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum,named after five Waterloo brothers whoperished together on the USS Juneauduring a World War II battle in theSouth Pacific. You can learn about theirfamily’s sacrifices and those of otherIowans who have served the nation, onthe battlefront and the home front,from the Civil War to the present.

Exhibit areas on each war feature ar-tifacts (weapons, uniforms, mess kits), areview of home front happenings and amini-theater. There’s also an interactiveCommunication Station for each war.Visitors get involved in activities liketesting their speed at packing cans offood in boxes, a task that many Iowawomen factory workers did in WorldWar II.

The Sullivan Brothers, portrayed inthe 1942 movie The Fighting SullivanBrothers, are remembered with a statue,replica of their home’s interior and fiveunopened letters that were returned totheir mother after they died.

Groups at the veterans museum canenjoy a catered meal underneath thelobby’s P-51D Mustang fighter plane.They also can book historical re-enact-ment presentations by a soldier or homefront personality like Rosie the Riveter.

Connected to the Grout Museum ofHistory & Science, the military mu-seum is part of the Grout Museum Dis-trict, which includes Bluedorn ScienceImaginarium and two historic houses.

Galleria de Paco, a downtown Wa-terloo restaurant, has become an attrac-tion in itself since opening in 2006.Operated by Bosnian war refugees wholeft their country in the 1990s, Galleriade Paco is decorated with vivid scenesreplicating Michelangelo’s SistineChapel in Rome. It’s all the work of

The revitalized Mississippi riverfront

is a gathering place in Dubuque.

spray-paint artist Paco Rosic, whoalso is the chef. Group menu optionsare available; a tour and documentarymovie on the artwork can be part of thepackage.

Groups also might enjoy a factorytour at the John Deere Waterloo Oper-ations. Visits to the Engine Works orTractor Assembly Division include a 20-minute video and one-hour riding tour.

Des Moines, Iowa’s capital andlargest city (metro pop. 556,000), brimswith cultural exclamation points, in-cluding downtown’s new PappajohnSculpture Park. The 24 sculptures areworth $27.5 million.

Other downtown cultural meccasinclude the Civic Center (touringBroadway fare), Des Moines Art Cen-ter (19th, 20th and 21st century mas-terpieces) and Science Center of Iowa& Blank IMAX Dome Theater. TheIowa State Capitol with its signature

gold dome offers guided tours, and theState Historical Museum of Iowa lies atits foot. The Iowa Cubs, the Triple-Aaffiliate of the Chicago Cubs, bringbaseball excitement to riverside Princi-pal Park.

Tour groups also like Historic ValleyJunction, a charming shopping districtin West Des Moines. Perfect for brows-ing, this eclectic, Main Street-style col-lection of old storefronts has artgalleries, fashion boutiques, antiqueshops, vintage clothing and other spe-cialty stores. The Heart of Iowa giftshop abounds with souvenir possibili-ties, from corncob candles and stuffed-animal pigs to John Deere tractors andlogo wear.

Even in the larger cities, remindersof the state’s farming culture are neverfar away. LGT

on location: midwest �

PLAN IT!• Iowa Tourism Office,515-725-3083, traveliowa.com

WHERE MEETINGS COME TO LIFEOver 24,000 square feet of �exible meeting and banquet space.

Connected via skywalk to over 500 comfortable hotel rooms at the Isle.Quick and easy access from I-74, I-80, I-280 and I-88.Within minutes of Quad City International Airport.

For facility rental and reservations, call our sales team at 1-800-724-5825 and mention code FORUM. Visit www.theislebettendorf.com and click on the meeting tab for more

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