Roads & Routes

Many know Bill Riley as Mr. Iowa State Fair, the voice of the Drake Relays or the force behind the Bill Riley Talent Search. He wore all of those hats, along with countless more. An Iowan through and through, Bill worked tirelessly on behalf of the state's outdoor spaces and young people, raising money for bike trails and the Des Moines Children's Zoo, later known as the Blank Park Zoo. In the last years of his life, he collected these memories from a career stretching back to the debut of television in the Hawkeye State.

US Highway 20 was designated a federal highway in 1926. For the first half of the 20th century, it was the most important east-west road across northern Iowa, extending from the Mississippi to the Missouri River. The road connected 13 counties, four major metropolitan areas, and many smaller communities along its route. Fortunately, the historic two-lane road remains almost completely intact and can be driven much as travelers did in years gone by. Along Iowa's Historic Highway 20 celebrates such a trip, illustrated by more than 200 antique postcards that show the personality of the road: town and city scenes, rural vistas, rivers, bridges, and historic sites. Not to be forgotten are the tourist courts, hotels, diners, and gas stations that made travel possible.

The Camp Dodge military reservation, located northwest of Iowa's capital, Des Moines, has been a community presence in times of war and peace. During World War I, a city serving over 45,000 soldiers sprang up inside its boundaries. As quickly as the army's city was built, it was dismantled, no longer needed at the war's end. The land again became a training area for the Iowa National Guard. The community found a home here too, flocking to one of the world's largest outdoor swimming pools, built in the early 1920s. World War II saw the post processing new soldiers and training the Iowa State Guard, left behind to safeguard the state. Over the years, the camp has heard the pounding of horses' hooves turn to the roar of tanks. Hand-drawn strategy maps have given way to high-tech computer maneuver simulations. Camp Dodge has survived and grown.