Today in 1819, Alabama became the 22nd state to join the Union.

On this date in 2000, Vice President Al Gore reluctantly conceded defeat to Texas Governor George W. Bush in his bid for the presidency. View more Des Moines Register cartoons on the 2000 election here.

Snow is falling in Iowa City, and it’s early enough in the season that we don’t hate it yet. In these historic images from the Iowa Digital Library, Iowa Child Welfare Research Station students demonstrate the proper way to appreciate a snowfall. View more wintry scenes of Iowa City here.

Below are the Thanksgiving entries from our Civil War Diaries and Letters digital collection featured on our transcripts Twitter account this week. The holiday traditions weren’t fully established during the Civil War — it hadn’t been declared a national holiday until Lincoln’s proclamation of Oct. 1863 — so soldiers were as likely to celebrate ThanksgivingContinue reading “Thanksgiving in camp”

“The fire was a disaster that destroyed the original tower of a treasured landmark for the UI, community, and the State of Iowa,” associate museum director Shallah Ashworth notes. “But as with any disaster, the fire gave the Old Capitol Museum the opportunity to literally rise from the ashes and to move into the 21stContinue reading “The day the dome fell”