On this “Iowa Week: After Dark” edition of Talk of Iowa, we explore some unique activities that are made possible by the dark of night.
First, we drop in on a workshop for people who want to learn to breathe fire, led by fire dancer Brittney Marine.
Next, producer Emily Woodbury talks with a group of cyclists who prefer to bike Iowa’s gravel roads by the dark of night. Charity Nebbe talks with Andrea Cohen, who works for World of Bikes in Iowa City and organizes these gravel road, night time rides.
And, we check in with those who participate in the oldest of the night-time hobbies, star gazing. Woodbury meets with a group of star gazers at the Eastern Iowa Observatory near Ely, and Nebbe talks with Jack Troeger, who has spent his entire life observing and studying the stars. He is a lifelong amateur astronomer and creator of the Dark Sky Initiative.
