Word ’Round Town ~ Butterfly Moments WAUKON, IOWA ~ Sometimes, it doesn’t take a big building, a grand gesture, or a whole lot of fanfare to make a difference in someone’s day. Sometimes, all it takes is a little box, a helping hand, and a community willing to care. And tucked inside the entrance of…

DECORAH, IOWA ~ Some people spend their retirement slowing down. Others discover that having a little more time on their hands means having a whole lot more love to give. And across Northeast Iowa, hundreds of volunteers have been proving just how much difference that time can make! Northeast Iowa RSVP is celebrating its 25th…

CALMAR, IOWA ~ Some hugs don’t come with two arms wrapped around you. Some are small enough to tuck into a pocket, carry in a purse, or hold in the palm of your hand. And sometimes, the person who made that little hug may never know just how much it meant to the person who…

An older gentleman stood at the checkout with only a few things in his cart. Bread. Milk. A small package of meat. A couple of cans. When the cashier gave him the total, he looked down at the money in his hand and quietly asked if she could take a few things back. The woman…

There’s something pretty remarkable happening in Decorah Wednesday afternoon ~ and the travelers involved weigh less than a paper clip. Decorah Parks & Recreation is inviting families, nature lovers and curious little scientists to the Decorah Butterfly Garden Wednesday, September 2 at 4:30 p.m. for a free Monarch Butterfly Tagging event. Participants will learn about…

It looked like they were kissing. Two sunflowers, standing side by side beneath an open summer sky, had turned so closely toward one another that their golden faces nearly touched. Maybe it was the way they had grown. Maybe it was the angle of the light. Maybe it was nothing more than stems bending where…

There are moments you can picture before they ever happen. Someone places a butterfly gently into your hands. For just a little while, it is there. Alive. Delicate. Still. You might whisper the name of someone you miss. You might pray. Or maybe you’d simply look at those folded wings and wonder how something so…

“Well now…  Y’all ever notice how an old quilt can tell a story? Not just by the pattern, but by every little breath and act of love woven into every little stitch. Ya know… Grandma didn’t make hers in one afternoon.  She did not have any fancy machines to help her scoot right along. For…

Behind the Allamakee County Courthouse, a simple little box offers something much bigger than food. Photo: Deliverance Hope / Word ’Round Town “Some acts of kindness arrive with ceremonies, photographs and applause. Others sit quietly along a sidewalk. Behind the Allamakee County Courthouse in Waukon, Iowa, stands a small white cabinet with a weathered sign…

Before brushing away the caterpillar on the dill, tree branch, or garden path, take another look. Some of Iowa’s most beautiful butterflies and moths begin life looking nothing like the wings they will someday carry. By Deliverance Hope | Word ’Round Town There it is. Crawling across the sidewalk. Chewing on the dill. Hanging from…

When the Wheels Stopped Turning By Deliverance Hope This past weekend, I was on my way back to Waterloo to continue covering the story of the horses when something unexpected happened. I drove past the old skating rink. And just like that, I was no longer simply headed to cover a story. I was suddenly…

For several weeks, an older woman in town had not been seen outside much. Usually, she was the one who waved from her porch, watered the flowers along the sidewalk, and remembered everyone’s name. But after a fall and a short hospital stay, her porch remained empty. One afternoon, a young girl walking home with…