9MST0211HD_John_McGivern's_Main_Streets_Iowa_City_Transcript

- I'm in a city on a hill in Iowa overlooking the Iowa River that is home of the Hawkeyes.

- "John McGivern's Main Streets" thanks the following underwriters. 
[light music]

- Greendale is proud to be the inspiration for "John McGivern's Main Streets." This historic village is a real place where all are welcome to gather, to shop, to enjoy. Charming, vibrant, joyful, welcoming. You've just gotta see Greendale. 
[upbeat music]

- § I'm on my way § 
§ Oh, it's time to hit the road § 
§ I'm on my way § 
§ This is the freedom I live for § 
§ §

- Remember when the American dream was being able to say: Wouldn't it be great if your kids and grandkids chose a career that provides that kind of pride with good pay, but without a ton of student loan debt? A four-year degree isn't the only path to success. We need talented people to make and build on Main Streets everywhere. Skilled work isn't a thing of the past. It's a bright future.

- Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Plum Media and the Friends of PBS Wisconsin. Thanks, friends. 

§ 'Cause these are Main Streets § 
§ Something 'bout a hometown speaks to me § 
§ There's nowhere else I'd rather be § 
§ The heart and soul of community's § 
§ Right here on these Main Streets § 
§ §

- Iowa City is best known for the University of Iowa, the oldest university in the state. I'm in Eastern Iowa, where I-80 crosses the Iowa River. Almost 75,000 people call Iowa City home. So, Emmy, I'm sure you know this, but Iowa City used to be the capital.

- Emmy Fink: I do know this. So back in the 1800s, this all was part of the Iowa territory. Its capital was in Burlington. The governor at that point was like, "Oh, no. "That's way out in the boonies. I wanna move the capital right here."

- So, in 1846, Iowa became a state, and well, Iowa City was the capital.

- Exactly, but here we go again.

- Where we going?

- The legislature said, "No, I don't like that. "The capital should be farther west, maybe Des Moines."

- Oh.

- So they moved it there in 1857.

- Poor Iowa City.

- Exactly, I know. I feel the same way. So they did leave this beautiful building to the school, this little teeny, tiny school, a couple hundred students-- they threw 'em a bone. I'd say it's grown a little bit since then.

- It has; in fact, most of the buildings around here are part of the University of Iowa. In fact, there's buildings across the river, as well.

- There's now 30,000 students, and it's a Big Ten school.

- And the best thing-- it started where?

- It started--

- John and Emmy: Right here. 
["America the Beautiful"]

- The old capitol building is now a museum, where you can see the old house chamber and the Supreme Court chamber. The very first decision they issued was in a groundbreaking civil rights case. They ruled that a slave that had been brought to Iowa from Missouri could not be sent back. Now, that was back in 1839, way before the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. This room might look old-fashioned, but those three justices were ahead of their time. 
[plucky music]

- This is Sam Chang, and you are the director of the Iowa...

- Sam and John: Writers' Workshop.

- Congratulations, that's a big job!

- Thanks.

- Yeah. How long you been doing it?

- Sam Chang: 17 years.

- 17 years?

- Mm-hmm.

- Oh.

- The program is 86 years old.

- Yeah.

- The Iowa Writers' Workshop is the first writing program in the country that offered a degree for creative work. So the University of Iowa started it all.

- How many people are in this program?

- Between 95 and 100 students in the program.

- How many people wanna be in this program?

- There's, like, a huge number of applications. So, like, in fiction, fewer than 3% of the people who apply to the program get into it, which apparently makes us harder to get into than Harvard Business School. Why didn't they go to business school? Their lives would be so much more stable.

- [laughs]

- The thing is--

- I have some advice.

- No, no, no.

- Business school!

- They come because they love writing.

- Of course.

- Yeah, this is the greatest town for writers.

- I mean, there's writers' names carved into the sidewalks. It's in the air.

- Yeah. This is your place.

- Jan Weissmiller: It is, yeah.

- Yeah, and how did that happen that this became your place?

- The man who started it, Jim Harris, who opened it, wanted to quit, and so he wanted me to buy it. And--

- Were you like, "OK, that's a good idea?"

- No. I was like, "No, are you kidding?"

- Really?

- That's crazy.

- Like, you have a lot of books.

- Yeah. I think we have 75,000 books in here.

- Do you come in here much?

- Yeah, I'm in here all the time.

- Oh, really?

- Especially since I published a book. I'm always asking Jan like, "So, what's going on with my book?"

- How is it doing? I love that your place is a destination place.

- You know, we have to figure out how to get more people to come to Iowa City. And this one young man said, "What do you mean? "Everybody comes to Iowa City. It's where Prairie Lights is." I was shocked.

- Really?

- I was shocked. Yeah, I never think of it that way.

- That is the Iowa River. It's usually pretty calm, just like that. But back in 2008, there were heavy rains that caused this river to flood. And it flooded into the basement of over 20 buildings on campus. 

Now they have flood control systems all along the river. You're looking at one right now. And if you go around to the steps, you'll see notches in the steps. They can put a panel up, and it will seal off the building. 

Some buildings damaged in the flood were replaced with new ones. This is the newest. It's the Stanley Museum of Art. And one of their prized pieces, Jackson Pollock's mural, didn't have a home during construction. So it went on tour. It was in Los Angeles and London and Berlin and Venice. Finally, the building is built, and Jackson Pollock's mural came home, back to Iowa. Welcome home, mural! 
[upbeat music]

It's the National Advanced Driving Simulator.

- Dan McGehee: So, we specialize in measuring driver performance-- how we make errors, what we do wrong, what we do right, and how we can integrate technology into a vehicle to prevent or reduce the severity of car crashes.

- And you do that in all different scenarios?

- Many different scenarios. When people are drunk or stoned or distracted or sleepy.

- Dan, how long's this been here?

- 20 years--our 20th year of operation.

- Can you look back on these 20 years and say, because of this, this is what we've learned and this is what's changed?

- There are many technologies that we have studied here-- from anti-lock brakes systems to traction control-- that are on all of your vehicles today. Adaptive cruise control, lane keeping systems, automatic emergency braking-- all of those technologies came through this laboratory. The headline is, we wanna save lives. 

So this is where you have this 360-degree view, where you're immersed inside of this roadway. All of the traffic responds to you. If you drive in the wrong lane, the cars will swerve out of their way. So we can track your eyes with a special computer so we can see how long you're looking at that infotainment system, fiddling with your phone.

- And a full-sized car. I mean, I had no idea.

- Yeah, we'll see--like, we have a John Deere tractor we can put in here, a freightliner, a heavy truck.

- And how many different scenarios?

- Thousands.

- Thousands.

- So, like, when you see it tip forward, they're braking. When you see it tip back, they're accelerating. So it's mimicking all those forces, like if you're at the Harry Potter exhibit where you're moving around in a seat. They're trying to mimic those forces of flying.

- So this is like a serious Quidditch match...

- Exactly.

- Is what that is. And how many of these are there in the country?

- This is it.

- This is it. He needs to be stopped. Who's driving that thing?

- I think this one might be the drunk guy that just came in, so--

- [laughing]

- If you're a Big Ten fan, then you know Herky, the Hawk. But he's only been around since 1948. What two animals were mascots before him? 
[quizzical music]

- Well, before Herky, all the way back in 1908, the University of Iowa mascot was Burch, the Bear, an actual real live bear cub. In the 1920s, Iowa had a little bit more manageable mascot, Rex, the ROTC dog. Herky came along in 1948. His appearance may have changed a little, but believe me, he's here to stay. 
[upbeat music]

- I'm excited because I've been sober for 31 years. And it's like, there is a bar where there's no alcohol in a college town? We gotta go there!

- Angie Chaplin: This idea was the brainchild of our founder and owner, Amber Haynes, who also owns a traditional bar. And what she realized is that what people come to the bar for is not necessarily the alcohol. It's the connection.

- Yeah.

- It's the community.

- What do you offer?

- We offer everything from the traditional old fashioned--

- So, a non-alcoholic old fashioned?

- Yes. It has gone over so well.

- This is a massive, beautiful space.

- Everything that a traditional bar has--

- You have it.

- They can shoot a game of pool. We have trivia nights. They can dance to karaoke. They can sing their hearts out. Amateur night: I see it, John. You could be up here, singing your favorite tunes.

- Come on, Angie, let's go.

- [laughs]

- We're from Wisconsin, and brandy old-fashioned sweet is what we were all raised with our parents saying, like, every Saturday.

- James Curtis: OK.

- Some of us had parents who said it every night at 5:00, just so you know. So I would love to see an old fashioned and taste an old fashioned without any alcohol.

- Oh, definitely.

- That would be great, OK?

- So our Lyre's American Malt is our version of what you would use if you were making a real one. They founded it in Britain in 2019 and started a non-alcoholic spirit company. We'll just shake a little bar sugar in there. This is what helps give us the old-fashioned flavor to it.

- Nice.

- We're just gonna give 'em a good shake. Now, we can actually smoke the glasses. That is the best smell in the world.

- Yep. Doesn't it smell good?

- Strain it right in there.

- Mine came out short.

- Toast, to Unimpaired. What do you think?

- There's no liquor in there?

- None whatsoever.

- Don't lie to me, man.

- I'm not, man, I swear. 
[both laugh]

- I gotta get to a meeting. 

- All: Cheers. 
§ §

- A major presence on the West Side is the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. I'm on the 12th floor of the Children's Hospital, and this is where a brand-new college sports tradition started. It's called the Hawkeye wave. 

What happens is kids who are having treatment come up and watch the game here in Kinnick Stadium. And at the end of the first quarter, everyone looks up and waves. Imagine 69,000 people waving their support-- talk about inspiring. 
[jaunty music]

This is really charming. What a beautiful little restaurant you have.

- Hicham Chehouani: Yeah, thank you.

- Yeah. And your background is what? Is French and--

- And Moroccan, yes.

- Yeah. And you use those skills with crepes?

- Definitely, yes.

- How did you make your way to Iowa City?

- It was an accident, real accident, a car accident in I-74. I was not a driver. And they sent me to the University Hospital. That's how I discover Iowa City. After that, I decide I'll stay for one year here, just you know, to see how it's gonna work. Until this day, I'm still here.

- You have quite a combination of either savory or sweet.

- Yes.

- Like, what's the big seller?

- I will say Roma.

- Roma?

- Yeah. Let's do a Roma.

- I'm nervous.

- I made this earlier. It's your turn now.

- Look at that.

- So if it's really thin, you have to roll it.

- Oh, it's--and it sure cooks fast, doesn't it?

- Oh, yeah.

- You ready?

- No, not yet. So we flip it. You're ready, huh? You go in the middle right here, and you put this corner right there. And you roll, yes? There we go. Perfect. Now, we're gonna put the ingredients. And also, all our ingredients are fresh, nothing, you know, frozen. And a lot of French, they just fold it in half. But me, I make them prettier. And at the end, we gonna drizzle some pesto. Beautiful, Beautiful. Voilà!

- Do you happen to have a knife and a fork?

- Yes, of course.

- Was that being too pushy, do you think?

- Every time you reach a flavor, you bite on feta, and it's salty, and you bite on sun-dried tomato.

- A little bit of chicken, you can just taste-- it's full flavor.

- Each bite is different.

- Yeah, this is gorgeous.

- Yeah, thank you. So you enjoy with your eye first, and after you dig in. You know.

- That's dangerous.

- You wanna fight over this?

- [laughs]

I'd win.

- Beginning in 1904, there was electric rail service between here and the nearest big city, which was Cedar Rapids. The train ran on these tracks behind us, past the old football field. It was so cool. The engineer would actually slow way down as they passed so riders could catch a little bit of the action. 

Well, that ended in 1953. So I can't get you to Cedar Rapids by train. But I do have a tip for getting around Iowa City-- CAMBUS. That's the bus system that gets students all around this big campus. The public is welcome to hop on, too. Here's the best part-- it's free. And when your campus covers 1,900 acres, it's really nice to have a CAMBUS. 
§ §

- Those are greens. This is called Urban Greens. Yeah, you're growing some greens.

- In a warehouse.

- In a warehouse--

- You wouldn't expect that very often.

- It's kinda wild.

- Yeah?

- We drove in, and I was like, what is this? Is this a farm?

- Urban farm, yeah, absolutely.

- That's an Urban Farm.

- Ted Myers: Most people think of food production going on in fields in the country. What if we could grow as close to where consumers buy their food as possible?

- Chad Treloar: We started with one rack in here.

- Everything built here came from these four hands.

- That's right, very DIY, very DIY.

- Really?

- We used to have only five levels in the rack. It's like, well, why don't we make the levels closer together, then we can fit seven in the same footprint?

- 'Cause they never grow tall enough to be up here, right?

- Exactly. We started off where we would grow all this in burlap. And then, we discovered that we could use different types of fabric. So we went to the fabric store, tried 10 different types of fabric, found out which one worked the best.

- What works the best?

- Polyester quilt bedding.

- Is that right?

- Yep.

- And you can always go find some, can't you?

- Yeah. Pretty easy to source, yes.

- OK, here's the batting.

- The batting.

- OK.

- We've got our soaked media. You stretch it out. § § A little bit more. And we only have to do that 81 times, twice a week. 
[laughter]

- These seeds are just starting to crack. And you can see the roots shoot into the media.

- When did you do this?

- Yesterday. We grow about ten varieties, all meant to be eaten out of the container, sandwiches, wraps, all sorts of things.

- Bok Choy?

- Mizuna mustard.

- That was gonna be my second guess.

- Oh, yeah?

- BR?

- Broccoli.

- Broccoli.

- Some red Rambo radish here.

- Oh, my God. It's radish.

- Right?

- That's our red acre cabbage that has this savory, almost meaty flavor to it.

- Is there butter on this? I'd fry this in butter.

- That sounds-- that sounds pretty good.

- Take a look. From this to this-- Urban Greens. Back on September 3, 2010, Hawkeye fans got together and set a world record. What did all of these 7,384 people do? 
[quizzical music]

- They put their left hand in, they took their left hand out, and they got into the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's biggest hokey pokey. And it makes total sense. Because back in the days of legendary coach Hayden Fry, the Hawkeye football team would celebrate every hard-fought win with the hokey pokey. 
[cheering]

§ §

- We're inside a space called FilmScene.

- Andrew Sherburne: Yeah, FilmScene is Iowa City's nonprofit cinema. So, we show movies-- about 350 movies every year. But we're really about engaging the community, creating community through cinema.

- So, what do you have space-wise here?

- This is a 15-story kind of multi-use space. There's a coffee shop. There's a bowling alley and restaurant here. There's eight floors of condo units. And so people live here. We see people come down in their slippers.

- Do you?

- This is like an extension of their living room, yeah.

- Hopefully, you live in the building. Is that what you say?

- Yeah. We've got three screens. And they are a huge range of sizes, everywhere from 25 seats, which is a little micro cinema, to our bigger auditorium, which is 120 seats.

- Yeah.

- Obviously, you know, modern digital presentation, got an incredible sound system in here. It'll really make these chairs rumble.

- This concept and this cinema has gotta be a catalyst for other arts in this community.

- Oh, yeah, absolutely. So a lot of what you see here is the result of a big campaign that we did, a collaboration with the Englert Theater, called The Greatest Small City for the Arts. We're still working on that.

- It's a live performance there?

- Yeah, so the Englert theater, which is 100-plus years old, and it showed movies for a long time. But now it's a performing arts venue. So it's a nonprofit theater, just like us. And they showcase great music and speakers and all sorts of things over there.

- Yeah. This is our biggest screen out here.

- Of course.

- 'Cause it's a quarter of a city block.

- The side of the building just happened to be here?

- Yeah. And so, this natural grade is a perfect amphitheater. And we had the parking ramp right there where we could affix a 48-foot screen.

- So how often is this--is something playing on there?

- Every other week through the summer. There's about a dozen films that show out here every year.

- This is so great.

- It's really a wonderful, magical experience. You just can't have this sort of experience on your couch.

- This used to be a campground. And 30 years ago, there were heavy rains that washed it away and left some incredible treasures, thousands of fossils older than the dinosaurs. Take a look at this. This is incredible. These fossils are from the Devonian Era, which is why they call this the Devonian Fossil Gorge. This is what you have to imagine. 375 million years ago, this used to be a tropical sea with coral reefs, right here in Iowa. 

You're the director of operations, which really means you're in charge of this facility.

- Jacki Townsend: Yes, for power toothbrush making. We make Oral Care power toothbrushes. So you can see these behind me here. It feels like you just left the dentist, honestly. We package everything here for North America. So if you go out to the store in North America and purchase something, it most likely came from this facility.

- Right behind that door?

- Yes. Where we're headed right now is our packing operation. So these handles were actually made in our facility. And then it gets the charger. Those chargers are also made right here in this facility.

- Who designed the pink one?

- The pink one? Yeah, I'd like to take credit for that, but--

- Yeah, it looks good.

- This is what we call a cartoner. That's gonna push that completed tray into a carton.

- Ortago Carruthers: We normally have a person out in front, and then a person out in the back of the line. So we swap out every hour or so. And we also inspect the product, too.

- So this is the same black box that you just put up there?

- Yes, sir. Now it has product inside. And it also has a nice folded and glued exterior.

- So once you pack it up, then you go work another part of the line?

- Yes, sir.

- Or you don't just stand here waiting?

- No, I just don't stand here waiting.

- You don't? That would be OK, though, wouldn't it?

- Yeah, it would be nice. Right? 
[both laugh]

- How many people work here?

- Between our manual site and our power site, we employ nearly 600 people. And then we also have the beauty care site as part of Procter & Gamble as well, so a huge employer in Iowa City.

- They sure know what they're doing though, don't they?

- With this level of automation, you have to be highly skilled. And we're very proud of our people. We're putting you to work.

- [laughs]

- We make 30 handles a minute. When we're in our busy season, it's gonna be five days at three shifts.

- At three shifts.

- So all--24 hours a day, Monday through Friday.

- Looks good, doesn't it?

- Yeah, it really does. Pretty in pink. 
[laughs]

- Iowa City started as a small town, all centered around the capital. But as it grew, new neighborhoods sprang up, like Goosetown. It was called Goosetown because the early residents had geese. They were immigrants from Bohemia. Nowadays, these small houses, well, they're affordable starter homes. So you're gonna see a lot of parents with young children moving in-- children, not the geese. No. 
[goose honking]

[light music]

- I love showing up at a place and you think, wow, Heaven's touched this place. It's called Wilson's Orchard & Farm.

- Paul Rasch: My family-- I'm fourth generation in the Orchard business.

- You know the business?

- I should buy now.

- You should. 
[laughs]

As we drove up, there were people walking up the hill. They looked happy as can be. I mean, they had a basket that they had to go pick themselves.

- That's right, yeah. That's what people used to say. Like, you got it made here. You don't have to hire anybody. They pick them themselves.

- And what are people pulling usually?

- Well, if everybody had their way, we would grow one variety, and that variety would be called Honeycrisp.

- How would I know it was a Honeycrisp?

- Because we have a sign on the end of the row. 
[both laugh]

- What goes on here?

- So we have the restaurant over there that's extremely focused on what's available that day, what's coming in the door from either ourselves or our neighbors. And then downstairs is event space. This is one of our hard ciders. This is a sweet cider, non-alcoholic. Higher-end ciders, here. You should try probably a Ginger Gold.

- A lot of juice.

- Yeah, a lot of juice.

- So this isn't a name you made up. This is what it's called?

- No. Apple farmers, being, of course, dedicated to their spouses and not very imaginative, that's why you get so many names of apples after wives.

- So this guy's wife's name was Ginger?

- It was Ginger. And she had red hair.

- The reddest.

- Yes, that's true. Blondie, this is a Gala that forgot to turn red.

- It's a little sweeter than this guy.

- Yeah.

- He gave me these, OK, so-- Thanks. Are we in the middle of Honeycrisp right here?

- This is Honeycrisp--

- Heaven.

- Heaven right here, yes.

- And they taste great.

- Almost every disease, and certainly every bug, loves Honeycrisp apple trees. They do this damage. And to kill these things, you've gotta use nasty pesticides. And so we've just backed off and said, let's let 'em be, right, and we kind of take that approach everywhere we can on this orchard.

- Your knowledge is kind of remarkable. And it made me feel a little less than I did when I showed up. 
[laughs]

Thank you for that.

- Any time.

- There we go.

- Hamburg Inn No. 2. They're famous for their pie shake. It's a milkshake, ice cream, milk, and a slice of pie. But they're even more famous for visits from politicians. During election years, this is the place in town for candidates to meet regular folks. And those people can vote right away in the coffee bean caucus-- one bean, one vote in the jar of your choice. Emmy, John, Emmy, John. Sorry, John. 
[rock music]

- So, Emmy, I love this. Somebody from Iowa City told me, "Iowa City is a big city that acts like a small town."

- I can embrace that attitude. I'd say Iowa City is just right.

- Just right.

- § There's nowhere else I'd rather be § § The heart and soul of community's right here §

- I feel like you're a pink guy. We'll give you the pink one.

- Stop.

- One shot.

- [laughs]

- Oh, jeepers.

- Are you authorized, sir?

- Yeah, I'm not authorized. Oh no.

- It's waving. That was good.

- Yeah, that was good.

- "John McGivern's Main Streets" thanks the following underwriters: 
[light music]

- Greendale is proud to be the inspiration for "John McGivern's Main Streets." This historic village is a real place where all are welcome to gather, to shop, to enjoy. Charming, vibrant, joyful, welcoming-- you've just gotta see Greendale. § §

- § I'm on my way § 
§ Oh, it's time to hit the road § 
§ I'm on my way § 
§ This is the freedom I live for § 
§ §

- Remember when the American dream was being able to say: I made that, I built that. Wouldn't it be great if your kids and grandkids chose a career that provides that kind of pride with good pay, but without a ton of student loan debt? A four-year degree isn't the only path to success. We need talented people to make and build on Main Streets everywhere. Skilled work isn't a thing of the past. It's a bright future.

- Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Plum Media and the Friends of PBS Wisconsin. Thanks, friends.

- Fancy.

- Oh, I've been called worse. 
[laughter]