I donated at the link from the Madison County Foundation
The recent tornados in Iowa were terrible.
from We Are Iowa
Officials said seven people were killed Saturday when tornado-spawning thunderstorms swept through central Iowa.
Emergency management officials in Madison County said four were injured and six people were killed when the tornado touched down near the town of Winterset. Among those killed were two children under the age of five.
Back in 2019 I did my 3rd RAGBRAI bicycle ride across Iowa.
Ryan Van Duzer RAGBRAI-A 450 Mile Party Across Iowa
One of the overnight towns on our week of riding was Winterset. It was a great town full of friendly midwest folks that were happy to have the 15,000 or whatever bicycle riders visit.
It is much more famously known as the birthplace of John Wayne. I like John Wayne and wondered what they would do to show off that part of their history.
As I rode my bicycle to the activity at the town square I saw The Iowa movie theater with the name of my favorite (mostly unknown) John Wayne movie "The Quiet Man."
It's not a western, was filmed in Ireland, and is a little romance and comedy. Yes a John Wayne RomCom!
I parked my bike right in front, bought a ticket, bought a drink and popcorn, and for the first time ever I saw my favorite John Wayne movie on the big screen. It was awesome!
Here is more of my story from an older post
The week long bicycle ride across Iowa called RAGBRAI always has surprises. Every day is different with a bicycle as your mode of transportation taking you to lots places on a 60 to 70 mile ride.
The ride on Monday July 22 was about 70 miles and ended in the birthplace of Marion Mitchell Morrison aka John Wayne. 2019 Winterset RAGBRAI
It was a little hot and I was maybe more than a little tired after a long day on on the bike. I was interested in what would be happening at our Monday overnight town when I read about it at the route announcement in January.
As I rolled in to the main part of town that welcomed us straight ahead of me was the The Iowa movie theater at 121 N John Wayne Drive Winterset, Iowa.
On the bill was one of my favorite John Wayne movies ever The Quiet Man winner of an Academy Award for Best Director for John Ford and nominated for Best Picture.