Discover the hidden treasures of Iowa as we embark on “Discovering Iowa’s Public Lands: A Journey Along the Little Sioux River.” This talk weaves together over a century of stewardship, from early conservation efforts and New Deal achievements to today’s local partnerships, while tracing the river’s sinuous path through Loess Hills, tallgrass prairies, and historic river towns. You’ll be transported to the solitude of primitive campsites at Preparation Canyon State Park, glide through layered Indigenous and settler histories on the Inkpaduta Canoe Trail, and explore bird-rich refuges like Cayler Prairie and Santee Prairie Waterfowl Area.

Kevin Mason is a rural and environmental historian of the American Midwest. After earning his PhD at Iowa State University, he served as an Associate Professor of History at Waldorf University. Mason will join the University of Northern Iowa in fall 2025 as an Assistant Professor of History. Mason also runs the digital humanities project Notes on Iowa, serves on the Board of Directors for Humanities Iowa, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the State Historical Society of Iowa. An award-winning author, Mason's forthcoming book Fields of Change: The 1st United States Dragoons and Iowa's Environmental Transformation is due out on Michigan State University Press in 2026.

Curious about Water Quality along the Little Sioux?

In this presentation you will hear about water quality records from the past 20 years of monitoring along the Little Sioux River. You will learn how genetic techniques can be used to tell us about the sources of fecal material in the water and the diversity of aquatic species present. Samples collected last fall show high levels of E. coli indicator bacteria downstream of Spencer, and most samples were dominated by human and cattle wastes. Additional monitoring is planned for summer of 2025.

Claire Hruby joined Drake University's Department of Environmental Science and Sustainability in 2023 after 20 years working for the Iowa DNR. She has worked on projects ranging from PFAS assessment in drinking water, mapping of livestock operations, manure on frozen ground rules, stream mitigation assessment, hydrogeologic evaluations in karst, pathogen assessment at public beaches, and ambient groundwater monitoring. Dr. Hruby and her students are currently working in multiple watersheds around the state to identify sources of fecal pollution, evaluate risks, and target solutions.

Alex Colby is a junior in the Environmental Science and Sustainability Department at Drake University. She is currently lab manager of Dr. Hruby's Soil and Water Assessment lab. Alex is investigating the use of genetic and microscope techniques for documenting the diversity of microorganisms in aquatic environments. Her favorite aquatic environments are fens!

Come engage in a conversation between Garrie KillsAHundred and host Kevin Mason in a Riverside Chat.

Garrie KillsAHundred is a Historic Tribal Preservation Officer for the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribes Historic Preservation Office. His primary research interests involve using different kinds of drones and ground-penetrating radar to look at the landscape from a different point of view. Through this work he has assisted in archaeological digs and discovered unmarked graves for the local church cemetery, while also bringing this technology into tribal schools to inspire young indigenous students to pursue careers in STEM.

Kevin Mason is a rural and environmental historian of the American Midwest. After earning his PhD at Iowa State University, he served as an Associate Professor of History at Waldorf University. Mason will join the University of Northern Iowa in fall 2025 as an Assistant Professor of History. Mason also runs the digital humanities project Notes on Iowa, serves on the Board of Directors for Humanities Iowa, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the State Historical Society of Iowa. An award-winning author, Mason's forthcoming book Fields of Change: The 1st United States Dragoons and Iowa's Environmental Transformation is due out on Michigan State University Press in 2026.

Mark Anderson is the archaeologist at the Sanford Museum.  Mark worked for the Office of the State Archaeologist at the University of Iowa for over thirty years and after retiring from that position moved to Storm Lake, IA.  Mark will also be working with the museum’s gradiometer and will be available to do contract work for individuals or groups that need that technology.  He leads the Northwest Chapter of Iowa Archaeology Society meetings as well as editing the Chapter’s newsletters.

Pete is a geomorphologist who studies the processes of water, ice, and sediment movement on the earth's surface, the clues to these processes preserved in the landscape, and the impacts these processes have on people and infrastructure. Originally trained in geology, he spent many spring and summer field seasons studying glaciers in the arctic. Since joining Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM), Pete's interest has shifted toward the modification of postglacial landscapes by streams and the roles that geology, hydrology and land use play. Pete teaches various courses in NREM and Environmental Science at ISU, including a quantitative problem solving course, a natural resource controversies course, and upper level courses in stream restoration and erosion and sediment transport. 

Discover the Little Sioux River as a living thread connecting centuries of Dakota presence, environmental stewardship, and contested frontier memories. This talk unpacks the deeper story behind the Spirit Lake events of 1857, revealing how sustained Indigenous land management, broken treaties, and ecological upheaval converged to shape a complex legacy far beyond the simplistic “attack” narrative. You’ll journey through Dakota concepts like “wita” (places of refuge), learn how Inkpaduta’s leadership embodied both resilience and tragedy amid environmental collapse, and see how settler expansion remade landscapes and lives. By tracing these intertwined ecological and cultural histories, the presentation invites audiences to confront difficult truths and to reimagine the Inkpaduta Canoe trail not just as recreation but as a vessel for honest remembrance.

Kevin Mason is a rural and environmental historian of the American Midwest. After earning his PhD at Iowa State University, he served as an Associate Professor of History at Waldorf University. Mason will join the University of Northern Iowa in fall 2025 as an Assistant Professor of History. Mason also runs the digital humanities project Notes on Iowa, serves on the Board of Directors for Humanities Iowa, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the State Historical Society of Iowa. An award-winning author, Mason's forthcoming book Fields of Change: The 1st United States Dragoons and Iowa's Environmental Transformation is due out on Michigan State University Press in 2026.

Kevin Mason to host Dakota Members at Gull Point State Park or Mini Wakan - TBD

Kevin Mason is a rural and environmental historian of the American Midwest. After earning his PhD at Iowa State University, he served as an Associate Professor of History at Waldorf University. Mason will join the University of Northern Iowa in fall 2025 as an Assistant Professor of History. Mason also runs the digital humanities project Notes on Iowa, serves on the Board of Directors for Humanities Iowa, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the State Historical Society of Iowa. An award-winning author, Mason's forthcoming book Fields of Change: The 1st United States Dragoons and Iowa's Environmental Transformation is due out on Michigan State University Press in 2026.

Tom Rosburg to give a walking tour of the Kettlehole at Freda Haffner Kettlehole State Preserve as well as identify plants along the corridor. The Kettlehole overlooks the LSR valley.

A professor of ecology and botany at Drake University, Thomas Rosburg has served as president of the Iowa Academy of Science and as a member of the board of directors for the Iowa Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Winner of the Sierra Club Environmental Educator Award, the Prairie Advocate Award, the Governor’s Iowa Environmental Excellence Award, and many other distinctions, he is also the photographer for many University of Iowa Press publications, including Trees in Your Pocket (2012) and Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie (2010). He has published over 360 images in a wide range of books, magazines, calendars, and brochures, including National Geographic, Sierra, The Iowan, and the American Journal of Botany.

Jim Pease to present on the Flora and Fauna of the Little Sioux River valley.

Jim has over 40 years of experience as a front-line interpreter, professor of interpretation, and writer and consultant on many interpretive and environmental education and curriculum projects. He has taught thousands, from youth through senior citizens, in formal and non-formal settings, written dozens of publications for professionals and lay people alike, and communicated by a regular statewide radio program, TV segments, podcasts, and websites. His experience includes teaching interpretation of natural resources to undergraduate and graduate students for 24 years, research on impact of interpretive and education strategies, over two decades as an Extension Wildlife Specialist, and fifteen years in youth development and natural resources.

Jim to lead a paddling event on the river in O’Brien County, location TBD.

Jim has over 40 years of experience as a front-line interpreter, professor of interpretation, and writer and consultant on many interpretive and environmental education and curriculum projects. He has taught thousands, from youth through senior citizens, in formal and non-formal settings, written dozens of publications for professionals and lay people alike, and communicated by a regular statewide radio program, TV segments, podcasts, and websites. His experience includes teaching interpretation of natural resources to undergraduate and graduate students for 24 years, research on impact of interpretive and education strategies, over two decades as an Extension Wildlife Specialist, and fifteen years in youth development and natural resources.

Jim to present on the flora and fauna of the Little Sioux River.

Jim has over 40 years of experience as a front-line interpreter, professor of interpretation, and writer and consultant on many interpretive and environmental education and curriculum projects. He has taught thousands, from youth through senior citizens, in formal and non-formal settings, written dozens of publications for professionals and lay people alike, and communicated by a regular statewide radio program, TV segments, podcasts, and websites. His experience includes teaching interpretation of natural resources to undergraduate and graduate students for 24 years, research on impact of interpretive and education strategies, over two decades as an Extension Wildlife Specialist, and fifteen years in youth development and natural resources.

Buena Vista County Conservation director Greg Johnson to host a riverside chat and community Q&A surrounding the Linn Grove Dam.

Mark Anderson is the archaeologist at the Sanford Museum.  Mark worked for the Office of the State Archaeologist at the University of Iowa for over thirty years and after retiring from that position moved to Storm Lake, IA.  Mark will also be working with the museum’s gradiometer and will be available to do contract work for individuals or groups that need that technology.  He leads the Northwest Chapter of Iowa Archaeology Society meetings as well as editing the Chapter’s newsletters.

Dan to lead a paddling event in Dickinson County, Iowa. Location - TBD.

Dan Cohen is a writer and photographer from Independence, Iowa. He retired as the executive director for the Buchanan County Conservation Board in 2023. 

Dan Cohen to present on adventures paddling the Little Sioux River.

Dan Cohen is a writer and photographer from Independence, Iowa. He retired as the executive director for the Buchanan County Conservation Board in 2023. 

Dan Cohen to lead a paddling event along the Little Sioux in Woodbury County, location - TBD.

Dan Cohen is a writer and photographer from Independence, Iowa. He retired as the executive director for the Buchanan County Conservation Board in 2023. 

Kevin Mason to host Dakota Members at The Prairie Heritage Center, Peterson.

Kevin Mason is a rural and environmental historian of the American Midwest. After earning his PhD at Iowa State University, he served as an Associate Professor of History at Waldorf University. Mason will join the University of Northern Iowa in fall 2025 as an Assistant Professor of History. Mason also runs the digital humanities project Notes on Iowa, serves on the Board of Directors for Humanities Iowa, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the State Historical Society of Iowa. An award-winning author, Mason's forthcoming book Fields of Change: The 1st United States Dragoons and Iowa's Environmental Transformation is due out on Michigan State University Press in 2026.

Discover the Little Sioux River as a living thread connecting centuries of Dakota presence, environmental stewardship, and contested frontier memories. This talk unpacks the deeper story behind the Spirit Lake events of 1857, revealing how sustained Indigenous land management, broken treaties, and ecological upheaval converged to shape a complex legacy far beyond the simplistic “attack” narrative. You’ll journey through Dakota concepts like “wita” (places of refuge), learn how Inkpaduta’s leadership embodied both resilience and tragedy amid environmental collapse, and see how settler expansion remade landscapes and lives. By tracing these intertwined ecological and cultural histories, the presentation invites audiences to confront difficult truths and to reimagine the Inkpaduta Canoe trail not just as recreation but as a vessel for honest remembrance.

Kevin Mason is a rural and environmental historian of the American Midwest. After earning his PhD at Iowa State University, he served as an Associate Professor of History at Waldorf University. Mason will join the University of Northern Iowa in fall 2025 as an Assistant Professor of History. Mason also runs the digital humanities project Notes on Iowa, serves on the Board of Directors for Humanities Iowa, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the State Historical Society of Iowa. An award-winning author, Mason's forthcoming book Fields of Change: The 1st United States Dragoons and Iowa's Environmental Transformation is due out on Michigan State University Press in 2026.

Tom Rosburg to give a walking tour of the prairie and trails surrounding the Prairie Heritage Center as well as identify plants along the corridor.

A professor of ecology and botany at Drake University, Thomas Rosburg has served as president of the Iowa Academy of Science and as a member of the board of directors for the Iowa Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Winner of the Sierra Club Environmental Educator Award, the Prairie Advocate Award, the Governor’s Iowa Environmental Excellence Award, and many other distinctions, he is also the photographer for many University of Iowa Press publications, including Trees in Your Pocket (2012) and Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie (2010). He has published over 360 images in a wide range of books, magazines, calendars, and brochures, including National Geographic, Sierra, The Iowan, and the American Journal of Botany.

Mark Anderson is the archaeologist at the Sanford Museum.  Mark worked for the Office of the State Archaeologist at the University of Iowa for over thirty years and after retiring from that position moved to Storm Lake, IA.  Mark will also be working with the museum’s gradiometer and will be available to do contract work for individuals or groups that need that technology.  He leads the Northwest Chapter of Iowa Archaeology Society meetings as well as editing the Chapter’s newsletters.

Tom Rosburg to give a walking tour near Correctionville. Location - TBD.

A professor of ecology and botany at Drake University, Thomas Rosburg has served as president of the Iowa Academy of Science and as a member of the board of directors for the Iowa Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Winner of the Sierra Club Environmental Educator Award, the Prairie Advocate Award, the Governor’s Iowa Environmental Excellence Award, and many other distinctions, he is also the photographer for many University of Iowa Press publications, including Trees in Your Pocket (2012) and Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie (2010). He has published over 360 images in a wide range of books, magazines, calendars, and brochures, including National Geographic, Sierra, The Iowan, and the American Journal of Botany.