Iowa Life Episode 212

[Charity Nebbe] Coming up on this episode of Iowa Life, we'll meet conservationist and wildlife photographer Jacob Pitzenberger.

Just knowing that I'm not the only person that cares about this stuff, that gives me a lot of hope.

[Nebbe] We'll follow Robbie Erickson's 276-mile run across Iowa.

Ultimately, my goal is just to make it across the state. That's all I wanted to do when I was little. That's all I want to do now.

[Nebbe] And, artist Daniel Adams shares his journey to small town Iowa.

Actually, as an artist, I can work anywhere, I can get commissions from anywhere in the country and paint it here in Iowa.

[Nebbe] It's all coming up next on Iowa Life.

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Funding for Iowa Life is provided by --

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The Pella Rolscreen Foundation is a proud supporter of Iowa PBS. Pella Windows and Doors strives to better our communities and build a better tomorrow.

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And by, the Lainie Grimm Fund for inclusive programming at the Iowa PBS Foundation.

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[Nebbe] Hi, I'm Charity Nebbe and this is Iowa Life. The Iowa landscape has changed pretty dramatically over the past two centuries of human expansion. But where our native ecosystems remain there is so much to discover. Jacob Pitzenberger is a conservationist who manages a 2,200-acre private nature preserve. One of the perks of his job is that he gets to bring his camera along.

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[Jacob Pitzenberger] My ultimate goal with all of my photography and now videography is just to use it as that platform to start a conversation about conservation really. That's what it all kind of goes back to.

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[Nebbe] Jacob, can you tell me about the work that you do?

[Jacob Pitzenberger] Yeah, so I manage a private wildlife preserve in Southern Iowa. We've got roughly 2,200 acres or so that we manage just for diverse native wildlife habitat. So, a lot of prairie reconstruction, restoration work. There are five to six remnant prairie sites. So, that would be prairie that has never been dug or plowed, plant communities that could potentially be 6,000 to 7,000 years old.

[Nebbe] So, as if you're not busy enough, you also are a wildlife photographer. The camouflage, the patience, the integrating yourself into the environment. Tell me a little bit about how you have perfected that?

[Jacob Pitzenberger] Yeah, I mean, it's mostly just a test of patience most of the time.

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[Jacob Pitzenberger] The fun part is as my skills have kind of developed over the years, being able to visualize a photo in your head and then go out and capture it or something very similar when you have a wild animal as one of the aspects of capturing that photo. It's not always an easy thing to do. So, it takes a lot of research, a lot of getting to know your subject and their behaviors and the best ways to capture those things.

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[Jacob Pitzenberger] Making sure that there's habitat there for the wildlife that you eventually end up taking a photograph of is really rewarding. It feels good knowing that you played a part in every aspect of the photo, not just the final image.

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[Nebbe] I think that brings us to the Great Backyard Bird Count, which is a four-day event, late winter, it's an international event and they're asking people all over the world to go into their back yards, you have a pretty nice one, and just take stock of the species that they see. Can you tell me a little bit more about how it works?

[Jacob Pitzenberger] Yeah, again, I'm pretty lucky I think to have over 2,000 acres at my disposal for a back yard bird count. But yeah, it's as simple as if you have a feeder set up in your back yard or even if you don't, just look out the window, spend at least 15 minutes and you just identify the birds that you see and then there's a lot of apps out there that can help with that now, digital field guides. And count the birds that you see and you submit them through an app called the eBird.

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[Jacob Pitzenberger] It's a big citizen science project. So, all of that is data that can be used by scientists and yeah, it's really important work that anybody can do.

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[Jacob Pitzenberger] Nature is a participatory sport. You have to get out there and you have to do it. You have to just experience it. That's when you can begin to love it and then you're going to take care of it.

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[Nebbe] What are some of the things that you do to promote biodiversity in your prairies?

[Jacob Pitzenberger] Fire is probably my favorite. That has a huge impact on prairie restoration and reconstructions and fighting invasive species. That's a never-ending battle for sure.

 

[Jacob Pitzenberger] We'll intercede some areas and try to increase diversity in some of the prairies. Those are the main ones. I would consider Iowa a prairie state. Something like over 70% of this state was prairie, which we have less than 1% of that remaining now. So, it's something that is I think critically important to try to preserve and to try to reconstruct as much as we can. When people think of a prairie they just think of kind of like an open grassland, right? But there's insects that depend on those wildflowers, there's birds that depend on those insects, and everything just kind of builds from the bottom up. Grassland birds as a group, it's one of the fastest declining group of birds in North America.

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[Nebbe] What gives you hope for the future?

[Jacob Pitzenberger] Just knowing that I'm not the only person that cares about this stuff. Other people think it's important and other people are working really, really hard just to try to make things better. That gives me a lot of hope.

[Nebbe] Seeing a Merlin, seeing an eagle, seeing a Trumpeter Swan.

[Jacob Pitzenberger] Seeing those things that could have so easily gone away forever and seeing them in healthy numbers. Yeah, that gives me a lot of hope, knowing that the work you do can have a very real impact on future generations.

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[Jacob Pitzenberger] I had gotten a message that we had close to 100 Trumpeter Swans on the lake. I brought my camera in with me and you know you've got to get the camera close to the water, so I ended up with my feet in the water and found out very quickly that one of my boots had a hole in it. One numb foot was completely worth the sight and the experience for sure. It was wild to see. And then to be able to capture it in slow motion and you can really see everything, all the detail when they're coming in and their feet were just like giant boats, like the sea plane landing. Definitely the most special wildlife photography event of my career.

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[Nebbe] What do you hope each one of us understands about our role in nature?

[Jacob Pitzenberger] I think for everyone to realize that whatever they do, they're having an impact. And whether that is a positive impact or a negative, you have that choice to make. And I hope that people would choose to have a positive impact and just to understand that they can really change things.

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[Nebbe] An ultra-runner is someone who participates in races that are longer than the standard marathon, 26.2 miles. And people take on these challenges for all kinds of reasons. Robbie Erickson is planning to run across the state to raise money for his daughter's school. And his entire community is behind him.

 

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[Robbie Erickson] I ran when I was a young boy and now I'm finally to the point where these childhood goals I had, I'm doing them now, like to run across Iowa. I thought about that when I was a little boy. And now I'm just kind of see if I can finish the story of it all and hopefully inspire some people along the way to do the same.

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You've got to pick that cadence up here.

[Nebbe] Robbie Erickson is a volunteer track and cross-country coach at Collins-Maxwell, a 1A school district in Story County. Coach Jerry Meinerts knows it would mean a lot to the athletes and the community if their teams could host meets on their home track.

[Jerry Meinerts] I think it was three years ago we finished our new track here in town. Being a small rural area, we didn't have the funds to add on a timing system. If you go to a meet these days that doesn't have fully automatic timing, that time doesn't count. And if you want to have a successful meet, you need a good timing system.

[Cypress Erickson] So, I know what having that timing system would mean for especially my senior year to be able to have a home meet would just be really, really cool.

Look at you go! Hey, get deep there.

[Robbie Erickson] Me and Jerry spend a lot of time together, have a lot of good talks and stuff and he brought up this timing system a few times, many times and how beneficial it would be. But just like, how are we going to get it, man? We can try to have some bake sales, have a pickleball tournament, maybe get it in three or four or five years. And then it just clicked.

[Jerry Meinerts] And he was like, coach, I think we're going to get you that timing system because I'm going to run across Iowa. And I was like, well, if anybody can do it, Robbie could do it.

[Nebbe] Robbie's goal was not just to run across Iowa, but to break the record for the fastest known time of three days, 22 hours and 49 minutes. In support, the Collins-Maxwell Athletic Boosters launched an online fundraiser for the timing system and the community rallied behind the cause.

[Jayden Peters] He runs a lot, obviously, and runs really far distances. But this is a whole other stretch and a whole new thing he's opening up. And I was like, wow, that's a crazy feat. I didn't know anybody has ever done that before. And I just think that's amazing that he's not doing this for himself at all, he's doing this for the school.

[Jerry Meinerts] We always talk to the kids about we've got to get out of our comfort zone. And he's like coach, I'm going to show them what it's like to get out of your comfort zone.

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[Nebbe] Preparing for a run of this magnitude requires a lot of physical training. But ultra-running is as much about strategy and resilience as it is about fitness. To succeed, you need a mix of smart training, strong mental preparation and meticulous planning.

[Robbie Erickson] You always want to be prepared for whatever you could end up facing. So, the first thing I always have is some kind of windbreaker. Car keys are always stashed away safely. Extra cell phone battery charger with me, some baby food, emergency blankets. Cell phone right there. Toilet paper. A little extra money. Enough water for the day. And you're good to go.

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[Robbie Erickson] So, I started thinking of how I could come up with a plan that was natural for me. My objective is five miles every hour and a half. If we stick with that, I will finish in three days and 12 hours and it breaks it all down into a very manageable approach because it really is just a bunch of long, it's a bunch of five and six mile runs.

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All right!

There's some good climbs, that's for sure. Getting out of Omaha was kind of wild. It was a lot of ice and a lot of traffic, just beautiful though, absolutely beautiful out there so far. I love it.

I ain't stopping now. That'd be foolish. I love you guys!

Love you!

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[Robbie Erickson] I'm not even worried about it, you know. Ultimately, my goal is just to make it across the state. That's all I wanted to do when I was little. That's all I want to do now. We have the plan to break the record. I have the motivation to break the record. But if things go south and we have to take time solving issues or I need time, it's okay. I'm not worried about it. Once you eliminate fear, there's nothing scary about solitude. I've been a single, full-time single dad for my daughter's whole life. So, I'm a product of solitude in many ways.

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92. Yeah, the whole, pretty much the whole way. This is probably the safest route. You can take any route you want across the state of Iowa for the FKT attempt. It doesn't have to be a specified route.

[Nebbe] Robbie runs day and night catching only a few hours of sleep before pressing on. He is supported by a crew of family and friends along the way.

Go, Robbie, go!

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[Rob Erickson] We just come out in the morning and started following him and usually follow him right up until dark and then we go home and we take care of things at home that we need to take care of.

[Penny Erickson] Our role is to follow the time, to take Cypress with us when needed and to wash his toe socks.

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[Cypress Erickson] I am trying to make sure he has everything that he needs and make sure that I'm being the most helpful I can. Sometimes that's not saying anything. Sometimes that's talking his ear off. I'm just trying to figure out what I can do that it going to help make everything a little easier for him. It just fills my heart so much to see him go out and be able to do stuff like this. It's like my absolute favorite thing in the world to come and watch him and support him. I love it.

[Rob Erickson] I think it's great that everyone is coming out and supporting him. It really motivates him to do what he needed to do from the start.

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[Robbie Erickson] Every time that you go from solitude to the company of someone else, it lifts your soul.

[Nebbe] Late in the run, current and previous record holders, Taylor Ross and Paul Noble, came out to support him in surpassing the records they had set.

[Robbie Erickson] Taylor came out a couple of times and Paul Noble, the current record holder decided on a whim, he's going to come out and run with us through the remainder of the night. And it just became such a magical, special moment to share with these guys. And I'll be out there doing the same thing with them the next time someone comes through.

[Nebbe] Most ultra-runners agree, the last miles are brutal. But, they're also what make the finish so rewarding.

[Robbie Erickson] When I was 26 miles out, I asked Kaitlyn Shoemaker, who was my head crew at the time, I said what kind of pace do I have to hold to beat Paul's record? And so, she very wisely decided to lie to me and say that I had to run faster than I did to accomplish the goal. And she said, can you do it? And I said -- my head was on the dashboard at this point, I was sitting next to her in the car just trying to warm up a little bit because it was getting real chilly and windy, really cold and windy, like the wind was biting -- and I looked at her and I just said, I don't think I can, but I'm going to try.

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[Nebbe] In the end, Robbie crossed the Mississippi River and completed the 276-mile run in 3 days, 21 hours and 22 minutes.

[Robbie Erickson] My goal was to raise $35,000 for the school here and then beat Paul Noble's record as well. And I accomplished both. Just don't quit. It's just never a good day to quit. Always focus on the solutions, not the problems. As long as you can do that, I feel like there's no mountain too high, I truly do.

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[Nebbe] What makes someone an Iowan? You can be born here. Or you can be brought here by your family or your circumstances. There are also some people who choose to live in Iowa. Daniel Adams is an award-winning artist whose work in Florida includes storied creations for Walt Disney Productions. Now, he's an Iowan with a studio in Eldora.

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[Daniel Adams] It is kind of like just playing it by ear. It's more of a scumbling process. So, I'm doing more type layering. Oh yeah, I like that, and then I'll go ahead and use more of it. Maybe give it sort of a sunset effect maybe. Yeah. I think that will look good.

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[Daniel Adams] I call myself an all-around artist. Some people would say it's a figure artist, a portrait artist, a landscape artist. I sort of fit all of those at different times of my career and my life. It depends on what show I'm trying to enter. If it's a landscape show, I'm a landscape artist. That's what I do.

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[Daniel Adams] It's more of an exploration of a greater process. It's a journey. It's really an artistic journey that I'm going through.

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[Daniel Adams] When I started working with Disney it was back in 1971, opening day of Magic Kingdom. So, I was there. This was a pop-up thing that I made in 1971 for the opening of Disney. And it was a good experience because I'm drawing a good eight hours a day, working on my line drawings, learning color and everything too. So, it was really a lot of on-the-job training. That was pen and ink drawings on an overhead projector so lots of people could watch me and had lines out the door. I mean, quite literally they were just lined up. And then I think my record at the time in a single day was like 337 people. In about 1980, Epcot was being built and so they needed artists for Epcot. So, I transferred over to that and that is where I learned all types of things, sculpting and painting and color mixing and different compounds, different resins, mold making.

[Daniel Adams] This is an actual master front that we used at Disney. And this was fiberglass. So, we could actually make a mold of it. And then from there we would actually pour in the rubber so it would be a flexible skin. So, the mouth would actually open. There were teeth.

[Daniel Adams] And so eventually worked my way up and became the head artist and the senior artist there for the Magic Kingdom. And so, I was in charge of all the key aesthetic elements of the park.

[Daniel Adams] This is the Disney dollar, this is one of my ideas that actually created money. Kids could then go out and spend it there in the park.

[Daniel Adams] I was actually named employee of the year there out of 50,000 employees one year and that was a nice honor to get.

We have main engine start.

[Daniel Adams] A few years later, the Challenger accident happened.

And liftoff. Liftoff of the 25th space shuttle mission and it has cleared the tower.

[Daniel Adams] I think anybody who was alive then remembers where they were at that moment. Kind of like when Kennedy was shot. You remember that moment.

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Velocity 2,900 feet per second. Altitude 9 nautical miles.

[Daniel Adams] And so I wanted to do something to contribute to that effect. So, I developed the license plate for that and thinking about that. And they kept it for like ten years, so thousands of them and it raised over $50 million for the Astronaut's Memorial Foundation. It wasn't for monetary value of it, that wasn't my purpose. That was just an act of humanity wanting to come forth and say, that's my small part.

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[Daniel Adams] The county flag, that happened pretty much around the same time. They actually had a competition. So, I submitted my design and eventually that is the one that won. That flag flies at county buildings, all the schools and fire stations and police stations. And there's Robert Fisher, who is an astronaut, so he lived there and they presented him with his own copy of the flag. He took that flag with him on his own space shuttle mission. So, my artwork has made it out of this world. It has gone around the world. They told me to really go places.

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[Daniel Adams] This is an old process. This is developed for the printmaking process for newspapers and advertisements and the artwork itself and they wanted to do reproductions of paintings even. Let me try and do this in one continuous motion. It's got lots and lots of pounds of pressure being put on that plate.

 

[Daniel Adams] There we go. You can see the pressure that's put on here. You can see how it embosses the picture even. And voila! Yeah. No Bullwinkle.

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[Daniel Adams] I get bored doing the same thing over and over and over again. After about the 100th time, it's like I never want to do that again. I always want to try something new. I like experimenting. I like trying different mediums, different materials. I'm always trying something different. It keeps me from being bored.

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[Daniel Adams] Being an artist, I can live wherever I want. I don't have to live in New York City. I don't have to live in Chicago. I don't have to live in LA. Actually, as an artist, I can work anywhere, I can get commissions from anywhere in the country and paint it here in Iowa, and not have to put up with all the headaches of the big city. Good old Iowa. I didn't know Iowa that much. I never lived in Iowa before when we moved up here. The thing I like about Eldora, the Iowa River runs right along it. We have a state park here. We have a beautiful courthouse. A nice small town. We've got one stop light, which is amazing. So much in Iowa to appreciate and then a lot of it is subtle. And that's what I did the first couple of years, I didn't really paint any Iowa scenes to begin with, I was just trying to feel Iowa, really feel what is the vibe. And I'm doing more plein air type work now. I'm actually going out and painting live right directly from the subject itself. I think it's kind of miraculous. It's been a really nice discovery.

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[Nebbe] Before we go, we're going to visit John's Grocery, a quirky piece of Iowa City history.

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[Nebbe] John's Grocery has been a mainstay in Iowa City's Northside neighborhood since 1848, making it only two years shy of being as old as the state of Iowa. On a day that started like any other in 1956, a surprising turn of events led to the creation of the store's enduring nickname, Dirty John's.

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[Doug Alberhasky] There was a junior high right up the block. Kids would come in over the noon hour and get penny candy and that just drove my grandma nuts seeing them eat nothing but sweets.

 

[Doug Alberhasky] My grandma started our deli by making five cent ham salad sandwiches. Eventually, we had hundreds and hundreds of kids coming in over the noon hour for lunch. Well, fast forward to 1956, we're the first place in town to celebrate a new magazine, a little bit controversial, by the name of Playboy.

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[Doug Alberhasky] One day when the truck was going by down Market Street, there were two boys walk up early for lunch. Well, these two boys saw the truck go by, they saw the stack come out and they saw the opportunity. So, they stole that entire stack of Playboys delivering it down to the junior high, passing them out to all their buddies in the locker room. And everything was going great until Otto the wrestling coach caught them and drug them up the principal's office. Well, unfortunately, Otto had to get back to teach class. So, he didn't have a chance to tell the principal exactly what was going on. So, just assuming, the principal called my grandpa and says, Dirty John, what in the heck are you doing selling my boys Playboys? And the name stuck.

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[Doug Alberhasky] The Sisters of Mercy were right across the street at Mercy Hospital. Even though my grandparents were very devoted Catholics, were huge in the community of St. Mary's, the sisters didn't really like the fact that grandpa was selling Playboy.

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[Doug Alberhasky] And I think that is kind of how the name kind of spread was that kind of backlash from the sisters. For the longest time, grandpa kind of shied away from it. But eventually came to endear it. Over the years, it has kind of taken on almost a legendary status. For some people, we are their neighborhood grocery shop. For some people, we're that once a year place that they know that they're going to be able to find the special beer that they've been searching for.

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[Doug Alberhasky] I think they'd love it. Their biggest dream was to have their legacy continue. When they opened, there were 28 other family-owned corner groceries in Iowa City and we're the last one. To know that your smiling face has brightened so many people's days I think would really warm his heart.

[Nebbe] That's it for this week. Thank you for joining me as we find wonder in Iowa's natural beauty and inspiration in our fellow Iowans. I'm Charity Nebbe. See you next time for more Iowa Life.

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Funding for Iowa Life is provided by --

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The Pella Rolscreen Foundation is a proud supporter of Iowa PBS. Pella Windows and Doors strives to better our communities and build a better tomorrow.

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And by, the Lainie Grimm Fund for inclusive programming at the Iowa PBS Foundation.