Editor's Note: The Summer of Movement

July 23, 2026

By Lydia Zerby

Summer in Iowa has a way of turning the entire state into a living calendar. 

From small-town streets lined with festival lights to highways filled with road trippers chasing the next stop, this season is defined by motion. County fairs pop up one after another, each with its own traditions but the same familiar energy — livestock shows in the mornings, grandstand music at night and the steady rhythm of people coming together around food, family and community pride. Add in festivals, ballgames, farmers’ markets and events like RAGBRAI rolling through town after town, and it becomes clear: summer here isn’t just a season; it’s a shared experience in motion. 

What makes it special is how seamlessly it connects us. You’ll find members of rural and urban communities standing side by side at a pork chop stand, parents comparing notes at 4-H barns and travelers discovering Iowa one mile or one meal at a time. These moments might be brief, but they add up to something bigger — a reminder that food and farming are not separate stories, but shared ones. 

Agriculture is often discussed in terms of fields and planting seasons, but it offers tangible opportunities to really connect. It shows up in the conversations at fair booths, in proud exhibitors walking livestock through the ring and in the volunteers who serve meals, like the hot beef sundae, that have become traditions of their own. It’s a connection you can see, hear and taste. 

As the miles add up and the fair season moves across the map, so does the story of Iowa food and farming — carried by the people who live it and shared with those who are just passing through. 

In a season defined by movement, it’s those shared stops along the way that make Iowa feel like one connected community. 

Enjoy the issue, Lydia Zerby