Courtney Crowder

1 month ago | desmoinesregister.com | Courtney Crowder

Iowan Peggy Whitson has raked in enough awards and accolades to buckle even the strongest mantel, but this year she’ll add arguably her biggest superlative: Hall of Famer. Whitson — who has amassed 675 days in space, the most of any female astronaut ever  — will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in May alongside fellow space veteran Bernard Harris. The pair join 109 other astronauts who’ve received NASA’s highest honor.

1 month ago | desmoinesregister.com | Courtney Crowder

'Coming into this fashion world, it feels like a family,' Somali refugee turned supermodel Ugbad Abdi says. 'A family that I was accepted into, and one where I'm heard and seen for who I am.'Ugbad Abdi is next. Finally. Her nerves are swollen like shaken carbonation behind a jammed cork. For 20 minutes, she’s watched from the back of this long line as the women at the front disappear through the ceiling-high doorway. More than 60 of them now, one by one by one.

1 month ago | desmoinesregister.com | Courtney Crowder

At 94, Marie Hainline worked lunch at the Bonaparte Retreat on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where she’d serve just as many jokes as she did big-as-your-face tenderloins. I met Hainline, the unofficial Oldest Waitress in Iowa, during a weekday rush back in 2018. And over endless cups of coffee ― the Retreat is a country diner after all ― learned about this little, little woman’s big, big life.

1 month ago | desmoinesregister.com | Courtney Crowder

Ugbad Abdi is a Somali refugee who moved with her family to Des Moines, Iowa, when she was 9. Abdi was working at Target when she was discovered on Instagram. As a devout Muslim, Abdi wears a hijab and has become a role model in modest fashion. Ugbad Abdi is one of the nominees for USA TODAY’s Women of the Year program, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country.

1 month ago | desmoinesregister.com | Courtney Crowder

The days are getting longer, summer heat is just around the corner and in less than six months, cyclists from all over the world will descend on Iowa for the annual river-to-river riding of RAGBRAI. Get ready for all the fun by watching the Des Moines Register's film, "SHIFT: The RAGBRAI Documentary," an hour-long look at the history of the ride as well as the victories and challenges of three riders and a town committee preparing to host the final tire dip ahead of the ride's 50th anniversary.