A. The word carnival is of Italian origin and means carne vai or goodbye to meat. The origins of the carnival differ depending on where you live and what traditions you believe in. Primarily though, the celebration of the carnival is associated with the Catholic calendar and is usually celebrated on the weekend before Lent ending on Ash Wednesday the beginning of Lent, which lasts for 40 days up until Easter.

Traditionally, Catholics do not…

Who can forget their first visit to the fair — a magical land of sights and sounds and smells beyond the reach of teachers, bosses, worries, and chores? There is nothing quite like that strange, veritable city that rises anew year after year on the outskirts of town to fill youths with wide-eyed wonder and adults with vivid memories of their own childhoods. For many people and many generations, the fair has occupied its own special place on the calendar and in the heart.

The American…

Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama (C) (D-IL) rides a carnival ride with his daughter Malia (L) at the Iowa State Fair August 16, 2007 in Des Moines, Iowa. The fair runs until August 19th and is expected to draw about 1 million people. John Edwards also made a campaign stop at the fair today.…

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The pop group Boys Like Girls are to perform at this year's Iowa State Fair.

The group is known for songs like "Two Is Better Than One" and "Love Drunk." Monday's announcement completes the list of musical acts to perform at the Iowa State Fair grandstand. Previously announced acts include Keith Urban, Sugarland, Sheryl Crow, Darius Rucker and Pat Benatar.

The Iowa State Fair runs from August 12-22 and tickets go on sale April 24. This year's state fair…

World-Herald News Service



AMES, Iowa - Officials with the Ames and Iowa State University police spent more than two hours Friday chasing down a fugitive heifer that had absconded from the ISU Veterinary Medicine complex.



Tranquilizer darts were used to subdue the animal after what police estimate was an eight- or nine-mile chase from South Fourth Street near the Iowa State Center and around town before finally ending up at Coldwater Golf Course.



However, the…