Raymond
Raymond, IA · Lifestyle
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hometowncurrent.com
‘Some Kind of Haunted’ authors to be in Marion this week
Just in time for Halloween comes “Some Kind of Haunted,” a cozy horror romance novel set in Iowa, complete with blood, demons and, of course, a fated love story. The book is by Hazel Beck, the pen name of authors Megan Crane and Nicole Helm. Between them, they’ve...
The Des Moines Register
Meet the Iowa restaurant serving the state's best pork tenderloin
The breaded pork tenderloin is practically Iowa's state sandwich, with every roadside diner, sports bar and even some fine-dining establishments offering their own versions. This year, a casual, family-friendly American bar and grill in Carroll, Iowa, can claim to have the best in the state. On Oct. 15, the Iowa Pork Producers Association named Wasted Grain Bar & Grill in Carroll the 2026 Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin winner, rising above 464 nominated restaurants and four other finalists during Porktober, National Pork Month. Wasted Grain’s winning tenderloin didn’t begin in a kitchen. It began in a memory — one rooted in rural Iowa, in the kind of small‑town diner where the bun barely contains the golden, crisp cutlet beneath it. Co‑owner Cory Handlos grew up eating tenderloins at Darrell’s Place in Hamlin, the inaugural winner of the Iowa Pork Producers Association’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin contest back in 2003. That sandwich, he said, set the bar. More than two decades later, the tenderloin inspired by those meals has earned the same title. A hometown favorite, rebuilt from memory Handlos and his wife, Missy, opened Wasted Grain on Mother’s Day 2023 knowing a tenderloin had to be on the menu, and it
cbs2iowa.com
KCRG.com
Cedar Rapids Gazette
‘Some Kind of Haunted’ authors to be in Marion this week
Just in time for Halloween comes “Some Kind of Haunted,” a cozy horror romance novel set in Iowa, complete with blood, demons and, of course, a fated love story. The book is by Hazel Beck , the pen name of authors Megan Crane and Nicole Helm. Between them, they’ve written almost 300 romance titles, including the four-book Witchlore series by Hazel Beck, starting in 2022, in the same cozy horror romance genre. They followed that collaboration with the new “Haunted” book, the first in a two-book series. Crane, of southern Oregon, and Helm, from the St. Louis area, will be in Marion for a reading and discussion of “Haunted” at the Granger House — which has its own ghost stories — on Saturday, Oct. 24. The event , sponsored by HEA Book Boutique and Swamp Fox Bookstore, is sold out. The plot quickens “Haunted” is set in the fictional Mississippi River town of Midas, Iowa, whose founders made a deal long ago with some nasty demons. In exchange for ensured prosperity, the founders agreed that the demons could “feed” on the Midas populace once every generation. Most of the townspeople have forgotten about that agreement and attribute their neighbors’ untimely
KCRG.com
cbs2iowa.com
Hometown Eats: Grumpy's Roadhouse in Waverly
Grumpy's Roadhouse in Waverly is more than a restaurant... it's a gathering spot for the community. Grumpy's has all of the typical American fare, serving up wings, burgers. pizza, and Philly cheesesteaks. Homemade fried pickles are a staple on the menu with raspberry sauce on the side (they say don't...
northerniowan.com
cbs2iowa.com
A bittersweet goodbye for Marion’s West End Diner
MARION, Iowa — The West End Diner will serve its last meal Sunday, Nov. 8, after seven years in business. The restaurant announced the closure in a Facebook post, thanking the West End community for celebrating milestones and sharing everyday meals with the team. “When we opened, we simply...