
A world renowned historian and author will be coming to Manning next month, putting on three presentations about some lesser-known aspects of our Iowa history. Michael Luick-Thrams was born in Iowa, but has traveled the globe uncovering the stories that need to be told and bringing those to life through his lectures and presentations. Each evening at 6:30 p.m. at the Manning Hausbarn-Heritage Park, over the course of three days, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, June 3, June 4 and June 5, Luick-Thrams will introduce attendees to aspects of Iowa’s hidden and/or forbidden past. On Monday he will tell the story of a world traveler who in 1918 brought back one of the deadliest weapons mankind had seen, the influenza virus. The pandemic was responsible for the death of more than 657,000 Americans, 7,500 Iowans and more than 45 million people worldwide. In Tuesday’s presentation, Luick-Thrams will reveal the secret Ku Klux Klan (KKK) cells that were formed right here in Iowa in the 1920s. He says these Klansmen, however, were anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant. And the final program on Wednesday will provide details on Iowa’s role in the “Cow War” and about the farmer rebellions organized throughout the Midwest during the Great Depression. All three events are free of charge, however, free-will offerings will be accepted and will be used for the continuing operation of the park. At 4:45 p.m., a guided tour of Hausbarn-Heritage Park will be held for a special fee of $4 per person and the bar will open at 5 p.m. Brats will be sold from then until 6:30 p.m.