Click on an event to learn more or scroll down to view all
Friday, May 6, 2022
Please join us for Chamber Coffee and Ribbon Cutting on Friday, May 6 from 8-9 a.m. at Plains Area Mental Health. Come help us celebrate their 50-year anniversary. Friday, May 13, 2022
Please join us for Chamber Coffee at Merchants Park with the Carroll Merchants on Friday, May 13 from 8-9 a.m. Come help the Carroll Merchants kick off the 2022 baseball season. Sunday, May 15, 2022
Pack up your ATV and come ride our trails at Whiterock Conservancy's seasonal Slow Sunday Drives!Spend the afternoon enjoying the sun and watching nature thrive with your family and friends.
We'll begin at 2pm at the Garst Farmhouse (1390 Hwy 141) and will be a 2-3hr ride along the scenic trails of Whiterock Conservancy.
Parking is available for trailers in the overflow lot of the Bur Oak Visitors Center (1436 Hwy 141).
Price per vehicle is $30 cash, pay upon arrival.
Please arrive early so the ride can start right at 2pm.
Watch the website and event page for any weather updates. If the trails are wet, the Slow Sunday Drive will be cancelled or rescheduled.
Contact us at (712)-790-8221 for more information.
***Private ATVs are only allowed on Whiterock land during the Slow Sunday Drives, visitors may not bring their own ATVs on the land outside of this event***
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Join the Friends of the Library in saying goodbye to Director, Rachel Van Erdewyk. Her last day at the library is Tuesday, May 17th, when the Friends will host a coffee for the community before her family relocates to the Des Moines area. Rachel will continue her library career in the Waukee Library.Friday, May 20, 2022
Join us for Chamber Coffee at Animal Rescue of Carroll on Friday, May 20th from 8-9 a.m. Come help us celebrate National Rescue Day. Friday, May 20, 2022
Help Regency Park of Carroll celebrate National Nursing Home Week with Al's Energy Boost Truck on Friday, May 20th. From 9 am to 12 pm. For more information, please contact Michelle at 712-792-9281.Sunday, May 22, 2022
THE LAND IN TRANSITION: Hills & ValleysMay 22, 1:30pm
Whiterock Conservancy, Coon Rapids
Join the Des Moines Metro Opera and Whiterock Conservancy for an afternoon at the intersection of art & culture and agricultural land transfer. As part of a series of events celebrating the world premiere Opera based on Jane Smiley’s Pulitzer Prizewinning novel A Thousand Acres, we will explore the passing of land through family and the ties that bind us.
The setting: Whiterock Conservancy is a 5,500-acre non-profit land trust located near Coon Rapids, Iowa, along seven miles of the Middle Raccoon River valley. Whiterock balances sustainable agriculture, natural resource protection, and public recreation on the landscape, which includes the historic Garst Farm. The farm is the cradle of hybrid seed corn and the symbol of a family legacy of innovation and stewardship. The program will be held in an outbuilding on the farmhouse grounds.
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Have you ever wondered at the beautiful bluffs and rolling hills of Whiterock Conservancy? Join us to learn the geologic history of this landscape and how these features came to be!State Archaeologist, Joe Artz will be presenting at the Bur Oak Visitors Center on May 24th, 7 p.m. RSVP to save your seat!
About the Program:
At various times in the past, Whiterock has been located on an equatorial ocean, a subtropical coastal plain, and at the western edge of a continental glacier. For the last 12,000 years, however, the valley has looked much as we see it today. The geological history of Whiterock is a fascinating story of how water, wind, and ice worked through time, to sculpt the present-day landscape that we experience in this corner of Guthrie County.
About the Presenter:
Joe Artz has studied the landscape and archaeology throughout Iowa for forty-years, primarily as a researcher with the Office of the State Archaeologist. A Kansas native, he received a BA and MA from the University of Kansas in 1983. He has done archaeological and geological fieldwork in a dozen states as well as Belize and Portugal.
Joe's presentation is a part of a week long Archaeology Field School being held at Whiterock Conservancy the week of May 23.
Public programs include educational presentations such as Joe's and a public Archaeology Dig at Whiterock on May 27.
RSVP to save your seat!
Archaeology Program: Wind, Water, and Ice: The Geological History of Whiterock | WhiterockConservancy
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Join us to learn about a non-invasive technique being used to study archaeology field sites!Brennan Dolan, archaeologist with the Iowa department of transportation, will be leading this discussion at the Bur Oak Visitors Center on May 25, 7 p.m. RSVP to save your seat!
About the Program:
Archaeological field methods vary widely due to resources, research questions, regions and other rationales. This presentation focuses on the use of hand-held light detecting and ranging (LiDAR) as a non-invasive field method for assessing and documenting the surface signature of archaeological sites. A number of examples are discussed that span the prehistoric and historic time periods in the State of Iowa. Attendees will join in the discussion to learn how archaeologists are employing LiDAR data in search of new insights to the past.
About the Presenter:
Brennan Dolan is an archaeologist and cultural resources team lead for the Iowa Department of Transportation. Previously, he worked for the National Park Service, in the private sector and with the State Historic Preservation Officer in Iowa. His educational background includes undergraduate and graduate work in Anthropology, Archaeology and American Indian/Native Studies. When he is not at work, you can find him spending time with his family, on a bike, or in a kayak.
Brennan's presentation is a part of a week long Archaeology Field School being held at Whiterock Conservancy the week of May 23.
Public programs include educational presentations such as Brennan's and a public Archaeology Dig at Whiterock on May 27.
RSVP to reserve your seat!
Event Details & Registration | WhiterockConservancy
Thursday, May 26, 2022
The live music concert series is free with the support of local business sponsors and held in the Carroll downtown Central Business District once a month May through September. Guests are encouraged to bring their own coolers and lawn chairs. May, 26 will feature Eli Alger and The Faster Horses on stage brought to you by American Home Shield, Pella and Performance Tire & Service.
Thursday, May 26, 2022
How can animal bones be used to learn about people of the past? Learn how animal bones are studied in the field of archaeology!Chérie E. Haury-Artz, State Archaeologist, will be at the Bur Oak Visitor Center on May 26, 7 p.m. for this program. RSVP to save your seat!
About the Program:
Analyzing plant and animal remains are among the techniques that archaeologists use to study the food ways of people of the past. This program will discuss some of the things that we can learn from the analysis of animal bones from archaeological sites. Using examples from a variety of archaeological sites we will discuss how these artifacts provide information about food choices, seasonality, and butchering practices. We will also examine tools and ornaments made from animal bone and see what they can tell us about the creativity and aesthetics of ancient cultures.
About the Presenter:
Chérie E. Haury-Artz has an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Kansas. She has been involved in archaeological research focusing on the Great Plains for more than 40 years. Her research interests include analysis of fauna from archaeological sites, use and identification of lithic resources, rock art, and environmental adaptation of prehistoric cultures. She also has a special interest in public education and outreach and has more than 20 years of experience teaching classes and writing interpretive material on archaeology for a variety of venues and groups of all ages. She currently works at the Office of the State Archaeologist in Iowa City.
Chérie's presentation is a part of a week long Archaeology Field School being held at Whiterock Conservancy the week of May 23.
Public programs include educational presentations such as Chérie's and a public Archaeology Dig at Whiterock on May 27.
RVSP to save your seat!
Event Details & Registration | WhiterockConservancy
Friday, May 27, 2022
Carroll Historic Preservation Commission Coffee at the Cemetery Museum (west side of cemetery) Friday, May 27, 2022
Come see an archaeologist field dig in action at Whiterock Conservancy!WHEN: Friday, May 27 from 2-4 p.m.
WHERE: Meet at the Bur Oak Visitors Center overflow parking lot (1436 Hwy 141 Coon Rapids).
Prepare to get dirty and learn from professional archaeologists as they study a field site at Whiterock Conservancy on Friday, May 27th. Participants will have the chance to touch and feel artifacts that are found.
Participants will not need to bring any tools, but dress to the weather and bring water. Meet at the Bur Oak Visitors Center overflow parking lot.
Please RSVP to attend:
Event Details & Registration | WhiterockConservancy
Friday, May 27, 2022
Ever wondered about how the State Archaeologist's office protects ancient human burial sites and human remains?Come out to Whiterock for this archaeology program with Bioarcheology Director, Lara Nolder, on May 27 at 7 p.m. at the Bur Oak Visitors Center. RSVP to save your seat!
About the Program:
Lara Nolder will be discussing the sections of the Iowa Code that pertain to the Office of the State Archaeologist’s responsibilities for ancient human remains and burial site protection, efforts towards repatriations and reburials, and how her program operates to uphold these responsibilities.
About the Presenter:
Lara Noldner is the Bioarchaeology Director at the Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa. Her primary responsibility is seeing to the protection of ancient human remains and burial sites in Iowa. This means working closely with Native American advisors, documenting known burial sites, investigating any inadvertent exposures of ancient human skeletal remains, working with developers so that known burial sites are not disturbed by construction projects, and promoting the importance of burial site stewardship. Lara got her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wyoming in 2006, and her Master’s and Ph.D. in Anthropology, specializing in Bioarchaeology, from the University of New Mexico in 2008 and 2013, respectively. She started at the OSA in 2014.
Lara's presentation is a part of a week long Archaeology Field School being held at Whiterock Conservancy the week of May 23.
Public programs include educational presentations such as Lara's and a public Archaeology Dig at Whiterock on May 27
RSVP to save your seat!
Event Details & Registration | WhiterockConservancy
Saturday, May 28, 2022
Have you ever wondered how stone tools are made? Join for a interactive discussion and demonstration how stone tools were made and what we can learn from them!OSA Research Archaeologist, Veronica Mraz will be at the Bur Oak Visitors Center on May 28th at 7 p.m. for this program. RSVP to save your seat!
About the Program:
Part 1: Besides the Point: Going beyond a point name and how archaeologists examine stone tools.
Veronica will discuss how archaeologist's approach stone tools and how we focus on so much more than just “what type of point is this”. For many archeologists, figuring out the point name is very exciting, but the point name is really only the beginning to examining stone tools. There is so much more we can learn from the tools and the by-products from knapping than just that.
Part 2: Short Flintknapping Demonstration.
For those who have never seen how stone tools were created. Veronica will demonstrate the basic principles of creating a stone tool.
About the Presenter:
Veronica Mraz is an OSA Research Archaeologist. Her graduate work first examined changes in mobility patterns across the Southern Plains between the Plains Woodland and Plains Village periods. Then she studied the effects of heat treatment on chert and devised a suite of quantitative macroscopic methods to improve the accuracy in identifying heat-treated materials. Veronica has worked in Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. She has published in Nature Scientific Reports, Journal of Archaeological Science, and American Antiquity. When not doing archaeology, she loves hanging out with her adorable dog, River.
Veronica's presentation is a part of a week long Archaeology Field School being held at Whiterock Conservancy the week of May 23.
Public programs include educational presentations such as Veronica's and a public Archaeology Dig at Whiterock on May 27.
RVSP to save your seat!
Event Details & Registration | WhiterockConservancy
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Join us for a fun afternoon of fishing at the Historic Garst Farmstead ponds! All are welcome and families are encouraged.WHERE: Historic Garst Farmstead Ponds
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Registration and fishing begins at 9 a.m., prizes will be awarded at 2 p.m.
Attendees must be present to win.
Food and drinks will be available for purchase.
Prizes will be awarded to different age groups for most fish caught, biggest fish and smallest fish.
Bait and bottled water will be provided, bring your own poles.
RULES:
All participants over the age of 16 need an Iowa Fishing License to fish Whiterock Ponds.
All fish above the minimum species size caught are encouraged to be taken home by participants.
Bass 16", Catfish 18", Walleye 15", Blue Gill, Perch, and Crappies can all be taken.
Northern Pike and Carp must be released.
Monday, May 30, 2022
The parade begins at the corner of Main and 1st street. High school bands, VFW, the American Legion, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts march six blocks to the cemetery and a short program is conducted in front of eight granite monuments.