Friends bring winter constellations to library

MARENGO — Friends of the Marengo Public Library opens 2025 with a program about winter constellations.

Astronomy enthusiast Mark Bowman will discuss the history and relevance of stargazing and astronomy Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 12:30 p.m. at the Marengo library, 235 E. Hilton St. in Marengo.

Bowman will discuss the shapes, locations and mythology associated with the constellation and offer tips as to when and where to search for stars, says Friends in its description of the event.

Bowman will offer equipment suggestions and suggest informational resources.

This program will last about an hour.

In March, Red Cedar Chamber music returns. The group will present its new program, Cultural Passports, Saturday, March 8 at 7 p.m.

Red Cedar’s concert program of commissioned works is inspired by folk music from around the world and takes the listener to Finland, Korea, Vietnam, Mexico and Iran.

Kari Juusela, Jean Ahn, Dylan Tran, J. Andres Ballesteros and Kian Ravaei have contributed new works, says Friends of the event.

The concert will include traditional folk music from the British Isles one or more pieces from the 2022 Fresh Folk program.

Friends of the Library will serve sweet treats and beverages.

Iowa Author Ann Hanigan Kotz will discuss her new book, “Moonshine by Moonlight,” Wednesday, April 2 at 12:30 p.m. She’ll talk about Iowa's prohibition and bootlegging history as she introduces her third novel, which exposes the power struggle between the law and the lawless and once again brings readers to Iowa’s past, according to the Friends’ Facebook page.

By the light of the moon, hidden in the rolling hills of 1923 Carroll County, Iowa, illegal whiskey flows from homemade stills. Defying Prohibition, farmers-turned-entrepreneurs turn their hog houses, barns and basements into moonshine operations to feed their families and save their land while dodging the ever-present federal regulators, led by Alvin Truly, the newly deputized agent of the northern district, says a synopsis of the novel.

To stay ahead of the law, the distillers band together into a syndicate, led by a kingpin unknown to all but one man. The anonymous bootleg king builds an empire of whiskey with thousands of gallons of moonshine flowing over Iowa’s borders while conjuring bigger and better ways to get their product across state lines—some going to the famous Chicago mobster—before federal agents can discover their schemes.

Agent Truly, however, has his own plots to trap the bootleggers and bring them to justice. Federal agents against farmers, Wets against Drys, Protestants against Catholics, “Moonshine by Moonlight” weaves a fictional story of the bootlegging era while representing the authentic legacy of Carroll County’s underground whiskey industry during one of the most raucous periods of American history, the synopsis says.

At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 3, historian and storyteller John Brassard Jr. will tell tales of Iowa true crime.

Iowa is known as a safe place where people look out for each other and are always friendly and ready to lend a hand. Brassard takes listeners behind “Iowa Nice” with sinister tales of crime.

To cool off during a hot summer day, the library will offer 9 holes of mini-golf in the library, Thursday, July 3 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event is open to all ages.