Top right: Short's Burger and Shine is named after the first African-American business owner in Iowa City, who once ran a shoe-shine shop in the historic building. If your fall weekends are anything like mine, then your days revolve around football.

I live in a town with one of the winningest high school football teams in the state, and on Friday nights, I can hear the loyal fans cheering from my porch.

On Saturdays, our town fills up again as tailgaters travel to nearby Ames to cheer on the Iowa State Cyclones. On Sundays, my husband and I drop whatever we are doing to watch the Minnesota Vikings games on ...