We met at 6:30 p.m. at the KCCI building on 9th Street, courtesy of KCCI and Lynne Ramsey (who is not a SABR member -- yet!).

Business portion: we reviewed the Iowa Cubs Fan Fest experience. See my previous post; feel free to comment if you saw something different or additional. Thanks to Charles Crawley, Dean Flyr, Larry Johnson and Tim Rask for working the booth, and thanks to Ralph Christian and Steve Elsberry for stopping by and pinch-hitting.

We decided to keep R.J. as Acting Umpire-In-Chief and main contact for the chapter, and to add a couple of roles:

• Steve Elsberry as Concession Manager (i.e. treasurer)
• Diana Star Helmer agreed to be nominated to write some thank-you letters to the Iowa Cubs and to KCCI for their generosity and hospitality
• Tom Owens volunteered to continue in his role as seeker of free stuff (and we gave him the title "Seeker of Free Stuff") for auction/fundraising purposes.
• Tim Rask will coordinate the efforts for the next meeting (see his posts on the subject) in Cedar Rapids in April or May.

Research portion: Dean Flyr presented the research he and his students at North High School have done regarding Western League Park, (1913-1946), which in 1930 became the first ballpark with permanent lights for night games. His students are working on a scale model, so are studying the park and discovering the joys of microfilm readers. Charles Crawley presented a fascinating review of Chicago Cubs literature, including his Top Ten list of Cub-related books. Materials will be available through the SABR Lending Library.

Trivia Contest: Steve Bennett won the trivia contest, with Tim Rask in second. Steve earns the right to compose the trivia contest at the next meeting.

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- R. J. Lesch, Des Moines IA