Daytrippers! It took me so long to find out, but I found out that Decorah’s new bicycle trail is completed and open for business. It’s one more reason to put this northeast Iowa town on your list.

The University of Iowa topped $400 million in external research funding for the fifth consecutive year, through gains in corporate, industry, and philanthropic funding that helped offset cutbacks in federal research funding amid tight budgets and the government-mandated sequestration. Total share of external funding for fiscal 2013 was $424 million.

The University of Iowa has joined dozens of area organizations in a regional initiative that looks to put a seven-county stretch of Iowa on the national and global stage under the banner of Iowa's Creative Corridor.

University of Iowa grads Andy Stoll and Amanda Styron spent the past few years learning what makes communities everywhere work. Now they’re applying their experience back in Iowa, helping the region around Cedar Rapids and Iowa City establish its reputation as Iowa’s Creative Corridor.

The University of Iowa Summer Opera will present Gilbert and Sullivan’s "Iolanthe," a magical and hilarious operetta full of brilliantly witty dialogue and soaring melodies, complete with orchestra and some fantastical special effects. Performances will take place at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, July 11-13, and 2 p.m. Sunday, July 14, at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts.

Jeff Iseminger, interim vice president for university advancement and marketing at Minnesota State University in Mankato, will visit the University of Iowa campus Thursday as one of three finalists for the UI vice president for strategic communication position.

On Monday the University of Iowa began to take down the flood control walls surrounding Art Building West, a process officials hope to complete next week.

The UI Department of Theatre Arts is staging performances of "No Fish in the House" in numerous Iowa communities throughout July. Director Paul Kalina, assistant professor in the theatre arts department, spent some time before the July 7 performance at Brucemore in Cedar Rapids talking about the play and the importance of taking the show on the road.

An investigation is under way to determine the source of a rare intestinal illness that can cause symptoms lasting for more than one month.

The University of Iowa has appointed E. Dale Abel, M.D., D.Phil., as the new director of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. Abel will also hold the John B. Stokes III Chair in Diabetes Research.

The University of Iowa College of Law is venturing into new forms of electronic legal education for the first time this year, with two professors teaching classes that expand the college’s educational reach and experiments that include joint distance education with Ohio State University.

A majority of Iowans enrolled by the state health insurance program IowaCare say they have significant or chronic health issues, according to a survey done by the University of Iowa's Public Policy Center. The findings come as the IowaCare program expires at the end of this year, replaced by the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, which will provide broader insurance coverage.