This month the Amana Colonies Oktoberfest celebrates its 60-year anniversary and the Amana Colonies Bürgermeister himself, Jon Childers, joins us to explain the special occasion, free sausages, local bands, and of course… Lots of beer! He also explains the backstory, why the Amana communal living experiment failed and why they're not Amish!

The Amana Colonies are an Iowa institution, but most Iowans don't actually understand their importance. They don't understand the communal society was run by their church, or how they actually embraced technology vs the Amish community they're often confused for. Childers, who is also the Executive Director of the Amana Heritage Society, explains their rich history.

Find this show on your favorite app: https://iowapodcast.com/amana-colonies

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