Et cetera : Vinton native Jess Rundlett wins All Iowa Trivia Bee

As the State Historical Society of Iowa's Special Projects and Outreach Coordinator, Jess Rundlett knows a lot about Iowa.

And this week, Rundlett, the daughter of Bill and Deb Rundlett of Vinton, won the All Iowa Trivia Bee on the WHO Radio Van and Bonnie Show.

The event took place Friday, Nov. 13, at the Iowa Hall of Pride.

The participants had to answer questions correctly to remain in the competition. When there were just two people left, the question was: Name the Mascot of Waterloo Columbus High School.

After the other contestant guessed "Trojans," Rundlett, recalling the images on the walls of Vinton-Shellsburg gyms, said "Sailors." With that correct answer, she was declared the winner.

Van and Bonnie issued the following announcement:

"Congratulations to Jessica Rundlett on winning the All Iowa Trivia Bee this morning. I don't think I've seen a more excited winner in my life! Jessica says she's going to carry the trophy around all day long today! Jessica has competed in all seven All Iowa Trivia Bees and has been in the top 10 several times, finishing as high as 2nd place...but today was her day...Grand Champion! Jessica received a trip for two to her choice of either eastern or western Iowa courtesy of All Iowa Magazine, a $50 gift card to the Learning Post and lots of other goodies. For a subscription, go to www.ouriowamagazine.com. All our contestants enjoyed a great breakfast courtesy of Hy-Vee and Anderson Erickson, and each contestant left with a goodie bag as well."

Rundlett celebrated the win by taking photos at several Des Moines landmarks with her trophy and her father, Bill.

She summarized the contest:

The questions are really broad. It's difficult to study for the All-Iowa Trivia Bee because of the depth and breadth of the questions. I have a fairly extensive file of Iowa Trivia that I've collected over the years - and this year hardly any of it came up in the Trivia Bee! I know a lot of Iowa history because of my work, and general interest in the subject. But the All Iowa Trivia Bee is truly a "trivia" bee. The questions that I answered in the finals were: What is the furthest Northeast town in Iowa? What chain of stores did Don Lamberti found? Where is the Stringtown Grocery and what is it? Where is the Divine Word College located? Another contestant, a two time All Iowa Trivia Bee champion, was asked: "What is the mascot of Sheldon High School?" That contestant did not know the answer, but I knew it was the Orabs. That left us with only two people in the contest. The other remaining competitor was asked; "What is the mascot of Waterloo Columbus High School?" He guessed "Trojans" and then I correctly answered "Sailors." (I was so thankful to grow up on the WaMaC Conference and remember the green and white Columbus Sailors sign in the Washington High School gymnasium!) Then I hoisted the trophy over my head and the crowd erupted in to a standing ovation. It was fantastic! In the early rounds, there were questions like: Name the coach of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes Football team, and name the two previous coaches. (And the same for ISU Cyclone Football, Hawkeye Men's Basketball and Cyclone Men's Basketball.) Other questions included: Name the Waterloo native who is Big 12 Commissioner. Name the Speaker of the Iowa House and the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. Name the first woman to represent Iowa in Congress. One Iowa county borders seven other counties. What county is it? Who was born Marion Robert Morrison? Who was the first paid staff member at the Iowa Hall of Pride? Name the five people in bronze at the Iowa Hall of Pride and what sport they represent. Which was the first lake made by the Army Corps of Engineers in Iowa? Which major did Zach Johnson win? Which high school did Johnson attend? True or False: The women's basketball coaches at Iowa, ISU, UNI & Drake are all native Iowans?

Rundlett was featured in a Vinton Today story last year in her official capacity, in a story about her contribution to the Borlaug statue project.

Read more: http://www.whoradio.com/onair/van-and-bonnie-in-the-morning-4917/grand-champion-in-all-iowa-trivia-14122700/#ixzz3rlbgZO2e