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RIVERSIDE, IOWA’S ‘STAR TREK’ CONNECTION HOW A TINY MIDWEST TOWN BECAME THE BIRTHPLACE OF CAPTAIN KIRK
Take a moment to picture yourself in the “Star Trek” universe. Starships are zooming overhead, aliens and humans are working side-by-side, and Earth has other names: Tellus, Terra, and Sol III among them. The date is March 22, 2228, and in the small town of Riverside, Iowa, a baby named James Tiberius Kirk is born. That’s right — an Iowa hamlet just 45 minutes from Darin’s hometown is the future birthplace of Captain Kirk himself. The story behind how Riverside got that honor is pretty funny. According to RoadsideAmerica.com, the original “Star Trek” series never specified which Iowa town Kirk would be born in, just that he’d take his first breath in the state. However, a Trekkie and Riverside councilman named Steve Miller decided to stake his town’s claim to the honor. On March 25, 1985, Miller suggested to the council that Riverside declare itself “The Future Birthplace of James T. Kirk.” His motion passed unanimously, and Miller declared the land behind his barber shop the official birth spot. Today, Trekkies can visit a monument there to pay homage to the fictional future captain. Riding high on Miller’s excitement, the whole town embraced its new “Star Trek” royalty status, changing its town motto to “Where the Trek begins” and renaming its annual River Fest celebration Trek Fest. In 2009, Miller’s fantasy of Riverside’s place in the Star Trek universe became canon. The new “Star Trek” film starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto declared Riverside Kirk’s hometown. Even more exciting for Riverside residents, the whole town was invited to a secret screening of the movie before its release. Nine years later, Miller helped unveil a life-sized statue of Kirk (the William Shatner rendition) in Riverside to go along with the monument bench. RoadsideAmerica.com also reveals that in typical Trekkie fashion, there is still some debate over the accuracy of the birth date listed on Kirk’s Riverside monument. Some argue the captain will be born in 2228, while others claim 2233 is the real date. Perhaps if the monument sticks around long enough, future Iowans will find out the truth! If you’re a “Star Trek” fan, be sure to add Riverside’s monument to Captain Kirk’s birthplace to your list of top Trekkie locations to visit.
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