18th Annual · Ride or drive
A poker run for the kids
Every dollar goes to pediatric brain tumor and heart defect research at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. It’s personal. We need cures.
- Date
- Saturday, September 19, 2026
- Register
- 8:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
- Depart
- 11:30 a.m. sharp
- Start
- Happy's Place, Dubuque, IA 52003
- Entry
- $20 per hand
- Stops
- 5
This year’s ride has happened. Watch here and on Facebook for next year’s date.
How the day works
Pay $20, draw a card at each stop, and come back to Happy's Place for a meal and the auction. You do not need a motorcycle, and you do not need to know how to play poker.
- Sign the waiver at home. It saves you ten minutes at the registration table.
- Register between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. at Happy's Place.
- Leave together at 11:30 a.m. sharp, then ride the route at your own pace.
- Back for the meal, the raffle, and the live auction at 6:00 p.m.
Route sheet
One card at each stop. Best hand at the end of the day takes the cash. Ride it at your own pace and obey the traffic laws.
- 01 Happy's Place Registration, send-off, meal, and the live auction 2323 Rockdale Rd, Dubuque, IA 52003
- 02 Bernard Park First card Bernard, IA 52032
- 03 Dirty Ernie's Second card 201 1st St N, Farley, IA 52046
- 04 The Barn Third card 5090 Sherrill Rd, Sherrill, IA 52073
- 05 Back to Happy's Place Final card, meal, silent auction close, live auction at 6:00 p.m. 2323 Rockdale Rd, Dubuque, IA 52003
Where the money goes
2025 · 17th Annual
$276,103
handed to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital after the 2025 ride.
Since 2009 the ride has given $3.3 million to brain tumor and heart defect research. The best single year was 2022, at $344,110.22. The committee is unpaid, so the number announced on stage in September is very close to the number the hospital receives.
Every year on record| Year | Run | To the hospital |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17th Annual | $276,103.37 |
| 2024 | 16th Annual | $309,263.18 |
| 2022 | 14th Annual | $344,110.22 |
| 2021 | 13th Annual | $304,369.59 |
| 2019 | 11th Annual | $291,186.04 |
| 2018 | 10th Annual | $248,236.50 |
Why we ride
Sarah Reiss and Matthew Wessels are the inspiration for Research For The Kids. Both were treated at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. The money goes to research for every kid who comes after them.
In honor of
Matthew
Born with a heart condition that took three open-heart surgeries and years of procedures. In December 2022 he received a new heart. Today he is doing well.
In memory of
Sarah
Diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor, in May 2008. Her fight ended on September 29, 2010. She was 22. We miss her beyond words.
September in Dubuque County
Several hundred riders, four bars, one small-town park, and a hall full of people waiting to hear the number.
Ways to help
You do not need a motorcycle, and you do not need to be there on the day.
- Ride or drive How to register → Register the morning of the run at Happy's Place. Bikes, cars, trucks and side-by-sides are all welcome.
- Come to an event See what is on → Guest bartending nights and a golf outing run through the year, not only the one Saturday in September.
- Give money Ways to give → Donate online through the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, or mail a check to the committee.
- Donate an auction item Donate an item → The silent and live auctions are a big part of the total every year. Tools, tickets, quilts, gift cards and services all sell.
- Sponsor the ride Become a sponsor → Businesses cover what the day costs to run, so more of what riders give goes straight to research.
- Buy a shirt Order a shirt → Order the official ride shirt and put the logo on the road all year.
- Volunteer Get in touch → Registration tables, card stops, raffle sales, setup and teardown. Tell us when you are free.
Every dollar goes to the kids
All proceeds benefit brain tumor and heart defect research at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. It is personal. We need cures.
