A plan to build houses, condos and a retirement village adjacent to Hickory Hill Park hit a wall last week when the Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) voted unanimously to send developers back to the drawing board. The 0-7 vote against the development came after a three-hour discussion of its merits by commission […]
Articles by Emma McClatchey
Rare and ‘unusual’ Grant Wood works make up CRMA’s newest exhibition

Some of Grant Wood’s most well-known paintings depict Midwesterners wielding metal tools, from plows to garden hoes to, of course, pitchforks. Less known is that Wood worked with metal himself. As a child, he served as an apprentice at a Cedar Rapids metal shop, and was later commissioned by a number of local homeowners and […]
Iowa City Bike Library finds a new home, at last

After more than five years of location insecurity, the Iowa City Bike Library (ICBL) is ready to settle down in its own “vast, ethereal space.” “It is true! The Iowa City Bike Library has purchased a building at 1222 South Gilbert Court,” ICBL posted to its Facebook page Tuesday morning. “Situated South of CommUnity, two […]
Trans, polysaturated: Mitchell Grauberger’s gender journey and polyamorous love story

“The line between friendship versus romantic attraction is very strange for me,” 24-year-old Mitchell Grauberger lamented. “I enjoy having, like, platonic cuddles with my friends. So where’s this line? Am I romantically attracted to you? Or am I just a friend?” Last February, Mitch managed to maneuver this gray area with a friend he’d met […]
Iowa Freedom Riders: Nobody deserves prison, including the man who could have killed us

“That’s bullshit.” “This is not justice.” “Disappointed, but not surprised.” “What he did is a terroristic act and should be in prison for it.” The news that Michael Ray Stepanek, an Iowa City man who intentionally drove through a crowd of racial justice protesters on Aug. 21 in order to give them an “attitude adjustment,” […]
Iowan’s ‘menacing’ behavior in the Capitol illustrates how much worse the insurrection could have been

A short video captured inside the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6 shows perhaps the most heroic (and heroically restrained) performance by a police officer on that day, as well as the criminal trespassing of an Iowan on the halls of Congress. The officer is Eugene Goodman of the U.S. Capitol Police, the Washington Post […]
Brock About Town: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves
The man who intentionally hit Iowa City protesters with his car in August avoids prison

After spending 76 days in the Johnson County Jail, an Iowa City man who attempted to take the law into his own hands this summer by driving into protesters has avoided prison time and, pending any further infractions, will have a clean record by 2024. The incident Just before 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 21, as […]
Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: Maestro Empanadas

A Q&A with Cristian Bejarano, whose restaurant, Maestro Empanadas, was chosen as the Most Commendable COVID-19 Precaution Game in Little Village’s 2020 Best of the CRANDIC awards. When did you open Maestro Empanadas? Had you always hoped to own a restaurant? We opened our store in December 2015, however we started selling empanadas at the […]
Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: John’s Grocery

John’s Grocery isn’t just Iowa City’s oldest grocery store, but, according to the 2020 Best of the CRANDIC survey, locals’ favorite place to shop for beer, wine and liquor. With dozens (if not hundreds) of options to choose from in each section, John’s manager Doug Alberhasky took the time to make a few recommendations. Beer […]
Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: Jennifer Evans, No Limits Personal Fitness

Little Village asked the Best Fitness Instructor winner to share some advice for working out at home. Now is the time to make exercising a priority for our mental and physical health. A new study in the Journal of Affective Disorders shows that strength training, like aerobic exercise, may be an effective way to alleviate […]
Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: Artifacts

Artifacts was voted Best Vintage/Consignment Store in Little Village’s 2020 Best of the CRANDIC awards. Todd Thelan has owned Northside corner store Artifacts since 2003. This year he knocked a hole through a 150-year-old brick wall in the shop, tripling his space in the process. “It still freaks me out when I walk through that […]