The same day Bonnaroo — one of the biggest outdoor music festivals in the country, set in Tennessee — announced the Avett Brothers would be headlining their Concerts on the Farm series this summer, Iowa’s own farm-based fest declared they’d snagged the powerhouse folk-rock group as well. The Avett Brothers, Leon Bridges, Tyler Childers, Old […]
Emma McClatchey
Posted inArts & Entertainment
It’s nearly time for the annual Ped Mall bench makeover — applications are open for BenchMarks 2021
The Iowa City Ped Mall has seen Herkys on parade, tree sweaters, outdoor pianos, a massive $20,000 bike rack and more, but perhaps its most enduring and diverse public art project has been its painted benches. Since the summer of 2012, the City of Iowa City, Iowa City Downtown District and sponsor GreenState Credit Union […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Elizabeth Moen drops single ‘Red State Handshake’ to raise funds for abortion access groups
Red State Handshake by Elizabeth Moen Elizabeth Moen shared her first “blatantly political” song in a video posted to Facebook in the weeks following the Aug. 10, 2020 derecho. More than six months later, that demo has evolved into a fully realized single, incorporating the talents of two other Iowa artists. Little Village caught back […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Proposed development next to Hickory Hill Park is halted amid public outcry
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 […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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,” […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Brock About Town: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves
I’ve never understood why people make such a big deal out of the new year. Jan. 1 is a featureless, arbitrary day like any other that exists in the yawning chasm between Christmas and the first day it’s safe to go outside without your parka, and it’s always struck me as a bit naïve to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
Posted inFood & Drink
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 […]
