Since its early days, the Cedar Rapids Opera has sought to add original works to their repertoire. “I started the company 25 years ago,” said Dr. Daniel Kleinknecht, the opera’s […]
Isaac Hamlet
From sled hockey to RAGBRAI, Adaptive Sports Iowa wants to give all athletes a team
Wheelchair tennis is kind of like traditional tennis, but with wheelchairs. That sounds obvious, but the two sports are remarkably similar. The only adaptation is wheelchair players get two bounces […]
Tips for growing a more natural lawn (that you can still play on!)
“In environmental circles, lawns often times get a bad rap,” observed Fred Meyer, director of Backyard Abundance. The Iowa City-based nonprofit, founded in 2006, is dedicated to helping individuals connect […]
Iowa-born author Paul Kix to discuss the 10 weeks in Birmingham that changed America, chasing WWII ghosts in Des Moines
The biggest challenge Paul Kix faced writing his first book: spies aim to leave nothing behind. “I was chasing a ghost,” the author and journalist said regarding The Saboteur, his […]
‘Pokémon’ voice actor Sarah Natochenny discusses 17 years as Ash Ketchum ahead of Des Moines Con 2023
Ash Ketchum has been to at least eight different regions in the world of Pokémon since his adventures began, but June marks the first time Sarah Natochenny — Ash’s English […]
Album Review: Jeff Stagg — ‘Basement Views’
Jeff Stagg · Quiet Day Within 10 seconds of hitting play on Jeff Stagg’s Basement Views I had to double check that I hadn’t hit play on a Todd […]
Book Review: ‘Where Rivers Go to Die’ by Dilman Dila
Whatever else you take away from this review, it should be noted that Where Rivers Go to Die is primarily a collection of horror stories. Deftly created horror, sure, but […]
Set and staged in Iowa City, Riverside’s two-woman play ‘The Roommate’ explores the desire to burn it all down and start over
Though the play takes place in Iowa City, and was written by an alumnus of the University of Iowa Playwrights Workshop, this marks the first time The Roommate has been […]
Nature photographer Anand Varma brings bees, birds, bats and parasites into focus for National Geographic
Honeybee populations have been declining for more than a decade. To keep one of nature’s most prolific pollinators alive and busy, the USDA has been mixing mite-resistant bees and bees […]
Video premiere: River Glen, ‘Drugs That Choke the Vein’
River Glen Breitbach’s latest album, As Above, So Below is a 17-track release that loosely mirrors the cycle of life and required him to assemble 150 Iowa musical artists to […]
AViD 2023 is bringing authors to Des Moines, including R.F. Kuang and Emily St. John Mandel
The Des Moines Book Festival is over, but even more authors are headed to Iowa in the coming weeks as part of Authors Visiting in Des Moines (AViD). The first […]
Workers behind the scenes of Iowa’s biggest productions seek ‘voice, power and protection’ through unions
Hancher Auditorium’s relationship with the local stagehand union dates back to when the University of Iowa first created the venue. “Hancher opened the same fall that CAMBUS started [1972],” recalled […]

