Content warning: Suicide Ruth stands alone on a rocky shore, surrounded by a hazy sea. In the distance, a shape appears through the mist. A boat approaches, and at the bow stands a woman so beautiful she must be an angel. Right hand outstretched, left hand clutching a basin of water, the angel beckons softly, […]
Kellan Doolittle
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This weekend in Iowa: Shakespeare, skateparks, music fests and more
Established 2001 | Always free! It’s a hot one this weekend, literally and metaphorically. AACTFest 2025 is just warming up in Des Moines, and Gabe’s in Iowa City is bringing the heat. The Cedar Basin Music Festival kicks off tomorrow in Cedar Falls, while Dubuque shreds on guitars and boards at OllieWoodStock 2025, a music […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This weekend in Iowa: pop, rock and all that jazz
Established 2001 | Always free! It’s a swinging summer weekend in our reader regions; Rhythms at Riverfront Crossings hosts the P.T.A. Organ Trio in Iowa City, Des Moines Jazz Center Hall of Famer Gabriel Espinosa appears in Cedar Rapids for an exclusive performance, and Anthony Orji & Co. play Noce in Des Moines. Jazz not […]
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This weekend in Iowa: Pride, ride, rock and roll
Established 2001 | Always free! Kick off Pride Month with DBQ Pride Festival on Saturday or La Cage Aux Folles at CSPS Hall on Sunday. Read Malcom MacDougall’s review before you sit down for the show. Iowa City, Des Moines, and the Quad Cities are bringing the music this weekend with scores of gigs to […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This weekend in Iowa: a cyborg, a comic con, a comedy show and more
Established 2001 | Always free! This weekend you can catch the Terminator of contemporary rock music at Davenport’s Capitol Theater, or if folk-pop is more your speed, see Liliana Asta live at Dimensional Brewing Company in Dubuque. Tonight, Bob Dorr plays the blues at Octopus College Hill, and on Friday, Origami Summer comes to Gabe’s […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This weekend in Iowa: rap, rock n’ roll, a Ren fest and more.
Established 2001 | Always free! There’s almost too much to do this weekend in our reader regions, but that just means you can have your pick to kick off the summer. JPEGMAFIA comes to Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines on Friday, and Shining Realm celebrates their album release at Gabe’s on Saturday. Rebel Queens […]
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This weekend in Iowa: 69 love songs, a land, water and wildlife benefit, and more.
Established 2001 | Always free! Finals got you down? Never fear, the Weekender is here. Catch a free community film screening in Iowa City or Brother Trucker’s album release at Noce in Des Moines. See the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art’s exhibition on clothes before it closes, or enjoy a night of live music at […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This weekend in Iowa: bands battle, galleries open, Shrek fans rave and more.
Established 2001 | Always free! The events start coming and they don’t stop coming in today’s Weekender. In the mood to browse some art? Cedar Rapids and Waterloo have you covered, with gallery openings for Jayson Reid and Saw Naing Lin at CSPS Hall and a new exhibition by Ethan Edvenson at Waterloo Center for […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Peak Iowa: Inside Squirrel Cage Jail, Council Bluffs’ spinning panopticon of misery
A rotating steel drum of pie-shaped prison cells inside a cylindrical cage. On each of three floors, there’s only one way in, one way out. Is this a pitch for a Saw trap? Nah, this is the Squirrel Cage Jail in Council Bluffs. The Squirrel Cage Jail operated as the Pottawattamie County jail from 1885 […]
