The Black Rose, the West Branch bookstore and cocktail lounge that opened earlier this year, has closed its brick-and-mortar location, owner Ashley Kofoed announced on Sunday on social media. “This isn’t a goodbye,” she said. “It’s a page turn.” Even without the Main Street store, “the story continues online, where so many of you have […]
Paul Brennan
Posted inCommunity/News
LV at 25: How did Little Village get its name?
LV at 25 is an occasional series about the history of Little Village, as the magazine celebrates its 25th year in print. What’s in a name? In Little Village‘s case, a little bit of chaos sparked decades before its first issue appeared around Iowa City in July 2001. As LV’s 25th anniversary approaches, this seems […]
Posted inCommunity/News
New president of the Iowa Board of Regents opposes ‘woke left stuff,’ ‘the homosexual agenda’ and Maya Angelou in schools
Robert Cramer was unanimously elected president of the Iowa Board of Regents by his fellow regents at a special meeting on Wednesday. Cramer was appointed to the board by Gov. Kim Reynolds two years ago. The special meeting was called after Sherry Bates, who had served president of the Board of Regents since February last […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Why do we live in a ‘shithole’? A new docuseries on Iowa’s 50-year decline seeks answers
“I keep asking, why is it we’re living in a shithole?” Art Cullen says in What’s Eating Iowa?, his new documentary series launched Tuesday. The first episode, “Water,” is now available on YouTube. It’s the damaged state of Iowa’s water, and the damage that water is doing, that prompts Cullen’s question. Cullen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Let’s tip 50% this December
By Genevieve Trainor, Iowa City Like the rest of the Iowa City community, I’ve known since April that very public foreclosure proceedings made the fate of the businesses in the Chauncey Building and elsewhere uncertain (other than FilmScene, which owns its locations). But I only just saw the headlines yesterday that SpareMe was definitely closing. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Downtown Iowa City’s hotelVetro has closed, with Hotel Chauncey soon to follow
Hotel Chauncey will close on Sunday and hotelVetro has already closed. Like SpareMe Bowl & Arcade, which will close its doors for the final time on Wednesday night, the two downtown Iowa City hotels are owned by Hawkeye Hotels. The closure of the two hotels was first reported by Corridor Business Journal on Monday. Hawkeye […]
Posted inCommunity/News
SpareMe, beloved bowling and pinball destination in downtown Iowa City, is shutting down
SpareMe Bowl & Arcade is closing. The downtown Iowa City bowling alley will shut its door for the last time on Wednesday night, SpareMe announced Friday on social media. It will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. until then. Heather Soseman, SpareMe’s general manager, told Little Village she was told informally last […]
Posted inCommunity/News
No bidders for the Chauncey and other foreclosed Moen buildings at the sheriff’s auction
The Chauncey, along with two more well-known Iowa City buildings, went under the hammer at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office auction on Tuesday, and there were no bidders for any of them. That means GreenState Credit Union still owns the Chauncey (404 E College St), Plaza Towers (221 E College St) and Park@201 (201 E […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Chris Jones, water quality advocate and author, considers run for Iowa Ag Secretary: ‘We need to rethink agriculture’
Chris Jones, author of The Swine Republic and one of Iowa’s leading water quality advocates, has created an exploratory committee as he considers a run for Secretary of Agriculture next year. “I think we need to rethink agriculture,” Jones told journalist Nina B. Elkadi. “Nobody’s happy. So why are we going to keep doing what […]
Posted inCommunity/News
After more than 140 years of local ownership, the Gazette is being sold to a Minnesota multimedia corporation
After 143 years as a locally owned, independent newspaper, the Gazette is being acquired by a Minnesota-based multimedia company. The Cedar Rapids paper broke the news on Tuesday morning of a purchase agreement between Folience, Inc. — formerly known as the Gazette Company — and Adams MultiMedia (AMM). According to the Gazette, the sale is […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Lefty’s Live Music is closing after 10 years in Des Moines
After a decade as a pillar of the music scene in Des Moines, Lefty’s Live Music is closing. “As our tenth year draws to a close and after much consideration, we’ve made the challenging decision to say goodbye before the new year,” co-owners Anne Mathey and Erik Brown said in a social media post on […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City is holding a food drive on Friday to support CommUnity’s food bank
The City of Iowa City is holding a food drive on Friday to support CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank. Donations to Neighbors Helping Neighbors Food Drive will be collected between 1 and 4 p.m. at the Fareway off Mormon Trek Boulevard (2530 Westwinds Dr), the North Dodge Hy-Vee (1125 N Dodge St) and the […]
