Books and recipes share a secret: both are meant to be savored. I’ve always loved reading cookbooks, treating them almost like memoirs, full of a chef’s memories, family traditions and tiny windows into their lives. Recipe books and food-forward stories invite you to linger, imagine and taste your way through someone else’s experiences. That love […]
Arts & Entertainment
Posted inBook Reviews
Fully Booked at ICPL: Help yourself to self-help books
I’ll start by saying, we’ve all been there. We’ve all had to ask for a little help at one time or another. While the library can’t make your stressors disappear, we do have some resources on our shelves that might be of use to you. I’m talking about the old reliable 150s, the self-help and […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This weekend in Iowa: Lip Critic in Iowa City, Party Pupils in Dubuque and more
Established 2001 | Always free! Running low on your stash of discounted post-Valentine’s Day candy? The events in today’s Weekender offer a pick-me-up from the imminent sugar withdrawals. For the Iowa City vinyl heads, check out a set from our very own DJ KèmBrûlée at the Green House tonight. At xBk Live in Des Moines, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Four places to pass the time near the Coe College campus
A born-and-raised Cedar Rapidan, I spent the majority of my childhood in the Wellington Heights Neighborhood on the southeast side of town. Wellington Heights sits on 1st Avenue, opposite from the historic Mound View neighborhood, where you’ll find Coe College. As a result, I’ve had a lifelong front-row seat to the dilemma faced by young folks […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Queen of Iowa horror’ Carrsan T. Morrissey’s new short to debut at FilmScene Wednesday night
Bleeders, a new short film by local filmmaker Carssan T. Morrissey, will premiere at FilmScene in Iowa City Wednesday, following a showing of Evil Dead (2013). The two films are paired together as part of FilmScene’s long-running love letter to niche horror flicks, Late Shift at the Grindhouse. Morrissey’s short film explores consumption, lust and […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Weary Ramblers — ‘Driftwood’
Driftwood by Weary Ramblers For Iowa duo Weary Ramblers, music isn’t just what they do — it’s how they stay connected in a world that often demands too much from body and spirit. Their new studio album, Driftwood, released October of last year, is a portrait of two artists who have found sanctuary in their […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: The Milk Carton Kids and Sierra Hull present two sides of folk in one big night at the Englert
Grammy Award nominees The Milk Carton Kids and Sierra Hull performed to a buzzing Englert Theatre crowd on Thursday night, co-headlining a show that would please most any folk music fan. The Milk Carton Kids opened up with a stripped down, folksy acoustic set that had incredible harmonies and intricate guitar and banjo work. The […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This weekend in Iowa: it’s a whole lotta love this Valentine’s Day weekend
Established 2001 | Always free! Did you know that Valentine’s Day is big for both proposals and breakups? Whether you want to lean into or tune out the festivities, today’s Weekender has you covered. The Englert sees a night of indie folk courtesy of the Milk Carton Kids and Sierra Hull. In Cedar Rapids, jazz […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Gorgeous gangsta’ Soe Heartlesz honed her rap persona after a high school breakup
Quad Cities emcee Soe Heartlesz — “The Gorgeous Gangsta” and “Rap President of Peoria” — is a 36-year-old mother of five who recently won the Iowa Music Awards Female Rapper of the Year. After performing on dozens of stages around the Midwest over the past two decades, she’s maintaining her momentum with Cardiac Arrest, a […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘Dreams of Fields: Memory Traces of Iowa’s Past’ by Roy R. Behrens
As a born-again-Iowan, I delight in Iowa trivia and the relaying of impressive and surprising Iowa facts that challenge perceptions of a so-called flyover state. To me, these bits of information aren’t just trivia, but snapshots of a larger concept of Iowa, outside of whatever cornfields and caucuses that people imagine when they think of […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Art is my escape’: Paintings, drawings, a Popsicle stick sculpture and other intricate work make up the 2026 Art from the Inside Out exhibition, debuting Friday
“My biggest inspiration for my artwork is God, injustice and purpose,” said Ivan Flores, an incarcerated artist with work featured in the fourth annual “Art From the Inside Out” exhibition. Coordinated by Inside Out Reentry Community, the exhibition is currently on display in Iowa City through Feb. 14 at the Public Space One Close House. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
This weekend in Iowa: Care Over CowardICE in Iowa City, EMBODIED at Mainframe in Des Moines and more
Established 2001 | Always free! It seems we’re in for an unseasonably warm weekend, so you should have no reason to stay home and every reason to get out for the events in today’s Weekender. Tom Arnold’s 2026 stand-up comedy tour, “My Crazy X-Wife,” will stop at the Englert in Iowa City on Friday night. […]
