Vivian’s Soul Food, a much loved fixture on the Cedar Rapids restaurant scene, has closed. Owners Jerome and Briana Smallwood announced the closure in a post on the restaurant’s Facebook Page signed Team Viv. It’s been a great run. In the last 6 years we’ve learned so much, made lifetime connections, have seen the lowest […]
Eastern Iowa Community/News
Posted inCommunity/News
Former UI President Sandy Boyd, who left an indelible mark on the university, has died at age 95
Willard Boyd, president of the University of Iowa from 1969 to 1981, died on Tuesday. Boyd, known to everyone by his nickname “Sandy,” was 95 years old. Boyd was president during a period of great change and unrest, with protesters challenging the established structures of power at the university over issues such as the war […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Best of the CRANDIC: CommUnity CEO Sarah Nelson on how the 988 lifeline ‘changed everything’
Sarah Nelson is a graduate of Iowa City West High and the University of Iowa. She led Foundation 2 in Cedar Rapids before taking over as CommUnity Crisis Services’ CEO in 2021, and can now say she’s overseen the only two National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) centers in the state. At CommUnity — winner of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Best of the CRANDIC 2022: The winners!
Nearly 100 years after the CRANDIC train route first started running between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Little Village presents the fifth annual reader-selected Best of the CRANDIC awards, celebrating the best of the region. Little Village readers cast their votes in 100 categories from Aug. 1–Sept. 30. They were also given the opportunity to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Let your holidays go to the dogs (and the cats) at the Iowa City Animal Center
The Iowa City Animal Care and Adoption Center will be holding its holiday open house on Saturday, giving people a chance to take a break from the stress of the season and pet a dog or snuggle a kitten. Or both. The center (3910 Napoleon Ln) will open its doors at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Holiday Tubas return to Iowa City to oompah in the holidays
Holiday celebrations in December may have become a bit more homogenous since the advertising department of Coca-Cola helped standardize the image of Santa Claus in America’s public imagination starting in the early 1930s, and the advertising department of Montgomery Ward invented Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at the end of that decade. But there are still […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Iowa City students, now living in a state where gun reform is virtually impossible, reflect on psychological toll of mass shootings
Despite bitterly cold winds, more than 50 students from Iowa City schools gathered at the Old Capitol on the Pentacrest at noon on Thursday to protest against gun violence and demand new gun safety laws. The protest was organized by students from South East Junior High School and City High School. Both junior high students […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Managers fired by Tyson for COVID-19 betting pool at Waterloo plant sue company
Six of the seven managers fired from the Tyson’s Food Plant in Waterloo in December 2020 for creating a betting pool to wager on workers getting COVID-19 are suing the company, claiming they earned incentive payments for meeting production goals they never received. The Des Moines Register reported on Tuesday that five fired managers filed […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Free parking but no bus rides in Iowa City on Thanksgiving, free bus rides but no free parking on Friday, a mix of the two on Saturday
Parking will be free in downtown Iowa City on Thanksgiving and parking in the ramps will also be free Saturday this week. You’ll still have to feed the meters and pay to park in a ramp on Friday, when spaces may well fill up, because in addition to the annual post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy of Black […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Project Holiday returns for 35th year of home-cooked meals, with fewer barriers for families in need
CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank’s Project Holiday has helped families experiencing food insecurity enjoy a home-cooked holiday meal for 35 years. It provided traditional entrees and sides to almost 1,500 families last year, and this year has eliminated the need to register in advance to receive a meal in order to reach as many […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Man who drove his truck into abortion rights protesters in Cedar Rapids wants assault charge dismissed and trial moved out of Linn County
The man who drove his pickup truck into protesters crossing a street in Cedar Rapids in June pleaded not guilty to both crimes with which he has been charged. Several weeks after the incident, David Huston of Swisher was charged with Assault While Displaying a Dangerous Weapon and Leaving the Scene of a Personal Injury […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Eastern Iowa’s queer softball league has had a home run of a year
It’s been a promising year for the Lambda Softball Association of Eastern Iowa (LSA). After a two-year process, LSA and Iowa City became the 48th member of the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA). To become a member city, LSA had to meet with the NAGAAA board of directors and delegates from each member […]
