By gregory wickencamp, Iowa City “Separate accommodations are not inherently unequal,” according to a new Iowa bill targeting trans people. Read that again. If those words sound familiar, they should. The same language was used to legally justify Jim Crow era abuses until 1954. That’s when the Supreme Court ruled that separate conditions are inherently […]
Opinion
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: SSB 3131 is end game for Iowa libraries
By Sam Helmick, Iowa City Iowans before us understood why the legal liabilities and complex policies inherent to library (First Amendment) services require specific and robust management to successfully steward collections, programs, and spaces which are openly and freely used by the public. Senate Study Bill 3131 transfers oversight, power, and property of public library […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Hungry and cost-burdened Iowans deserve better from state lawmakers
By Mandi Remington, Iowa City, director of the Corridor Community Action Network January is Poverty Awareness Month, a time to reflect on the persistent struggles faced by so many. Recent reports reveal alarming trends, with U.S. homelessness reaching an all-time high in 2023. The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently reported a 12 percent […]
Posted inLetters
Letter from Laura Bergus and V Fixmer-Oraiz: It’s time we talked about authoritarianism in Iowa
The following is co-written by Laura Bergus, Iowa City city councilor, and V Fixmer-Oraiz, Johnson County Supervisor Laura Bergus: In the summer of 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, Iowa City made our rejection of discrimination clear. Our city made national news as peaceful protesters — many who were children and young adults — […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: By rezoning the old Kirkwood campus, Iowa City is turning their backs on Southeast District residents
By Anne Marie Kraus, Iowa City The proposed rezoning of the Kirkwood Community College Campus (on Muscatine Avenue) from P-1 to I-1 (General Industrial) for the benefit of Procter and Gamble is deleterious, opening the door to significant endangerment of the health of Iowa City. As Procter and Gamble completes its purchase of the Kirkwood […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: The governor’s ‘open forum’ on the budget was a sham
By Pat Bowen, Iowa City Governments were originally created to protect people from conflicts and to provide law and order. In most recent years, government responsibilities have extended to the economy and public service. We need a government that meets the needs of the public, not the rich and powerful. Governor Reynolds held a public […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Ten music releases from 2023 that changed my mind about Iowa music
As an outsider looking in, Iowa might be mistaken for a cultural desert. As someone who’s lived most of their life outside of the state, that’s largely how I viewed it. My mother was born in Elk Horn, but I began my time on Earth some 1,400 miles northwest of Shelby County. And it’s been […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Believe in a friendly universe this Christmas
By Randall E. Smith, Iowa City Christmas 2023 is upon us. Christmas. An ancient sacred night, following the longest night of the year, the celestial solstice. Neolithic humankind long ago recognized this time of year as a sacred time. They lived, existed in the dark forests, the mountain ranges, the fiords what is now called […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Only touchdown passes should soar in Kinnick
By Kathleen Janz, Ainsworth Jodeane Cancilla and Flora Cassiliano of Iowa City also contributed to this letter. A major part of the thrill of watching football is the spectacle, both in the game and around it. Two years ago, the University of Iowa introduced “a new tradition” to Hawkeye athletics: bringing live hawks to home […]
Posted inStatewide
Contact Buzz: The right to read we will maintain
“Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you’re going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book …” ―Dwight D. Eisenhower In its current, divisive state, Americans are doing a lot of talking at one another and very little listening on […]
Posted inLetters
Letters to the editor: Think of the hungry this holiday season
These four letters were submitted separately between Nov. 16-20. By Dan Feltes, Iowa City It is easy to think that families going hungry and food needs may have peaked at the height of COVID-19. In reality, the need in our community is only growing. CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank, which serves the greater Iowa […]
Posted inLetters
Letter from Andrew Dunn: The way Iowa City elects city councilors is broken. Here’s how we fix it.
By Andrew Dunn, Iowa City Councilor At-Large Confusion has long been a staple of Iowa City’s local elections. The Iowa City Council has two types of councilors, all elected to four-year terms. First, we have four at-large councilors that the entire city elects. Our four at-large councilors have no restrictions on where they can live […]
