If Des Moines seemed to be asleep these past few years, it certainly woke back up this past weekend as 80/35 Music Festival returned for the first time since 2019. Maybe it was the large variety of food vendors or the diverse lineup. Maybe it was the tie-dyed Kum and Go bucket hats or the […]
Opinion
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: It’s not as simple as ‘moving on’ after a forced pregnancy/birth
By Jeanne Liston, North Liberty In 1965 before I got married, I made an appointment with a physician for my first pelvic exam. After the exam I requested a prescription for birth control pills. He looked at me, shuffled through my paperwork, and then stated, “You’re Catholic,” and refused the prescription. I was surprised and […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Fourth of July hooligans left Happy Hollow Park a mess
By Mike Fallon, Iowa City This morning, my neighborhood park (Happy Hollow) was a total pigsty. Yesterday, rabble-rousers lit off fireworks for hours and trashed the park. A visit to the park this morning revealed spent fireworks debris, spilled food waste, smeared charcoal stains, and lots and lots of trash. I watched city sanitation workers […]
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Letter to the editor: Give Phil Hemingway a chance, Johnson County
Had an interesting conversation with Phil Hemingway at the Iowa City Farmer’s Market July 2nd. I’ve known Phil for decades — he was our go-to auto mechanic for many years. He’s now running for Johnson County Board of Supervisors for the fifth time. He’s a Republican, and I’m a left-wing progressive-to-radical. I asked him about […]
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Letter to the editor: Iowa City-area clergy recognize the sacred right to choose an abortion
On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a person’s right to choose an abortion and maintain bodily autonomy is not a protected right under the U.S. Constitution. As a group of local clergy persons representing various traditions and communities, we maintain that a pregnant person’s right to choose an abortion is a […]
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Letter to the editor: Iowa needs a new U.S. Senator
By Ellen Ballas, Iowa City Iowa needs a new U.S. Senator: Mike Franken. Americans want gun safety laws. Included in the bipartisan Senate bill: closing the boyfriend loophole and expanding background checks for buyers 18-21 years old. It’s a good start. Voting against the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” Senator Grassley seems confused about gun safety […]
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Letter to the editor: Miller-Meeks is failing Iowans again on gun safety
By Don Paulson, Letts Republican U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks is failing Iowans again. She has said she would not support recent proposals to deal with gun violence. Miller-Meeks voted “no” on the Protecting Our Kids Act, the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, and the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. Last year she even voted against […]
Posted inLetters
Letters to the editor: Demand comprehensive, common sense gun legislation
By Pat Bowen, Iowa City Poll after poll shows that people want stricter gun laws, including gun owners. Americans have shown consistently they want common sense, comprehensive gun laws. Thoughts and prayers have not worked. When something doesn’t work, it’s time to do something else. If definition of insanity is doing the same thing over […]
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Letter to the editor: The system is broken. Time to get organized.
By Ash Ayers, Iowa City We are facing many issues as a community and as a society. Wages are too low, rents are too high, abortion rights are under attack, climate change accelerates every day, and fascism is on the rise. The only way that we can address these issues is through organizing together in […]
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Letter to the editor: Support pro-solar candidates in Johnson County
By Ariel Godwin, Iowa City Summer has barely begun, and Iowa City has already had multiple days with highs above 90 degrees. We can expect more days like these — along with floods, droughts, and frequent heavy rainstorms — if we don’t wake up to the dangers of climate change and find a solution. One […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Iowans need a voice, not a parrot
By Paul Deaton, Iowa City It’s time to elect a Democrat in the First Congressional District, one that will listen to voters after arriving in Washington. That person is Democrat Christina Bohannan. With the close election of Nov. 3, 2020, decided April 1, 2021 when Rita Hart withdrew her contest from the House Committee on […]
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Letter to the editor: Charles Grassley, ‘champion’ of the gun lobby
By Trish Nelson, Iowa City Sadly for Iowans, the gun lobby, in April, named Senator Grassley “Legislator of the Year,” calling Grassley a “champion of the firearm and ammunition industry on Capitol Hill.” Minutes after President Biden addressed our nation about the gun violence that is devastating American families, a shooter opened fire on two […]
