Print Edition

There’s no place like a hometown gay bar. In this Pride Month issue, LV offers a brief herstory of the Blazing Saddle and Basix — two Iowa bars that quickly became vital spaces for LGBTQ+ organizing and outreach. Open seven days a week, they remain reliable sources of community, glitter and good, weird fun. Plus: […]

Far too many Iowans are facing cancer diagnoses in 2026, and researchers are pretty sure why. Also in this issue: Wildlife are on the frontlines when it comes to environmental hazards, but the now-bountiful bald eagle population is proof a whole species can bounce back from the brink with just a few regulations. Learn how […]

A comedy revue that’s basically a live late-night talk show. A new arts and music fest from Andre Perry, the mind behind Mission Creek. A band that presents like an electrical company (sometimes). Three women-owned indie bookstores. A Gen Z vinyl and CD collector. In this issue, explore some of the events, venues, performers and […]

Adult theaters were hip in the ’70s, but few survived the test of time. In this issue, LV explores the history of Iowa’s longest-running XXX cinema — the target of mayoral crusades, a 1997 robbery-murder, swinger parties galore and five decades of big-screen smut in Waterloo. Also inside: An interview with comedian Tom Arnold, who […]

Comical levels of villainy have been unleashed in 2025, but it’s easier than ever to be a hero: just care about something. In this issue, Little Village offers a guide to dozens of Iowa nonprofits doing on-the-ground, in-the-community work to feed, house, clothe, protect, empower, educate and entertain Iowans when the world needs them most. […]

The rapture didn’t arrive in September, as some TikTokers predicted. Nor did arrive in 1979, the year cult leader John Robert Stevens had promised his followers a great tribulation. Society would be reborn in his image, centered out of a compound in southeast Iowa called Shiloh. The prophecy failed, but Shiloh lasted another four decades […]

Add some local art to your autumn with this guide to upcoming festivals, concerts, exhibitions, theatrical productions and more in central and eastern Iowa. Inside: Why Iowa thespians are putting on increasingly provocative plays; Danielle Colby of American Pickers fame discusses her new museum of stripping arts in the Quad Cities; Lene Lovich plans an […]

For the 10th year running, Bread & Butter is back to pick your next meal — or your next year of meals — out in eastern and central Iowa. Browse reviews of more than 40 restaurants, from fresh new spots to well-greased staples, across Des Moines, Ames, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, the Quad Cities, Dubuque, […]

In this issue, LV drills into a disturbing imbalance: 80% of Iowans rely on groundwater to drink, but households account for less than half of public well-water usage in the state. Big Ag sops up most of it, all while spilling nitrates into waterways. With a rural water crisis brewing, will Iowa make a plan […]