Print Edition

It’s clearer than ever who our community relies on to get us through tough times: grocery stores for fresh food (and a well-earned bottle of wine); restaurants to make certain meals special, even from home; home improvement experts to help us recover from a storm; health and fitness providers willing to meet you where you are; crisis centers working to fulfill locals’ most basic needs; activists fighting for overdue…

Read issue 288 » It takes a village to endure a pandemic. In Little Village’s third-annual Give Guide, you can get to know (and learn how you can support) some of the nonprofit organizations providing invaluable services to the community when they’re needed most, as well as local independent retailers selling unique gift options this […]

The scariest part about October 2020 will undoubtedly be the headlines. In this issue, Paul Brennan reflects on the origins of Sen. Joni Ernst’s infamous “Make ’em Squeal” ad, her historic 2014 victory and Ernst’s ongoing struggle to earn the backing of Iowa women. This year’s Witching Hour festival…

As eastern Iowa reckons with the aftermath of the Aug. 10 derecho, a Cedar Rapids barbecue restaurant owner has made sure thousands of locals stay fed — and become a national story in the process. Meanwhile, “Save The Mill” efforts are well underway in Iowa City, as two grassroots groups rally to rescue a 58-year-old staple of the city’s…

A century-old LGBTQ safe space, a segregated neighborhood, a cultural nexus, a storied house of worship and an at-risk elementary school. In this issue of Little Village, writers delve into the history behind buildings both famous and overlooked in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. Also inside: Radical artist T.J. Dedeaux-Norris…

Can we even call it summer in Iowa with swimming pools closed, festivals canceled and no state fair, RAGBRAI or Fourth of July carnivals? Of course! Summer is for the outdoors, and pandemic or no, Eastern Iowa is a hiker’s, biker’s, boater’s and birdwatcher’s paradise. Here are some places to get…

Paying your debt to society doesn’t buy you a blank slate. In Iowa, formerly incarcerated individuals face barriers to employment, housing and self-sufficiency that too often lead to reoffending. And while COVID-19 is exacerbating many of these problems, it is also offering hints for how to solve them.

Welcome back to Little Village magazine. After a pandemic-related hiatus, LV is jumping back into print issues; inside, we explain how issue 282 will be distributed differently to protect against COVID-19 spread, as well as how LV’s local journalism has fared during the crisis. In this Pride Month issue…

Welcome to an unprecedented issue of Little Village. In light of the coronavirus pandemic, and the cancellation of Mission Creek Festival (the planned theme of this magazine) and dozens of other events in the region, we refocused our content on — what else? — COVID-19. Iowans are historically proactive and practical about…

Read issue 280 » Before settling in Iowa City, Shubham and Akrit were targets of Narendra Modi’s anti-protester government in India. Denied visas, they set out on a harrowing 10-month journey through Latin America in search of safety. When they reached the wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, they climbed. Also in this issue of Little […]

In 2018, Royceann Porter became the first person of color elected to countywide office in Johnson County. But from her first job in Iowa 30 years ago at a Washington slaughterhouse, to taking the Iowa City Police Department to court in 2011, Porter’s path to politics was far from smooth…

Read issue 278 » We heard sex sells, so — flip back the cover and enjoy Little Village’s sex issue, just in time for Valentine’s Day! Get to know Iowa’s leather-clad kink community, from BDSM safety workshops to the allure of fem-dom fantasies. A certified intimacy choreographer discusses how she establishes consent and stages chemistry […]