The Iowa Department of Natural Resources released a draft version of its 2026 biennial integrated report Tuesday, which listed more than 700 segments of rivers, lakes or wetlands in the state as impaired. The impaired list looks at retroactive data and determines if a water segment meets, or fails to meet, designated criteria for uses […]
Statewide
Posted inCommunity/News
One day after exiting the Senate race, Nathan Sage endorses Josh Turek, calls Zach Wahls ‘not authentic’
One day after ending his own run for the U.S. Senate, Nathan Sage endorsed Josh Turek for the Democratic nomination for Senate. In a statement on Monday, Sage said that both he and Turek come from working-class families “and it’s time we have more folks like us in Washington.” Sage, a veteran who served in […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa House bill would impose new restrictions on minors at public libraries, create criminal penalties for librarians
Despite some librarians and advocates’ warnings that a bill passed by a House subcommittee Thursday would endanger the continued existence of public libraries across the state, supporters said the measure is needed to prevent minors from accessing “harmful” materials. HF 2309 prohibits public libraries from disseminating “material harmful to minors,” unless the library has gained […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Local libraries — and free thought — are under threat in Iowa
By Sam Helmick, Iowa City; American Library Association president I come to this conversation because, for generations, Iowans of all walks of life have sent up a righteous cry: Free people read freely. That principle is not abstract in our state. Iowa has more libraries per capita than any other state in the nation. Nearly […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Bill making it near impossible to designate Iowa waterways as impaired due to fecal bacteria contamination advances
A bill that advanced in a House subcommittee and committee Tuesday would prohibit a water segment from being designated as impaired unless the Iowa Department of Natural Resources identified the percentage of fecal bacteria coming from each animal species that contributed to its impairment. Every two years, the DNR must submit a list to the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa House Republicans advance bills to eliminate local civil rights protections, allow parents to force LGBTQ kids into ‘conversion therapy’
Republican members of two Iowa House Judiciary subcommittees advanced two bills on Monday that continue the anti-LGBTQ agenda Gov. Kim Reynolds and legislative Republicans have enshrined in state law since 2022. As the hearings were underway, supporters of transgender rights and advocates for LGBTQ Iowans protested in the rotunda and halls of the State Capitol. […]
Posted inComics
This Modern World — February 2026
This comic was originally published in Little Village’s February 2026 issue.
Posted inCommunity/News
Windschitl ends 4th District campaign after Trump snub, dire fundraising report
Rep. Matt Windschitl, former Iowa House majority leader, was the latest candidate to announce his congressional campaign suspension Friday. Fields are narrowing in races for federal offices in Iowa, as fundraising reports show some candidates pulling ahead of primary challengers. Windschitl, who began his bid for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District in July 2025, announced Friday […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa’s last adult movie theater attracted loners and swingers alike in Waterloo
When my friends and I turned 18 in the early aughts, we decided we were tired of our parents’ basements. We found our new hang on the north side of Cedar Rapids. Sure, Adult Shop North was the place where people in town picked up their lubricants, toys and triple-X movies, but it also had […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Reading is so important, but…’: Iowa House panel advances expanded ban on gender, sexuality materials in schools
The House Education Committee moved forward Wednesday with legislation that would prohibit instruction and materials on gender identity and sexual orientation for all K-12 students. HF 2121, approved 14-9, is an expansion of the 2023 ban on programs, material, instruction, surveys and questionnaires and “promotion” related to gender identity and sexual orientation for K-6 students. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Sundance 2026 features documentaries on Iowa teacher Jane Elliott, the Chicano Movement and public access TV
The last Sundance Film Festival based in Park City, Utah, has drawn to a close. The future sees the fest relocating to Boulder, Colorado, but for now, Little Village brings dispatches from Sundance to you in Iowa — starting with three documentaries that premiered at the fest. Representing three U.S. regions, these films critique the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Tom Arnold on Trump tapes, his favorite Iowa stuff and the time he challenged his father to a fight
Tom Arnold is among the rarest of Iowans, having survived both the Razzie Awards and the kill floor at Hormel. There’s a generation of us who may have first met him via Roseanne, but the man has spent decades showing up in wonderful places: Austin Powers, True Lies, The Simpsons, The Best Damn Sports Show […]
