The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is seeking feedback on its 25-year wildlife action plan, which must be reviewed every 10 years per federal law. The action plan, according to DNR, is a strategy for how the department will conserve wildlife in the state. It was last updated and reviewed in 2015, but was initially […]
Statewide
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Let’s tip 50% this December
By Genevieve Trainor, Iowa City Like the rest of the Iowa City community, I’ve known since April that very public foreclosure proceedings made the fate of the businesses in the Chauncey Building and elsewhere uncertain (other than FilmScene, which owns its locations). But I only just saw the headlines yesterday that SpareMe was definitely closing. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Public defender sues state, claiming she was fired for comments about Charlie Kirk
The State of Iowa is being sued by an attorney who claims she was fired from the Office of the State Public Defender for online comments made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder in September. Maria Ruhtenberg, an attorney for the State Public Defender, is suing the State of Iowa and State Public Defender […]
Posted inCommunity/News
New federal student debt rule targets gender-affirming care, ‘aiding and abetting’ immigrants as ‘unlawful’
A new U.S. Department of Education regulation to narrow eligibility for a key student debt relief program for public service workers has drawn strong opposition from advocates who argue the regulation is an attempt to target organizations whose missions do not align with President Donald Trump’s agenda. Under a final rule slated to take effect […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘I’m comfortable here’: Filmmaker Kristian Day makes documentaries in, and about, Iowa
Des Moines-based storyteller Kristian Day has made a name for himself in the world of media production. His bonafides include creating The Last American Gay Bar, a 2024 docuseries for OUTtv covering The Blazing Saddle in Des Moines, and hosting the show Iowa Basement Tapes on KFMG radio, which aims to preserve local DIY music […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘We know enough’: Researchers call for Iowa ag regulations to protect public health
Researchers and public health advocates said Wednesday that water quality and land use continue to be modifiable elements impacting public health, and in particular cancer, in Iowa. The experts spoke to a crowded conference room in the Olmsted Center at Drake University during the 2025 Iowa Nature Summit that touched on policies, practices and programs […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Chris Jones, water quality advocate and author, considers run for Iowa Ag Secretary: ‘We need to rethink agriculture’
Chris Jones, author of The Swine Republic and one of Iowa’s leading water quality advocates, has created an exploratory committee as he considers a run for Secretary of Agriculture next year. “I think we need to rethink agriculture,” Jones told journalist Nina B. Elkadi. “Nobody’s happy. So why are we going to keep doing what […]
Posted inCommunity/News
After more than 140 years of local ownership, the Gazette is being sold to a Minnesota multimedia corporation
After 143 years as a locally owned, independent newspaper, the Gazette is being acquired by a Minnesota-based multimedia company. The Cedar Rapids paper broke the news on Tuesday morning of a purchase agreement between Folience, Inc. — formerly known as the Gazette Company — and Adams MultiMedia (AMM). According to the Gazette, the sale is […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Simon Cropp — ‘Paperback Dream’
Simon Cropp doesn’t just write songs — he crafts worlds out of the ordinary. On his debut album Paperback Dream, the 28-year-old songwriter invites listeners into his universe of small-town stories, worn highways and quiet revelations. With a voice both gentle and resolute, Cropp illuminates the beauty and heartbreak tucked inside daily life.
Posted inCommunity/News
A third lawsuit challenges Iowa’s new law to support small, rural pharmacies by regulating drug-cost middle-men
A third lawsuit has been filed against Iowa’s insurance commissioner over the legality of a new state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, the third-party companies that act as intermediaries between insurance companies, drug manufacturers and pharmacies. A group of insurance companies argue SF 383, signed into law earlier this year, “upends the prescription-drug coverage that […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Northern lights appear in Iowa this week
The northern lights dipped far enough south on Tuesday night to bring a dramatic color to the sky over Iowa. The show will continue tonight, but will be primarily visible in the northern half of the state— or at least the parts of it without heavy cloud cover — according to the Space Weather Prediction […]
Posted inCommunity/News
ICE detainees held in Iowa jails are being denied due process, federal judge says
A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to follow due process and provide bond hearings for two individuals being detained in Iowa county jails by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Both people have sought asylum in the United States, claiming they are fleeing persecution in their home country. In recent months, hundreds of […]
