Iowa’s law putting new regulations on pharmacy benefits managers is temporarily blocked from enforcement for Wellmark Blue Cross-Blue Shield health plans and insurance policies. Chief U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose issued a temporary injunction last week in the case, brought earlier this month by Iowa’s largest health insurer against the state insurance commissioner. The case […]
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Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘The Mean Ones’ by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne
Tatiana Schlote-Bonne’s sophomore novel The Mean Ones (Creature Publishing) sounds relatively straightforward from the summary: a young girl survives a ritual sacrifice in the woods at summer camp, from which she suffers intense PTSD, and upon finding herself in the woods as an adult she’s faced with familiar horrors. In reading the book, though, the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Final weekend for early voting before Nov. 4 election: Locations and hours
Early in-person voting for the Nov. 4 city and school election will take place this weekend in Johnson, Linn and Story Counties. Many other counties — including Polk, Black Hawk, Dubuque and Scott won’t have a voting location open on either Saturday or Sunday, but in every county, the auditor’s office will be open for […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Anchoress — ‘Sugarsong’
Sugarsong by Anchoress. Iowa has been the birthplace of some incredible heavy music acts. Marshalltown’s Modern Life Is War are melodic hardcore royalty. Iowa City wrought Aseethe and their punishing doom metal and Dryad with their outstanding crusty black metal. Out of Dubuque, Telekinetic Yeti make stoned doom metal. Muscatine’s Closet Witch, by all rights, […]
Posted inDear Kiki
Dear Kiki: I’m new in town. Where can I meet a sexy guy?
Dear Kiki, I’m new in town… how can I meet a sexy guy over 50 to hang out with?! Iowan00b Dear Iowan00b, Welcome! I hope you’re settling in well to your new digs. Moving can be tough on a variety of levels, so I’m pleased you’ve decided to reach out for assistance on this aspect […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Head Start programs in Iowa face loss of funding as shutdown continues
Two Iowa Head Start child care programs are expected to face funding lapses and could have to reduce services if the federal government shutdown continues into November, advocates say. Saturday, Nov. 1 is a pivotal deadline for several federally funded programs as the federal government shutdown continues. On the top of many people’s minds is […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Can’t Grassley and Durbin just sit down for coffee already?
By Ed Flaherty, Iowa City Dear Senators Grassley and Durbin: You both agree that the shutdown is harmful and unnecessary. You have worked with each other before. I suggest you two respected leaders in your respective parties meet. The question of who is responsible for the shutdown would be discussed. After each of you state that the other’s party […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
An art writer with a true crime obsession, Rachel Corbett used her new book to delve into the dark history of criminal profiling
In her latest book The Monsters We Make, author and journalist (and Iowa native) Rachel Corbett dives deep into the dark history of criminal profiling as “a tool for social control,” our collective appetite for true crime entertainment and her own personal history with, as she puts it, “an early father-figure [who] committed an unconscionable act of violence.”
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘There is no escapism here’: Cronenberg scholar Violet Lucca on the auteur’s enticing repulsiveness, and how his most ‘offensive’ films are being reevaluated
Cedar Rapidian and University of Iowa alum Violet Lucca’s new book David Cronenberg: Clinical Trials steps past the usual canned controversies, and uses Jungian theory to structure fresh analysis on identity, potentiality and art’s place in human experience. For films often marked as being cold, flagrant or unapproachable, Lucca’s book is like a good friend next to you in a theater…
Posted inCommunity/News
Randy Feenstra officially launches campaign for Iowa governor
Rep. Randy Feenstra formally announced his campaign for governor Tuesday, saying he aims to “take Iowa to new heights” by working with President Donald Trump and keeping the governor’s seat Republican in 2026. Feenstra had filed the paperwork to run for governor with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board in May, and shortly after […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Appeals court sides with Trump, letting him move his Iowa Poll lawsuit back to state court
In a split decision on Friday, a three-member panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Donald Trump, overturning a lower court ruling and clearing the way for Trump to move his lawsuit over the final Iowa Poll of the 2024 election back to state court. Last December, then-President-elect Trump filed a lawsuit […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Appeals court upholds injunction against Reynolds’ attempt to create state-level deportation system; ICE deports Des Moines high school student
On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction stopping an attempt by Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republican leaders in the legislature to create a state-level deportation program in Iowa. SF 2340, passed with only Republican votes, made it a state crime for a person to be in […]
