Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks was blunt in his assessment of Public Measure 1, which would amend the Iowa Constitution in a way that would stop most attempts to regulate guns in the state. “This amendment is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Maybanks said at a news conference on Tuesday at the Cedar Rapids Public […]
Statewide
Posted inFood & Drink
Iowa beer picks inspired by new and classic horror movies
Whatever movies you watch this October, don’t just sit there with glazed eyes dipping your hand into the Halloween candy bowl over and over again until you realize the trick-or-treaters are knocking and all that’s left for them are a few Tootsie Rolls and orange Starburst. Drink some local beer as well! The concepts are […]
Posted inCommunity/News
This election may be different for Chuck Grassley
Things were different 42 years ago. Chuck Grassley, then a three-term congressman looking to move up to the Senate, declared himself an opponent of negative political ads. Grassley devoted his opening statement in the Iowa Public Television’s Republican primary debate in 1980 to complaining about ads targeting him. Grassley called his primary opponent Tom Stoner […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Deidre DeJear, facing funding gaps and racist jabs in her quest to defeat Gov. Reynolds, says ‘Iowa is worth the work’
Deidre DeJear worked on her first campaign while she was still in high school. Her grandmother, Mattie Washington, was running for a seat on the Election Commission in Yazoo County, Mississippi, and a young Deidre Howard spent the summer of her sophomore year helping with the campaign. Washington already had a long history as a […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘This is your power. You own that power’: Black leaders encourage Iowans of color to vote Nov. 8
The Iowa Legislative Black Caucus hosted the fundraiser Stepping up to Justice on Sept. 22 at Noce in Des Moines. I attended to hear what candidates think voters need to know heading into the Nov. 8 midterm elections. The event supported Black Democratic caucus members who are up for reelection. The state legislators serving on […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Have incumbents met their match? An overview of the statewide races on Iowans’ midterm ballots
It’s a truism of American politics that with rare exceptions, incumbents always have a big advantage in an election. And nowhere is that truism truer than Iowa. Chuck Grassley has been in the U.S. Senate longer than all but one of his colleagues — Democratic Patrick Leahy, who is retiring this year — and longer […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Writing led Dessa to hip hop. Her music career brought her back again — and into the Iowa literary world
“After like two years of rejections,” Dessa wrote on Twitter in early 2021, “my short story just got accepted into a literary magazine, and I am about to order the fuck out of some takeout.” The acclaimed rapper, singer and writer was riding high after learning that The Iowa Review planned to publish “As Close […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Pieper Lewis case reignites conversations about sex trafficking in Iowa: ‘I think things are going to change’
Pieper Lewis’s case became national news when the 17-year-old was sentenced last month for the June 2020 killing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks, who allegedly bought her from a sex trafficker and repeatedly raped her. Lewis was arrested when she was 15 and spent two years in jail before her sentencing. According to the Des Moines […]
Posted inAstrology
Astrology forecast — October 2022
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The Libran approach to fighting for what’s right shouldn’t involve getting into loud arguments or trying to manipulate people into seeing things your way. If you’re doing what you were born to do, you rely on gentler styles of persuasion. Are you doing what you were born to do? Have you […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Biden issues pardon for simple possession of marijuana convictions; DeJear promises to ‘legalize cannabis in Iowa’ as governor
On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced “a pardon of all prior Federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana.” “There are thousands of people who have prior Federal convictions for marijuana possession, who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result,” the president said in his statement announcing the pardon. “My action will […]
