A torrential morning downpour had soaked Deadpools and dashing knights alike, but the seats were packed at the Sleepy Hollow Ren Faire for the main event: the joust, produced by Iowa jousting company JoustEvolution. Two rows of wooden seats and a set of metal bleachers were filled shoulder to shoulder with cheerers and jeerers as horses […]
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Posted inCommunity/News
In Iowa City, No Kings rally-goers demand Fatou Traore’s return, encourage early voting; opponents of jail bond proposal make their case
Hundreds gathered at the Pentacrest on Saturday morning for the No Kings Vote Early rally. The Iowa City rally was one of almost 3,000 No Kings events across the county, including 30 in Iowa, intended to boost early voting ahead of the Nov. 3 election. The crowd in Iowa City was smaller than the last […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A British horror fanzine made in Iowa has compelled Hammer heads around the world for 54 years
Before the internet, fanzines were the lifeblood of genre fandom. Produced by enthusiasts rather than professional publishers, these homemade magazines connected horror, science fiction and fantasy fans who often felt isolated in their own communities. Created on typewriters, assembled with scissors, glue and photocopiers, and distributed through conventions, specialty bookstores and the mail, fanzines became […]
Posted inCommunity/News
President Trump is coming to Iowa ‘to get truly fantastic Warriors elected,’ even as polls show his popularity in the state has plummeted
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social on Thursday night that he’s coming to Iowa twice before the Nov. 3 election “to get truly fantastic Warriors elected.” The first Trump rally will be in Sioux City on Thursday. The rally will begin at 4:30 p.m. although speeches are not scheduled to start until 6 p.m., […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Iron Lung plays ‘an all-timer kind of show’ for hardcore fans at Deadwood
On most Tuesday nights, Iowa City’s beloved Deadwood Tavern is a calm, quiet space, filled with not much more than the sounds of light chatter and the collision of billiard balls. But on the night of Tuesday, Oct. 13, there would be no such peace, as the bar welcomed Seattle’s legendary powerviolence duo Iron Lung […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Where to go and what to know to vote early in the Nov. 3 election
Early voting in the Nov. 3 election is now underway. County auditors’ offices have started mailing out absentee ballots requested by voters and are opening their doors for early in-person voting. Early in-person voting will run through Monday, Nov. 2, the day before the election, and all mail-in absentee ballots must be received in the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Fatou Traore, an Iowa City resident for more than 20 years, has been deported to Sierra Leone, a country she has no connection to
Fatou Traore, a longtime Iowa City resident, has been deported to Sierra Leone, a country to which she has no connections. Traore was seized by two ICE agents on Sept. 24, when she arrived at her sister’s house at approximately 6:30 a.m. to drive her to work. The agents displayed no identification and did not […]
Posted inElection Coverage
Rob Sand discusses SNAP cuts, food insecurity and improving the rural economy at Coralville food pantry
In April 2022, the Coralville Community Food Pantry (CCFP) broke ground on a new building, on a site donated by the Coralville United Methodist Church. At 5,000 square feet, the pantry’s new home next to the church was twice the size of the building it was then located in. At the groundbreaking ceremony, CCFP Executive […]
Posted inCommunity/News
First-time candidate Chris Jones is cutting through the cropaganda on a mission to fire Iowa’s ‘secretary of agribusiness’
There are 36 million acres in Iowa, and 30 million are devoted to agriculture. Of those, 25 million are planted with corn and soybeans. “You have only two species of plants on 70 percent of our land,” Chris Jones told the packed meeting room at Iowa Lakes Community College in Emmetsburg on the evening of […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘There are too many cover bands these days,’ says Brian Haas. The New Orleans pianist has something wholly original prepared for Fairfield
The music scene in Fairfield, Iowa has been making moves recently, especially with the opening of the new venue the Blue Rose Ballroom, which boasts a state-of-the-art sound system for visiting music acts. One of the acts that Blue Rose welcomed in its opening celebration last month was the acclaimed New Orleans-based ensemble Nolatet. Scott […]
Posted inCommunity/News
This small Iowa city is a Halloweentown on the Mississippi
The first time I walked through McGregor late at night in the fall, I kept stopping to look at the houses. Porch after porch had joined in: pumpkins on steps, skeletons in windows, entire yards given over to the season. On Main Street, scarecrows sat on park benches and wooden ravens perched on storefronts and […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
With Fatou Traore still in ICE custody, supporters plan Cedar Rapids rally; Grassley says his staff will look into helping
Family, friends and supporters of Fatou Traore are holding a rally and vigil at the federal building in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday morning as they continue their efforts to secure the release of the longtime Iowa City resident from ICE detention. Traore, an immigrant from the West African county of Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire), has […]
