Iowa can now enforce all parts of SF 496 — commonly known as the “don’t say gay” bill because of its provisions prohibiting references to LGBTQ topics in K-6 schools, requiring written parental permission to use a student’s preferred pronouns or name if it is does not match the gender listed in school records, and […]
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Posted inArts & Entertainment
A quick guide to excellent arts venues in central and eastern Iowa
Good venues can serve as essential third spaces for neighbors to come together and witness, celebrate and commiserate. They’re also easy to take for granted. Each time you buy a ticket and attend a performance, you’re helping to increase the viability of your favorite spaces and keep Iowa’s arts economy strong. These top-notch spots are […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Artist Frank Hansen makes work that’s messy, freaky, angry and silly — whatever he’s feeling that day
“Frank Hansen openings always flirt with lawlessness,” reads a description of the Des Moines artist’s work from 2009. “This year his show will feature a painting that needs to be driven like a car.” At that point, Hansen was well on his way to carving out a niche in the Des Moines art scene. Twenty-five […]
Posted inComics
Momboy — April 2026
This comic was originally published in Little Village’s April 2026 issue.
Posted inComics
Futile Wrath — April 2026
This comic was originally published in Little Village’s April 2026 issue.
Posted inCommunity/News
UI professor and Iowa City local for 25 years sues Trump administration for canceling his, his wife’s citizenship oaths
“Twenty-six years ago, I touched down at Eastern Iowa Airport,” Dr. Sunday Goshit told the people gathered on the Ped Mall Friday morning. Goshit, an adjunct assistant professor of International Studies at the University of Iowa and an instructor of Intercultural Competence at Kirkwood Community College, recalled how he arrived in Iowa “with a suitcase […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘Ultranatural’ by Candice Wuehle
Immediately engrossing, Ultranatural by Candice Wuehle (University of Iowa Press) is narrated by Lacey (or Love), whose voice is youthful and vulnerable as we follow her from tween years into young adulthood as she ascends to become the world’s biggest popstar…
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: An envelope opened and the About Time Theater Company discovered its latest show alongside the audience
On the night of Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at approximately 7:30 p.m. CDT, myself and about 34 other people saw a production by About Time Theatre of White Rabbit Red Rabbit at the xBk Annex, as performed by Mary Bricker. It was, I imagine, a different show than what a largely different audience saw the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
En Español: The recent rash of cartel violence in Mexico didn’t come out of nowhere
¿Por qué la violencia en México? El 22 de febrero fue abatido Nemesio Osegera, alias “El Mencho,” líder de un cartel mexicano. La noticia de su muerte fue rápidamente difundida por medios de comunicación de todo el mundo, junto con fuertes imágenes de las represalias por integrantes del cartel. La impresión es de un México […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops — ‘Slimephone Surveillance’
Smartphones are everywhere, and you can still catch a glimpse of a flip phone now and then, courtesy of the “dumphone” resurgence. But have you considered the slimephone?
Posted inFood & Drink
Iowa is home to a colorful variety of THC beverage and candy brands. They could all disappear come November.
Last year, after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Congress finally passed a stopgap funding bill — and ignited a ticking timebomb for the billion-dollar THC beverage industry. A provision slipped into the bill at the last minute changes federal law to effectively ban hemp-derived cannabis (delta-9) products starting Nov. 12, 2026. Even the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Soulcage has new music to share and stages to scorch across Iowa this month
In 2023, the band now known as Soulcage was playing the basement of a Des Moines fraternity house. The crowd was expecting some frat party jams. Instead, they got a grungy slap in face that might have left those in attendance bruised and wondering what, or who, they had walked into. Unsurprisingly, Soulcage doesn’t play […]
