The Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) plans to remove all the temporary seclusion rooms from its schools, according to an email sent to district parents by ICCSD Superintendent Stephen Murley. The temporary rooms are box-like 6-by-6-foot wooden structures with padded walls used to isolate students. Seclusion rooms are only supposed to be used as a last resort, when a student’s behavior is uncontrollable.
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Posted inArts & Entertainment
Protest songs from across the nation testify to one year of President Trump
In recognition that one year has passed since the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States, members of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia banded together to commemorate this point in history. Baynard Woods’ most recent Democracy in Crisis column was written for that occasion. Woods also compiled a list of protest songs, submitted by AAN members.
Posted inCommunity/News, Opinion
Democracy in Crisis: In the struggle to reclaim the U.S. from Trump, impeachment is an unlikely solution
What a year it has been since the dark night when the Democrats lost to Trump. And now, still lacking a serious vision, the Democrats will use the promise of impeachment as an election strategy to try to take the House in 2018.
Posted inCommunity/News
Adoptable Pets of the Week: Cuddle bunnies Dumbledore and Honey
There’s nothing quite so delightful as a bunny, especially one that’s house-trained, snuggly and shares the name of a beloved literary character.
Posted inCommunity/News
Pop-up shops planned for the Iowa City Ped Mall this holiday season
Pop-up shops are coming to the Ped Mall for the holidays. The Iowa City Downtown District (ICDD) is hosting its third annual Downtown Holiday Market, and this year it will feature a variety of shops in three temporary structures that will be built in Black Hawk Mini Park.
Posted inCommunity/News
Get out and vote: Iowa City Council candidates vie for District B and two at-large seats
Three candidates are running for two at-large seats and two candidates are running for the District B seat. Polls are open until 8 p.m. in Johnson County. Find your polling station on the county website.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Documentary-focused nonprofit New Mile Media Arts to hold official launch party
University of Iowa filmmaker Kevin Kelley just won his second Emmy award this year, for Mural, a documentary about the UI’s iconic Jackson Pollock painting. Now, Kelley is poised to launch a new non-profit dedicated to exactly what he does best: making documentaries.
Posted inCommunity/News
Internet trolls post pro-white signs in Iowa City
Signs reading “It’s okay to be white,” were found around Iowa City over the weekend, KCRG reported. Iowa City is just one of several cities in the United States and Canada where such signs have been found since the end of October. The signs were apparently inspired by a post on 4chan, an anonymous online message board.
Posted inCommunity/News
Time to speak up: Cedar Rapids school district holds three meetings this week on elementary school plans
The Cedar Rapids Community School District is holding three public input sessions gathering feedback on its Facilities Master Plan — which includes plans to close eight elementary schools and rebuild nine at an estimated cost of $216 million over 15 years.
Posted inLetters
Op-Ed: West High women are taking their power back
“Boys will be boys” is a phrase that gets ingrained in everyone’s head from a young age. However, not once in my life have I heard the phrase “girls will be girls.” I came face-to-face with this realization a few weeks ago when something circulated my high school that would change the community forever.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Giving Tree’s ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ finds success in both humorous and serious moments
Under the direction of Rachel Korach Howell, the cast of the Giving Tree Theater’s production of the play successfully balances the script’s humor — which often asks the characters to slide toward caricature — with its more serious concerns.
Posted inCommunity/News
Bidding the iconic University of Iowa Field House pool a fond farewell
An iconic landmark built in 1927 is set to disappear when the swimming pool in the University of Iowa Field House will be updated and converted to a fitness center, according to a budget approved in June by the Iowa Board of Regents Property and Facilities Committee. Projected to run at least $10 million, the update will be funded by gifts and earnings to recreational services and income on university investments.
