A Q&A with Cristian Bejarano, whose restaurant, Maestro Empanadas, was chosen as the Most Commendable COVID-19 Precaution Game in Little Village’s 2020 Best of the CRANDIC awards. When did you open Maestro Empanadas? Had you always hoped to own a restaurant? We opened our store in December 2015, however we started selling empanadas at the […]
COVID-19
Posted inCommunity/News, COVID-19
Q&A: Two Iowa nurses share challenges, experiences of working during COVID-19 pandemic
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Iowa hospitals have been overwhelmed, especially in recent months as hospitalizations due to the virus continued to reach record-breaking numbers. The dire situation facing Iowa’s hospitals and healthcare workers has been featured prominently in recent stories in The Atlantic and ProPublica. “In a lot of ways, Iowa is serving as the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds relaxes some COVID-19 restrictions as deaths from the virus surpass 3,000
Iowa surpassed 3,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, but Gov. Kim Reynolds started her news conference late Wednesday morning by focusing on positive trends. “We are now nearly two weeks out from the Thanksgiving holiday, and we continue to see the same slow, steady in new cases, positivity rates and hospitalizations that we have since […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: John’s Grocery
John’s Grocery isn’t just Iowa City’s oldest grocery store, but, according to the 2020 Best of the CRANDIC survey, locals’ favorite place to shop for beer, wine and liquor. With dozens (if not hundreds) of options to choose from in each section, John’s manager Doug Alberhasky took the time to make a few recommendations. Beer […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa will now follow CDC standards for reporting COVID-19 deaths
Last week, the Iowa Department of Public Health set a record by reporting 70 deaths from COVID-19 in a 24-hour period. On Tuesday at 10 a.m., IDPH reported 202 more deaths from the virus. But as Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) Director Kelly Garcia explained to reporters on Monday night, 175 of those cases […]
Posted inCommunity/News
All 99 counties in Iowa have now reported deaths from COVID-19
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 35 deaths from COVID-19 during the 24-hour period that ended at 10 a.m. Among the deceased was the first COVID-19 fatality from Decatur County, which had been the sole remaining county with no COVID-19 deaths. Now, all 99 counties in Iowa have reported at least one death […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The Takeaway: Dunn Brothers Coffee in Coralville gets the small things right
The Takeaway is a restaurant review series from Tiffani Green focused on the saving grace for foodies during a pandemic: takeout and delivery. Coffee shops are my natural habitat. I came of age and figured out who I was in coffee shops. I seek them out on every vacation. I have built entire friendships out […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Registration for RAGBRAI 2021 opens, but the COVID-19 mitigation plan is still TBD
After being canceled last year for the first time since it began in 1973, RAGBRAI is scheduled to return in 2021. Registration for the cross-state cycling event opened on Monday. Organizers of the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa called off the 2020 ride on April 20, after it became obvious the COVID-19 pandemic […]
Posted inCommunity/News
COVID-19: Iowa sets another record for deaths, has a third straight day of almost 3,000 new cases
One day after the previous record for deaths reported in a 24-hour period was shattered by the Iowa Department of Public Health disclosing 70 deaths from COVID-19, Iowa surpassed that total. At 10 a.m. on Friday, IDPH reported another 84 Iowans had died from the virus. The newly reported deaths included two residents of Johnson […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: Oaknoll Retirement Residence
Oaknoll Retirement Residence was voted Best Assisted Living Facility in Little Village’s 2020 Best of the CRANDIC awards. “My whole heart is at Oaknoll and in assisted living,” said Jaclyn Craig, a registered nurse manager at the Iowa City retirement residence. “We work really hard, and we are all like a family and a team […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Brock About Town: 2020 wasn’t very funny
Welcome, reader, to the last 2020 issue of Little Village. This year, more than any other, it feels like a milestone, but I cannot imagine an appropriate way to commemorate it. Is there anything to say about this year that hasn’t already been said? Have you heard a single current events-related witticism that made you […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa reports 70 COVID deaths, a new one-day record
Iowa shattered its record for most COVID-19 deaths reported in a 24-hour period at 10 a.m. on Thursday, as the Iowa Department of Public Health disclosed another 70 Iowans have died from the virus. The previous one-day high for reported deaths came eight days earlier on Nov. 25, when IDPH reported 47 deaths. IDPH has […]
