By Charlie Huyck Few have the honor, the guts, the threshold for pain, or the responsibility of living as deeply as Virginia Visker. I knew her best from the clothing shop she opened in the Hall Mall in the early ’80s. Her door was always open to angst-ridden junior high and high school kids searching […]
Iowa City history
Posted inCommunity/News
Sanctuary Pub has closed, with building’s owner seeking new tenant
Since its debut in 1972, Sanctuary Pub has become as much a part of Iowa City’s cultural fabric as the Ped Mall, est. 1979. At least among locals, Sanctuary is as well-known for its intimate performances and literary events as its pizza, burgers and wide selection of beer on tap. The venue’s familiar facade is […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The history of Iowa City’s Lucas Farms neighborhood is long, colorful, sometimes ‘outlandish’ — and the subject of this weekend’s festivities
This weekend, one of Iowa City’s oldest neighborhoods is celebrating its history as the Lucas Farms Neighborhood Association holds its annual History Days. “Our neighborhood is absolutely loaded with history,” Judy Nyren, one of the organizers of History Days, told Little Village. Nyren has lived in the neighborhood for over 40 years and has extensively dug […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Flaming Lips, coming to Cedar Rapids June 25, have embodied alt-pop absurdity since Valerie Malone first introduced them on ‘90210’
“Hey man,” Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne asked me with a hippie-punk inflection, “are you a cop?” Back in 2006, I was interviewing him backstage after a show in St. Louis with co-headliners Sonic Youth, where Coyne was winding down after an explosive performance filled with confetti, balloons and a psychedelic light show. One of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
After years defying United Methodist rules as an openly queer chaplain, Iowa City’s Anna Blaedel is out of the church and proud to be a ‘spiritual misfit’
Rev. Anna Blaedel is a chaplain, public theologian, writer and a graduate of the University of Iowa’s Religious Studies program. They earned a Masters in Divinity at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, and have been chaplaining students on the UI campus since 2014. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church (UMC) for 109 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Long before a Final Four, George’s has been the go-to spot to watch Iowa women’s basketball
Three blocks from the bar colony of downtown Iowa City sits the Northside Market, a neighborhood some of the quieter and more niche businesses call home. There’s Dirty John’s Grocery, the endless kitsch of Artifacts and the town’s only falafel joint, Oasis. There is also a little place called George’s Buffet. A slender two-story frame […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
KRUI student radio celebrates 40 years fighting dead air and adult control on the University of Iowa campus
This is a scrappy story of young folks bum-rushing the airwaves through sheer force of will. With humble origins that can be traced back to a University of Iowa dormitory broom closet, KRUI is now celebrating 40 years of FM radio broadcasting thanks to the passion of students and other community members. In the beginning […]
Posted inCommunity/News
In memoriam: Chris Wiersema, curator of the weird and wonderful
An obituary by Andre Perry Christopher (Chris) Wiersema of Iowa City died on Wednesday, March 13, unexpectedly, but peacefully in his sleep. A public memorial will take place on Sunday, April 7 at the Englert Theatre from 2-5 p.m. The Englert is located at 221 E Washington St in downtown Iowa City. Chris was born […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Is this building a landmark? Iowa City Council will discuss status of Pagliai’s Pizza home at Tuesday hearing
There will be a public hearing during the Iowa City Council’s formal meeting on Tuesday about whether to designate the 19th century building and longtime home of Pagliai’s Pizza as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. The push to have the building at 302-316 E Bloomington Street landmarked began after the building was listed for sale […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have entertained, aided and provoked for 45 years. Their habits began in Iowa.
In 2014, while the marriage equality movement worked to prove just how normal and nuclear LGBTQ families could be, Des Moines-born musician Perfume Genius released “Queen,” its lyrics glamorizing age-old stereotypes of queer men: “cracked, peeling,” “wrapped in golden leaves,” “riddled with disease” and, triumphantly, “No family is safe when I sashay.” The song quickly […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Sue Gilbert — Saint Suzie to queer nuns everywhere — recalls all the drag, drama and action of Iowa City’s gay scene in the ’70s
It’s time for Sue Gilbert to come clean. At least, that’s what she told me in an email leading up to this interview. Gilbert played a supporting role in the growth of Iowa City’s drag and Gay Pride scene in the ’70s — and, thanks to a bizarre and surely predestined string of circumstances, planted […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘Black Punk Now’ edited by James Spooner and Chris L. Terry
I’m a sucker for an anthology. Short work requires a certain balance of delicacy and force that long-form writing can work around, and the curation process of selecting, collecting and presenting those pieces is its own truly under-discussed art form. It’s something that I love to do, and I especially enjoy experiencing thoughtful examples of […]
