Sixty-five million years? Please. You want to see something old, head to the Coralville Dam. It’s not the dam that’s old, though it has survived almost seven decades and two near-apocalyptic floods. In fact, it was the first of these floods in 1993 that breached the 712-foot spillway and inundated the campground below, washing away […]
Iowa City history
Letter to the editor: Unsung heroes from Iowa City’s LGBTQ history
By David Leshtz, Iowa City Congratulations on your excellent series examining the history of LGBT activism in Iowa City. The third installment brought back many memories of other friends and allies who deserve mention: Attorney Duane Rohovit did the heavy lifting of writing the bylaws for the Iowa Center for AIDS Resources and Education. ICARE […]
‘No one believed that it would ever come to this place’: Fear and hatred clouded efforts to care for Iowa’s early AIDS patients
This is the second article in a three-part series examining the legacy of HIV/AIDS in Iowa City. Read part one here. It’s October 1980, and Jack Stapleton is treating a 19-year-old girl diagnosed with a rare lung infection: pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Stapleton, then an internal medicine intern in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, became interested in […]
Forty years ago, volunteers pulled off the first Iowa Arts Festival. Summer in Iowa City has never been the same
What started 40 years ago as a volunteer-led labor of love is now a downtown Iowa City institution: the Iowa Arts Festival. Back in the summer of 1983, Joyce Carroll and Kristin Summerwill helped organize a multi-day event on the Ped Mall that brought together artisans, visual artists, poets, local musicians such as Greg Brown […]
100 dishes from bygone Iowa City-area restaurants, remembered by LV readers
In March, Little Village asked followers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, “What are some of your favorite dishes from bygone local restaurants?” The posts received hundreds of comments from nostalgic (and clearly hungry) current and former locals, recalling restaurants long gone and recently deceased. Below are 100 of those responses. Do you know the recipe […]
Time Capsule Dale: Craving Roxie’s scalloped potatoes and ham
Meet LV’s newest columnist — a Gen X townie who goes to bed in the ’90s and wakes up in modern day IC/CR. It had everything a southeast side Iowa City resident would ever need: happy hour specials and the best damn scalloped potatoes and ham in Johnson County. I’m talking about Roxie’s on the […]
Time Capsule Dale: Laundry day at Duds N Suds
Meet LV’s newest columnist — a Gen X townie who goes to bed in the ’90s and wakes up in modern day IC/CR. The early months of 1996 have been a whirlwind for Hawk fans. Carver once again proved to be a menace to Bobby Knight and his gang of Hoosiers on Sunday as Russ […]
Former UI President Sandy Boyd, who left an indelible mark on the university, has died at age 95
Willard Boyd, president of the University of Iowa from 1969 to 1981, died on Tuesday. Boyd, known to everyone by his nickname “Sandy,” was 95 years old. Boyd was president during a period of great change and unrest, with protesters challenging the established structures of power at the university over issues such as the war […]
The Black Angel and Ana Mendieta
“I have been carrying on a dialogue between the landscape and the female body (based on my own silhouette). I believe this has been a direct result of my having been torn from my homeland (Cuba) during my adolescence. I am overwhelmed by the feeling of having been cast from the womb (nature). My art […]
‘Your voice is valuable’: The LGBTQ Iowa Archives and Library welcomes a new director
The LGBTQ Iowa Archives and Library (LIAL) has a new interim director, Madde Hoberg. The former executive director Aiden Bettine founded LIAL in 2020 while working on the Transgender Oral History Project of Iowa. Bettine, then an archivist at the University of Iowa, realized there were no LGBTQ-specific collecting development policies in archives across Iowa. […]
‘Bloom County’ is coming to television as an animated series, bringing echoes of Iowa City with it
Almost 42 years after it was first launched, 33 years after its creator discontinued it and seven years after he revived it, the much-beloved comic strip “Bloom County” is set to become an animated series on Fox. And when Berkeley Breathed’s creation hits TV screens, it’ll be bringing echoes of Iowa City with it. “Just […]
Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: Colonial Lanes owner Brad Huff on keeping Iowa City’s oldest bowling alley a safe, retro escape
Best of the CRANDIC 2021 winner: Best Bowling Alley Bowling, putt-putt, arcade games, a lunch counter and sunken bar. That’s how Colonial Lanes rolls. The business opened in 1959, and current owner Brad Huff has overseen the lanes at the CRANDIC’s Best Bowling Alley since 1972. Little Village sat down with Huff to discuss CL’s […]




