What began as a rally on the Pentacrest ended with a human blockade across I-80 as Iowa Citians from all walks of life banded together to protest president-elect Donald Trump. The afternoon began with students from City and West High students staging a walk out. An estimate of over 200 students were either taken out […]
Iowa City politics
Posted inCommunity/News
Petition to amend city charter’s petition requirements circulates
A petition to change the current Iowa City Charter, which would reduce the number of signatures needed to put forth a city council initiative or referendum vote, has started to circulate around Iowa City. Martha Hampel and Caroline Dieterle are part of a group that is collecting signatures for the petition. Hampel said the purposed […]
Posted inUncategorized
City of Iowa City invites public input on City Manager search
Following the March 2016 departure of City Manager Tom Markus, the City of Iowa City has begun its search for a new city manager. In a press release sent this evening, the city invited comment from the public as it considers a full-time appointment for Interim City Manager Geoff Fruin (assistant city manger under Markus). […]
Posted inCommunity/News
UR Here: Top-down management of Black Hawk Mini Park at odds with park’s original vision
In my previous column, I discussed “place-led governance,” in which urban development considers history, cultural meaning and an inclusive understanding of community members’ use. At the core of place-led governance lies the idea of the commons. For most people, the commons means natural resources such as air, water and soils. Absolutely true—but not sufficient. Current […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The ‘Core Four’ won: Now what?
Mayor Matt Hayek warned that, if elected, the Core Four would return Iowa City to the ‘anti-growth, micro-managing city hall of eras past.’ Now, having swept the election, the Core Four gets its chance to prove him wrong. As the air gets colder and the prairie wind begins to unleash its bite, the hearts of […]
Posted inCommunity/News, Letters
Letter to the Editor: In election, consider Core Question, not Core Four
My three-year-old daughter has a favorite phrase. Ask her to put on her shoes or pick up her toys, odds are her response will be “It’s not necessary.” I am borrowing her phrase. It applies to rhetoric employed by some city council candidates and their supporters.
Posted inCommunity/News, Letters
Letter to the Editor: The gang of four strikes back
By Mary Gravitt What first interested me in City Council was the Chauncey and an article published in Little Village magazine, Feb.-March 2013: “Your Town Now: The city council’s Chauncey decision is remarkably opaque” By Zach Tilly and Skaaren Cosse. Chauncey is still causing contention within the City chamber. Tilly-Cosse: To decide between the three […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Finding a balance in Iowa City’s District A
As discourse over downtown high-rises and the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIFs) dominates the public conversation leading up to the Iowa City Council race, an entirely different set of issues drives the District A contest between incumbent councilman Rick Dobyns and his sole challenger, nurse and community activist Pauline Taylor: racial disparity in Iowa […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Interview: City Council candidate Scott McDonough on TIFS and affordable housing
The November elections may be seven months away, but some Iowa City residents are already announcing their bids for City Council. Scott McDonough, owner of…
Posted inCommunity/News
Community members, business owners gather to discuss preservation of historic IC locations
A community forum to discuss the future of historic buildings in downtown Iowa City will take place Wednesday evening at MidWestOne Bank on the corner…
Posted inCommunity/News
Protesters call out Ernst on minimum wage, women’s rights
U.S. Sen. candidate Joni Ernst brought her pal, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, to Iowa City Wednesday for a campaign event that was marred by multiple protesters who interrupted their speeches on the steps outside Gilmore Hall on the University of Iowa campus. Right before the candidates arrived, the event was pushed outside. Shouting “Raise the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
First Lady stumps for Braley in IC, jokes about ‘Bailey’ gaffe
Possibly the biggest question ahead of a voter turnout rally for Bruce Braley was how or if First Lady Michelle Obama would address her recent and repeated flub of Braley’s name during an early October event at Drake University when she referred to Braley as “Bailey” seven times. Mrs. Obama, reading from a teleprompter, joked […]
