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The War on Meat (2021 edition) may just be a Republican talking point, but 90 years ago, National Guard troops armed with literal rifles and bayonets were deployed against cattle farmers in eastern Iowa in what became known as the Iowa Cow War of 1931. This largely forgotten incident involved angry people rejecting science and […]
Matthew Gilbert’s great grandfather, Dr. Lee Burton Furgerson, is an Iowa legend. He was one of the first Black doctors in Waterloo. He contributed to the Iowa Bystander, the state’s leading Black publication. He joined prominent civil rights attorney Milton Fields and Judge William Parker in co-founding a Black bank in 1947 called Blackhawk Savings […]
There’s a few key facts about Superman that are pretty universally known. He’s more powerful than a locomotive. He’s able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. And Superman is renowned for being faster than a speeding bullet. Cedar Rapids had its own Superman. And Art “Superman” Pennington — who lived there from the […]
What are the chances the state of Iowa will be first in the nation ever again after 2020’s incredibly inconvenient, undemocratic, overcrowded and likely virus-filled caucuses that still haven’t even been called by the AP? Signed, Humiliated and Proud via the Your Village feature on LV’s homepage. The chances of Iowa being first in the […]
Have a question about what’s going on in your community? Ask Little Village. Submit your questions through the Your Village feature on our homepage, or email us at editor@littlevillagemag.com. There’s a Nixon Elementary in Hiawatha?????? Why would they name a school after Nixon?? —GM, Coralville, via the Your Village feature on LV’s homepage. Timing, they […]
The origins of Abandoned Iowa can be traced back to the fall of 2010, when author Mitch Nicholson was still an English undergraduate student at a small private college in Marion County. Academic pressures combined with a hot, stuffy dorm room and the claustrophobic setting of a small campus nearly proved to be unbearable and […]
One never knows when the inspiration for an unforgettable road trip might happen. But you will most likely experience many of those unignorable “let’s go right now” moments that will get you to hit the road while you read Iowa Supper Clubs, released in August from The History Press. Megan Bannister adds the historical flavor […]
Have a question about what’s going on in your community? Ask Little Village. Submit your questions through the Your Village feature on our homepage, or email us at editor@littlevillagemag.com. Why isn’t Rusty the Giant Sloth the official state fossil? —ME, Iowa City, via the Your Village feature on LV’s homepage The short answer is Iowa […]
It’s a question that’s been asked with increasing frequency over the past four decades: Why does Iowa go first in the presidential nominating process? Is it because the state is a unique repository of American values? Or because Iowans are remarkable judges of character? As flattering as those explanations may be, neither is correct. The reason Iowa […]
Adventureland is hard to miss. Driving down Highway 80 through Altoona, the 235-foot-tall Space Shot rises far above the trees, a beacon to Midwesterners looking for cheap thrills and funnel cakes. With over 100 rides, shows and attractions, Adventureland is the largest amusement park in Iowa. […]
Arabella Mansfield was born Belle Aurelia Babb just outside of Burlington, Iowa in 1846. By the age of 23, Mansfield would become the nation’s first woman to be admitted to practice law, clearing a path for generations of women — including four of Iowa’s foremost orators, teachers, attorneys and civil rights activists — to take up the practice in the 150 years since. […]
Halfway to Springdale, Iowa — a town about 15 miles east of Iowa City — on a snow-laden December evening in 1857, Owen Brown decided to journal. “Very cold night,” he wrote, “prairie wolves howl nobly.” He recounted the “hot discussion” had on the road that day: about the Bible, war, racial prejudice and abolition […]
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Little Village is an independent media company based in Iowa City. In print since 2001, our mission is to create visibility for the communities, businesses and events that define our region. Support Little Village →