Iowa City playwright Mary Swander’s most recent play began with a chance find at a local store. “Years ago, I took a walk down the road one day from my place, an old Amish one-room schoolhouse, to the country store,” Swander recounts on her Substack. “There, they have a rack of literature … My eyes […]
Kalona
Posted inCommunity/News
At a cult compound in rural Iowa, death prayers and doomsday prep gave way to ‘natural’ health grifts and costly tests of faith
On Dec. 12, 1972, cult leader John Robert Stevens made a big announcement: he was a time traveler. “I had a real meeting with the Lord,” Stevens told his followers in the Living Word Fellowship (LWF), also called the Walk. “During this meeting, I was projected seven years ahead of the present time. It was […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Kalona Brewing will close at the end of this month
Kalona Brewing Company will close at the end of the month. The craft brewery and restaurant located in downtown Kalona will serve its final beers on Oct. 31. “Unfortunately, we have been unable to recover financially from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” owners Ted and Becky Nagy said in a post on the brewery’s […]
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
Kalona SuperNatural does dairy the old-fashioned way
In a world dominated by heavy processing and technological advancements, it’s become rarer to find simple, truly all-natural products on grocery store shelves. But Kalona-based dairy producer Kalona SuperNatural aims to bring the age-old tradition of leaving
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘This Evil Thing’: Exploring the story of England’s conscientious objectors during WWI
One hundred years ago, as the First World War was grinding through its fourth and final year, the British government considered its country’s leading philosopher such a menace to society it imprisoned him and refused to let him write letters to anyone in the outside world.
