By Paula Vaughan, League of Women Voters of Johnson County co-president, Iowa City It’s been 40 years since Iowa led the nation with a bottle deposit law. The legislation, introduced by Gov. Robert Ray was adopted by a Republican-majority legislature in 1978 and enacted into law in 1979. This was a revolutionary concept not only […]
Letters
Letter to the editor: Trump exploited good old American cussedness. Let’s reclaim it.

By Kent Williams, Iowa City The rioters at the U.S. Capitol are not people to be admired. They’re deluded, they’re racist, they’ve gone absolutely wrong in a violent and disturbing way. But there is one thing to admire about those Trumpist seditionists: They are soaked head to toe with a peculiarly American attribute, cussedness. The […]
Letter to the editor: This is what treason looks like
Letter to the editor: My COVID-19 vaccine story

By Katelyn Meyer, Coralville I received my first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 17. As an ICU nurse who has worked frequently with COVID-positive patients at UIHC, I was among the first several hundred employees vaccinated in the state of Iowa. I had worked the night before, so I finished giving report […]
Letter to the editor: A grown-up Christmas list

By Chad Cooper, Cedar Rapids A pandemic has raged for nearly 10 months in our nation. The government considers $1,800 for the year sufficient to cover the gap. Members of government got vaccinated from a potentially deadly virus for the holidays. You might get $600. We’ve witnessed numerous Black men, women, and children murdered on […]
Letter to the editor: Trump and Reynolds kept Iowa from being a prison

By Gary Largess, Iowa City This has been a tough time for everyone; I look forward to getting back to normal. I am amazed that President Trump’s “Project Warp Speed” could develop a vaccine in well under a year. I am grateful that they have overcome the logistical challenges and we will all soon have […]
Letter to the editor: Shouldn’t every vote count?

By Linda Quinn, Iowa City Shouldn’t every vote count? Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District’s election contest with the United States House is vital in figuring out the accuracy of Iowa’s electoral system. The vote counting and reporting process has been marred by errors and inconsistencies. Now with the state certifying the results even though the margin […]
Letter to the editor: It’s time to retire Native mascots in Iowa and beyond

By Patrick Bigsby, commissioner of the Iowa Commission on Native American Affairs In NFL stadiums and in the high school bleachers of Colorado, Michigan, Maine, Florida, Washington, and every state in between, we have witnessed an evolution in mainstream views on the use of Native American mascots, nicknames and imagery. Our Iowa school districts and […]
In memoriam: Everyone who knew John Hopkins has a ‘John story’

John Hopkins died on Nov. 21, 2020. By Ian McCuskey, Nashville For JH In the late fall of 2005 I had just started working at New Pioneer Co-op in Coralville. One afternoon at a local Indian buffet, I was discussing my newfound and still shaky employment with an acquaintance. She reassuringly told me she had […]
Letter to the editor: Response to letter defending Gov. Reynolds

By Christopher Dunlay, Iowa City A response to “Letter to the editor: Tired of the negative comments“ To Madam Wessels-Elvers, Governor Reynolds absolutely deserves all the criticism and rhetoric she’s received. This is a governor who has already proven that she does not care for the actual lives of Iowans, only livelihoods. One exists purely […]
Letter to the editor: Iowa’s senators need to acknowledge President-elect Biden

By Pat Bowen, Iowa City In America, voters pick our leaders, our leaders do not pick and choose which voices to heed and which to silence. Americans turned out in record numbers and elected Joe Biden by an overwhelming margin of more than 5.7 million votes and with 306 electoral votes. Trump could not keep […]
Letter to the editor: Tired of the lies, obfuscation and apologists

By Mike Fallon, Iowa City Please hold Governor Reynolds accountable. Excusing Reynolds does not help those in need, quite the opposite. Good investigative journalism shines a bright and much-needed light on leaders that shirk their responsibilities and endanger the lives of others. We’ve struggled with the virus since March, many continue to die. Revealing Reynolds’ […]