By Diane Duncan-Goldsmith, Iowa City I was Director of Nutrition Services for the Iowa City Community School District when, for the 2008-09 school year, direct certification was implemented. This process automatically certified eligible children for free meals based on families receiving SNAP (food stamp) benefits; all that was needed was to download a file containing […]
Letters
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Letter from the ICCSD Board of Directors: Whose choice really?
Submitted by J.P. Claussen on behalf of the Iowa City Community School District school board In the debate over private school vouchers, Governor Reynolds and her supporters are attempting to frame the decision to funnel millions of dollars away from Iowa’s public schools as “parental choice.” One problem with this argument is that it isn’t […]
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Letter to the editor: Is education in Iowa a zero sum game?
By Syndy Conger, Iowa City A zero-sum game is a mathematical representation in parlor games and economic theory of a situation that involves two sides, where the result is an advantage for one side and an equivalent loss for the other. As a result, they are fiercely competitive. Examples of games include poker, chess, and […]
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‘Our public schools are not failing, elected officials are failing them’: Iowans opposing voucher bill flood legislature with comments
Since Gov. Kim Reynolds used her Condition of the State address to promote plans to divert funding from public schools to tuition vouchers in the form of “education savings accounts” (ESAs) for students attending private schools, the legislators expected to approve her proposed reforms have been inundated with messages from constituents. Under Senate Study Bill […]
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Letter to the editor: Grad students need a living wage to succeed
By Stephen Voyce, Iowa City A response to Adria Carpenter’s article, “Use of the UI food pantry is up, with international students disproportionately relying on the support” For the past three years I’ve served as the Director of Graduate Studies in the English department at the University of Iowa. During this time, our department was […]
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Letter from Joe Bolkcom: Reynolds not keeping Iowans safe
The toxic fire, explosion and the hospitalization of 10-15 workers at 6C-Zero in Marengo was a completely preventable disaster. That is if Governor Reynolds were not calling all the shots on how and when to regulate unsafe, polluting businesses in our state. The safety of the 30 workers, dozens of emergency responders and the entire […]
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The 10 most-read letters to the editor from 2022
In the nearly 75 letters to the editor published by Little Village over the past 12 months, readers from across the state took aim at the policies of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds and other Iowa leaders seeking reelection; endorsed their favorite candidates; bemoaned the behavior of some of their neighbors; advocated for gun […]
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Letter to the editor: We have lost our moral compass if we allow ventilation shutdown
By Lynn Gallagher, Solon With industrial animal agriculture, animal husbandry has been replaced by animal science. The animals are treated like machines. From the moment they are born, until they die, we take from these animals everything that would make their lives worth living. Their existence is nothing but misery. Ruth Harrison, author of Animal […]
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“The Caretaker”: A Christmas story by Tom Gingerich
Story by Tom Gingerich, Kalona The old man was on his knees busily mulching one of Oakland’s expansive flower beds when he noticed the SUV approaching in the brisk, early November air. Slowly negotiating the narrow, winding roads traversing the hillside, it pulled up near him. A young man emerged, a leather-bound notebook in his […]
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Letter to the editor: Dangerous rail merger threatens rural Iowa
By Justin Hollinrake, Ames If you ask folks in the Quad Cities about the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern railroad merger, they’ll likely cite worries about disrupting downtown areas or holding up rush hour traffic. But the proposed merger, currently going through the regulatory process, matters for rural Iowa, too. And as the midterms fall […]
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Letter to the editor: The Iowa City Council’s vote to approve the rec master plan was misinformed
By Amy B. Kretkowski, Iowa City On Oct. 18, four members of the City Council (Alter, Bergus, Harmsen and Weiner) approved the Recreation Facilities and Programs Master Plan — despite the absence of details, cost information, and a vision that is consistent with overwhelming public feedback in opposition to the proposed “repurposing” of the Robert […]
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Letter to the editor: We can’t afford to be complacent anymore
By Madi Remington, Iowa City It’s been a little over four months since SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade. Every day since has brought more horrifying results, with near-total abortion bans now in place in 13 states. Miscarriages are being criminalized as well, often victimizing already traumatized individuals. As a community organizer, I saw a spark […]
