“What has José done except ask for freedom from brutality?” Rev. Marc Schlegel-Preheim of First Mennonite Church of Iowa City asked at a protest in front of the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Thursday. About 100 people were gathered on the steps of the courthouse to support José Yugar-Cruz, a 37-year-old asylum-seeker from […]
Muscatine
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‘Exactly what asylum law is meant to stop’: ICE again seizes Bolivian man ordered released in January, plans to deport him to Africa
Three months after a federal judge ordered ICE to release José Yugar-Cruz from Muscatine County Jail, ICE has detained the 36-year-old asylum seeker from Bolivia again. ICE has not accused Yugar-Cruz, who has no criminal record, of violating the terms of his release or any other infractions. ICE plans to deport him to the Democratic […]
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ICE contract with Muscatine County Jail increased funding for detentions by 75%, stipulates ‘no public disclosures’
The Muscatine County Jail was promised a 75 percent increase in potential revenue for holding federal immigration detainees during the first year of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, newly disclosed records show. In March 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement amended the federal government’s longstanding contract with Muscatine County for the detention of individuals […]
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Judge orders release of ICE detainee in Muscatine County Jail who faces capture, torture if deported
A federal judge has ordered the Muscatine County Jail to release an ICE detainee who had been incarcerated for almost a year after a judge ruled in his favor on an asylum request. Court records indicate Jose Yugar-Cruz, 36, entered the United States in July 2024 after fleeing his home country of Bolivia. In court […]
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Woman faces hate crime charges in vandalism spree that defaced two Muscatine restaurants with swastikas
The Muscatine Police Department (MPD) has arrested a person for the acts of vandalism last weekend that included spraypainting swastikas on Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant and Jibaro, a restaurant specializing in authentic Puerto Rican cuisine. In addition to swastikas, Jibaro was also defaced with the spraypainted message, “We don’t want you here.” In its statement on […]
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Peak Iowa: Drink deep from the Devil’s Punchbowl at Wildcat Den State Park
Wildcat Den State Park is located just a few miles from the Mississippi River between Davenport and Muscatine. The modern history of the park starts in the year 1848, when a settler by the name of Benjamin Nye — who established Muscatine County’s first store and post office a decade earlier — built the Pine […]
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Vandals deface two Muscatine restaurants with swastikas; owners stand firm: ‘We do not know fear’
Buildings in Muscatine were vandalized on Sunday, with swastikas spray-painted onto their exterior walls, according to the Muscatine Police Department (MPD). Two restaurants — Jibaro, which specializes in authentic Puerto Rican cuisine, and Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant — were targeted by the vandals. In addition to defacing both buildings with swastikas, the vandals also wrote “We […]
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How the Clark family of Muscatine helped desegregate schools in Iowa — and nationwide
There’s fascinating history to be found in Muscatine. Before adopting the name Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens briefly wrote for the Muscatine Journal while his brother was the paper’s editor. Long before Field of Dreams, it saw some of America’s earliest minor-league baseball teams take the field. Neither Twain nor those teams left much of a […]
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How a 1911 strike by buttonmakers in Muscatine put Iowa at the center of the fight for workers’ rights in America
When lawmakers in Des Moines are seriously discussing rolling back laws against child labor, it can be hard to believe there’s anything positive about the state of labor in Iowa. But despite years of Republicans raging against unions, union membership in Iowa slightly increased last year. In 2021, 6.5 percent of the state’s workers were […]
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‘The time for action is now’: Mayor Bruce Teague issues order requiring face coverings in Iowa City
Effective immediately, almost everyone in Iowa City will be required to wear a face covering while in public, according to a proclamation issued on Tuesday by Mayor Bruce Teague. “With more than 30,000 college students set to return to Iowa City in August, the time for action is now,” Teague said in livestreamed address during […]
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Mayor Bruce Teague will issue an order mandating face coverings in Iowa City
Mayor Bruce Teague said on Monday that he is preparing to issue an order requiring face coverings be worn in public in an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Iowa City. Teague announced his intention during Monday afternoon’s Joint Entities meeting, a Zoom meeting of representatives from most of the local governmental bodies […]
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Muscatine mayor issues proclamation requiring face coverings in public
As of 6 a.m. on Monday in Muscatine, Iowa, face coverings are required in public places as the city attempts to limit the spread of COVID-19. Mayor Diana Broderson issued a proclamation mandating face coverings on Sunday, citing provisions in the Iowa Constitution and state law that allow mayors to take steps to ensure public […]
