Update:On Friday morning, the Press-Citizen published a profile of the anonymous student, identifying her as Annie Gaughan, 18, from Park Ridge, Illinois. Gaughan reportedly left the UI campus earlier this week and is staying in a hotel in Naperville, Illinois. The return of University of Iowa students to Iowa City is always a bittersweet time […]
University of Iowa
Big 10 to cancel fall football season, despite Iowa voting to play

The Big 10 Conference has decided to cancel all football games scheduled for the fall as precaution against COVID-19 spread, sources familiar with conference deliberations report. According to the Associated Press, university presidents and chancellors from the Big 10’s 14 schools held a previously unscheduled meeting on Sunday night to vote on whether to move […]
UI says it won’t test students moving into residence halls for COVID-19, announces five more cases in Athletics Department

The University of Iowa announced on Monday it will not test students for COVID-19 before they move into residence halls. “Poorly administered mass testing can result in damaged or inconclusive results and excessive false negative,” the university said. In a statement posted on its COVID-19 information page, UI said that although such testing “may provide […]
UI Athletics suspends men’s basketball workouts after two players test positive for COVID-19

The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced on Tuesday it is suspending workouts for its men’s basketball team after two players tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. This is the first time the department has suspended activities in one of its programs because players have tested positive for the virus. UI Athletics began recalling athletes […]
Black writers at the University of Iowa describe encounters with racism in Iowa City

Content warning: This article includes stories involving racism and mental health issues, including suicidal ideation. In cities like Minneapolis, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, the myth of Midwest Nice that has allowed white people to ignore systematic racism for decades is being steadily dismantled. Despite its reputation as a liberal haven, Iowa City — like […]
COVID-19: 21 more cases in Johnson County, Gov. Reynolds discusses Iowa’s ‘little uptick’

Johnson County saw another day of double-digit increases in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, as the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 21 more county residents tested positive for the virus during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. The county has now had three weeks of double-digit daily increases in the number of confirmed cases, […]
Trump administration says international students can’t stay in U.S. if they are only taking online courses

As universities increasingly turn to online instruction to continue classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration has decided that international students won’t be permitted to stay in the United States if they are not receiving in-person instruction. “The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that […]
University of Iowa suspends ticket sales for 2020 football season as it tries to figure out how social distancing will work at Kinnick

The University of Iowa Athletics Department said on Monday that it “has paused ticket sales for the 2020 football season.” “Only individuals who have renewed season tickets and completed per-seat contributions by June 30 will be included in potential Kinnick Stadium seating plans,” according to a UI Athletics press release. The department said the pause […]
University of Iowa outlines plans to handle COVID-19 during its fall semester

As classes resume at the University of Iowa for the fall semester, students, faculty and staff members will each be issued two disposable face masks, two cloth face masks and one plastic face shield. This distribution of personal protective equipment was part of the plan UI announced on Wednesday for its resumption of in-person instruction […]
Requiring Iowans to wear face masks in public could greatly decrease COVID-19 infections and deaths, according to new UI research

The likely number of cases of COVID-19 and deaths due to the virus could be decreased by thousands in the next few months if Iowans were required to wear personal protective equipment in public, even if social distancing is relaxed, a modeling tool created by University of Iowa faculty and graduate students shows. The online […]
University of Iowa won’t change its fall schedule, will explain COVID-19 mitigation plans next week

The University of Iowa said in a campus-wide email it will maintain its regular schedule for the fall, the Daily Iowan reported on Friday. That means classes will begin on Aug. 24 and run through Dec. 18. Iowa State University, by contrast, is starting its fall semester early, so it can end classes before the […]
Kirkwood will resume in-person classes in the fall

Kirkwood Community College announced on Wednesday it will offer in-person classes and activities when the fall semester begins. There will also be “online and hybrid learning formats,” as the college adapts to the changes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. “In most cases, students will have the flexibility to choose options that best suit their learning […]