The Black Rose, the West Branch bookstore and cocktail lounge that opened earlier this year, has closed its brick-and-mortar location, owner Ashley Kofoed announced on Sunday on social media. “This isn’t a goodbye,” she said. “It’s a page turn.” Even without the Main Street store, “the story continues online, where so many of you have […]
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Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Black Rose in West Branch aims to be a cozy, boozy and bookish hangout ‘for anyone who feels othered’
When Ashley Kofoed first arrived in West Branch with her fiancé, it was to meet her future in-laws for dinner at the local Brick Arch Winery. Dining with her family within the spacious building — which features two stories and a basement, three gas fireplaces, elegant wood finishes, a stage, a dance floor, a kitchen […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Bernie Sanders brings ice cream, Susan Sarandon to West Branch, followed by a near-canceled scrimmage at the ‘Field of Dreams’
Less than a mile from the birthplace of conservative icon Herbert Hoover, the only Iowan ever elected president, more than 300 people gathered to hear Bernie Sanders, the only presidential candidate who identifies as a Democratic Socialist.
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Bright Radical Star’: When John Brown came to Iowa
Halfway to Springdale, Iowa — a town about 15 miles east of Iowa City — on a snow-laden December evening in 1857, Owen Brown decided to journal. “Very cold night,” he wrote, “prairie wolves howl nobly.” He recounted the “hot discussion” had on the road that day: about the Bible, war, racial prejudice and abolition […]
Posted inCommunity/News
School cancelled in West Branch because of threat (Updated)
Wednesday classes and activities in West Branch schools were cancelled by the West Branch Community School District on Tuesday night. A note at the top of the district’s website said the reason for the cancellation was “Safety and security precautions.”
Posted inCommunity/News
Gigabit internet comes to West Branch and West Liberty
West Branch and West Liberty were given a special gift this Christmas: 1 gigabit internet, one of the fastest services available. In a press release from Liberty Communications, which will launch the service in the area, General Manager Jerry Melick said, “It is 100 times faster than average broadband speeds nationwide.” The service, which Liberty calls Fusion Gig, will be available to […]
