"Now, the same Republicans in Des Moines who can’t balance a checkbook want to dictate how local elected officials raise and spend property taxes," writes former state senator Joe Bolkcom.

"Just minutes ago, a friend witnessed six black ICE SUVs tear through the parking lot of an elementary school outside his living room window," writes David Huckfelt, a musician in Minneapolis. "When the bottom falls out of your sense of safety here in America, where will you turn for help?"

"If champagne were an opera, it would undoubtedly be Strauss’s 'Die Fledermaus,'" writes Meghan Klinkenborg, adding that Cedar Rapids Opera's production was a "perfectly frothy, frivolous escape from the dark and dreary winter."

In Clive yesterday, Trump boasted about working with John Deere — which laid off 598 Iowa employees last year — on plans for two new factories. Neither will be in Iowa. The Iowans present cheered anyway. Outside, roughly 2,000 protested, memorialized Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and shared donuts.

Iowans demonstrating outside President Trump's speech at the Horizon Events Center in Clive Tuesday told LV why they felt it was important to show up. Inside, Trump called protesters "paid insurrectionists" and "sickos" and asked attendees if he should "run a fourth time." 🤳 Seth Coughlin

Wettach is no longer running in the 1st District, instead seeking the statewide office currently occupied by Democratic candidate for governor Rob Sand.

Konfrst endorsed state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott “as our candidate to flip this Congressional seat in the general election and defeat Zach Nunn.” Lundgren, a self-styled "Original Trump Supporter," did not make an endorsement.

Between 1922 and 1990, it's estimated Charles Osborne hiccuped some 430 million times. Doctors aren't sure what caused the world-record-setting attack.

Though he celebrated "storming the ivory tower" last month with the opening of the UI Center for Intellectual Freedom (beside Christopher Rufo), the chair of the Iowa House Higher Education Committee isn't done imposing his agenda on campuses.

Fresh off his saber-wobbling remarks at Davos, Trump will rally in Iowa on Tuesday, 250 miles due south of the ICE-besieged Minneapolis.

Eminent domain is considered a high-priority issue this legislative session following Gov. Reynolds' controversial veto of a bill last year. The concise HF 2104 passed with bipartisan support on Wednesday, 64-28.

'Train Dreams,' the opening-night premiere at the 2025 Refocus Film Festival in Iowa City, has been nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. LV film columnist and Denis Johnson fan Benji McElroy reviewed the film in December:

Some legislators are seeking to eliminate a law the state may have violated — but is arguing it didn't — when it closed the Iowa City SHSI research center and archive.

Two former ICE detainees who spoke at Saturday's standing-room-only event highlighted the importance of solidarity. “When we fight together, we win," Jorge González Ochoa said. "What’s key in this moment is that I was not alone," added José Yugar-Cruz. "ICE was not able to disappear me.”

John Carpenter's icy cult classic didn't jibe with Reagan-era ideals of heroism and masculinity, but it feels especially relevant in 2026. FilmScene is hosting two screenings this week.

This 170-year-old, rather phallic Dubuque landmark was the subject of a successful S.O.S. (Save Our Shot Tower) campaign in 1959.

Before he fled to Mexico and was granted asylum in the U.S., Jose Yugar-Cruz says he was detained and tortured by Bolivian police because he “refused to facilitate the drug trade" through his small business. He went on to be detained by ICE.

Before it became "Iowa City," it was a French settlement called Napoleon. This and other French aspects of Iowan, Midwest and global cultural are explored in Anna Barker's new book.

"If you don’t get in the way of ICE agents, it won’t be a problem for you,” said Hinson, who is running for Joni Ernst's Senate seat.

The late Norm Breyfogle's contributions to comic book canon are countless, from drawing Robin with a bo staff to giving Clayface enough gooey gravitas to be worthy of a standalone film (coming out later this year).

Last night, the governor shared plans to cap local spending and codify MAHA measures. But key issues went unmentioned — including the issue Reynolds said was her priority in her very first Condition of the State address in 2018.

"I’ve told him there are options, that he could speak to his doctor about this 'issue.' It was a good talk, he was amenable. [But] that was months ago and no change." Have a question for Kiki? Submit at littlevillagemag.com/dearkiki

RIP Scott Adams, you would have hated Little Village's local comics issue.

Renee Good never lived in Iowa City, but her wife Becca did, and members of her family still do. A statement from Becca was read at last night's vigil by her niece. Meanwhile, the president continues to smear the Goods and lie about Renee's murder.

This high-maintenance mollusk is also a living fossil.

With only a handful of incumbents on Iowa ballots this year, things should get interesting. Browse LV's brutally honest guide to the 50 candidates vying for votes.

Sand's small-dollar donors were most commonly teachers and nurses, the Democrat's campaign reports. The grand total includes no corporate PAC money, "self-funding or donations from the candidate’s in-laws.”

Iowa Code mandates the State Historical Society "maintain research centers in Des Moines and Iowa City." The state is arguing an "online research center" is a sufficient replacement for the closed Centennial Building.

ON STANDS THIS WEEK: Little Village — January 2026, with more than 20 cartoons from local artists, a guide to Iowa midterm candidates and much more! 📍 Find a copy: bit.ly/lvlocations 🌐 Read online: littlevillagemag.com/lv-january-2026 📬 Subscribe for home delivery: littlevillagemag.com/subscribe

As Trump discussed vague plans to extract Venezuelan oil and "reimburse" the U.S. "for the damages caused us by that country," lawmakers like Sen. Grassley and Rep. Miller-Meeks stretched facts to applaud the president's actions.

Someone, name redacted, emailed Epstein in 2016 bragging about beating Jeb Bush in the Iowa Caucus. For now, we can only speculate who it was — while indulging in some conspiracy-centric cinema.

"The ACA raised standards, expanded coverage, and protected consumers. Whether it remains affordable is a choice Congress still controls," writes Linda Schreiber of Iowa City.

The last legislative session under Gov. Kim Reynolds may see lawmakers get in the weeds on Iowa's 40-year-old property tax system, among other issues of bipartisan interest.

Edna Ferber, once the most widely read author in the U.S., recalled facing “raw antisemitism" and historic floods as a child in Iowa. "I’ve learned to value every stab of pain and disappointment," she said.

More than 30 years after the study was first published, scientists (along with pop-science writers, podcasters and YouTubers) still continue to discuss, debate and recreate the Iowa Gambling Task experiment.

When not teaching at the University of Iowa, eclectic artist Byron Burford traveled the country playing the drums in circus bands.

Iowa's highways, byways and local landmarks become "a rich, explorable game world" with new DLC for the video game 'American Truck Simulator.' The Czech development team even took a research trip to the Hawkeye State.

“I loved those old mid-century advertising images," said Perkins, who spent many formative years in Iowa City. "The one moment that profoundly changed everything was finding a stack of cheap old ’40s and ’50s Life magazines in an antique store."

Queer Burlington native Bart Howard penned "In Other Words" in 1954. Frank Sinatra's cover, titled "Fly Me to the Moon," came out a decade later — in time for NASA to fall in love with it.

Mobile LED billboards showing green-tinted photos of Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn have been driving around their Iowa districts.

"That'll do!" A national competition this summer in Shannon City, Iowa showcased some of the most skilled herding dogs in the world.

A cult convinced Yoko Ono's ex-husband to hide their 8-year-old daughter away in 1971. Kyoko's disappearance was the main reason Ono and Lennon moved to the U.S. “There’s my mom and John doing all these things to appeal to me,” Kyoko said. “But I was living on a farm in Iowa. We didn’t own a TV.”

An longtime Ottumwa resident, Rep. Miller-Meeks hasn't lived in IA-01 since the 2021 redistricting, despite promising she would move. This summer, she officially registered in Wapello County, located in IA-03 — meaning she won't be able to vote for herself in 2026.

Arguably the most prominent Iowan of the 20th century, Henry A. Wallace's Progressive Party campaign for president in 1948 faced constant attacks from racists and anticommunists armed with baseball bats, shotguns and Molotov cocktails. littlevillagemag.com/peak-iowa-he...

The Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial, an angelic fountain by the sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial, was modeled after a silent-film star who fell into infamy. "The Black Angel" quickly became the subject of supernatural speculation in Council Bluffs.

"Director Noah Hill wrangled the calamitous dialogue of the script into performances that blossomed like nightshade, striking with poisonous intent," reviewer Broc Nelson writes of 'The Lion in Winter' — "equal parts 'Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' and 'Game of Thrones' with the wit of Moliere."

Jeffrey Epstein “did his magic” on a business trip to Fairfield, Iowa, according to a fawning note from billionaire William Elkus.

The 10 billion-ton space rock left a crater approximately three miles deep, obliterating what was then a shallow inland seafloor. The death radius extended as far as Detroit and Denver.

Public Space One hosted their fourth Dada Prom on Saturday, featuring caviar toasts, tarot readings, a lovingly crafted Slinky drop, and guests dressed as aliens, surreal paintings, many-eyed beings and a Labubu.

“This is an essential part of our history and patrimony as Iowans," said Sen. Janice Weiner, among a bipartisan group of state lawmakers challenging the decision to close Iowa City's SHSI center. "It’s the result of a budget cut that occurred at the last minute behind closed doors."