1950s UIHC doctor allegedly inseminated patients with own sperm
An Iowa Supreme Court hearing will decide if several cases relating to Dr. John H. Randall can be tried.
Jami Martin-Trainor
Executive Editor
jami.martin.trainor@dailyiowan.com
DES MOINES — Tuesday night, the Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments that will ultimately determine if a case — alleging a former University of Iowa Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology chair non-consensually inseminated patients with his own sperm — goes to trial.
Members of the Iowa Supreme Court sat tucked away inside the Iowa Judicial Branch Building’s limestone and granite exterior overlooking downtown Des Moines and the reflective shine from Iowa’s State Capitol building, listening to the facts of the case.
Dr. John H. Randall headed the UI OB-GYN department from April 1952 until he died in April 1959. Over that seven year period, court documents state Randall provided Donna and Bert Junior Miller fertility treatment, resulting in the birth of three children in 1954, 1956, and 1958.
Decades later, what was thought to be seemingly standard fertility treatment from Randall appears to have been anything but. Thanks to the emergence of publicly available DNA testing introduced by Ancestry. com in 2012, members of the Miller family discovered an anomaly while searching their records on the popular genealogical website that can assist families with tracing their individual family trees.
Ancestry.com uses DNA testing and historical records to provide a myriad of family tracing services for users, ranging from geographic origins to familial lineage. By just spitting in a tube and paying a $99 fee, individuals are able to test their DNA against millions of collected samples.
According to court documents filed in February 2024, Bert Jay Miller and Nancy Duffner — Donna Miller’s two older children — are alleging their mother’s fertility doctor, John H. Randall, is their biological father based on conclusions drawn from DNA testing conducted via Ancestry.com.
Facing
More
Randy Miller, the youngest of the three, verified that Bert Junior Miller was his biological father, according to court documents.
“At no time during Donna Mill er’s life did she indicate to her three children their biological father was anyone other than her husband, Bert Junior Miller,” documents read.
Both Bert Jay Miller and Duffner are suing the state for compensatory damages, statu tory damages amounting to $200,000, court costs, and attorney fees.
Bert Jay Miller and Duffner are not the only parties filing charges against the State of Iowa regarding the alleged non-consensual insemination of patients by Randall.
Two separate lawsuits — Stoughton vs. the State of Iowa and Bright vs. the State of Iowa — have also been filed.
The facts of the Stoughton case are similar with that of Bert Jay Miller and Duffner. According to court documents, Ronald Stoughton, born in 1943, and Rebecca Myers, born in 1948, were children of Marlys Stoughton. Documents state Randall assisted the family with fertility treatment, and the two children later learned via Ancestry.com that Randall was allegedly their biological father.
COURT | 2A
Cody Blissett and Marandah Mangra-Dutcher | The Daily Iowan (Top) The Iowa Judicial Branch courthouse is seen before a hearing in Des Moines on Feb. 11. The oral arguments for Bert Miller and Nancy Duffner vs. State of Iowa were held later Tuesday evening. (Middle) Photo of text from Iowa Code Section 714I highlighted by Daily Iowan staff (Beside) Archive photo of Dr. John H. Randall from the University of Iowa Libraries.
Coralville Costco keeping its DEI programs
Madison Schuler News Reporter news@dailyiowan.com
With President Donald Trump’s administration terminating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs across the country, several major companies have begun shutting down their own DEI programs.
A few days after taking office, President Trump signed an executive order that will ensure “federal hiring, promotions, and performance reviews will reward individual initiative, skills, performance, and hard work and not, under any circumstances, DEI-related factors, goals, policies, mandates, or requirements.”
Ultimately, the order revokes Executive Order 11246’s contracting criteria mandating affirmative action and bars the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs from pushing contractors to balance their workforce based on race, sex, gender identity, sexual preference, or religion.
Due to the order, public universities, government offices, and other entities are forgoing DEI training, hiring practices, and offices. States across the country are also drafting their own specific anti-DEI bills.
In Iowa, the education-funding bill Senate File 2435 bans public institutions from having DEI offices and hiring or assigning anyone “to perform duties” of a DEI office.
However, Trump’s new order isn’t only affecting public universities and government agencies but companies as well.
Now, multiple corporations have started rolling back their DEI programs due to backlash and criticism — Google, Target, McDonald’s, and Meta are only some of those companies.
Despite the backlash, other companies, such as Apple and Costco, are keeping their DEI programs.
Costco is known for being a large membership-only big-box warehouse club retail store
that was founded in 1983 with almost 900 locations worldwide and one location at 2900 Heartland Dr in Coralville.
According to Forbes, during Costco’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Jan. 23, preliminary results showed that over 98 percent of its shareholders voted down the National Center for Public Policy Research’s proxy proposal that the company should conduct an evaluation and report on the company’s risks of maintaining its current DEI policies.
“We have always been purposefully non-political, and a welcoming workforce has been integral to the company’s culture and values
since its founding,” Costco Board Chairman Hamilton E. James said during the meeting.
According to meeting documents, Costco will continue to back its commitment to “Take Care of Our Employees.” This includes promoting diversity, equity and inclusion and creating an inclusive and respectful workplace. The documents also stated, “We demonstrate leadership commitment to equity through consistent communication, employee development, and education, support of
Immigrant-owned restaurants diversify food scene
Ramen Belly and The Halal Guys provide fresh and unique flavors to Iowa City area.
Food has a unique way of evoking memories, bringing people together, and offering comfort in unfamiliar places. For many, certain dishes hold deep personal significance, reminding them of home, family gatherings, or childhood traditions. Restaurants that specialize in traditional and culturally rich cuisines offer more than just a meal; they create spaces where people can reconnect with their roots and feel a belonging
to shared experiences. With the 2024 International Student Cen
John Charlson | The Daily Iowan
Randall also delivered Myers and signed her birth certificate as the attending physician, court documents show.
Elizabeth Bright, born in 1958, also filed a case against the state after
Court. Michael Biderman and Karen Lorenzen with the firm Hayes Lorenzen Biderman Lawyers PLC are co-counsels for the Millers. The issue before the appellate court is whether Iowa law prohibiting fertility fraud can be applied post facto, or retroactively.
brought before the Iowa Supreme Court Tuesday night, said affordable, direct-to-consumer genetic testing has served as a catalyst to bring cases of illicit insemination into light.
A few high profile cases in the 2010s thrust the issue into the public
“You could actually change the common law and add a new common law cause of action that is retroactive, especially if there was a basis that it did not create new conduct or totally contravene understandings of conduct that existed.”
Jody Madeira Professor of Law at Indiana University Bloomington
discovering through Ancestry.com that her parents’ artificial insemination procedure allegedly used Randall’s sperm, making Bright his biological daughter.
These cases, however, may never see the courtroom, barring a decision from the Iowa Supreme
The revelation that a fertility doctor may have had a role in inseminating their own patients without consent has precedent.
According to Jody Madeira, a professor of law at Indiana University Bloomington who is familiar with the cases
sphere. One such case concerned Donald Cline, a doctor from Indianapolis who was revealed to have fathered nearly 100 biological children via artificial insemination without consent from the mothers.
Amid nationwide discussion surrounding
ASSISTED REPRODUCTION FRAUD LEGISLATION
ACROSS
THE NATION
There are 14 states with legislation aimed at penalizing fraud relating to assisted reproduction, ranging from licensing limitations to criminal charges.
fertility fraud and issues of informed consent, the Iowa legislature took action.
According to Iowa Code Section 714I, dubbed the Fraud in Assisted Reproduction Act, a health care professional or health facility shall not use human reproductive material “other than that to which the patient expressly consented in writing.”
The legislation introducing Iowa Code Section 714I was led by Sen. Annette Sweeney, R-Buckeye, and Rep. Megan Jones, R-Sioux Rapids, who acted as floor managers for the bill. Neither Sweeney nor Jones were immediately available for comment prior to publication.
The Fraud in Assisted Reproduction Act was passed in 2022, leading to questions regarding the legitimacy of trying cases in retrospect — especially if key members of the case are now deceased, as is the case wi
According to court documents, the State of Iowa argues the law should not be applied for previous cases, as Iowa Code Section 4.5 explicitly reads, “A statute is presumed to be prospective in its operation unless expressly made retrospective.”
The State’s brief in support of the motion to dismiss the Miller case also argued that opening the door for past cases would require providers to “face the specter of civil suit arising out of medical services for not just the lifetime of the patient, but the lifetimes of any children born from the fertility services.”
Madeira, however, said there has been some shifts regarding what laws can and cannot be applied retroactively.
“You could actually change the common law and add a new common law cause of action that is retroactive, especially if there was a basis that it did not create new
conduct or totally contravene understandings of conduct that existed,” Madeira said.
Madeira also said because laws relating to reproductive fraud are passed to fill gaps in existing codes, she does not see qualms with applying this genre of legislation to previous cases compared to legislation that would entirely upend expectations and understandings of proper behavior.
“There are some states that have started to crack down and impose this ex post facto rule civilly as well,” she said.
UIHC public relations manager Laura Shoemaker provided a statement via email to The Daily Iowan Tuesday morning, prior to oral arguments.
“UI Health Care does not comment on pending litigation,” the statement reads. “We appreciate the district court’s dismissal of these cases, and we will urge the Iowa Supreme Court to uphold its ruling.”
The Iowa Supreme Court releases decisions on a weekly basis, though it has not yet been announced when the decision pertaining to Tuesday night’s hearing will be released.
Visit dailyiowan.com for coverage from the Iowa Supreme Court oral arguments.
Sourced from U.S. Donor Conceived Council Infographic by Marandah Mangra-Dutcher | The Daily Iowan
CIVIL AND/OR CRIMINAL IOWA
diversity and inclusion initiatives within the organization, community involvement, and supplier inclusion.”
Management at the Coralville Costco declined to comment on its DEI programs and initiatives.
Coralville Costco customers stand behind the company’s efforts to continue DEI throughout stores nationwide.
Costco customer Kristi Petersen said it’s important for companies to have strong DEI initiatives; however, she has not noticed prevalent efforts.
“I think [DEI] is a good idea and that they’re trying to implement it,” Petersen said.
Petersen shared that she hopes to see more diversity and inclusion among the employees and customers as Costco continues to implement DEI.
“I think Costco can better share its DEI efforts with customers by doing more advertising and hiring workers
Hayasak went through many trials to get fresh fish to Iowa City, and eventually, he asked Lieu to start transporting it for him on weekends. Lieu was working 40 hours a week at the time, so adding this became very time-consuming. He stopped working other jobs, moved to Iowa City, and worked at Hayasak’s restaurant. They recruited many friends to work with them, one of whom was Diep, who lived in Chicago at the time and had gotten laid off due to the recession. He started making sushi at the new restaurant in Iowa City while Lieu was the front house manager.
Lieu then owned Takanami Sushi Bar in the early 2000s while Diep owned Konomi Japanese Restaurant. Lieu then left the food scene for a while and worked a few other jobs until COVID-19 hit.
“We needed to figure something out because I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Lieu said. “We kind of had this idea of opening a ramen restaurant for a long time. We just didn’t know when would be a good time.”
Lieu and Diep looked
that represent those values,” Petersen said.
Another Costco customer, Missy Newman, emphasized the importance of DEI initiatives for companies, particularly for customer treatment and accessibility.
“If you have a customer that’s going to be treated differently based on their race, sexual orientation, or disability, how are they going to be able to go ahead and have equal rights to shop?” Newman said.
Newman believes Costco does not need to actively advertise its DEI efforts but should take customer or worker complaints seriously and address any issues of mistreatment. Overall, Newman said she has had good experiences at Costco and sees no issue with the company keeping its DEI programs.
“I’ve been shopping at Costco for years, and I appreciate how they’re continuing to support their workers,” Newman said.
“I’ve had nothing but positive experiences, so this adds to it.”
over several places until they stumbled upon their current location. The previous owner had worked at Takanami. They initially leased the unit and then bought it.
“We were the first ramen shop to open up in the area,” Lieu said.
“[It’s] getting popular, like a trend now. If you go to New York City or Chicago or any major city, you’d see a good amount of ramen restaurants. But in Japan, it’s just casual food, like a hot dog or hamburger [in America].”
Lieu said people have to search it out to find them since it’s in a neighborhood area, which makes their location unique. Even though their restaurant doesn’t attract people like a high-traffic location would, a variety of people frequent this location, including those from Cedar Rapids and Davenport, families, older generations, and students who come for a casual, reasonably priced meal.
Ramen Belly also receives support from the neighborhood they’re tucked away in. They even host an annual block party in mid-July, where over 100 people gather to enjoy food, entertainment, and live music. Local businesses all over
9,
town indulge in the fun by raffling gift cards and merchandise to community members.
Lieu and Diep are planning on opening a Ramen Belly in Texas, where they aim to grow and keep consistent business while being slightly worried about how economic changes might impact their business.
“I don’t want to raise prices,” Lieu said. “If people don’t have money in their pocket, they aren’t going to dine out. It’s a luxury to dine out.”
Lieu stays optimistic about the future.
“I just hope people enjoy the service and the comfortable atmosphere we provide,” he said.
The Halal Guys in Coralville, Iowa, opened by life-long friends Ahmed Ahmed and Siddig Siddig on Dec. 21, is a fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant. All of their food is halal-certified in accordance with Islamic principles, but the food is not restricted to Muslims, as 70 percent of their customers do not practice the faith, according to The Cedar Rapids Gazette
Two frequent customers, Aisha Iqbal and Aiza Khan, said the atmosphere at Halal Guys is vibrant, adding that the staff is friendly and welcoming.
“We only eat halal meat, so this is a place that is for us. It’s really nice, and it’s really different,” Iqbal said. “There’s nothing else like this in our city.”
Both customers believe the new restaurant contributes to the food scene by adding more inclusivity for other cultures that don’t have as much representation in the Iowa City area.
Iqbal added that The Halal Guys is authentic while being very Americanized but could see it being a gathering place for many eager customers.
“Maybe not as many students [will come here] because it is a little farther, but for regular community members, I could definitely see a lot of people coming and trying it out,” Iqbal said.
IC fire department to undergo renovations
The Iowa City City Council recently approved a $575,000 renovation.
Madison Schuler News Reporter
news@dailyiowan.com
Since it was built in 1959, the Iowa City Fire Department building has received funding on multiple occasions to improve outdated spaces. Now, Fire Station 1 will undergo a substantial facelift beginning this month.
During an Iowa City City Council meeting on Jan. 7, the council voted to approve renovations to the fire department. Growing maintenance costs and aging facilities were cited as reasons for the updates.
Josh Moe, an Iowa City city councilor, said the discussion to renovate the fire department began in July 2024 during an assessment of City Hall. The Iowa City Fire Department and Police Department are a part of the City Hall, so both were also assessed.
“[The Iowa City City Council] saw how bad their conditions were, and the fire chief was real clear,” Moe said. “What they’re living in right now is not equitable compared to the other fire stations and what other firefighters have across the region.”
Moe emphasized the necessity of updating Fire Station 1 to meet modern standards and the need for adequate facilities. He said a total replacement of the building is delayed due to budget constraints. However, Moe hopes a full replacement and prior discussion of creating a new fire station will become a reality in the future.
“As our community continues to grow, we were really hoping to build another fire station — Fire Station 5 — because as the city grows geographically, we need more fire stations,” Moe said. “We just had to make the hard decision at the budget meeting to say Fire Station 5 is off the table for the time being. We know we need to replace Fire Station 1 because of its quality.”
Fire Chief Scott Lyon said the renovations of the fire department are essential to aid employees.
“The goal of the upgrade is to create individual sleeping rooms to provide privacy and overall wellness for our employees,” Lyon said.
Lyon said other specific renovations of the building along with creating individual sleeping rooms in the upstairs dormitory, include adding a dedicated mother’s room and installing individual shower and restroom facilities.
“I think [the renovations] will benefit the community because firefighters work 24 hours a day, and communal sleeping is difficult in a dorm,” Lyon said. “When we do have the opportunity to get some rest, hopefully, it’s meaningful rest, and it helps our firefighters be more prepared to do their job.”
Lyon said he hopes these renovations will attract new employees along with finding a new structure to host the fire department in the future.
City Manager Geoff Fruin said these renovations are deeply connected to the city’s renovation plans, which are set to be completed in the next 10 years.
However, Fruin said the current refurbishments are the short-term solution until the long-term goal of relocating Station 1 to a new downtown site is achieved.
“It’s a longer-term objective and one that we’re continuing to work towards, but it would take a number of years to achieve,” Fruin said.
Fruin said funding for the fire department has already been secured, but the police department and other projects have not yet received funding.
“Should those projects go forward, it would likely be that a community referendum would be needed to authorize borrowing to allow for the construction of those facilities,” Fruin said.
Nonetheless, Fruin said the renovations will continue to benefit the community.
“The renovations are really aimed at improving the working conditions for our public servants, the ones that are out there responding to calls for service,” Fruin said. “So, providing that better space for employees will absolutely lead to better public service on the street.”
According to meeting documents, the renovations are being performed by the Swanson Construction Company, which is based out of Bettendorf, Iowa. The renovations are set to wrap up by this July.
“As our community continues to grow, we were really hoping to build another fire station — Fire Station 5 — because as the city grows geographically, we need more fire stations .”
Josh Moe
Iowa City city councilor
Geoff Burke | Imagn Images
Feb
2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; President Donald Trump on the sideline before Super Bowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs at Caesars Superdome.
OPINIONS
Adopting the Republican approach
Democrats need to lean into the strategies deployed by their opposition to win.
Julia Anderson Opinions Columnist opinions@dailyiowan.com
In a 2020 episode of her podcast, former First Lady Michelle Obama made an important, sobering remark. She said one of the issues facing the newest generation’s approach to politics is that the new progressive values taught at home were never institutionalized in society.
Socially, people are more tolerant of one another, but governmentally, we are frozen in a time before such tolerance developed. This has caused the youngest generations to lack faith in the ways the government does provide protections.
Featured in that same episode was her husband, former President Barack Obama, who seconded that statement.
“Young people are idealistic as they’ve ever been,” he said. “The difference, though, is that idealism may feel as if they can channel it outside of governmental structures and outside of politics.”
“There are some things we just can’t do by ourselves,” he continued.
The former president implied we should collectively be leaning further into government to enact the changes that are obviously desired.
This came in the midst of the political climate defining 2020. In the final year of President Donald Trump’s first term, the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, election season was at its peak, and the Black Lives Matter movement was well underway.
At the time of its premier, this episode received a less-than-positive reaction from the public. The gist of those upset was that this take didn’t consider the substance of what young people are mad about and wasn’t critical enough of the ways the government has and does fail.
As a chronic observer of politics, I believe the Obamas were right. And their most supportive evidence has been none other than the Republican party. If one word could describe the shift that has occurred since Trump entered politics, it would be “optics.”
Generally, politics was not a constant public concern until Trump made himself a tycoon of attention. He has risen through the ranks by appealing to people’s distrust
of government while contradictorily using government to institutionalize their values.
His political rise was largely fueled by the idea of him being an outsider. To a working class that felt abandoned by governmental investment, Trump used his “outsider” status to critique the state of government and posture himself as the radical change the nation needed.
And it worked. In fact, it worked so well that he won in 2016 as the unlikely candidate, and thousands were willing to show up at the U.S. Capitol for the Jan. 6 insurrection in 2021 to take back the version of government they could support — Trump’s version, which institutionalized what his supporter base felt so deeply.
Though bold in every way, Trump did not technically change anything about government structure.
He certainly ran an overwhelming administration and tested the limits of democracy, but he did not dismantle the structure of government. He aggressively appointed judges in the right places within his power, engaged the Republican party at all levels with his ideas, and as a result, created a lopsided-but-still valid government he could depend on.
After the Democrats’ remarkable loss at
Advertisements are ruining attention spans
Commercials hold more power than you think. Be aware of the media you’re consuming.
Since the first radio commercial aired in 1922, the U.S. has been considered an ad society, meaning American culture can be changed and influenced by marketers and advertisements.
In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing media landscape, we are forced to put up with an endless showcase of advertisements. Everywhere I look, I see an ad — on billboards while driving down the highway, on streaming services while trying to watch shows, and on Instagram while I’m scrolling through my feed.
The term for this excessive amount of advertisements is “ad clutter,” which is said to be a direct result of people not paying attention to television commercials. Marketers know people use commercial breaks to make snacks, go on their phones, or talk to their friends, so they have started getting creative with ways to make consumers see their ads.
Unfortunately, those plans have backfired. Instead of ad clutter increasing the viewership of commercials, it is decreasing brand recall, increasing ad avoidance and negative brand perception, and contributing to ads’ diminishing ability to effectively convey their messages.
Commercials used to be more simple and to the point. Now, companies rely on gimmicks like jingles, catchy songs and slogans, celebrity endorsements, or complex storylines and characters to engage audiences.
Jake from State Farm is an example of a company using a singular character to reach audiences and increase the viewership of their ads. Jake from State Farm’s TikTok account now has more than one million followers, and in recent videos, he has collaborated with Caitlin Clark, Patrick Mahomes, and Aidan Hutchinson.
This TikTok account is also an example of businesses diversifying advertising outlets and moving to social media. Subtle advertising used to be a Pepsi
can in the background of a popular sitcom. Now it’s Jake from State Farm talking about his 2025 resolutions in a TikTok video.
According to recent research, Americans see an average of 5,000 ads per day, compared to about 500 a day back in the ‘70s.
We are so used to seeing ads everywhere that we have started to ignore them, which makes it harder for marketers to captivate us as an audience.
Commercials on streaming services or cable television typically last for 15 to 30 seconds, a relatively short amount of time to keep an audience’s attention. However, Microsoft came out with a new study claiming the average person’s attention span is around eight seconds.
We are exposed to more ads than ever before, and our attention spans are shorter than ever.
Between hour-long YouTube ads, posters on bus benches and public transportation, targeted social media endorsements, commercials in movie theaters, and internet pop-ups, there is nowhere we can go to get away from the ads.
Certain marketing firms have even confirmed AI listens to conversations through phone or laptop microphones and targets ads accordingly. Phone-targeted ads are the best strategy advertisers have come up with to cut through all the ad clutter.
This sort of ad targeting is shaping consumer behavior in America without consumers even knowing. Ever since the invention of radio marketing, U.S. advertising has turned us into a materialistic, consumerist society.
Certain advertisements and commercials promote particular lifestyles and create unrealistic expectations for the consumer. For example, some cologne ads might suggest wearing the product will cause beautiful women to flock to the scent, which is simply untrue.
Ads can also influence cultural values through stereotyping or depicting culture and customs in a certain way. The content we see in recurring advertisements partly shapes our perspective and worldview. Advertising holds power in our country that we need to be aware of. We must educate ourselves on the meaning behind certain advertisements, what to avoid, and how to cut through the ad clutter.
Editorial Board: Jami Martin-Trainor, Marandah Mangra-Dutcher, Jack Moore, Stella Shipman, Muskan Mehta, Charlie Hickman
COLUMNS, CARTOONS, and OTHER OPINIONS CONTENT reflect the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board, The Daily Iowan, or other organizations in which the author may be involved.
EDITORIALS reflect the majority opinion of the DI Editorial Board and not the opinion of the publisher, Student Publications Inc., or the University of Iowa.
all levels in the most recent general election cycle, they should take notes from what strategy is winning: boldness. Boldness grabs attention while institutionalizing values.
When sat directly adjacent to President Trump and his influence on the Republican party, Democrats are comparatively the party of civility, composure, law, and order. They have impeached the opposition twice, pursued Trump legally when he wasn’t in office, and in the most recent election cycle, branded themselves as “defenders of democracy.” The Democratic agenda — or lack thereof — leaves Democrats constantly playing defense instead of leaning into government with proactive approaches.
If distrust in the status quo of government is winning elections, then Democrats should make similar bold moves from the other side of the political aisle — starting now locally in their political off-season. Part of being proactive means caring when not in the spotlight.
Over the next four years, until the 2028 election, focus should be on the local and state elections that enshrine Democratic values in the status quo.
Otherwise, the distrust of government is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Some of the worst acts committed have been done with good intentions.
The U.S. has been grappling with the topic of illegal immigration, especially in states near the U.S.-Mexico border. The long distance, however, hasn’t stopped lawmakers in Iowa from putting together legislation granting law enforcement questionable authority to deal with these matters.
Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld an injunction blocking the implementation of an Iowa law that makes illegal immigration a state crime. The law grants state law enforcement officers permission to arrest and charge immigrants who have been previously deported or denied admission into the U.S. with an aggravated misdemeanor.
The federal court argued Senate File 2340 was unconstitutional because the federal government, not the state, is responsible for immigration laws and its enforcement. The injunction simply means it has been halted from proceeding.
While illegal immigration is a serious problem many states are trying to tackle, this is not Iowa’s problem. Giving law enforcement this much power is not a good idea.
Iowa is located approximately 1,263 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. That is over an 18-hour drive and would take 460 hours to travel by foot. Iowa is located in the Midwest, so there would be nearly a dozen other states to get through.
Mexico has often been referred to as the primary source of illegal immigration, which makes it extremely illogical for someone to illegally travel to the U.S. and go through 20 days of walking just to get to Iowa.
Iowa is a state plagued with other issues that matter more than illegal immigration. According to an article from the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the GOP lawmakers have done little to address gun violence, college retention, contaminated drinking war, or inadequate mental health services, opting instead to focus on culture war and gender identity.
While those issues are important to tackle on their own, most of Iowa does not seem to consider illegal immigration an extreme priority. Perhaps some are worried, but it would be in the best interest of the overall state for lawmakers to concentrate on other issues that directly impact constituents.
Another issue with this bill is giving law enforcement too much power. It’s easy to forget that police are human, meaning they are susceptible to biases and make choices based on instinct instead of logic.
Giving the officers authority to go after immigrants lacking permanent legal status is a power that can be abused and even exploited to go after legal immigrants who came into the U.S. properly.
Law enforcement is expected to act robustly, but recent times have proven otherwise.
On Jan. 24, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, detained a U.S. military war veteran in New Jersey without a warrant or due process.
Ignoring the fact the current administration has granted ICE the ability to conduct searches and seizures in public locations, a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment, even legal citizens aren’t safe from law enforcement.
The precedent is already established, so granting Iowa lawmakers an authority akin to ICE’s would not fix the problem. It’s also already established as a power for the federal government, not the state, and has serious constitutional violations.
If our lawmakers are willing to bend the Constitution, then it won’t be long before the thought of losing our basic rights will be questioned as well. Illegal immigration is a problem, but it’s not Iowa’s problem.
COLUMN
Iowa’s physician shortage presents health care crisis
Reynolds boasts plan to increase residency slots, double loan repayment program.
Abby Davison, a third-year medical student at the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine, is hoping to stay in Iowa for her residency, where she plans to train to become an OB-GYN — a specialty Iowa critically needs.
Davison grew up in a military family, moving from state to state until she finally settled in Iowa and graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf.
She then received her Bachelor’s in Neuroscience and Ethics and Public Policy from the UI in 2022.
Now, she is hoping to stay close to home and start a family while studying at an OB-GYN program at the UI.
Davison said she wants to stay in Iowa to be close to her family and work to ensure reproductive and prenatal care are accessible and equitable for all Iowans who need it.
“I see Iowa as a place where I can continue to advocate for people to get that and continue to advocate for changes,” she said.
Davison wants to help negate the physician shortage the state is seeing, specifically in obstetrics and gynecological care. Iowa ranks near the bottom of all 50 states in access to OB-GYN care.
Iowa’s problems are not limited to a lack of OB-GYNs. The state is facing a broader physician shortage. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds pegged addressing the crisis as one of her top priorities for this legislative session.
During her annual Condition of the State Address, Reynolds said she would expand the number of residencies offered by the state’s teaching hospitals. Reynolds’ proposal would also double the amount the state invests in loan repayment programs for physicians who practice in rural areas.
Her plan comes as a nationwide physician shortage grows. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, or AAMC, the U.S. is currently short 64,000 physicians, which could grow to 86,000 by 2036.
Iowa’s shortage is among the worst in the nation, ranking 44th, according to the Iowa Medical Society.
According to 2023 data from AAMC, Iowa had only 200 doctors that give direct patient care per 100,000 residents for all specialties — 54 less than the national average.
“The number of providers is shrinking, and the size of our people who need care is growing,” Christina Taylor, president of the Iowa Medical Society and chief medical officer at Clover Health, said. “So, we’re already in the situation of a deficit — we already don’t have enough doctors — and it’s getting worse.”
The shortage of primary care providers is worse. According to an analysis from Becker’s Hospital Review, Iowa had only 155 primary care providers per 100,000 residents in 2024.
The shortage of primary care providers is especially pronounced in Iowa’s rural counties.
According to federal data, nearly twothirds of Iowa’s counties are designated as lacking primary care providers.
Iowa health experts say Reynolds’ proposals could help alleviate this shortage by keeping doctors in or bringing them to the state.
They point to research that shows where doctors train is the biggest factor in where they decide to practice.
Confronting retention struggles in Iowa
Iowa has some of the lowest retention rates of medical school students in the country with data from AAMC showing Iowa retains only 22.4 percent of the students who graduate from the state’s medical schools, compared to the national average of 37.9 percent.
Currently, the state has more medical students graduate than the number of open residency slots every year. According to the Iowa Medical Society, Iowa graduates roughly 384 medical school students at the state’s two medical schools, and the state only has roughly 274 residency slots open at the state’s 14 teaching hospitals. Iowa hosts 1,029 residents in programs that range from three to seven years long, according to data from AAMC.
Daniel Moe, a third-year UI medical student and board member of Iowa Medical Society, said this is mostly because of the discrepancy between the number of medical school graduates and the number of open residency positions in the state.
“If we have this already existing gap of more medical school graduates than medical residents, I think that’s a really great target for the governor to be prioritizing and trying to address that,” Moe said.
To close the gap, Reynolds proposed the state expand the number of residency slots by 115 and draw down $150 million in federal dollars to fund those new positions. The proposed plan would create roughly 460 new physician positions in Iowa in six years with most residencies lasting three years.
“The well-being of working families and rural communities also depends on access to high-quality health care. While we have challenges, Iowa has a strong foundation to build on,” Reynolds said in her Condition of the State on Jan. 14. “But we still need more medical professionals in every part of the state, including a greater variety of specialists.”
The move is crucial to bolstering Iowa’s physician workforce, Taylor said, as the state where a physician trains is the largest indicator of where they’ll practice.
“If they trained here, they’re far more likely to stay here,” Taylor said. “We’ve got to increase the number of people we’re training here because it’s not a guess of whether or not we’ll get more people practicing here. We will have more people practicing here if we increase the number of slots in those programs.”
Democrats are glad Reynolds is addressing the issue, specifically by offering more residencies, which tend to keep doctors in the state.
“Wherever a doctor does his or her residency, they tend to spend a lot of time there because by then they tend to be having children, and they don’t want to move their children,” Iowa Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, and the ranking member on the House Health and Human Services Committee, said. “And it’s a great way to get doctors into our state.”
However, Wessel-Kroeschell said she would like to see more robust action to solve the issue to help make Iowa more competitive.
Whitney Zahnd, Deputy Director of the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis based at the UI, said roughly 70 percent of doctors who complete their residency in a state stay there. However, she said, it is only one piece of the puzzle.
“That can be a really helpful way to hopefully retain those individuals who are doing the residency training here,” Zahnd said. “But I think it’s a multi-factor challenge. You know that a lot of things are playing a role in that shortage that we’re seeing.”
Advocates are thrilled the governor is running with her proposals, given they gave similar recommendations just a week prior to the governor’s address.
The Iowa Medical Society hosted a oneday summit coined Operation I.O.W.A., or Innovative Opportunities for Workforce Action, in December of last year and published its report a day before the gov-
ernor’s address.
“We are absolutely thrilled that the governor is promoting this because it’s something that is known to increase and be associated with providers practicing where they trained,” Taylor said.
Doubling loan repayment programs
Medical school can often leave students saddled with large debts. Nationally, students graduate with an average of $227,000 in debt, and students graduating from private universities like Des Moines University can graduate with up to $400,000 in debt, according to the Iowa Medical Society.
To help attract students to rural parts of the state, Reynolds announced a proposal doubling the state’s investment in loan repayment programs for physicians who practice in rural Iowa, bringing the total investment to $10 million in fiscal 2025. Currently, the state has three different loan repayment programs for doctors looking to have their loans repaid by the state. The programs include a Health Care Related Loan Repayment Program, a Mental Health Practitioner Loan Repayment Program, and a Rural Iowa Primary Care Loan Repayment Program currently hosting $3.6 million in state funding. Reynolds’ proposal would combine the programs into a new Health Care Professional Incentive Program that would receive $10 million, more than double the state’s current investment, and would be open to any physician willing to practice in rural Iowa, including specialists.
“That’s a game changer for rural communities and our entire state,” Reynolds said in her Condition of the State address in January.
Taylor, of the Iowa Medical Society, said the program would help the state become more competitive in attracting doctors to practice in the state.
“It’s not just an Iowa issue, but that means that all across the country, all of our states — our different health care systems, provider groups — we’re all competing to get qualified, compassionate, wonderful practitioners, and they have put competitive loan repayment programs in place,” Taylor said. “So, simply speaking, if we don’t have something like this, we won’t be competitive at all.”
Taylor said aligning the program with the places of the greatest need, like rural communities, will help address the needs of communities across the state.
“Looking at what types of physicians and where we should make this available is absolutely a good thing,” Taylor said. “We can more closely align the needs of providers across the state and the needs of the communities.”
Medical student Moe said the large amounts of debt medical students incur during their training can make it difficult for physicians who want to practice in rural areas. He said that having a competitive set of incentives will bring candidates in. Moe said it “can be a really helpful way of keeping people here in the state.” Wessel-Kroeschell said the program could be helpful to combat the shortage, although urban areas are also seeing a shortage in physicians.
“Medical school is very expensive — keeps a lot of people from going,” Wessel-Kroeschell said.
Despite Iowa’s physician shortage, Davison is looking to stay in the state. Having only moved to Iowa within the past decade, she said she appreciates the “Iowa Nice” she’s experienced since she’s lived in the state.
“It seems like there’s kind of a little niche for everyone to feel comfortable in the space and just feel like they belong here,” Davison said of Iowa City and the UI. “So, that’s something that I’ve really come to enjoy about [Iowa City].”
Reynolds
WesselKroeschell
Zahnd gave physicians per state
Sourced from Association of American Medical Colleges Infographic by Jacob Statler | The Daily Iowan
Cyclists take on snow and steep climbs at Lake MacBride
Bike riders braved cold temperatures and rugged terrain during Solon’s annual fat-tire race on Feb. 8.
Emma Jane News Reporter news@dailyiowan.com
Cyclists braved the cold and flurries near Lake MacBride State Park on Saturday, Feb. 8 for the Lake MacBride Fat Tire Classic, an annual bike event bringing cyclists from across the state to Solon.
Presented by Sugar Bottom Bikes and The Solon Centennial Lions Club, cyclists rode either a 15- or 30-mile path around the lake, tackling a mix of terrains on mountain bikes with extra-wide tires built for the challenge.
Nathan Kullbom, manager of Sugar Bottom Bikes and event organizer, stood at the finish line outside Lake MacBride Golf Club, tracking cyclists’ finishing times.
“The course is unique. It uses all sorts of terrain,” Kullbom said. “We’re on grass, gravel, hiking trails, snowmobile trails, deer trails — just a wide mix.”
In addition to the mixed terrain, Kullbom said the 30-mile route featured around 2,300 feet of climbing elevation gain.
“Which is a lot for Iowa,” Kullbom said. Wayde Stover, an avid cyclist, said he often rides his fat-tire bike on trails near his home in Des Moines year-round but had never competed in a fat-tire race before.
“It was awesome,” Stover said of the scenic route. “Super fun course, lots of variety.”
As he trains for an upcoming 60-mile gravel bike race, Stover said participating in the Fat Tire Classic provided good practice.
However, as other cyclists crossed the finish line with rosy cheeks and flecks of snow speckled on the layers of clothing shielding them from the cold wind, Stover said he was slightly disappointed with the weather.
“I was a little bummed there was no snow on the ground,” Stover said.
Having seen pictures of past races where cyclists navigated inches of snow on their fat tires, Stover said he would have enjoyed the challenge. But on this year’s race day, while flurries swirled in the air, none had accumulated on the frozen ground.
Another cyclist embracing the light snowfall was Iowa City resident Jenna McCoy, returning for her second year in the race.
“The snow was great,” McCoy said. “Any sort of precipitation adds a level of fun to a race, like being a kid playing in the snow.”
Riding alongside McCoy was Solon resident Siri Felker, a first-time participant.
“It’s such a good course,” Felker said. “It’s all the best parts of this area in one 30-mile experience.”
Felker said she often bikes leisurely but had little experience with racing before the Fat Tire Classic.
“The challenge was expected, but there’s always a level of brutal you’re not prepared for,” Felker said. “You can know it’s going to be hard, riding over a frozen pile of cow turds.”
With a laugh, McCoy insisted that riding across icy farmland — frozen cow turds and all — only added to the fun.
Traversing more strenuous parts of the route, Felker and McCoy said they were motivated by the presence of the other cyclists.
“You get herd confidence,” Felker said.
Both plan to participate again next year, saying that training for and riding the race kept them active during a time when many tend to stay indoors.
“It’s breaking the hibernation,” McCoy said.
Jeff Storjohann, participating for the second year in a row, echoed that sentiment.
“Because we’re all out of shape this time of year, it’s a good time,” Storjohann said.
Storjohann made the nearly three-hour drive from his home in Carroll to Solon for the Fat Tire Classic Saturday morning, emphasizing that Eastern Iowa’s strong biking culture makes events like this possible.
“In this part of the state, there’s more gravel races and fat-tire races than in Western Iowa,” Storjohann said.
“There’s more clubs, a few more bike shops catering toward those that are a little more serious.”
While Storjohann said he enjoyed the ride, he was among the cyclists whose time on the trail overlapped with an unfolding tragedy at Lake MacBride State Park.
Just 10 minutes before the race began, the Johnson County Joint Emergency
Communication Center received a call from a passerby on the walking trail near the lake. The caller reported seeing a pair of gloves on the boat dock and a patch of broken ice nearby, fearing that someone may have fallen in.
As several departments, including the Solon and North Liberty Fire Departments as well as the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Johnson County Metro Dive Team, and others, arrived at the lake, Storjohann said an officer intercepted passing cyclists and directed them to veer slightly off course, giving the first responders more space.
“[The route] was only affected maybe one minute,” Storjohann said, noting he did not witness any of the first responders or the victim but did see a stretcher on the ice.
According to a Saturday afternoon press release from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, responding emergency personnel observed a body in the lake when they arrived.
“Members of the Solon Fire Department donned ice rescue suits and were able to remove the individual from the water,” the release reads. “The individual was transported by ambulance to the University of Iowa Hospital but did not survive.”
The release further states that the length of time the victim was underwater remains unclear, and the incident is under investigation by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
“That was a horrible tragedy,” Kullbom said. “We had to take a short detour off route to avoid the emergency rescue area.”
Despite the nearby tragedy, Kullbom was pleased with this year’s turnout. He noted that 239 cyclists had registered for the event, a significant increase from the 84 participants when he began managing Sugar Bottom Bikes and organizing the race eight years ago.
Ultimately, Jason Rassi won the men’s division with a time of 2:10:37, while Nicole Roth claimed the women’s title at 2:43:14.
Historic Poor Farm designation highlights untold history
The Johnson County Historic Poor Farm earned a heritage area designation by Silos & Smokestacks. Emma Jane News Reporter news@dailyiowan.com
The Johnson County Historic Poor Farm has been designated a heritage area by Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area, recognizing its complex history as a site where marginalized individuals once lived and worked under harsh conditions. Today, the farm is being transformed into a space that honors its past while fostering community, education, and local food production.
Poor farms, like the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm established in 1855, were county-run institutions where people with limited means lived and worked, producing food for themselves and for sale. The county operated the farm under this model until 1988, after which the land was
& Smokestacks National Heritage Area, said the designation reflects the organization’s mission to tell Iowa’s diverse agricultural stories with the poor farm representing an underrepresented chapter of that history.
“It was an untold story of agriculture,” Miller said of the Historic Poor Farm.
She said the designation helps preserve and recognize the fragmented, often personal stories of poor farms that have lived on through community memory, giving them a place in Iowa’s documented agricultural history.
“Everyone who’s over a certain age in Iowa, myself included, has heard stories in their past of the poor farms,” Miller said. “So, I think it’s a very interesting story in history that Iowa should embrace.”
At one time, every county in Iowa had a poor farm, as the state struggled to care for its population of dependent adults unable to care for themselves due to disability, mental
and best-documented poor farm in the state, reckoning with a history that includes the confinement of residents in small, prison-like cells and the burial of many in unmarked graves. This reflects the harsh and often inhumane treatment of society’s most vulnerable during that era.
Miller said the story of a poor farm is heavy but important, adding that Johnson County’s restoration and historical interpretation have transformed the site from a dark chapter into a space where its complex past can be acknowledged and honored.
“I’m so glad that Johnson County is able to tell the story and has transformed this space into something today that’s a positive experience for people who visit,” Miller said.
come out and see the interpretive signage, be able to learn about the history.”
Miller added the designation will help promote tourism to the farm and provide opportunities for annual training focused on historical preservation and interpretation. She also said the designation reflects a standard of excellence, as Silos & Smokestacks carefully evaluates each site to ensure it aligns with their mission of telling Iowa’s agricultural story.
Today, Johnson County’s Historic Poor Farm is believed to be the best-preserved
Ilsa DeWald, Johnson County’s local food and farm manager who directly oversees the farm, said since the Board of Supervisors created the revitalization plan, she has worked to preserve the historic buildings at the farm, provide historical interpretation, and make the land accessible to local food growers.
“We have farmers who are able to access land on site and gardeners utilizing community garden spaces,” DeWald said.
The Johnson County Historic Poor Farm features historic buildings like the Livestock Barn, Dairy Barn, and Asylum, along with natural areas. It supports programs such as the Land Access Program, offering land to local farmers; GROW: Johnson County, a hunger-relief and educational farm; and the Global Food Project, which provides garden space for immigrant and refugee families.
DeWald said she hopes the Historic Poor Farm’s inclusion in the Silos & Smokestacks heritage area network will raise public awareness and support its continued growth.
“What I am very excited about is the ability to help market and raise awareness of the site,” DeWald said. “Because we want members of the public to be able to
“We’re funded through the American people. We’re funded through Congress,” Miller said. “We have an obligation to make sure that who we’re adding to the heritage area is meeting the mission of telling an agriculture story and that it’s a high-quality site.” Ultimately, DeWald said, this designation advances the county’s vision for the Historic Poor Farm and its future as a community-centered space.
“Trying to build out the space to be more publicly accessible is the main goal and definitely one we’re moving towards with this designation through Silos & Smokestacks,” DeWald said.
Julie Watkins, Johnson County event and program assistant for the Historic Poor Farm, who wrote the application for the Silos & Smokestacks designation, highlighted the farm’s role in both preserving its past and shaping its future.
“I believe the Historic Poor Farm to be a special place because it is doing so many things and doing them well,” Watkins said. “It’s trying to honor the history, the sensitive history of the site through education on that history, as well as also doing a lot of local food production.”
While residents of the Johnson County Poor Farm in the past often faced neglect and inadequate care reflective of the era’s treatment of marginalized individuals, today, the county is working to transform the farm’s legacy into one of inclusion, support, and community engagement.
Ethan McLaughlin | The Daily Iowan
Riders take off at the start of the 30-mile race during the Lake Macbride Fat Tire Classic in Solon, Iowa, on Feb. 8. The annual race featured a 30-mile loop as well as a 15-mile loop spanning across wooded single track, gravel trails,
Ethan Mclaughlin | The Daily Iowan
The Johnson County Historic Poor Farm is seen in Iowa City on Feb. 6. The farm was established in 1855 and reevaluated as a public site by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors in 2016.
Fruit flies could limit mosquito population
University of Iowa researchers found a gene that could limit insect reproduction.
Jacob Calvin News Reporter news@dailyiowan.com
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 2022, around 608,000 people died from malaria, a mosquito-borne disease, worldwide. Coupled with viral infections like dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, Zika, chikungunya, and lymphatic filariasis, mosquitoes kill more people than any other creature in the world.
A recent University of Iowa study may have found a potentially crucial step in controlling the population of the world’s deadliest insect.
The answer? Fruit flies.
The study found that a specific gene, Shal, controls a potassium ion channel in the Johnston’s organ — a key hearing structure in fruit fly’s antenna that fine-tunes how the insect detects sound.
“Mosquitoes provide food to so many animals along the food chain, right? So many birds and everything, and so those mosquitoes would still be available to provide that sort of service .”
Daniel Eberl Department of Biology professor
When researchers disabled Shal, fruit flies lost their ability to properly hear and responded less to mating signals. Since mosquitoes have the same gene and use a similar mating process, silencing Shal could disrupt their ability to find mates and reduce mosquito populations.
The study began nearly three years ago, headed by Eli Gregory, an undergraduate research student. Department of Biology
Professor Daniel Eberl acted as the corresponding author.
“My whole career, I’ve worked on fruit flies, and because of the genetic tools that are available, we’ve learned a lot about how the antenna works as an ear in the fruit fly,” Eberl said. “We’ve been able to make some applications to mosquitoes that also use the antenna as their ear.”
UI Department of Biology Associate Professor Albert Erives said Shal acts like the more well-known Shaker channel, a type of potassium ion channel that helps regulate electrical signals in neurons. Shal, in particular, appears to have active fine-tuning mechanisms controlling how the mosquitoes detect sound.
“These neurons are mechanically coupled to the rest of the antenna, such as when there’s wind grabbing the antenna or sound because it’s also predominantly an organ of hearing,” Erives said. “It’s at the location in this neuron where that mechanical transduction takes place.”
Eberl reiterated the study itself only blocked the Shal gene in fruit flies, not mosquitoes. The researchers believe the broader impacts of this study could point to blocking the gene in mosquitoes.
Eberl believes with further research, the basis of the study could benefit millions worldwide. As for blocking the Shal gene on a wide scale, he pointed to a professor’s studies in Indiana. They found when gene-targeting machinery was incorporated into yeast, mosquito larvae and adults consumed it and were then incapable of taking a blood meal.
Eberl explained a benefit of blocking the Shal gene, in particular, is that existing mosquito larvae and adults are likely to survive.
“The good thing about that is that ecologically, we’re not really getting rid of mosquitoes altogether,” he said. “Mosquitoes provide food to so many animals along the food chain, right? So many birds and everything, and so those mosquitoes would still be
available to provide that sort of service.”
James Lacina, Johnson County Public Health’s environmental health manager, shared the present threat mosquitoes pose in Johnson County.
Lacina said the findings of the department’s mosquito surveillance program, an annual program run from May through October that traps mosquitoes throughout the county to find any carrying diseases like West Nile virus.
“Last year, for example, we collected 2,990 actual mosquitoes,” he said. “We had one detection of West Nile, so that shows that it is present in the mosquitoes here in Johnson County, and that’s exactly why we do the surveillance.”
While no residents contracted the virus, Lacina emphasized the importance of such surveillance to keep Johnson County alert. Public Health would remind residents of the
checklist required to remain unbitten.
“Eliminating standing water from tires, gutters, containers, things like that, using EPA-approved insect propellants,” he said. “If you’re going to be exposed to a high-mosquito environment, wear long sleeves and pants during peak mosquito activity, especially if you’re a vulnerable person.”
In light of these mosquito-borne diseases lurking in Johnson County and ravaging other corners of the world, UI researchers are optimistic about what implications further research could bring.
“There’s an immediate potential application here if you interfere with the apparatus for hearing,” Erives said. “The music they listen to are courtship songs, and so if you interfere with this, there’s the potential for interfering with the mating of mosquitoes. That would be a great thing as far as global health concerns.”
Iowa City stores push back against shoplifters
Retail theft is now its own criminal offense category with fines and punishments.
Chloe Oppelt News Reporter
news@dailyiowan.com
At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, a bill was passed in Iowa that established retail theft as a new criminal offense cagtegory.
In 2023, there were 203 convictions for burglary and 8,466 convictions for theft in Iowa. By the end of 2024, the city of Cedar Rapids alone reported 1,532 cases of shoplifting. Iowa City’s shoplifting scene is significantly less prominant compared to Cedar Rapids reported 374 cases, while North Liberty had 319. Some businesses have begun requiring employees to not make contact with shoplifters but rather make sure they are caught on camera so the theft can be reported to police.
The National Retail Federation’s 2022 survey found that laundry was the most reported stolen item in that year. Another common target for shoplifters is health and
beauty supplies. These items are often stolen because they can be easily concealed and carried out of the store.
Downtown Iowa City is a big shopping destination for people of all ages. However, according to the Iowa City Police Department’s Public Information Officer Lee Hermiston, “Iowa City does not see much by way of retail theft.”
But Iowa City business owners tell a different story.
Pitaya, a women’s clothing store, is located on S. Dubuque Street in Iowa City. Store manager Emma Johnson shared a few instances of shoplifting at the store.
“We’ve only had a few things stolen that I know of in the last six months,” she said.
“There was an instance a while ago where we caught someone stealing, and she was part of a sorority … She got in big trouble.”
No business owner likes to see shoplifters or notice missing stock.
It can be disheartening to those who may be running a small business or mak-
ing handmade items. Monica Ferguson, CIELO store owner, often notices little trinkets going missing from her shelves.
“They aren’t really expensive, but that’s mostly what goes missing from the store — small stuff,” Ferguson said. “Sometimes, I’ll be doing inventory, and I notice a couple of stickers are gone or a pin.”
Stores all over the country are facing issues of shoplifting and are introducing new safety measures and displaying less on the sales floor to mitigate the risk of theft.
Johnson said Pitaya’s goals are to diminish the chance of shoplifting by connecting with their customer base.
“We are a store that tries to connect with all our customers, and they may feel guilty stealing from us. We also monitor very heavily throughout the store to prevent anything like this from happening,” Johnson said. CIELO took action by redoing the store’s layout.
The new setup allows Ferguson to have eyes on all parts of the store.
“I can now see both sides of the store when I couldn’t before, and I think it’s been helpful,” she said. “[The register] used to be in a corner, so I couldn’t see anyone on the right side of the store.”
Logan McCaw | The Daily Iowan
Clothing in Pitaya is seen in Iowa City on Feb. 7. Iowa passed a stricter shoplifting law as of 2024 and Pitaya is one of the stores impacted with the company offering new merchandise in a populated college town.
DANCE MARATHON STAYS UP
This year’s event raised $1,558,324, surpassing last year’s total of $1,454,929.
DI Staff | The Daily Iowan
(Top) Attendees dance during the University of Iowa’s 31st Dance Marathon at the Iowa Memorial Union in Iowa City on Feb. 8. The event raised $1,558,324, surpassing last year’s total of $1,454,929. (Top Right) Family members stand on the stage at Dance Marathon’s 31st annual event. Over 1,100 dancers registered for this year’s event.
(Bottom Right) Volunteers for the “Short Hair Don’t Care” donation have their hair cut by hairdressers during the University of Iowa’s 31st Dance Marathon. This year marked a combined $37.5 million for the children’s hospital over the years. (Bottom) Final fundraising numbers are raised during the University of Iowa’s 31st Dance Marathon. Following the reveal, the event concluded with a “circle of hope” where members and families linked arms and hands in memory of children who died fighting cancer.
by Marandah Mangra-Dutcher | The Daily Iowan HOW MUCH MONEY HAS UI DANCE MARATHON RAISED SINCE 2020?
The organization revealed over $1.5 million was raised this year.
HAWKS IN THE NFL
DeJean caps off rookie season
The Philadelphia Eagles defensive back celebrated his first NFL Super Bowl victory.
Chris Meglio
Sports Reporter sports@dailyiowan.com
After the Philadelphia Eagles took down the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, 40-22, cornerback Cooper DeJean dug into a slice of vanilla cake gifted to him in celebration of a historic birthday.
“People just can’t believe that we’ve got a local boy; number one, playing for Iowa; number two, playing for the NFL; number three, starting his first year in the NFL; number four, Super Bowl his very first year,” Odebolt Mayor Todd Bengford said, per SiouxLand Proud. “How cool is that?”
Less than a year ago, back in his hometown with nearly the entire population packed inside a barn, an anxious DeJean put his phone up to his ear, trying to bypass the
As if his first career interception and pick-six on the game’s biggest stage and the hoisting of the Lombardi Trophy weren’t enough, a piece of cake put the final touches on the Odebolt, Iowa, local’s very sweet 22nd birthday and an exceptional rookie season.
blasting music and loud chatter surrounding him to answer a call. He sat down on the couch placed in the middle of the room. The noise softened. The draft cam shined its light and began recording. This was the moment he’d been waiting for his entire life.
He suddenly hung up the phone, stood up, and faced those behind him: “It’s a prank.”
The Green Bay Packers were on the clock with the 25th overall pick — one of the NFL teams that was projected to eye the Iowa star cornerback and All-American. What could’ve been didn’t happen. The last seven first-round picks dragged by. No phone call. Onto round two. The first several picks once again, still no call. Then, the phone rang; his former agent, Kyle Strongin, answered. DeJean took it back. “Cooper, it’s Howie Roseman,” the voice on the other end told him. “You’re a fu*king Eagle.”
Filling the void left by Freeman
Big men Riley Mulvey and Even Brauns have stepped into their new roles on the team with confidence.
It’s been a difficult 2024-25 campaign for the Iowa men’s basketball team. The Hawkeyes entered the season with NCAA tournament expectations, but inconsistent play and injuries have left their season on life support. Last week, the injury bug struck Iowa again when it was announced that second-year center Owen Freeman would miss the remainder of the season due to a lingering finger injury that required surgery. The news broke the day before the Hawkeyes’ matchup against No. 7 Purdue, forcing Iowa to quickly choose Freeman’s replacement. The Hawkeyes waited until game time to choose their new starter, and the name Riley Mulvey delighted Iowa fans.
This marked the first career start for the 6-foot-11 third-year, and it was a long time in the making. Originally a member of the recruiting class of 2022, Mulvey reclassified to the 2021 class and joined the Iowa program ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Mulvey saw little action during his first two seasons in a Hawkeye uniform but seemed to always make the most of his minutes, especially in the 2022 Big Ten tournament championship game against Purdue, where he locked down star Boilermaker center Zach Edey for four crucial minutes to help Iowa secure the victory.
Three years later, Mulvey again found himself in a similar situation against Purdue. It may not have been a championship-deciding game, but the Hawkeyes were still counting on him to step up in a big-time moment.
A lengthy conversation went on with several members of the organization.
Confidence at the post puts points on the board
Jan Jensen and her post players are using versatility to create easy points in the paint.
Jack Birmingham Sports Reporter sports@dailyiowan.com
With the graduation of a lot of flashy threes this past offseason, the Iowa women’s basketball team has had to rely more on crisp fundamentals to get points. This includes enhanced free throw shooting, smart passing, and hard work in the paint.
The post players work hard to add to Iowa’s side of the scoreboard and create opportunities for their teammates. While such Hawkeyes as third-year Taylor McCabe have found their niche behind the arc, Iowa’s size, specifically fourth-year Addison O’Grady, third-year Hannah Stuelke, and first-year Ava Heiden, has come in clutch in many a game.
“My teammates are doing a really good job at getting me the ball,” O’Grady said after a 27-point performance in the Hawkeyes’ 86-73 win over Drake on Nov. 17, 2024. “I think it’s really good that we’re looking inside and getting our inside game going.”
Perhaps the most interesting part of this dynamic has been on the coaching side of the team. While Jan Jensen is now known as the new head coach for the Hawkeyes, the veteran leader previously spent time as a post coach in her role as the associate head coach under predecessor Lisa Bluder.
Jensen’s knowledge of such a critical position has helped in her new position. On Feb. 2, Iowa, still reeling from a recent five-game Big Ten losing streak, upset No. 4 USC at home, 76-69. A primary factor for the triumph was the strong second half performance from O’Grady, who chipped in 13 clutch points, including eight in the fourth quarter, in the win.
“Addi O’Grady, she’s got a really difficult job from the outside,” Jensen said after the game. “She started, she didn’t, we’re here, we’re there, and she’s just stayed really ready. And what I love about that, it’s such a great lesson, I think, to a lot of kids on different teams.”
Grace Smith | The Daily Iowan
Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean points to fans after winning a football game between Iowa and Rutgers at Kinnick Stadium on Nov. 11, 2023. The Hawkeyes defeated the Scarlet Knights, 22-0. NFL Rookie DeJean played in his first-ever Super Bowl on his birthday and forced a pick-six against Kansas City Cheif quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Feb. 9.
Maddie Frette | The Daily Iowan
Riley Mulvey reacts to a call during a men’s basketball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the seventh-ranked Purdue Boilermakers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 4. The Boilermakers defeated the Hawkeyes, 90-81.
Mulvey
O’Grady
DEJEAN | 3B
Sunday, Feb. 16
Northwestern Minneapolis, Minnesota
Gymnastics
Friday, Feb. 14
Missouri, Alabama, Illinois
St. Charles, Missouri
6:30 p.m.
Track and Field
Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15
BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational Boston, Massachusetts
Sights set on 2025 turnaround campaign
The Hawkeyes went 18-28 in 2024 and will have an interim head coach this year. Despite these roadblocks, the team is still confident in their turnaround potential.
Jake Olson Sports Reporter sports@dailyiowan.com
The 2024 campaign was nothing short of a rollercoaster for the Iowa softball program.
The Hawkeyes entered the year with lofty preseason expectations after a strong finish to the 2023 season but failed to meet them, instead finishing with a dismal 18-28 record that included a 16-game losing streak.
Not only were the problems on the field an issue, but Iowa will now enter 2025 with new leadership, as six-year coach Renee Luers-Gil lispie announced in December she would be stepping away from the team this season due to what she called a “personal health matter.”
Assistant coach Brian Levin will serve on an interim basis during the 2025 campaign.
Despite these difficult road blocks, the Hawkeyes are motivated to improve on what many called a disappointing season.
“We’re not hiding the fact that we didn’t have a good year,” Levin said. “It just wasn’t what we expected or what we wanted. I would hope that puts a pretty big chip on the girls’ shoulder. They’re hungry and seem to be working really hard in what we are trying to accomplish here.”
Here are some key things to watch for in this season’s Iowa squad:
In the circle
Highlighting the pitching staff is none other than third-year Jalen Adams.
Adams is entering her third season as the Hawkeyes’ ace and looks to solidify herself as one of the top arms in the Big Ten conference.
Last season, Adams’ 2.59 earned a run average ranked seventh among Big Ten pitchers. The junior also tallied an impressive 159.2 innings pitched, good for ninth in the league.
WHAT YOU’VE MISSED
Just when you thought the Iowa men’s wrestling program was out, the topranked 2026 recruit, pulls it back in.
Bo Bassett — one of the most highly anticipated wrestling prospects in recent memory — announced his commitment to the Iowa Hawkeyes live on FloWrestling Tuesday night.
The 144-pounder chose the Black and Gold over his final four teams that included Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, and Penn State — despite his hometown sitting just over an hour south of the latter.
“I’ve always wanted to be an Iowa Hawkeye,” Bassett said. Bassett was 111-0 in high school and, competing at 139 pounds, won the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association 2A state title last year. He’s projected to wrestle at 149 pounds for the Hawkeyes come his graduation next year. That’s not to mention Bassett is a three-time champion in the Super 32, Powerade, and Ironman circuits and won bronze at 65 kilograms in the U20 World Championships last year after a U17 world title in 2021. Bassett’s college recruitment has taken him on a winding journey across the country since he was little, especially with the Hawkeyes, as old photos have circulated on X of him with Iowa head coach Tom Brands and a young Spencer Lee. Brands sure put his effort into the recruit, as he and assistant coach Ryan Morningstar paid another visit to Bassett this winter, helping him shovel in below-zero weather at 5 a.m. So, the Hawkeyes survived the race over his other final three picks — and over a flurry of offers during the last few months, including from Michigan, Ohio State, and Rutgers in his final seven.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Outside of Adams, Levin will have to rely on a committee of new arms to make a serious jump this season compared to last year’s performance.
Fourth-year player Haley Downe and second-year duo Jaylee Ojo and Andrea Jaskowiak are some of the pitchers expected to take on some of the load behind Adams.
With the addition of pitching coach Karl Gollan, Levin said he is excited to see how much this entire rotation can grow throughout the season.
“He’s [Gollan] so knowledgeable,” Levin said. “Just to listen to him talk about pitching is pretty impressive. I think having a pitching coach like that who has been at the world stage, won national and world championships, is invaluable.”
Key returning bats
The Hawkeyes will retain a bulk of their contributors at the plate from last season.
Fourth-year Rylie Moss returns after leading the team with a .390 batting average, good
“We’re not hiding the fact that we didn’t have a good year. It just wasn’t what we expected or what we wanted. I would hope that puts a pretty big chip on the girls’ shoulder. They’re hungry and seem to be working really hard in what we are trying to accomplish here.”
Brian Levin Iowa softball interim coach
for fifth in the conference. While Moss suffered a season-ending knee injury late last year, she is poised to make an appearance later this spring.
“Whenever they say she’s cleared to go, we go for it,” Levin said. “She’s a hard worker. She’s going to do everything she can to get
The Daily Iowan : What has this offseason been like in terms of trying to improve your craft from a great season last year?
Soo-Jin Berry: Basically, I’m just pushing myself. My teammates are pushing me even harder. The incoming freshmen, they have been pushing me extremely hard. Just overall trying to better myself as a player and taking in everything that coach Levin is saying to us.
Women’s field hockey
“I know I’m from Pennsylvania, but I’m excited to feel that Iowa love ... I’m pretty excited to come out in CarverHawkeye Arena for the first time and hopefully create a legacy that lasts forever.”
— Top-ranked 2026 wrestling recruit and Iowa commit Bo Bassett to FloWrestling’s Andy Hamilton
STAT OF THE
When you think of Iowa athletics, you think of Kinnick Stadium and the football program. You think of the national success and tradition of Iowa wrestling. And, as of 2021, you think of Caitlin Clark and the Iowa women’s basketball team.
However, the Iowa athletics department is much more than that. It consists of 16 men’s and women’s teams that compete at some of the highest levels in the Big Ten conference and across the country. A natural byproduct of this level of talent is the fact that some sports are simply underrated.
It’s difficult to consistently recognize all the success happening in Iowa City with so many sports teams.
But one program that doesn’t get the amount of respect it deserves is the Iowa field hockey team.
The team was installed at the University of Iowa in 1973 and has established itself as not only one of the premier programs in the Big Ten but also in the country.
Just trying to get 1 percent better every day. What has that transition to Coach Levin been like this offseason? Has it been smooth? It was a difficult transition for sure, but I think it was for the better. He’s been doing the best he possibly can with everything going on with Coach G. Obviously, it’s a hard transition, especially going from our fall season to going right into the season on such short notice. I think as a whole, we have been doing very good.
Since 1984, the program has had 11 Final Four appearances, 12 Big Ten championships, five Big Ten tournament championships, and one NCAA championship in 1986.
In addition to its historic team accolades, the Hawkeyes have pro duced 97 All-Americans, 171 All-Big Ten athletes, and multiple Big Ten Player of the Year candidates.
back on the field.”
The second-year tandem of Jena Young and Soo-Jin Berry are poised to improve on their stellar freshman season campaigns. The pair hit .373 and .322, respectively.
Impressive newcomers
Iowa welcomes a handful of freshmen who have already gained the attention of Levin and the rest of the team.
Newcomers Allyssa Ramos and Brianna Johnson, both products of California, have stood out amongst others, as Levin intends to play the talented underclassmen as soon as possible.
“Allyssa is a tremendous stick. I mean she can hit the ball. She’ll be getting some playing time for sure,” Levin said. “Brianna Johnson is doing really well. Another really hard worker. We are looking for big things from both of them.”
Up next
Iowa started its season on Feb. 7-9 in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida.
The Hawkeyes’ will take on their next opponents on Feb. 14-16 in Commerce, Texas, for the Lions Classic II.
What have you seen from the new freshmen coming in, especially the ones coming in from California? They have a lot of heart, and their bond together is in of itself just really good. I think their bond overall with the team is really good. They always make it easy for us to practice. Seeing how hard they work makes it easier for me to push myself. Have you gotten used to the Iowa weather yet coming from California? Honestly, I love the cold. I came here because it was cold. I love the snow. It’s definitely different from California, but I love it.
While some people may question if this program is living in the past, I would say it’s quite the opposite.
The Hawkeyes have retained a fair amount of national field hockey relevance since the addition of head coach Lisa Cellucci in 2014.
Outside of this past season, Cellucci and Co. have led the Hawkeyes to six consecutive NCAA tournament appearances — four of those trips resulting in Elite Eight berths.
The team has been consistently ranked in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association rankings and even retained the No. 1 spot in both 2021 and 2023 for a combined 11 weeks. That’s not to mention it’s simply a unique and immensely enjoyable sport to catch live.
It’s no question field hockey doesn’t get all the glitz or glamour of attention other Iowa athletic programs receive on a consistent basis. But when talking about historic tradition and maintaining a national image, not a lot of Iowa sports are doing it better than this one.
Women’s soccer
There’s no question — the recognition of women’s sports at the collegiate level is on the rise. The fame and international stardom Caitlin Clark has received on unprecedented levels was largely due in part to one thing — Hawkeye fans showing out in waves of support. Lurking in the shadows has been a nationally successful women’s soccer team deserving of the same spotlight.
Currently, the Iowa women’s basketball stars such as Lucy Olsen, Hannah Stuelke, and Sydney Affolter have been the most recent beneficiaries of the national women’s basketball craze that has swept the nation. And if you were to ask the average Hawkeye fan if they could name a starter on that team, I’m certain most could.
In light of this recent trend, the Iowa women’s soccer team has been sneakily dominant, waiting patiently for its moment to srecieve stardom and headlines.
And with the sport’s international popularity, the same should
be echoed right here in such a city of loyalty.
Hawkeye soccer is coming off one of its best seasons yet as the 2024 campaign featured a Round of 16 berth in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history and ended with an excellent 14-2-4 record.
For reference, the last time the men’s basketball team made the Sweet 16 during March Madness was in 1999 when Tom Davis was still the head coach. That was almost three decades ago, yet we keep showing up for these teams. Iowa soccer has also won two Big Ten tournament titles in the last five years. In 2023 Hawkeye soccer was 36th in the nation for home attendance average. With the endless support Iowa fans have shown the women’s basketball team, there is no reason Iowa soccer cannot benefit from the same type of energy.
Despite this astonishing statistic, the majority of Iowa fans would still rather choose to tune in to Iowa men’s basketball games and forgo the option to watch Iowa women’s soccer compete. It’s time to expand the attention we give to the winners around us.
While the future success of Hawkeye soccer remains uncertain, one thing remains clear: The Iowa women’s soccer team deserves more praise.
Trey Benson Sports Reporter
Jake Olson Sports Reporter
Shaely Odean | The Daily Iowan
Iowa celebrates their win after a softball game between Iowa and Michigan State at Bob Pearl Field in Iowa City on March 29, 2024. The Hawkeyes defeated the Spartans, 4-0.
With his parents sitting beside him, DeJean turned around with a sly smirk: “I’m going to Philly.” Not only did a dream become reality — it did so at a place of his preference. And the feeling was mutual.
Philadelphia completed a last-second trade with the Washington Commanders for the 40th pick to target the Iowa product.
“Obviously, Philly wasn’t even up on the board yet at 40, so I didn’t expect them to be on the phone when I picked it up from my agent,” DeJean said on the WIP Midday Show. “But when I heard who was on the other side of the phone, I was really excited because I was telling my agent Philly would be the place I’d love to be.”
Originally projected to be a surefire firstround pick, DeJean slid down to the second round with concerns of a season-ending injury last year and a deep defensive back pool around him.
The Eagles drafting him added another surprise element as they selected Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell with the 22nd overall pick — the same position as DeJean.
But the controversial picks turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
After an underwhelming 2023 season for the Philly defense that saw it finish in the bottom half of the league overall, the two rookies played key roles for the top-five defense and helped the franchise reach the Super Bowl for the second time in three years.
“It’s crazy,” DeJean told Fox Sports ahead of the Super Bowl. “[I’m] just grateful for the opportunity to be able to put on the Eagles jersey and be a part of something special.”
His rookie campaign got off to a slow start due to a hamstring injury he sustained during the offseason workouts.
The Eagles placed him on the non-football injury list on July 24, and he missed the first three weeks of training camp.
He returned just in time for the preseason, playing limited snaps in a reserve role behind Avonte Maddox at the nickelback position. He remained the backup through the first four weeks of the season, playing just eight defensive snaps up until the team’s week five bye.
Coming off the bye week, though, the Eagles made a defensive change — switching to the then-21-year-old rookie as the starting nickelback for its week six matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
And he never gave that spot back.
DeJean racked up 51 total tackles, six
passes deflected, three fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, and half a sack through 13 regular-season starts. He recorded a league-low 80 big plays allowed, ranked second with the most targets without letting up a single touchdown with 73, finished fourth out of 223 cornerbacks with a 82.7 overall grade per PFF, and allowed a low 80.1 quarterback rating when targeted.
The 6-foot, 198-pound defensive back has had his fair share of viral moments, too, most notably the tackle on Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry, which made him a fan favorite among the city of Philadelphia and Eagles nation overnight.
“It’s been an unbelievable ride,” DeJean’s parents, Jason and Katie DeJean, said, per SiouxLand Proud.
He and Mitchell were both named as finalists for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year but were beaten out by Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Jared Verse. Still,
the recognition was well-deserved.
He continued his stellar play throughout Philadelphia’s four playoff games, finishing with 18 total tackles, four passes deflected, one fumble, one fumble recovery, and his first career interception that he returned for a 38-yard touchdown in the biggest game of his life.
Cutting toward the middle of the field, he just barely snagged a low pass from two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and darted to the opposite sideline, following a lead block into the end zone.
The play, gathering some attention on social media, too, boosted the Eagles to a 40-22 Super Bowl win, capping off a career’s worth of accomplishments in just one season.
And he did so while repping his hometown.
Ahead of the Super Bowl, he walked into the stadium wearing his OABCIG high
school letterman jacket and rocked a pair of cleats that had his home area code written on them with a silver marker.
“It will always stick with me,” DeJean told SportsCenter’s Scott Van Pelt following the Super Bowl victory. “Being able to play in the Super Bowl, first of all, my rookie season in the NFL, and being able to score a touchdown is even crazier. I’m just so happy to be a part of this team and this organization.” Drafted to a first-class NFL organization in the Philadelphia Eagles after falling to the second round. Earned the starting nickelback spot in week six. Finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Super Bowl appearance on his 22nd birthday. First career pick-six on Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. Super Bowl champion. From a town with a population less than 1,000 people and zero stop lights to the biggest stage in all of sports. Just a kid from Odebolt, Iowa.
Mulvey’s only points of the night came on a two-handed slam in the second half, but the highlight of his night was forcing back-to-back backcourt violations on Purdue point guard Braden Smith. Each play was well-executed, as Mulvey used his large frame to push Smith near the timeline and cause the turnover.
“I thought the offense moved really well with Riley out there,” McCaffery said after the game. “That gave us some great minutes.”
Mulvey’s toughness has served as a spark for Iowa, but despite how crucially those plays can impact a game, they still don’t show up on the stat sheet. However, it was Mulvey’s teammate, forward Even Brauns, that made some stat-stuffing playing against the Boilermakers.
senior out with the rest of the starting five to begin the second half, signaling his growing trust in Brauns.
“I think it’s been actually really good for me to have this kind of opportunity come,” Brauns told Hawkeye Beacon ahead of the Wisconsin game. “The coaches all believe in me, and my teammates all believe in me, and that all helps me a lot.”
While both players showed some potential against Purdue, Saturday’s contest against Wisconsin was a slight step backward. Both bigs never attempted a single field goal and collected only one combined rebound, ending the afternoon with zero points in the 74-63 defeat.
“[It was] very exciting, honestly,” Mulvey told Hawkeye Beacon at a press conference, regarding his first start at Iowa. “I was a little nervous, but I think I performed to the best of my ability.” Considering the difficult circumstances, Mulvey filled the spot admirably. His Boilermakers opponent was center Trey Kaufman-Renn, who is regarded as one of the Big Ten’s best big men, but Mulvey held his own and made KaufmanRenn earn every bucket.
“He was playing really well in practice, so he’s earned those minutes,” McCaffery told
For her part, Stuelke contributed 10 points against USC, playing an interchangeable yet unique role in the paint despite battling foul trouble.
“I’d like to point out Hannah Stuelke because she was seeing how Addi was going,” Jensen said. “That top-and-in look, that’s my favorite. I’d prefer, not as much with this particular team, to enter it from the wing. When we enter it from the top, a lot of good things happen. I’m really, really happy for both of them but really happy for how selfless they both are.”
With Jensen’s leadership, first as an assistant in the Bluder era and now as the top dog on the coaching staff, Iowa players such as Monika Czinano, Megan Gustafson, and the aforementioned O’Grady, Stuelke, and Heiden have thrived.
For instance, Czinano was named to four consecutive All-Big Ten teams, leading the nation in
Hawkeye Beacon at a Zoom press conference two weeks ago. “He knows what to do. He knows what we want. He’s the ultimate team guy. There’s no selfishness about him at all.”
shooting percentage her third and fourth years. Gustafson was named the National Player of the Year in 2019, the first player in Big Ten history to receive this accolade. And Heiden, despite being only a first-year player, collects an average of 4.1 points per game despite playing only 10 minutes per game.
Czinano and Gustafson have since departed the Hawkeye program, but the position they filled remains as volatile as ever with the current roster. O’Grady, Heiden, and Stuelke have each contributed their fair share to the Hawkeyes.
Iowa is also well-positioned to have success in the future, as Alaska high school phenom Layla Hays will join the program ahead of the 2025-26 season. All of this past and present success shows that Jensen has not only the experience but also the confidence to continue the Hawkeyes’ dominant legacy of stout post play. “I just am more confident in myself, and my teammates are confident in me,” Stuelke said after a 26-point outing in an 85-80 win against Northwestern on Jan. 28. “It was amazing. My teammates were getting me the ball all the time. I guess it was just rolling for me.”
Brauns didn’t light up the scoreboard, but his final statline of four points, three rebounds, two assists, and one block proved to be a nice positive off the bench. In fact, McCaffery trotted the fifth-year
The loss marked Iowa’s sixth in its last seven games, and though McCaffery knows he needs more contributions from his big men and the rest of the squad, he is still pleased with their competitiveness and fight each and every night.
“We try to win,” McCaffery said. “They want to win. They’re putting the time in, and they’re competing, and it’s our job to just try to help them get over the hump.”
Brauns
Stuelke
McCaffery
Jessy Lane | The Daily Iowan
Even Brauns fights for a rebound during a men’s basketball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the then-No. 7 Purdue Boilermakers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 4. The Boilermakers defeated the Hawkeyes, 90-81.
Bill Streicher | Imagn Images
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean (33) scores a touchdown after making an interception against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome.
Gaining back momentum
The Iowa women’s basketball team defeated Minnesota at Williams Arena on Thursday, Feb. 6, fighting a tie in the final four minutes of the game. Stuelke also acheived her 1,000th career point during the game, contributing 17 points.
Emma Calabro | The Daily Iowan
(Top) Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke signs autographs after a women’s basketball game between Iowa and Minnesota at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, on Feb. 6. In the first quarter of the game, Stuelke achieved her 1,000th career point. (Middle right) Minnesota guard Tori McKinney goes in for a layup during a women’s basketball game between Iowa and Minnesota at Williams Arena. McKinney played for 38 minutes, chipping in 16 points. (Middle left) Iowa guard Sydney Affolter dribbles the ball during a women’s basketball game between Iowa and Minnesota.
Affolter had a double-double, contributing 13 points and 14 rebounds throughout the game. (Bottom) The Iowa bench reacts to a three-pointer during a women’s basketball game between Iowa and Minnesota. This is Iowa’s fourth consecutive Big Ten win in conference play this season.
80 Hours
The secret club that started a revolution No Shame Theatre was once a theater student institution. Current University of Iowa students are bringing it back.
Need a reason to try
Roxxy? Here’s 98.
Manager Conor Schley discusses shot wall favorites and the future of Roxxy Iowa City.
Anyone who has visited Roxxy since its opening in 2019 would recognize the stacks of mixtapes bordering the dance floor, the tangled guitars casting shadows over the bar, or the framed collections of band portraits. What they may not be as familiar with is Roxxy’s selection of 98 shots.
Don’t know where to find that selection when you’re ordering drinks from a bartender? Just look up at the wall.
Roxxy’s staff had the wall behind the bar painted with shot recipes at the beginning of this year. Since then, patrons have been experimenting with the 1.5ounce variations of classic cocktails and laughing at their unique names.
“A lot of the names are a little edgy, but I kind of like that because when people come in, they’re laughing at the names, or they’re kind of like, ‘Oh, look at this one!’ So, it’s just a conversation piece to begin with,”
SPOTLIGHT
manager Conor Schley said. Schley has been managing Roxxy, Double Tap, and The Stuffed Olive for the past four weeks since leaving Buffalo Wild Wings, where he worked for 15 years. He is also a graduate of the University of Iowa.
“I’ve been having a lot of fun with the atmosphere and the music being loud and being back in with the kids here,” Schley said. “I feel more involved with the university and seeing everybody again.”
The shot wall idea was passed down from Roxxy’s Madison, Wisconsin, location. At a two-shot minimum $5 each, it has been a cost-effective, successful addition to the bar. So far, three favorites have surfaced among patrons: Hawk Tuah, Dead Nazi, and Cookie Dough.
To make the Hawk Tuah shot — No. 48 on the wall — bartender Taylor Deist shook pours of Ryan’s Irish Crème, similar to Bailey’s, and butterscotch Schnapps with ice, her hands moving quickly. On busy nights, the bartenders have to keep up with drink orders, and shots are no exception.
Both in taste and its tan color, the Hawk Tuah might
Student curators explore ‘Alternate Paths’ with research
“Alternate Paths: Object Histories from Africa to America” is the first exhibit at the Stanley Museum of Art to be entirely student-curated.
Kyrsten White Arts Reporter arts@dailyiowan.com
“There is no one single answer for how African art gets to Iowa. Art travels in very complex ways,” Cory Gundlach, curator of African art at the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art, said.
This complexity is the focus of the Stanley Museum’s first-ever student-curated exhibition, “Alternate Paths: New Object Histories from Africa to America.” Open until Feb. 23, the exhibit is a subversive retelling of the decades of challenging history behind the museum’s African art.
Twenty-five of 37 of the objects display ed belong to the Stanley. Gundlach has an intimate understanding of the collection and hopes the exhibit can inform patrons as well.
“The most important private collections were Max and Elizabeth Stanley’s. In the late ‘70s, Betty Stanley was traveling in Ganta, Liberia, and she bought the first objects in her African collection. Together, they developed one of America’s, if not the world’s, most impressive collections of African art. Around 600 objects were left to the university as a bequest,” Gundlach said. Stemming from the interest of Betty Stanley, these few objects elapsed to become the central resource for teaching African art at the UI for over 40 years.
Gundlach is part of the long lineage of UI-based art history scholars who interacted with these objects and derived from them groundbreaking findings.
“My Ph.D. supervisor was Christopher D. Roy, the University of Iowa’s first fulltime professor of African art history. He was among America’s first generation of experts in African art history, trained by Roy Sieber,” Gundlach said. “In 1957, Dr. Sieber was the first in the United States to get a Ph.D. in African art history, and he got it here, at the University of Iowa.”
Shortly after, Sieber would take his skills to the Indiana University Bloomington. Allison Martino at Indiana’s Eskenazi Museum of Art invited Gundlach to closely study the role of Roy Sieber as a bridge between the universities’ African art collections. In this effort, they developed a graduate, hybrid course titled “Curating African Art in America.” The class met twice a week over Zoom with four students from Iowa and eight from Indiana working collaboratively.
“This course was about the arrival of historical African art involving a set of circumstances specific to the colonial period in Africa,” Gundlach said. “Allison and I drafted the introductions, but it required the students to develop thematic panels, sub-themes, and a final presentation for the exhibition.” Monica Vree, a Ph.D. student focus-
ing on French gothic architecture at the UI, took part in the course. Despite her discipline and African art sharing few similarities, she joined the course after being a teaching assistant for the African art general survey.
“We each had three to four object labels. These were done independently,” Vree recalled. “I was drawn to the Ci Wara headdress because it has figural forms, like an antelope with a person on top, but it’s also one of the earlier African art objects the university acquired in the ‘50s.
It is a mythical creature associated with agriculture.”
Navarro Nehring is the Stanley Museum’s graduate curatorial research assistant. His object was a Senufo-style female figure.
“It comes as a pair with a male counterpart. It’s an unusual example of an object,” Nehring said. “The purpose of these figures in their original context was to summon anyone who committed an offense to the sacred forest for judgment.”
Nehring and Vree’s peers also took their research beyond culturally contextualizing them. Amelia Goldsby is a graduate student studying 18th and 19th-century French art and said she enjoys working with object files.
“I researched the Lobi Beer pot pretty extensively. Just like other projects, we started with secondary sources, like scholarly books and exhibition catalogs from other institutions,” Goldsby said. “What’s exciting about ‘Alternate Paths’ is that we encountered provenance information by interacting with the museum’s object files. They have information about every object and how it came to them. That was more primary research that was done in collaboration with the Stanley staff.”
“Alternate Paths: New Object Histories from Africa to America” is the first African art exhibit to be traveling and student-curated. More importantly, it is the first to include provenance information on every object.
How these objects and their histories are acquired is also unique. Nehring’s object garnered the interest of the esteemed art dealer Karl-Heinz Krieg.
“The Senufo-style female figure was collected from the elders in a village of Kuto. Typically, collectors just traveled to the capital cities and had runners retrieve pieces from the villages, but Krieg directly purchased it,” Nehring said.
as well be a caramel latte. It’s perfect for anyone who can’t stomach swigs of hard liquor because it doesn’t taste like alcohol at all — which, unfortunately, probably makes it more effective.
The same can be said for the No. 28 Cookie Dough shot, a mixture of cookie dough-flavored Ole’ Smoky, more delicious Irish crème, and crème de cacao, a chocolate liqueur typical of chocolate martinis.
The Ole’ Smoky is the most palpable flavor of the shot, but it finishes with the slightly savory taste of chocolate chips — a perfect balance.
As questionable as the name may be, the No. 32 Dead Nazi is honestly just as potent as it sounds. Made with Jagermeister — yes, Jager — and Rumple Minze, a German-style, 100-proof peppermint schnapps liqueur, this shot is like a dose of mint-flavored medicine. It’s perfect for anyone who needs something to do the trick.
These options just scratch the surface of what Roxxy’s shot wall offers. Schley hopes patrons have fun trying different shots and welcomes as much feedback as possible so the establishment can continue to grow.
“This isn’t my bar. This isn’t the bartenders’ bar. I want it to be [the patrons’] bar,” Schley said. “So, if they have things they want me to start doing or promotions they want me to start bringing in, I hope they feel comfortable enough to come and just talk to me.”
One of Roxxy’s newest promotions is its Friday mug club, which began just before the beginning of the UI’s spring semester. Schley also hopes Roxxy can entertain more patrons with its array of food options for dinner, all of which are made in the establishment’s scratch kitchen.
“I want to be what everybody wants me to be,” Schley said. “So, bring fresh, new ideas. I’m willing to do literally anything.”
Horror rom-coms rise from the dead
The classic rom-com has taken a scary twist recently, bringing the romantic side of horror and slasher movies back.
Kyrsten White Arts Reporter arts@dailyiowan.com
As Valentine’s Day approaches, couples are expected to run to theaters to enjoy the newest rom-com. But this year is different. Oddly, no big rom-coms have been released this February. At least, not ones without a slight twist. Many of these movies are now accompanied by a horror premise. With films like “Heart Eyes” and “Companion,” both released within two weeks of the holiday of love, it feels like there is no longer a desire to create standard love stories. Especially now that the common tropes used in those types of movies are becoming too familiar.
“I feel like because more cookie-cutter romantic comedies aren’t becoming popular, it’s the weird genres that are giving us the romantic comedy that we want,” Ariana Martinez, a graduate student at the University of Iowa, said. “And the comedy comes from the violence.”
When these slasher movies were originally being tested and created in the ‘80s, there were plenty of details about love and crime mixing.
But over time, themes of romance became crumbs buried within horror films. Martinez noted there was a transition from that initial romance style in the ‘80s to the “final girl” cliché of ‘90s horror. Now, slashers are reverting to their original ‘80s style leaning heavier on the romance.
“It was trying to subvert romance, trying to subvert this idea that the guy is perfect and that sex is bad,” Martinez said.
FilmScene’s Head Projectionist and Facilities Director Ross Meyer also acknowledged there was a slight shift in the tone of these movies.
“I think slasher films are always a very cyclical thing. They’ll kind of fall in and out of fashion,” Meyer said.
When it comes to the original rom-com style, Meyer mentioned how they might not be as desirable for viewers as they were before. With almost the same tropes used throughout these films, it becomes difficult for an audience to want to watch something they feel like they might have seen before.
“It might just be that that nail’s been pounded all the way flat and that there’s nothing new, at least on the surface level
there,” Meyer said. This also adds to how every romance horror film has something that a rom-com usually will not: a shock factor. Allison Seamans, a fourth-year UI student, brought up the idea that these new slasher romance films are being created more to get a kneejerk reaction out of audiences.
“I think it has to do with people wanting some sort of visceral reaction to film,” Seamans said.
Both Martinez and Seamans said they see some of these movies as outlets for viewers, especially with many of the recent horror rom-coms being written and directed by women and LGBTQ+ people. Many features of the horror genre allow it to be open to everyone. “I think horror for a long time was for gay people and women, and now they’re really getting a chance to create those movies themselves,” Martinez said.
Seamans further expanded on this idea by recognizing these movies create a safe space for people to be scared and simply enjoy themselves. Films like “Bones and All” and “Lisa Frankestein” both play into this aspect of being a “weirdo,” which opens up a realm to remind people they can be who they are.
“I think what is most interesting about this rise of horror is this idea of escapism and being able to be scared but also be in a safe space to be scared,” Seamans said. “We like having an outlet to scream and having our heart beat up.”
John Charlson | The Daily Iowan
Curator of African Art Cory Gundlach stands with student curator Monica Vree at the Stanley Museum of Art on Feb. 7. The exhibit opened in August 2024 and will leave the Stanley for the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University on Feb. 23.
Breaking the bounds of performance
No Shame Theatre promotes performing in a judgement-free environment.
Laurel Preston Arts Reporter arts@dailyiowan.com
On a drizzling, dreary night in October, students of various ages and majors joined in the dark lot of the University of Iowa Theatre Building at midnight. The ominous meeting spot was lit only by sparse streetlamps and the moon.
Later meetings would be lit by a motorcycle that revved up every few minutes to keep its headlights on, providing a pseudo spotlight for the proceedings. But on this particular night, the beginning of what would soon be a national movement was lit by streetlamps and a lot of talent.
Todd Ristau and Stan Ruth conceived No Shame Theatre over a bottle of Jack Daniels after a workshop performance in September 1986 at the UI. It was an idea born out of the stress of balancing life and putting on workshops in the UI Theatre Department.
Days before their first meeting, a worn piece of paper was posted on a call board reading: “The No Shame Theatre is looking for a few good pieces that would be suitable for performing in the back of a pickup truck in a parking lot someplace. If you have something and want to see it done, we have the perfect vehicle for your expression: a big green ‘76 Dodge with a slant six engine. Please waste no time as we want to get this truck started. No Shame is at least as serious as you are.” What followed was the start of No Shame Theatre, a type of performing that, as the title might suggest — was all about being fearless. Ristau would call it a type of “guerilla” theater — experimentation in a low-risk, nonjudgmental way.
“[No Shame] was a place where we could really come in and experiment and explore, and we did a lot of terrible theater. Terrible failures of theater that will never happen again. But it was only five minutes, so who cares?” Scott Bradley, a Theatre Arts assistant professor, said. Bradley was an undergraduate student at the UI when No Shame began.
A theater group called Midnight Madness was the primary inspiration
“It takes some of the pressure to be good away ... There’s no consequence other than the real-life impact of sharing art. It feels much more free.
behind Iowa’s parking lot theater troupe. Midnight Madness was a way for the playwrights in the department to get their work off the page and into the real world. A group of students across majors would meet in the old Mathematics building to bring the shows to life.
“Midnight Madness was a playwright’s project specifically for the playwright’s workshop that had been part of the generation before us. It was known to be just a wild party in a building that was already destroyed. It was a sh*t pile. But we could do anything in there,” Bradley said.
Ristau and Ruth kept the midnight meeting time for No Shame but changed the location and emphasized creation for everyone, not just the playwrights. It took off immediately, Ristau would say, because of the underlying philosophy of the club: Dare to fail.
“Before [No Shame], we were put into silos of discipline. You were an actor or a director or a writer or a technician. No Shame allowed us to blur all those lines,” Bradley said. “It allowed us to see ourselves and to develop our voices.”
Removing the gatekeeping elements of other organized theater clubs at the time, this new form of performing was meant to foster a new type of expression at the UI. Students could be in conversation with each other and the world around them without the pressure of grades or being told their vision was wrong.
This doesn’t mean the conversations were all harmonious, though. Being an organization built on discussion and collaboration means the experience could get contentious at times.
“I remember one [performance] in the fall of ‘87, I had been training with a drag clown group in London called the Blue Lips, and when I came back there was a guy who got up and read a gay erotica story. It was a rape story really that he read, and the writer was straight, and the story was ridiculing gay sex,” Bradley said.
Bradley recalled his friends and peers laughing along with the reading, unaware of the gravity of the situation or how insensitive the subject matter was. Bradley proceeded to yell at the man and left the meeting early.
“I went away, and I wrote this character called Margot Rose that was based on the real Princess Margaret who was known as a partier — which I was at the time. I became like the Princess Margaret of my friend group,” Bradley said. “So, I created this drag of a character in Margot Rose who got up and taught the audience why that last piece was so offensive. That was my No Shame piece the following week. That performance played a part in launching my career doing drag work and performance.”
With the growth of No Shame Theatre at the UI came its expansion outside of Iowa. Taking their performing style with them, the original No Shamers visited New York, Chicago, and Los
Angeles. From there, it continued to grow to become a nationally adopted style of theater in which thousands of performers practiced artistic freedom without the boulder of shame to weigh them down.
“It became popular so quickly because we were hungry for something like this. Something that was imprinted with our energy and our voice,” Bradley said.
Even with the wild success of the theater style, No Shame disappeared in 2008. Since then, the group has been almost completely forgotten by Theatre Arts students. Despite its history and sibling groups thriving outside the chalk definitions of the Theatre Building’s parking spots, the art form had been dead at the UI until recently.
“Last spring, we talked to [Bradley] about it after an actor who performed in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ came to visit and told us about No Shame. We were like, how fun would it be of us if we brought it back, and so we brought it back,” Zoe Nolte, a third-year student at the UI and one of the founders of No Shame Reincarnate, said.
“We hear all the time from our professors, ‘You need to get your work in front of people as often as possible,’but we need a space to actually do that. So, a group of us went to my house and had a meeting, and we brought it back,” Holland Larned, UI fourth-year student and another founding member of No Shame Reincarnate, said. No Shame Reincarnate was born from the ashes of the original idea. Working off the same model, Reincarnate is a new era of No Shame. Created by Zoe Nolte, Madeline Rodriguez, Niyati Deshpande, Holland Larned, Jason Vernon, and Alice Conroy, No Shame Reincarnate has reintroduced students to guerilla theater.
“It’s so exhilarating and funny and moving,” Larned said. “It’s an exercise in vulnerability and being brave … This isn’t facilitated in class or on stage. [No Shame] is an opportunity to share without having to qualify for anything. You don’t have to pay to be there. You
don’t have to audition. No one is telling you that you can or can’t, as long as you’re not an asshole.”
Given the newness of this reincarnation, the group is struggling with attendance.
Nolte said the group didn’t want to make it about social media, but with this lack of presence, many potential No Shame attendees don’t know when the group meets.
“We didn’t want it to turn into an Instagram [or] TikTok situation. We didn’t want people to feel like there was a social media presence in a way that would cause an extra level of being seen,” Nolte said. “We don’t want to post other people’s work because it’s all in process and being workshopped. We wanted it to feel like a tight-knit club community.”
But even with the dwindling attendance, the group is still going and has regular participation similar to the original No Shame members who attend every week to show off their works.
To help with its numbers, the meeting has changed from every week to every other week on Fridays at 5:30 p.m.
The looser schedule gives students, specifically theater students, a chance to practice after classes and before rehearsals start.
Making sure everyone is comfortable and gets along is key to the group. The original No Shame fostered friendships that aided performers’ careers.
“The bonds that formed during No Shame lasted for decades, and we worked together regularly and gave each other work,” Bradley said. No Shame Reincarnate is a more flexible iteration on the club but still seeks to provide students of all backgrounds a way to express themselves in a way that is free from the day-to-day embarrassment of showing off their creativity.
“It takes some of the pressure to be good away,” Lanard said. “There’s no consequence other than the real-life impact of sharing art. It feels much more free.”
John Charlson | The Daily Iowan
The No Shame Theatre cast poses for a portrait in the Theatre Building on Jan. 31. No Shame meets every other Friday at 5:30 p.m. in room 172 of the Theatre Building for writers and performers to present and act in original, creative short works.
John Charlson | The Daily Iowan
Attendees practice lines before a performance during No Shame in the Theatre Building on Jan. 31. No Shame Theatre began at the University of Iowa in 1986 and has since undergone many iteraions. Originally meeting in the parking lot behind the Theatre Building at midnight, No Shame currently meets indoors at 5:30 p.m.
Holland Larned No Shame Reincarnate co-creator
‘Wild Party’ sets a wild tone for Valentine’s Day
The Coralville Performing Arts Center has a new production of Andrew Lippa’s musical this February.
Isabelle Lubguban Arts Reporter arts@dailyiowan.com
Shades of deep blues and calm greens were left on stage as the lights slowly began to dim. Music filled the room beyond the thin sheens of curtains, and I felt my excitement crescendo as I realized my first theater experience outside my home state of Connecticut was about to begin.
City Circle Theatre Company’s rendition of “Wild Party,” New Yorkbased playwright Andrew Lippa’s 1920s musical set during the prohibition era, opened on Feb. 7.
The musical depicted a late-night party centering around the relationship between Queenie, a vaudeville dancer, and Burrs, a vaudeville clown. As the story progressed, it became clear to me the couple should not have been together.
City Circle Theatre Company Director Carrie Pozdol said the entire play was based on a book-length poem written in 1928 by Joseph Moncure March. At the time of its publication, the poem was banned for being too controversial.
Elizabeth Tracey, the artistic producer of the City Circle Production Company, said she wanted to have a selection for each season of the theater company that covered a different genre.
Tracey said she wanted a more concert-style production to headline in February, despite arguments over what a concert meant.
“For me, what it means is the set value isn’t as important as bringing out the music and the actors,” Tracey said. “Although this is our edgy show, it is also more experimental.”
As someone who only occasionally watches theater, I especially liked when the characters were introducing
themselves. I got to see their outfits and faces better as they went down the line, and everyone seemed to be dedicated to their craft.
Alex Anderson, the actor playing Burrs, said he was instantly drawn to the play when he saw “Wild Party” at Drake University back in 2008.
His hook was the last song, “Make Me Happy.” In it, there is tension between multiple characters at a crucial turning point in the story, and in my opinion, it is one of the most intriguing parts of the show.
“I saw the three-part harmony, and I thought, ‘Oh, I have to do that someday,’” Anderson said. “I got the chance to do it at [Theatre Cedar Rapids] about seven years ago, and then when this chance came up again, I couldn’t pass it up.”
Vicky Shellady, who played Queenie, said her first exposure to “Wild Party” was the music.
“The score was just beautiful — captivating,” she said. “It was really unlike anything I had heard prior.”
The music, the cast, and the set design made me wonder just how much work went into the show.
I knew theater was a collaborative experience, but with this performance, I saw how every moment the actors, crew, and producers spared was to make the show the best it could be.
“I think it’s fun to do something where all the characters are very complicated. I don’t often get the opportunity to play a very edgy person, and for me, this was very exciting to do with friends,” Shellady said.
Opening night for Andrew Lippa’s “Wild Party was held on Feb. 7, but more performances are to come.
On Feb. 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 16 at 2 p.m., City Circle will bring their spectacular rendition of “Wild Party” to a close.
Edited by Will Shortz No.
40 Relating to form
of
Skye of “Say Anything …”
measure
plate is the “fourth” one 52 Michelle Obama, to Craig Robinson, for short
volleyball combo or 20-, 34- and 41-Across together 58 Most tacky
remover 62 Dad humor, perhaps
Bread in a tandoor
Papal vestment 65 Sacrifice a fly? 66 Younger Stark daughter on “Game of Thrones”
often shelved on its side
9 Héloise’s lover 10 “Kapow!” 11 Ancient Chinese dynasty
12 Word with style or fashioned
13 Sept. and Oct.
19 Element named after the Greek word for “sun”
21 Pitchfork-shaped letters
24 Place to pick daisies
25 Mysterious knowledge
26 Rick of Rickrolling fame
27 Earl of food storage fame
28 Southwestern gully
29 Attacked, as by a tiger
30 Shakespearean dying words
Party pooper
35 Flight board posting: Abbr
Near 38 Personification of darkness, in Greek myth 42 Cross-country runner’s asset 43 Big (Seton Hall’s conference) 47 Portugal’s capital, in Portugal 50 Warrior’s weapon
51 Assignment often graded with a red pen
53 Not quite broken, say 54 Mountain above Vulcan’s forge
