As Fran McCaffery stepped up to the podium following Iowa’s 106-94 loss in the second round of the Big Ten tournament on March 13, he had to be prepared for some tough questions.
Immediately after McCaffery positioned himself in front of the microphone, a difficult question on many Hawkeye fans’ minds was indeed tossed his way.
“Do you expect to be the coach at Iowa next year?” Scott Dochertman of The Athletic asked.
“I do,” McCaffery responded with a sigh.
But McCaffry likely knew his incoming fate, and sure enough, he was relieved of his duties the following afternoon by athletics director Beth Goetz. Iowa would be searching for a new head men’s basketball coach for the first time since 2010.
The week-long search resulted in Drake head coach Ben McCollum getting tapped as Iowa’s 23rd head coach on March 23. The news broke just two days after McCollum’s
fanbase, who hope that McCollum’s tough style of play can lead the program to the second weekend of March Madness for the first time since 1999.
The position was likely a dream opportunity for McCollum, an Iowa native, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy to win with the Hawkeyes. He will be Iowa’s first new men’s basketball coach in 15 years.
The possibility of a new coach brought much enthusiasm to the disgruntled Hawkeye fanbase, but many have forgotten the wild twists and turns that come with a coaching search.
Life was different back in 2010. “Despicable Me” was still months away from its theatrical release, the iPhone 3GS was the newest iPhone model available, and the Chicago Blackhawks were just about to set off on a legendary playoff run resulting in the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years.
Fifteen years later, the world continues to evolve. There are four “Despicable Me” movies and multiple “Minions”
The introduction of Name, Image, and Likeness in 2021 has allowed college athletes to make money off of their image. The issue has resulted in many benefits for college athletes, but some have questioned the supposed competitive disadvantages that come with it.
Those drawbacks have already come back to bite the Hawkeyes in the early part of their coaching search.
With McCaffery’s firing pratically imminent with how poorly the 2024-25 campaign went, Iowa fans turned their attention to the one man they felt could bring their team back to their expectation levels: West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries.
On paper, it seemed like a match made in heaven. DeVries, an Aplington, Iowa, native, grew up a Hawkeye fan and watched his other brother, Jared, star on the Iowa football team and later on in the NFL.
While the DeVries name excited Iowa fans mostly due
MCCAFFERY from 1A
to Jared’s football stardom, DeVries had built up a healthy reputation of his own on the hardwood. After a successful playing career at Northern Iowa, he made the trek west to Omaha and took a job as a graduate student manager under then-Creighton head coach Dana Altman.
DeVries was promoted to a full-time assistant coach position in 2001 and remained in the role for 17 seasons until taking the head coaching job at Drake in 2018. The struggling Bulldog program had made only one NCAA tournament since 1971, but DeVries brought respectability instantly.
Drake won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season crown in his first season, and would go on to lead the Bulldogs to three NCAA tournaments under his watch.
DeVries bolted for West Virginia after the 2023-24 season, but rumors of him leaving for another job, specifically Iowa, began to swirl despite a solid 19-13 inaugural campaign in Morgantown.
He did leave, just not for a reunion in his home state.
DeVries’ new residence would feature a similar backdrop of cornfields and picturesque sunsets, but the destination caused many Hawkeye fans to become sick to their stomachs – Big Ten rival Indiana.
The decision caught many by surprise. The Hoosiers are one of college basketball’s most historic programs but have qualified for the NCAA tournament only twice since 2016, a number far below the school’s “blue blood” expectations.
On the flip side, Iowa has made the Big Dance four times in that same nineyear span, and it would have been five berths if COVID-19 hadn’t cancelled the 201920 postseason. The Hawkeyes are arguably the better program right now despite missing the last two NCAA tournaments, but the Hooisers have one of the most important winning factors to succeed in this new landscape of college sports – NIL money. In that same press conference, Dochterman later asked McCaffery how much NIL funding Iowa needs in order to attract top talent and compete at a championship level.
McCaffery’s response?
“You would probably need 6 million,” McCaffery said. “We’re nowhere near that. If you know that those numbers are going to go north of that when that [House] settlement is completed, the fair share number is what it is. We’ll know what that is. But I think it’s safe to say the collectives aren’t going away, and those are the numbers that exist already. So we can only imagine what’s going on.”
Iowa’s total NIL payroll in 2024-25 was estimated to be around $1.5 million, far below that recommended
threshold McCaffery discussed. In fact, Pete Nakos of On3 reported Indiana spent a hefty sum of $5 million on its roster this season, while West Virginia allotted $3 million for its squad.
“Iowa opened and the best players were making $300,000. That’s bottom, bottom, bottom of the Big Ten,” a source told Nakos.
The Hoosiers promised DeVries an even higher budget of $7 million for 2025-26, making his decision to jump ship to Bloomington much easier.
Indiana’s heavy NIL support probably played a big role in swaying DeVries to town, but the Hoosiers will always have a large fan following no matter how poorly they play. Iowa has fan support, but that support only seems to come when it is good.
Men’s basketball used to be the hottest ticket in town, but the rise of the football, wrestling, and women’s basketball teams since the turn of the century have hurt the team’s popularity. Carver-Hawkeye Arena just experienced its lowest attended men’s basketball season in 60 years, a poor sign when it comes to attracting talented players.
These attendance issues and the overall lack of interest in the program likely was a deciding factor in Goetz’s decision to sack McCaffery, but it will be intriguing to see if the fanbase will return to Carver-Hawkeye under McCollum.
Before McCollum’s hiring was announced, both the Swarm, Iowa’s NIL collective, and its founder, Brad Heinrichs, each posted a message on their respective social media accounts encouraging Hawkeye fans to pour their donations in for the men’s basketball team.
It appears that the response from the fanbase was positive, signaling an uptick in donor funding
Transfer trouble
The strong culture that McCaffery built at Iowa over the course of his 15 years allowed him to retain most of his talent during those wild transfer portal cycles. But after his dismissal, the floodgates opened.
Seven Hawkeyes have entered the portal in the week since the firing, including notable players such as Josh Dix, Pryce Sandfort, Owen Freeman, and Brock Harding. Each announcement was expected, but they have still caused worry for Iowa fans.
Hailing from Moline, Illinois, Freeman was Iowa’s leading scorer, rebounder, and blocker during the 2024-25 campaign before he underwent a season-ending finger in January. The sophomore will likely be a highly-coveted option for many high-major teams, as he won Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year in 2024 and is known for his inside scoring and rim protection.
Harding, Freeman’s high school teammate, saw a big jump in production this past season. The 6-foot point guard posted 8.8 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game in both a starting and backup role. His outside shooting also saw a huge leap, evidenced by his clutch triple in the waning seconds against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament.
Hailing from Council Bluffs, Iowa, Dix emerged as one of the Big Ten’s most valuable scorers in 2024-25. The 6-foot-6 guard netted 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game, and he took the role of the team’s second fiddle behind Payton Sandfort after Freeman’s injury.
Sandfort, Payton’s younger brother, enters the portal after an incredible sophomore season that saw him become one of Iowa’s most reliable scoring options off the bench. The second-year posted 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per contest. He
finished in double figures in each of the last four games of the season, including his first career double-double against Nebraska on March 9.
The absence of these players will impact the Hawkeyes next season and beyond. Including the graduations of Payton and fifth-year guard Drew Thelwell, these losses cause Iowa to lose 80 percent of its scoring from 2024-25.
Even with all of that uncertainty, it’s still possible for the Hawkeyes to regain some of that talent. Pryce and first-year forward Cooper Koch, who entered the portal on March 19, have both said that they will continue to monitor Iowa’s coaching search and consider returning if they fit in the new head coach’s system.
Anyone who follows the Hawkeye program probably isn’t surprised by those messages of loyalty. Both players grew up Iowa fans, and each has family ties to the program.
Though Pryce quickly rose to stardom at Waukee High School, the opportunity to play with his brother, Payton, proved to be an easy decision. The choice to wear the Black and Gold was also a no-brainer for Koch, whose father, J.R, played for the Hawkeyes in the late 1990s.
If Iowa can’t retain those homegrown players, McCollum will have plenty of options to choose from in the transfer portal. In fact, ESPN reported that over 1,900 college basketball players entered the transfer portal after the 2023-24 campaign, a statistic that will likely skyrocket to over 2,000 when the new cycle opens on March 24.
There’s no question that there are plenty of players to choose from. But without NIL funding, McCollum will likely have a tough time finding some of the best talent. There are still under-theradar options available, but McCollum has a tough challenge in front of him.
Jessy Lane | The Daily Iowan
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery yells at the court during a basketball game between the No. 15 Iowa Hawkeyes and the No. 7 Illinois Fighting Illini at the TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on Thursday, March 13, 2025. The Fighting Illini defeated the Hawkeyes, 106-94.
Kirby Lee | The Daily Iowan
Mar 22, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; Drake Bulldogs coach Ben McCollum during press conference at Intrust Bank Arena.
Infographic by Marandah Mangra-Dutcher | The Daily Iowan
Tattooists raise funds for trans Iowans
Local tattoo artists donated more than $2,000 to Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund.
Isobel Perez News Reporter news@dailyiowan.com
In a hot pink room with hair to match, Kelsey Turnis prepared for the day’s flash fundraiser tattoo event. Setting up a tray with her tattoo machine and the necessary materials she’d need for the day. Turn is showed off a tattoo that she had just finished prior to the event: a red heart with arms and legs in motion.
The full-time tattoo artist’s room at Gray Goat Tattoo was decorated with nostalgic art and figurines. Betty Boop, Garfield, Furbies, and Spongebob characters were displayed on the walls and shelves of Turnis’ room.
Right at the entrance of the room hangs a sign reads, “Absolutely no homophobia, transphobia, racism, or bigotry allowed ever!”
Turnis, who has been tattooing for over a year following an apprenticeship at Dark Cloud Tattoos in Iowa City, began tattooing at Gray Goat Tattoo in January. Following the passing of anti-trans legislation, namely Senate File 418 which removed protection from discrimination for transgender people from the Iowa Civil Rights Act and delisted gender identity as a protected class, Turnis was inspired to organize a fundraising tattoo event after hearing from clients who feared for their safety and protection.
“I love tattooing. I love getting to meet everybody from my community and surrounding and being able to help people feel better about their body and create something awesome in the process,” Turnis said. “I kind of just wanted a way to bring the community together and create something that will last a lifetime and support a good cause.”
A week before the event was scheduled to take place, Turnis released her flash sheet on her Instagram displaying three pages of the tattoo designs that people would be able to purchase and announced all proceeds would go towards the Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund — a nonprofit that provides small grants to transgender, nonbinary, and genderqueer Iowans seeking gender-affirming care.
The organization has dispersed more than $100,000 dollars since its conception in June 2021, serving over 200 people. Many recipients have been able to reapply to receive aid for care, including hormone replacement therapy, transition-specific clothing, doctor visits for gender-affirming care, top and bottom surgery, name change fees, laser hair removal , and travel expenses. All of these services can range in costs from $15 to $25,000.
“I have a couple of clients and people I know who have benefited from the organization directly, so I thought that was a great way to give back to the community
and support a good cause,” Turnis said. “I can raise more money and help more people by donating my time and energy through tattooing than I could just on my own. So, it kind of makes it more of a collective, community effort, and everyone benefits in the process.”
The flash sheet Turnis released included two pages of her own designs, ranging from a pair of scissors, a lighter with “raise hell” written on it, and a walking middle finger, as well as a page of Keith Haring designs, who was an activist for LGBTQ+ rights during the AIDS epidemic.
“I think it’s a good callback to another time in history where queer rights were really at the forefront, and the community was facing a lot of danger,” Turnis said. “I think we’re unfortunately living in a similar time at the moment with our Iowa legislatures taking away civil rights and liberties, so it’s kind of a call back to a call for action from an amazing artist of the past.”
And for some of the people lining up outside Gray Goat Tattoo, with more
than 20 people already standing outside before the event even began, the fundraising event was an opportunity to not only support a local organization aiding transgender Iowans but also to honor an important artist in the queer community.
“I’m going to get one of the Keith Harings. It would be my second Keith Haring tattoo, but he inspired so many people with his art,” Emma Elam, one of the people in line, said. “Art is incredibly powerful, and he was one of the first artists to gain mainstream attention while being HIV positive and to really bring a voice and face to the cause in the ‘80s and early ‘90s.”
Tara McGovern, who stood beside Elam in line, agreed, calling Haring an ancestor.
“Trans people in Iowa are scared and under attack and any opportunity to provide tangible support is beautiful and important, and I think art is an especially powerful way to do that,” McGovern said.
Back inside, as Turnis was preparing her room for the event, the tattoo shop was abuzz with movement and excitement as
the line of people outside of the shop continued to grow.
Beth Gray, owner of Gray Goat Tattoo, and Lexi Clemens, a tattoo apprentice and body piercer at the shop who would also tattooed for the event, were both prepared, with Gray already having someone in her chair and etching ink into a client.
“Art captivates all the feelings of everything all the time — happy, sad, desperate, hopeful — all those things are embodied in art, every single piece you do,” Gray said. “It really can give people hope too. Yeah, it reflects everything that’s going on all the time.”
As many continue to look up to Haring and the art he made, continuing to use his designs as a means of protest and support for the community, Clemens explained how artists act as role models for many in the community.
“So, many people, I think, look up to artists as well,” Clemens said. “For an artist to be able to put their work out there in a manner that’s helping some other community, [it’s] priceless.”
Ava Neumier Name | The Daily Iowan
Kelsey Turnis touches up a Keith Haring tattoo on Matt McLaughlin during a tattoo fundraiser for Iowa Trans Mutual Aid at Gray Goat Tattoo in West Branch on March 22. The fundraiser kicked off a series of events for the Trans Day of Visibility across Southeast Iowa that lasts until March 31.
OPINIONS
Iowa politics are driving away Iowans
The state’s political priorities are forcing its own population to consider moving.
Julia Anderson Opinions Contributor opinions@dailyiowan.com
The fast-paced week in the Iowa legislature known as “Funnel Week” officially concluded on March 7. During this period, all bills introduced in the session faced a baseline review process to determine which have the necessary support among representatives to realistically become law.
It is at this point in the session that legislative priorities are revealed. Coming off the heels of a tense election year, proposals were expected to be provocative, but after Iowa’s first round of eliminations, the remaining bills are largely political fodder. Serving little purpose beyond fueling agendas, these bills do not address citizens’ needs — something desperately needed as Iowa’s population falters. As a state that consistently fails to address elementary infrastructural concerns, Iowa’s focus on politicizing issues in the legislature is offensive to the public.
Public education has taken a major blow post-Funnel Week. Senate File 138 aims to promote high schools offering classes on the New and Old Testament of the Bible. House File 884 allows the hiring of religious chaplains at schools. Other progressed bills include requiring a humanized version of abortion education, providing protections for instructors who choose to misgender students, and facilitating investigations of grooming and child abuse in public schools.
This patchwork of legislation reinforces the idea that public schools are somehow working against the best interests of children. It suggests ordinary community members should be viewed with suspicion, secularism threatens religious values, and schools have been promoting a distorted view of abortion. It also implies immoral school faculty are being shielded by “a liberal agenda.”
Three additional bills were also advanced, aiming to ban Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or DEI, practices at both public and private universities. DEI has already been banned at the state level, and new federal policies reinforce this stance.
The only bill to actually be passed and signed into law thus far has been Senate File 418, which removes “gender identity” from the Iowa Civil Rights Act, stripping transgender individuals of civil rights protections in the state, while the House of Representatives has simultaneously chosen to stall a public school funding bill that would allocate $22.6 million directly to student resources.
It seems the Iowa legislature would rather spend its time and resources on instilling doubt in its citizenry about public infrastructure than to simply invest in the public infrastructure. So, where does that leave its citizens?
“I don’t think those are the values of specifically Iowans. Politics has gotten more extreme than the people that they’re representing, and that’s kind of
It seems the Iowa legislature would rather spend its time and resources on instilling doubt in its citizenry about public infrastructure than to simply invest in the public infrastructure
crazy,” lifelong Iowa resident and student at Kirkwood Community College Bella Zamudio — a transgender woman concerned about the recent legislation — said. Iowa has been losing its domestic population for decades now. Growth rates have remained measly but positive, largely due to the intake of international migrants, but Iowa has consistently been losing its native population. This has been attributed to many different factors such as natural fluctuations, the aging boomer generation, and work opportunities elsewhere. However, it’s no exaggeration to conclude the state is simply not providing much of a reason to stay.
The state government consistently targets minority groups, such as immigrants and transgender individuals, while suggesting those who form the backbone of the state are morally misguided — whether deemed
too “ungodly” or too diverse. It spends more energy blaming supposed “agendas” than addressing the actual issues these agendas are said to create.
Among the proposals that failed to make it past Funnel Week were bills aimed at increasing the minimum wage for disabled workers, strengthening water quality and treatment protections, and allocating an additional $600,000 to improve nursing home inspection standards.
While former President Joe Biden’s many proposals were put forward, those cut include measures that could have been invaluable to constituents on a personal level. These proposals are being cut by the party that campaigned on criticizing President Biden’s economy and claimed “liberals” focus too much on DEI. Given this platform, one would expect a focus on addressing these very issues. Instead, there has been no mention of meaningful statewide economic reforms, and DEI has received more attention than ever before.
Iowa may be naturally losing its population, but it’s also making no moves to retain it. Agenda-based politics are a fad that works for now, but what will the priorities be when foundational infrastructure crumbles beyond repair?
“I can’t be somewhere where I don’t feel protected, I don’t feel safe,” Zamudio said. “The law is not in my favor.”
We have to retire feminism under Trump’s presidency
With the current pushback to all things equality and inclusion under Trump, feminism needs a makeover.
Haya Hussain Opinions
Contributor opinions@dailyiowan.com
Feminism is no longer working.
We know this because our current president has over 15 sexual assault allegations, and even scarier, the American majority voted for his leadership. So, there must be a reason why most Americans seem to detest the idea of gender equality.
The word “feminism” itself has always been aversive.
Meenakshi Gigi-Durham, a professor at the University of Iowa, has decades of research in gender and sexuality. She has also noticed an anti-feminism pattern from the general public.
“‘People will agree with all the work that feminists do, and then turn around and say, ‘But I’m not a feminist,’” she said. “The label has continued to have very negative connotations. Feminism is seen as man-hating, angry, and hostile. And yes, there are things to be angry about and that we should be angry about, but feminism is not motivated by anger or hate.”
So what if it’s motivated by anger, anyway? Maybe not hate, but women are allowed to be angry. Do we need to be even angrier?
In the 1980s, talk show host Rush Limbaugh coined the term “femiNazis.” In 2018, President Donald Trump said, “You’ve got to be aggressive. You’ve got to push back hard. You’ve got to deny anything that’s said about you,” in reference to the #MeToo movement.
That all sounds pretty angry to me.
“Instances like this are weapons that target feminists. Our patriarchal media always portrays feminism negatively,” Durham said.
Like all things, anger is under the ownership of the patriarchy rather than the general public. That is the core of patriarchy: ownership, possession, and entitlement. Sexist men are obsessed with owning and having things. Linda Kerber is a feminist historian and a retired
STAFF
Jami Martin-Trainor | Executive Editor
professor and lecturer at the UI. She has seen the many waves of feminism that have pushed back against patriarchal hate.
“Back in my day, we picked up that men resented feminism because they believed women were taking places that men would otherwise have had easier access to,” she said. “There are a lot of men, and Trump is a good example, who believe they are entitled to power over women — to sexual power over women.”
I want to say his loud and proud critiques of feminism and just women, in general, brought these power-hungry men out of the dark. But the truth is people had already made Andrew Tate successful, and this is Trump’s second term.
It is clear our society has not become more progressive over the years. In fact, the UI seems to be a little behind, too.
“Iowa legislature is asking us to teach bad history. American studies and women’s studies are leaving, but feminism starts with the Civil Rights Movement. And the basement of our law school has a handful of notable women. None of them are Black,” Kerber said.
Our authority figures who don’t care to represent us just became a little more vocal, waiting for a figurehead to come out and say what they’ve been holding back for years. They don’t need to do it through subtlety anymore, like excluding portraits of important women of color.
But it’s not just patriarchal men; it’s the women who choose to support Trump despite him denying their reproductive or legislative rights.
“If you have a happy marriage and you’re comfortable being straight with a traditional family and husband and children, you may not see any reason to push at the edges of what you inherited,” Kerber said. “But wait until he divorces you, or loses his job and you don’t have a job, or you get pregnant once too often and you want to quietly have an abortion.”
“Feminism,” at the end of the day, has become a trigger word to the public due to its angry connotations, but especially to sexist individuals. Anything that’s not about these individuals, or threatens their security that is so reliant on the struggles of marginalized peoples, is unnecessary and distasteful. Stick the “fem-” prefix in front of a social movement, and it’s almost guaranteed Trump and his followers are going to turn away from it.
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.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Trump doesn’t need “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” because he’s a white, male billionaire. He also has a hot wherever-thou-goest wife, so he definitely doesn’t need feminism, either. For that reason, I honestly don’t see the word feminism getting better reviews any time soon. That doesn’t change the fact that both women of color and white women cannot afford to go back in time.
We need to rebrand like we’re having to do with DEI. “Access and Support” is a lot less threatening than “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” Everyone needs support, and inclusion implies people are being excluded by some oppressor, and ignorant people hate feeling ignorant. The difficult part is finding a new name. “Womanism” had its run in the ‘80s, but that’s even less inconspicuous. “Women’s liberation” dates back to the 1960s, but that term is not as inclusive to other gender identities. Sure, you could say it’s deception — hiding the same movement under the guise of something else. To that I say, if Trump can call himself “the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln,” for example, I think we can get away with calling ourselves whatever we want.
Cody Blissett | The Daily Iowan
Politicians and other attendees gather during the Condition of the State address at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines on Jan. 14.
Illustration by Stella Shipman | The Daily Iowan
Iowa to investigate rising cancer rates
As Iowa’s cancer rates continue to rise, Iowa lawmakers are seeking solutions.
Cathy Ketton, of Waterloo, Iowa, found a lump in her breast in February 2022. She had just been released from the hospital after complications from contracting COVID-19 and had read the virus can cause lumps in your breasts in rare cases.
She brought her concerns to her doctor, who agreed it could be from COVID-19. She said he told her to come back in six weeks.
Six weeks later, the lump was still there.
She told her doctor, who she said wasn’t concerned. However, Cathy knew the lump was there. She even marked it in permanent marker.
In July, she went in for a mammogram, confirming she had a peanut-sized lump in her breast. Ketton underwent a biopsy that revealed she had triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive type of breast cancer that disproportionately impacts women of color.
In an instant, Ketton became one of over 20,000 Iowans diagnosed with cancer every year.
Iowa has the second highest rate of cancer in the U.S. and is one of two with a rising rate, according to the Iowa Cancer Registry, or ICR.
The 2025 report by the ICR, which is housed at the University of Iowa’s College of Public Health, estimated there will be 21,200 new cases of cancer in Iowa this year.
An estimated 6,300 Iowans will die of cancer in 2025.
With Iowa leading the Midwest in cancer incidence, state policymakers have been working to combat soaring cancer rates.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced a $1 million initiative to investigate the cause of Iowa’s growing cancer rate during her Condition of the State Address in January. Reynolds’ attention to the subject has sparked a legislative effort to work on cancer prevention measures.
“Every case of cancer is a tragedy. And I’m concerned by the data showing that these tragedies disproportionately affect Iowans,” Reynolds said during her annual address. “Iowans don’t need more speculation. They need answers.”
Reynolds’ initiative would investigate the root causes of why Iowa differs from other states in cancer incidence. The initiative is a collaboration between the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and the UI; they will investigate the epidemiological cause of Iowa’s rising cancer rates.
Ketton remained positive after her diagnosis. She had founded a breast cancer support group with her two daughters, whom are also breast cancer survivors. Through her involvement in the group, she had talked to dozens of women with breast cancer about their experience and struggles. When she got the news, she knew what she wanted: a double mastectomy.
Ketton said she was terrified if she didn’t get a double mastectomy, she would be at risk for recurrence, meaning her cancer would come back. Ketton sought treatment at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and her local cancer center in Waterloo.
During Ketton’s first treatment, a social worker visited her and said it was okay to be upset, and it was okay to cry. After that, Ketton was in better spirits.
“I just had to get it together and get my mind right so my body could be well and do what I’m told,” Ketton said. “And from there, from then on, my second, all my treatments after that were positive. I went in with the right frame of mind.”
After several rounds of chemotherapy, surgery to remove her tumor, and radiation, Ketton was declared cancer-free in February 2023.
Ever since, Ketton has been trying to live her life normally. However, she realized that is simply not possible.
According to the registry’s report, Ketton is among hundreds of thousands of Iowans living with or having survived cancer — including one of more than 37,000 breast cancer survivors estimated to be living in Iowa.
The ICR has been tracking cancer in Iowa since its inception in 1973 as part of a nationwide push to monitor and combat cancer. Every year, it creates the fullest picture of the disease’s prevalence in the state.
A look at Iowa’s cancer problem
Iowa is one of only two states with a growing rate of new cancers, which rises approximately 0.7 percent every year.
The Hawkeye state is also second in the nation for total cancer incidence, with 491 of every 100,000 Iowans expected to receive a cancer diagnosis in 2025, according to the Iowa Cancer Registry’s 2025 Cancer in Iowa report.
The top three deadliest cancers in Iowa in 2025 will be lung, colon and rectum, and pancreatic cancers, the report states, making up nearly 40 percent of cancer deaths, with lung cancer causing 22 percent of total deaths alone.
The report finds that 152 of every 100,000 Iowans will die of cancer in 2025.
inform policymakers as they look to take action on the issue.
“There’s a lot we still don’t know, and multiple factors are likely at play,” Reynolds said. “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but we do need to get to the bottom of this.”
State Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, is also a doctor. He said he was moved by the governor’s commitment to the issue he has been working on in the legislature for years. He said the governor’s commitment to the issue will go a long way in moving along other proposals to address cancer in Iowa.
cent are contributors to the state’s high incidence.
The Iowa Cancer Plan focuses on several different risk factors. Sittig said one solution that could be the most effective is increasing Iowa’s tobacco tax. Nash said increasing the price of tobacco through taxes is the best way to decrease smoking rates.
Iowa last increased its cigarette tax in 2007, resulting in a smoking rate decrease in 91 percent of Iowa counties, Nash said.
However, no legislation has been introduced to increase the tobacco tax this legislative session.
While Iowa cancer rates continue to soar, the cause has yet to be determined. A number of factors contribute to Iowa’s consistently high cancer rates, Director of Research, Analytics, and Dissemination at the Iowa Cancer Registry
Sarah Nash said in an email to The Daily Iowan
There is no one cause of cancer, Nash said. Every case of cancer in Iowa is the combination of a number of genetic, lifestyle, environmental, and other factors.
However, several known risk factors contribute to Iowa’s climbing cancer rates, including the state’s smoking rate, the state’s rate of binge drinking, the state’s exposure to ultraviolet radiation, and the state’s radon exposure.
Reynolds announces collaboration to investigate rising cancer rate
Reynolds’ connection with the state’s cancer rates is personal. Her husband Kevin Reynolds, Iowa’s First Gentleman, was diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2023. Reynolds announced he was in remission during her annual Condition of the State Address this year, where she announced her initiative.
“An adverse health diagnosis can change everything in the blink of an eye,” Reynolds said in January. “One moment, you’re playing with your kids or grandkids, planning family gatherings, and doing daily life. Then, lightning strikes, and those everyday joys seem not just precious but fragile. It puts things into perspective and reminds us of what matters most.”
The program Reynolds’ initiative will launch will examine the root causes of Iowa’s growing cancer rates to help
“I think the most important public policy that we need to do or that we discuss is investigating the causes of cancer in Iowa,” Baeth said. “We need to do a comprehensive investigation into what else is out there that might be specifically driving our cancer rate, and because there’s no other national group that’s going to come to our help, we need to be homegrown in figuring out this question.”
Baeth said since he is in the minority party, he doesn’t control what policies can be passed or considered, otherwise he would look to address the issue. However, he works across the aisle on a number of other pieces of legislation that have more political momentum.
“Since I’ve been cancer-free, I’ve been trying to live life like it was before my diagnosis, but I can’t. I never have reached that point, so I’m not going back there.”
Whitney Zahnd, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the UI, said the collaboration will give researchers and policymakers the chance to work on finding the cause for Iowa’s rising rates and a chance to find common ground on policy proposals to control the state’s rising cancer rates.
Zahnd said the governor’s attention on the issue also aids the effort to combat Iowa’s rising cancer rates and will bring more legislative attention to the issue.
“In some ways, there’s kind of this perfect storm of opportunity to really try to address [proposals to prevent cancer incidents],” Zahnd said. “What can we find that the common ground on — whether it’s policy changes or in financial investments — or whatever it may be that we can come to agreement on to support. Because the hardest challenge is finding that agreement.”
Lawmakers consider preventative measures
There are a number of things known to cause cancer researchers have delineated and made policy recommendations on, and a number of those proposals have been taken up by lawmakers.
The Iowa Cancer Consortium is a coalition of cancer experts and researchers who work to address Iowa’s gaps in cancer control and prevention. Every five years, they publish a report dubbed the Iowa Cancer Plan, which gives recommendations on policy action to help combat the state’s rising cancer rate.
Kelly Wells Sittig, the executive director of the Iowa Cancer Consortium, said while cancer is not entirely preventable, there are a number of factors that can reduce cancer risk.
“Estimates of how much cancer is preventable vary quite a bit, but there is a lot that we know. Cancer is a really complex disease, and it’s a result of a lot of different factors,” Sittig said. “So, there’s not necessarily one thing that can prevent cancer from occurring, but again, there are a lot of things that we know about how to reduce risk.”
However, many of the state’s most common cancers are linked to behavioral and environmental risk factors public policy can work to address, Sittig said.
Iowa is 12th in the incidence of lung cancer rates in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute, but it makes up 12 percent of new cancers in Iowa, according to the Iowa Cancer Registry’s report.
Nash said a high risk of radon exposure in most of the state and a high smoking rate among Iowans at 15 per -
“The cigarette tax has not changed since 2007, and we know that inflation has certainly gone up since then,” Baeth said. “And the taxes on cigarettes are probably one of the most effective public policy tools that we have to reduce smoking.”
Nash said another risk factor for several cancers, including breast and prostate, is alcohol use. Iowa has a high rate of binge drinking compared to the national average, with 22 percent of the population reporting binge drinking in the last year, according to the registry’s 2024 Cancer in Iowa report, which focused on alcohol-related cancer risks.
Iowa is in the top five states for binge drinking and among the top states for alcohol-related cancers, including the highest rate in the Midwest, according to the registry.
The Iowa Cancer Plan recommends increasing the alcohol tax to decrease consumption along with public education campaigns.
“There is a clear association between alcohol and some cancers,” Sittig said. “And so it’s important to think about how we can reduce alcohol use overall and then also individually.”
Baeth and Rep. Hans Wilz, R-Ottumwa, recently introduced a bill to increase the price on the cheapest liquors. The bill, House File 830, was killed by a legislative deadline.
“The data show that when alcohol is so dang cheap, it encourages binge drinking, and that leads to downstream health effects,” Baeth said. “There’s growing data that if we increase the price of that cheapest alcohol, we can help protect a lot of folks who would otherwise abuse it.”
Tanning bed use and exposure to the sun leads to higher rates of melanoma, an aggressive skin cancer, Nash said. According to the 2025 Cancer in Iowa report, 6.7 percent of new cancers in Iowa in 2025 will be melanoma.
Wilz has led a charge to require parental consent for tanning bed use for minors and display warnings that tanning bed use might cause cancer in tanning salons.
His bill, House File 524, passed the House, 83-13, with bipartisan support for the bill.
During remarks on the bill, Wilz said the bill is just one piece of the puzzle in fighting Iowa’s rising cancer rates.
“Cancer prevention is just as important as cancer research and medical treatment,” Wilz said. “We need to attack cancer in every way to ensure Iowa cancer rates do go down. Prevention is the way to get past this, to drive our rates down in Iowa as we do research. As we look for ways to treat people that have it, be compassionate, and be caring.”
Sittig said the best way to fight cancer is a collaborative effort, and the governor’s initiative is an important step in finding and combating the reason for Iowa’s rising cancer rates.
“I really do think it comes down to collaboration, that we all have to be working together, and that the work takes resources and of all kinds,” Sittig said. “Nobody wants Iowa to be the state with the second highest incidence rate in the country. None of us want that, and so we have to all work together.”
Isabella Tisdale | The Daily Iowan Cathy Ketton poses for a portrait after the cancer policy panel at the College of Public Health on Feb. 25. Ketton was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022.
Madison Frette | The Daily Iowan
The Iowa Cancer Registry hosts a news conference to announce the 2025 Cancer in Iowa Report in the Public Health Building in Iowa City on Feb. 25.
Cathy Ketton Iowa breast cancer survivor
Kitty Corner greets cat lovers in IC
The business has played a role in relocating rescue cats to Iowa City homes.
Sam Peterson News Reporter news@dailyiowan.com
Kitty Corner Social Club has rapidly gained popularity among cat lovers and socialites in the short time since it opened its doors in Iowa City.
Visitors seeking to unwind while inter acting with adoptable cats have been drawn to the unique establishment, which combines the allure of an inter active area with a nice lounge setting involving different seating arrange ments, a warm color scheme, and a homey living room feeling.
Since opening its doors on Feb. 25, the club has exceeded expectations with high foot traffic and growing community interest owner Katy Brown said. One of the core missions of Kitty Corner is to facilitate cat adoptions by partnering with local animal shelters. They provide a comfortable space for adoptive cats to interact with potential owners.
Unlike traditional shelters, where stress and limited space can make it difficult for animals to show their true personalities, the lounge setting allows visitors to engage with cats more natu rally.
Brown said she is blown away by the number of adoptions they have facilitated since their opening. She said since they opened in February, they’ve been able to get 13 cats adopted into homes. The number of cats available for adoption at local shelters has risen to well over 100 cats, which Brown said is something she hopes Kitty Corner can help reduce.
“The community response has been overwhelming, and we are so heartfelt and grateful that people are choosing to come in and spend quality time with the animal, getting to know their little personality,” Brown said. “The difference that sets our experience apart from any cat lounge or apart from going to the shelter to adopt
funded. Seeing cats in a situation where they’re stressed makes adoption a little more difficult,” Sperry said. “We’ve provided this space where cats really get to be themselves, get comfortable, socialize with other cats, and socialize with people. So, I’m not too surprised that we’ve just had cats sort of flying out the door because they need homes.”
“The animal shelters are wildly underfunded. Seeing cats in a situation where they’re stressed makes adoption a little more difficult .”
Dolly Sperry Kitty Corner employee
is that the cats are in a home-like setting where they’re really at ease.”
The adoption procedure is made to ensure cats and their future owners are a good match. In a laid-back environment, visitors interested in adopting can spend time with the cats and learn about their personalities and behaviors. Employees help prospective adopters with the application process, addressing information about the cat’s care and any specific requirements.
Dolly Sperry, a Kitty Corner employee, said seeing cats when they’re stressed at the animal shelter can create a difficult adoption process.
“The animal shelters are wildly under-
While Kitty Corner has had early success, the team constantly works to improve the adoption experience. Efforts are being made to bring in more cats from shelters and rescue organizations. Employee Kris Knoll said they’re grateful for the people coming to adopt cats who are aware of whether they are a good fit or not.
“It’s actually very heartwarming to see how many college students come in, and they’re like, ‘I love cats, but it would not be smart for me to adopt right now,’” Knoll said. “It’s so sad when a poor cat is returned to a shelter because the adopter couldn’t take care of the cat. So, I really have not had anyone trying to adopt a cat who obviously couldn’t take care of the cat.”
Isabella Tisdale | The Daily Iowan
Edith Bouvier Beale perches on a cat tree at Kitty Corner Social Club in Iowa City on March 11. The club has seen cats get adopted after just a few days in the building.
Isabella Tisdale | The Daily Iowan
Kitty Corner Social Club Katy Brown sits with cats at Kitty Corner Social Club in Iowa City on March 11. Brown opened the cafe with her oldest son, Cooper, after visiting other cat lounges around the world.
Isabella Tisdale | The Daily Iowan
Little Edie sits in front of the litter room at Kitty Corner Social Club in Iowa City on March 11. Kitty Corner offers 15, 30, and 60-minute sessions for attendees.
Sacred Collective fosters activism, inclusivity, and faith amid political turmoil
Rev. Anna Blaedel and Sean McRoberts disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church and built a new faith space committed to social justice and belonging.
Emma Jane News Reporter news@dailyiowan.com
After leaving the United Methodist Church over its restrictive policies on the LGBTQ+ community, Rev. Anna Blaedel co-founded Sacred Collective, a multi-denominational spiritual community in Iowa City. Now, as Iowa lawmakers pass sweeping legislation restricting LGBTQ+ rights and education, Sacred Collective blends spirituality and activism, offering a space for action and belonging.
Blaedel, an openly queer former ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, disaffiliated in 2019 after church leaders voted to uphold and strengthen the ban on LGBTQ+ clergy and same-sex marriage. That same year, they also stepped down as director of the former University of Iowa Wesley Center, a campus ministry previously affiliated with the church.
“There was this deep history within Methodist tradition of social justice,” Blaedel said. “And I think the United Methodist Church really lost its way.”
Sacred Collective, located on Linn Street in Iowa City’s Northside, is the successor to Blaedel’s work with the Wesley Center and is jointly operated by Blaedel and Rev. Sean McRoberts, who also disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church in 2019.
Blaedel said the nonprofit sustains its space through reduced rent from a friend who owns the building and relies on small-dollar donations, which can be made in person or online.
“Rather than independent, we think of ourselves as interdependent,” Blaedel said. “Wanting to collaborate with anyone, whether it’s an organization or individuals, who can do good creative work for the common good.”
Raised in the United Methodist Church, Blaedel said they were inspired by their church community’s social justice work from an early age. Since disaffiliating, they have not formally joined another denomination but have instead shaped Sacred Collective as a home for what they call “spiritual misfits.”
“Misfit-ness is a point of coalition and solidarity across individual identity,” Blaedel said. “Everyone knows what it feels like to be an outcast or an outsider and not belong — and to create belong -
ing.”
In addition to a monthly free community meal, Sacred Collective hosts various events that blend social justice and spirituality. Blaedel said the organization welcomes people of all faith backgrounds who share its core values of authenticity, courage, community, justice, sustainable leadership, and hospitality.
“Anyone who shares some of those core values, whatever the religious, cultural or spiritual tradition, feel like our people in community and connection,” Blaedel said, adding that another core value of Sacred Collective is providing the space for free will, trusting that those who can afford to donate will do so.
Most recently, on March 9, Iowa City residents gathered at Sacred Collective for a letter-writing campaign to contact state politicians about various laws proposed and passed in the current legislative session. One particularly controversial measure, Senate File 418, was signed into law by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds last month, removing gender identity as a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
“Kind of full-on assault of everything precious and dear and sacred,” Blaedel said of the new law. “It’s not surprising, but it’s shocking. And I don’t want to stop being shocked.”
Blaedel said they and McRoberts traveled to the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines to join hundreds of Iowans protesting the legislation, which they
As transgender Iowans face increased discrimination in housing, finance, employment, education, and public accommodations under the new law, Sacred Collective continues to provide a welcoming and supportive space for all community members, regardless of income or identity.
“Every trans person I know is
“Every trans person I know is exhausted and terrified. Someone described it as walking around like a raw nerve end.”
described as a beautiful experience.
“That doesn’t mean that the devastating violence that’s being reaped in the local community, in this country, and internationally isn’t devastating, genocidal, destructive,” Blaedel said. “I don’t mean to minimize that at all, but I really do believe in what happens when we practice together the world that we believe in.”
exhausted and terrified,” Blaedel said.
“Someone described it as walking around like a raw nerve end.”
The current legislative session included several bills affecting education — such as restrictions on LGBTQ+ topics in grades K-12, introducing Bible study and fetal development courses in public schools, and expanding state funding for
private school tuition. Iowa City resident Jennifer New said she attended the letter-writing event at Sacred Collective to express her concerns about these measures.
“There’s so much gray area. And I think partly what it does to any educator is it can really put you in this place of total fear,” New said.
Beyond education, Iowa City resident Claire Buchanan shared the personal impact of Senate File 360 — a proposed bill that would ban health care providers from administering mRNA vaccines.
“I had leukemia when I was three, and I would not be alive without an mRNA vaccine,” Buchanan said.
She emphasized her view that the proposed bill will have no positive outcomes if passed.
“Whether it be cancer survivors like myself, anybody that’s high risk for COVID, anybody that is disabled [and] needs this form of treatment, it serves nothing except to kill those people,” Buchanan said. “So, I’m writing to these people [to ask], ‘Why are you passing legislation that exist only to kill your constituents?’”
The Wedge moves to downtown Iowa City
Owners look forward to new community opportunities and serving a new generation.
Sam Peterson
The Wedge Pizzeria has settled into its new downtown Iowa City location following an unexpected buyout of its former space.
The long-time Iowa City staple had to relocate after the former building it was renting in was purchased by Casey’s Retail Company last fall. While the move was initially challenging due to moving heavy equipment and revamping the new space, The Wedge has embraced its new home, bringing its pizza to a more active area of the city. Despite the sudden need to find a new location, The Wedge has seen increased foot traffic since reopening downtown, according to co-owner Regina Miller, attracting a mix of college students, faculty, and residents.
The move has allowed the restaurant to expand its reach, offering a stop for both lunch and dinner crowds. The new location has also made The Wedge closer to other popular downtown establishments, allowing for potential collaborations and a more substantial presence in the local food scene.
Quinn Morris, a Wedge employee, has seen much anticipation from the community during their move. Regulars have been talking about the relocation for some time and have been excited about the move to the downtown district.
“People are really excited because we’ve been around a long time. People are stoked we’re downtown,” Morris said. “I get most excited about regulars who are just glad that we’re close by.”
Once the buyout was finalized, The Wedge had a limited time frame of about a month to
find a new space, secure permits, and transition the entire operation. Finding a suitable downtown location presented hurdles, including adapting to a different kitchen layout, but the team remained committed to preserving the pizzeria’s identity, Miller said, while improving its overall experience.
“I think there were various contractors in and out of there doing various work and appraisals and things for the better part of a month,” Morris said. “The mov ing itself took a week, getting everything out of the old place and then getting the new one set up and ready to go. It was pretty arduous, but we made it through.”
Miller said they had about two months to relocate and reopen the entire business.
“We shoved everything in U-Hauls and moved our ovens and big mixer, which were all super heavy,” Miller said. “It definitely took some doing. About three days of mov ing everything from the old location.”
Wedge employee J.D. Noble said the move to the downtown district has had a positive response, as The Wedge was once located by the Iowa City downtown library.
“I’ve lived in Iowa City for 30 years, so there’s a whole generation of people that never knew The Wedge downtown, but there’s a whole group of people that love it,” Noble said. “So, it’s nice for the people that are just discovering it for the first time.”
Now that The Wedge is back in opera tion, employees say they are excited to welcome these new guests. They also hope to increase their hours of operation soon to serve the active nightlife of downtown Iowa City.
“We have hired some new staff, and we’re trying to get them up to speed on how to cook pizzas, which takes a little bit,” Miller said. “But eventually, our plan is to open later on Friday and Saturday nights.”
LOCATION OF THE WEDGE
The Wedge moved downtown after Casey’s Retail Company purchased their previous building.
Samantha DeFily | The Daily Iowan
An attendee writes a letter to legislators during a letter-writing event hosted by the Sacred Collective to address recent Iowa legislature on March 9. Sacred Collective was established by Anna Blaedel.
Wyatt Goodale | The Daily Iowan
Mike Harris tops a pizza with black olives at The Wedge Pizzeria in downtown Iowa City on March 10. Harris has worked for The Wedge for 18 years and is now the head pizza maker and co-owner.
Wyatt Goodale | The Daily Iowan
Regina Miller describes the pizza types at the Wedge Pizzeria in downtown Iowa City on March 10. Miller is an Iowa native and co-owner of The Wedge.
Map by Jacob Statler | The Daily Iowan
Anna Blaedel Reverend at Sacred Collective
FRAN’S RUN AT IOWA
With Fran McCaffery’s recent dismissal, The Daily Iowan chose 13 memorable moments from his time at Iowa.
March 28, 2010: Fran McCaffery is hired as Iowa’s head coach.
March 29, 2010:
In a press conference, McCaffery is introduced by then-athletics director Gary Barta.
Nov. 16, 2010:
McCaffery earns his first win as Iowa’s head coach with a 68-40 triumph over Louisiana Monroe.
March 13, 2012:
McCaffery leads the Hawkeyes to their first postseason win under his watch in a 84-75 triumph over Dayton in the National Invitation Tournament.
March 13, 2022:
McCaffery and the Hawkeyes capture their third Big Ten tournament championship in program history with a 75-66 upset of Purdue.
Jan. 15, 2024: McCaffery passes Tom Davis as Iowa’s all-time winningest coach with an 86-77 road win at rival Minnesota.
March 14, 2025: McCaffery is fired by athletics director Beth Goetz after 15 seasons. He finished with a final record of 297-207.
Nov. 14, 2010: McCaffery coaches his first regular season game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes fell to South Dakota State, 79-69.
Jan. 23, 2011:
McCaffery secures his first Big Ten win as head coach with a 91-77 home victory over Indiana.
March 20, 2015: McCaffery guides the Hawkeyes to their first NCAA tournament victory since 2001.
March 14, 2021: Iowa is awarded a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, their highest seed of the McCaffery era.
Dec. 8, 2022: McCaffery wins his 500th career game as a college head coach after a 75-56 demolition of in-state rival Iowa State.
March 12, 2025:
McCaffery wins his final game as the Hawkeyes’ head coach with a 77-70 upset triumph over Ohio State.
FRAN’S NOTABLE MOMENTS TOLD IN
Over the 15 years Fran McCaffery was head coach at the University of Iowa, the Hawkeyes secured 297 wins. As Iowa’s all-time winningest coach, McCaffery produced four All-Americans and six NBA players during his tenure.
Matt Sindt | The Daily Iowan
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery sits down for an interview on CBS during a team practice at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 15, 2023.
(Above) Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery reacts during a basketball game between Iowa and Iowa State at Carver-Hawkeye
Iowa City on Dec. 8, 2022. The Hawkeyes defeated the Cyclones, 75-56. (Top right) Fran McCaffery speaks at a press conference for the first time as the Iowa men’s basketball head coach on March 28, 2010. (Bottom right) Iowa guard Connor McCaffery embraces Iowa head coach and father Fran McCaffery after stepping off the court for the
between Iowa and Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, on
Iowa season wraps with promise
The Hawkeyes lost a lot of talent entering the season but rallied around their coach.
second round of the NCAA tournament in a game between the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes and the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., on March 24. The Sooners defeated the Hawkeyes 96-62. Affolter had three points and nine rebounds.
Chris Meglio
Jack Birmingham Sports Reporter
With the departure of Iowa women’s basketball legend Caitlin Clark and former head coach Lisa Bluder, very few expected the Hawkeyes to go as far as they did this season.
The Hawkeyes always had the talent to succeed, but the main question entering the season was how they could replace their lost veteran talent after Clark went first overall in the WNBA draft to the Indiana Fever, a huge loss in itself. The departure of Caitlin Clark, one of college basketball’s all-time great players who went first overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft to the Indiana Fever, was a huge loss in itself. That’s talent that cannot be replaced. Then you add in Kate Martin, “the glue”
and vocal leader who also turned pro. And defensive ace Gabbie Marshall, who retired from basketball in order to attend the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill for grad school. Losing your three best players plus the head coach of the team for the last 24 years usually equals a hard rebuild for the foreseeable future. But somehow, someway, this program stayed afloat, thanks to the famous Iowa culture.
“I’d like to think [the players are] coming in with a mentality, little chip on their shoul-
der because most everybody else is going to say, ‘Hey, you lost all that,’” first-year head coach Jan Jensen said at her introductory press conference on May 14, 2024. “This year was going to be a lot different in the sense of rebuilding in the sense of graduating seniors, including a generational player like Caitlin. A lot of people came for Caitlin, but they stayed for Hannah. They stayed for Syd. They certainly stayed for Kate and Gab-
Iowa Pitcher Reece Beuter is bouncing back
The fifth-year had a rough first season with Iowa in 2024 but is seeing growth. Jake
Roster turnover is more prominent than ever in the world of college athletics.
With professional sports, the transfer portal, and the new world of Name, Image, and Likeness, athletes are leaving programs more frequently than before, causing coaches to look for new players to step up and make an immediate impact.
Iowa baseball head coach Rick Heller faced this exact problem heading into the 2025 season.
With starting pitchers Brody Brecht and Marcus Morgan departing to the MLB Draft this past summer, Heller was in search of two new arms that could fill in the weekend rotation.
Preseason Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Cade Obermueller was poised to take command as the ace of the team and place
“A guy with great stuff. Stuff that’s good enough to have him pitching in pro ball for a long, long time .”
Rick Heller Iowa baseball head coach
himself in the Friday starting spot.
Third-year Aaron Savary, who carved out a position as a long reliever last season for the Hawkeyes, was expected to make the jump from the bullpen to the starting rotation on Saturdays.
This left one spot open to fill out the three-man unit. With a handful of strong candidates at the ready, Heller had to make a tough decision of who got the nod going into the season.
“You knew Savary, who at times pitched really well last year, would be pushing hard for one of the spots,” Heller said. “But then the Sunday spot, there were several guys that were kind of lumped in there to fight it out and see who’s going to win that.”
One candidate Heller and the coaching staff hoped to make the jump was fifth-year Reese Beuter.
Beuter, who played two seasons at Kirkwood Community College and one at Dallas Baptist, transferred to Iowa in 2024 for a spot in the bullpen.
In his first year as a Hawkeye, Beuter struggled to find his footing throughout the spring season. Pitching just over 18 innings of work, Beuter had a 1-3 record while posting a 12.54 earned run average — a significant downgrade from previous outputs.
“I think about a guy [Beuter] that had a really rough year last year,” Heller said. “A guy with great stuff. Stuff that’s good enough to have him pitching in pro ball for a long, long time. For whatever reason, it just didn’t
go very well.” After the season was over, Heller and his coaching staff went to work immediately to figure out what was wrong with Beuter.
An evident issue was with delivery. They believed that while the talent was there, batters were able to track the ball easier based on the way he finished his windup.
“Right away in the summer he went out to make some adjustments to make his delivery more deceptive,” Heller said. “All of us felt like, for whatever reason, guys could really see him. Even though it was 94-96 mph at times, they just saw the ball really well.”
Iowa women’s wrestling is a dynasty in the making
Back-to-back dominating title runs prove the Hawkeyes are on the path to long-term dominance.
Jake Olson Sports Reporter sports@dailyiowan.com
The purpose of establishing a program at any level of college athletics is to achieve consistent, repeated success year after year. Showing the rest of the respected sport that one year of winning isn’t a fluke but rather a stepping stone in steering a program in the right direction.
This task was assigned to Iowa women’s wrestling head coach Clarissa Chun entering the second season of her young career
— proving to the country the program she leads isn’t intimidated by the so-called “powerhouses” of the sport.
The immensely successful 2023-24 campaign was one that Chun couldn’t even script herself. In pure and utter dominant fashion, Iowa carved out a lane and showed the entire collegiate landscape why they deserved to be there. The Hawkeyes went 16-0 in dual competitions, won both the NWCA Duals and NCWWC National Championship titles, and had six individual national champions as well as 12 All-Americans.
Chun completed this storybook season by winning the 2024 USA Wrestling Coach of the Year, NCWWC, and The Open Mat, respectively. But the biggest question heading into the 2024-25 season was not what Iowa did in the past, but how the Hawkeyes could retain their championship success moving forward.
Chun was immediately handicapped by a slew of impactful wrestlers departing the program. National champions Felicity Taylor, 116 pounds, and Marlynne Deede, 155 pounds, would leave the team after run-
ning out of eligibility, while All-American Bella Mir, 155 pounds, decided to transfer to North Central College just months before the season started.
Chun countered this by doing some work in the transfer portal and bringing in a talented class of freshmen.
The biggest additions were securing Macey Kilty and Kennedy Blades. Coming in at the 145- and 160- pound weight classes, both Kilty and Blades had championship or bust hopes for the Hawkeyes
|
Cody Blissett | The Daily Iowan
Iowa head coach Jan Jensen hugs Iowa guard Sydney Affolter during the
Sahithi Shankaiahgari | The Daily Iowan
Iowa pitcher Reece Beuter throws the ball during a baseball game between Iowa and Milwaukee at Duane Banks Field on April 23, 2024. The fifth-year has contributed greatly to the team’s early season success.
Softball
Tuesday, March 25
South Dakota State Iowa City, Iowa
2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 28-30
Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin
4 p.m, 12 p.m, and 12 p.m. Track and Field
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, March 27-29
Texas Relays
Austin, Texas
Friday and Saturday, March 28-29
Texas State Invitational San Marcos, Texas
Saturday, March 29
Illinois State Redbird
Challenge Normal, Illinois
Women’s Golf
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, March 23-25
Nashville Invitational Old Hickory, Tennessee
WHAT YOU’VE MISSED
For the first time in 15 years, the Iowa men’s basketball team is searching for a new head coach.
The Hawkeyes have parted ways with Fran McCaffery, the program’s all-time winningest head coach, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel on March 14.
“Fran McCaffery has been an integral part of our Hawkeye family for the past 15 years,” Iowa athletics director Beth Goetz said in a statement announcing McCaffery’s departure. “He is a tremendous coach and teacher, and we are grateful for the positive impact he has made on the institution and the community. We have a deep appreciation for his dedication to our studentathletes and his passion for the game that will have a lasting impact on our program.” McCaffery compiled a 297-207 overall mark with Iowa, passing Tom Davis as the program’s all-time winningest coach in January 2024. The Hawkeyes finished fifth or higher in the Big Ten standings in seven of his last 11 seasons and won the Big Ten tournament in 2022. McCaffery was named the 22nd head coach in program history in March 2010. The Hawkeyes had fallen on hard times at the time of his hiring, but McCaffery had clawed Iowa back to the postseason by his second season in 2011-12. After barely missing out on the NCAA tournament in 2013, the Hawkeyes finally ended an eight-year drought by qualifying in 2014. Iowa suffered a heartbreaking overtime defeat to Tennessee in the play-in game but broke through in 2015 with a firstround victory over Davidson. Baseball
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Where does men’s wrestling go from here?
Votzmeyer
Colin
Sports Editor colin.votzmeyer@dailyiowan.com
It takes armies to dismantle dynasties. And it’s going to take something like that for the Iowa men’s wrestling program to dethrone Penn State’s grip over the college wrestling world.
The Hawkeyes, 25 NCAA team titles to their name since the championships’ inception, have won just one since 2011. Penn State, in that same time frame, has won 11. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize the storied Iowa men’s wrestling program sits engulfed in Penn State’s shadow. And it will take plenty of jet fuel to escape.
With the Nittany Lions yet again capturing Big Ten and NCAA team titles over the Hawkeyes — not to mention beating them, 30-8, keeping Iowa in the No. 2 position all season — the time is now to adapt or die.
That’s because collegiate wrestling is no longer just the top-ranked leader, second-ranked chaser, and then everyone else. Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Ohio State, and even Iowa State are mixing in to give Iowa its toughest time yet. Despite respective 21-16, 19-16, 24-13, and 21-15 wins over these opponents in dual meets this season, those victories aren’t getting any easier — especially as Nebraska beat Iowa out for second in the Big Ten on March 9 and again at the NCAA championships on March 22.
The Hawkeyes are slowing down. Only three starters relatively contended for NCAA titles this year, and Stephen Buchanan was the lone champion. The Hawkeyes fell to fourth in the championships. Throughout this season, a plague struck the offensive attacks of the other seven in head coach Tom Brands’ rotation.
And they know it.
High-powered offenses were suddenly hard to come by against top opponents. Ben Kueter, Iowa’s starting 285-pounder, finished third in the Big Ten but won by just a 2-1 decision.
“One thing this weekend did for me [was I realized] how hard college wrestling is,” Kueter said after the win. “I’m pretty confident in myself. I need to get better at attacking.”
The time is now to implement a better attack focus. Kueter and fellow redshirt freshman 184-pounder Gabe Arnold have to take their experiences over the past two seasons into stronger offensive threats.
And Michael Caliendo, an offensive powerhouse at 165 pounds, runs through everyone except Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink — the brick wall in his way to champion status. Caliendo has seen him again and again, enough to dedicate serious time to soul-searching this offseason for ways to beat him.
That goes beyond the technicalities of wrestling.
The Hawkeyes haven’t had a Big Ten champion since Spencer Lee and Real Woods in 2023 — or NCAA team title since 2021. Now the Brands brothers are getting the Kirk Ferentz and Fran McCaffery treatment on social media, Hawkeye fans calling for a coaching change despite Tom signing on until 2029.
But seeing Cael Sanderson take over a Penn State program with just one NCAA title and turn it into a powerhouse certainly brings some frustrations, especially in watching the Nittany Lions speed past and wave goodbye. Iowa’s commits over the next few years have committed to the Brands — no one else — but these wrestlers need to commit to a championship program, too.
The Brands brothers aren’t the
issue, but there needs to be a more modern shift to the sport. A fresh hire like Kyle Dake or even Spencer Lee could usher in the next era as the Brands brothers retire out. That shift could be a wary approach to the transfer portal, a must in the common era, but that has limited the Hawkeye success story that was growing in-house talent.
With some shifts in the lineup next year, that’s certainly possible quite soon. Right now, next season looks like an adjustment to set up for that success, but should Brands make the following moves to the starting lineup, something more might be in store.
125 pounds — Joey Cruz: Sure, Cruz fluctuated this season. He finished 10th in the Big Ten, barely qualified for the NCAA tournament, and struggled when he got there. But he’s just a sophomore. And the ups and downs of this year will bring him good experience to be a top-10 wrestler next season, especially with Brands’ coaching and continued presence of Spencer Lee around the program.
133 pounds — Drake Ayala: Currently just a junior, Ayala is going to be the best returner for the Hawkeyes next season. This one certainly has a fire lit under him after the pinned loss to Lucas Byrd at the Big Ten championships and another runner-up finish in the NCAA. Without a smile as he stood on that podium, that alone should be plenty to lock in Big Ten and NCAA championships for him in one year’s time. 141 pounds — to be determined: A fat question mark remains at 141 pounds. With Cullan Schriever gone, it’s up to current redshirt freshmen Ryder Block or Kale Petersen to step in. But each of those three 141-pounders struggled this year, so Block and Petersen either make leaps in progress, or Brands finds himself back digging into the transfer portal.
149 pounds — Victor Voinovich: The portal worked with
149-pounder Kyle Parco, leaving another absence in the lighter-weights next year, and it should again with Victor Voinovich next year. He would be a nice step-in as a junior who transferred from Oklahoma State and took a year to learn from the experience around him. But don’t rule out another likely shift: Miguel Estrada to his natural weight of 149, Caliendo down to 157, and a return of Patrick Kennedy to 165.
157 pounds — Miguel Estrada: Estrada is the only other 157-pounder left on the roster beyond fellow freshmen Isaiah Fenton and Joseph Kennedy, but Hawkeye fans don’t need to be upset about it. Brands relied on Estrada when Jacori Teemer was out this year, and he wrestles with grit and embodies that hard-headed attack necessary for success.
165 pounds — Michael Caliendo: It will be good to see familiarity on the back half of the lineup, Caliendo to be a senior next year. But the name of the game is simple: Beat Mesenbrink, his arch-nemesis. Regardless, Caliendo’s power will be reliable as always.
174 pounds
— Gabe Arnold: Arnold was spotty at 184 pounds this season, and it’s only right he bumps back down to his normal weight, as tough as it is to cast Patrick Kennedy aside. It’s naturally easier for Arnold to wrestle at 174 pounds, and as he’s currently just a redshirt freshman, his four ranked wins at 174 last season give him plenty of time to mold into the contender he wants to be. 184 pounds — Angelo Ferrari: Likely the easiest pick, Ferrari will be redshirt freshman upon sitting the end of this season out. His
only loss of the year was a one-point decision to Carter Starocci, and he beat No. 3 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State in a massive upset to prove his worth at 184 pounds. The expectation is at least one NCAA title for Ferrari over the next four years.
197 pounds AJ Ferrari: Conversely, likely the most controversial pick, the Hawkeyes need to chase Angelo’s older brother out of California and back to Iowa City. With Stephen Buchanan gone, Ferrari is the perfect pick with his ruthless attitude and 2021 NCAA title to boost the Hawkeyes into serious contention.
285 pounds — Ben Kueter: Kueter has plenty to work on, but he turned his season around at the end upon finishing third in the Big Ten. With Gable Steveson, Greg Kerkvliet, and Wyatt Hendrickson gone next year, Kueter’s to-be redshirt sophomore status should see him add some weight and make a serious run for the title.
The future is bright. Bo Bassett is the focus, but that focus should first be on FloWrestling’s top-ranked prospect Leo DeLuca. From Morristown, New Jersey, DeLuca will give Cruz a test for his 125-pound role.
Brothers Jarrel and Tyrel Miller of St. Edwards, Ohio, and both in the top-20 at 174 and 197 pounds, respectively — should develop into starters toward the tail-ends of their Hawkeye careers. The same goes for Leister Bowling from Colorado, filling in at 157 pounds.
The time is right now. The Hawkeyes have the weapons to adjust, adapt, and gun forward to the NCAA championships in 2026 with the Nittany Lions’ throne in sight, one step closer to rebuilding a Roman Empire of collegiate wrestling. But Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Who will win the NCAA men’s basketball title?
“I have no intentions of moving on.”
- Former Iowa men’s basketball head coach Fran McCaffery three days before his dismissal from the program
STAT OF THE WEEK
4-7
Iowa men’s basketball’s record in the NCAA tournament during the Fran McCaffery era from 2010 to 2025.
It is no secret the SEC is known as the premier conference for Division I football, and as much as Big Ten fans may hate to admit, the same could be said for men’s college basketball this year.
Leading the charge for the SEC in the national poll is No. 3 ranked Auburn, but Florida is lurking right behind the Tigers at No. 4. The Gators have wins against top-ranked teams such as No. 1 Auburn, No. 7 Alabama, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 12 Texas A&M, and No. 22 Mississippi State. These impressive wins against conference foes will surely do the Gators justice come late March.
Headlining for the Gators offense is a trio of guards led by Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin, and Will Richard.
All three guards are averaging over double-digit points per game, with Clayton Jr. averaging 17.5 points per game, Martin with 14.5, and Richard close behind with 13.6.
The Gator “trifecta” accounts for roughly 51 percent of the team’s assists this season and collectively accounts for 70 percent of Flori da’s made three-pointers. If this trio finds their stride from behind the arc, then they are more than capable of making a deep run in the NCAA tournament. Standing at a slightly different elevation and holding down the paint is starting center Alex Condon.
The 6-foot-11 big man currently averages 11.2 points per game alongside 7.9 rebounds per game. Condon is also the engine behind the top-20 rated defensive efficiency team in the nation, locking down the paint with 1.4 blocks per game this season. Listen, we all know March Madness is as unpredictable as it gets in the sports world. However, I believe the grueling schedule of the SEC has prepared the Gators for internal glory at the end of March.
Houston
For the past handful of seasons, the Houston basketball team has started to establish themselves as one of the premier programs in college basketball.
The Cougars have flexed a 62-9 record and have won two consecutive Big 12 regular season titles the past two years but have yet to push over the hump and cut down the nets in March Madness. But head coach Kelvin Sampson has arguably his most talented roster since taking the job in 2014. Cougar basketball is typically known for its soul-sucking defense that forces turnovers and suffocates opponents. While the defense remains in
the upper echelon of college basketball this season, the offense Sampson’s team creates is some of the best in recent program history.
Houston uses a guard tandem of LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharpe to give the team a spark on that side of the court. The duo combines for nearly 30 points per game while each shooting above 42 percent from beyond the arch.
As a whole, the team shoots 39.8 percent from the threepoint line, good for second-best in college basketball.
The defense, as mentioned before, remains one of the best units in the sport. Holding opponents to under 60 points per contest on 38 percent shooting, this Cougar unit denies opponents any opportunity for an easy look. With the mix of outstanding defense and improving offense, especially from the three-point line, Sampson and Houston are a serious threat to win the school’s first national championship in program history.
Jake Olson Sports Reporter
Trey Benson Sports Reporter
Men’s Golf
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, March 23-25
The Hootie Charleston, South Carolina
Emma Calabro | The Daily Iowan
Stephen Buchanan’s hand after defeating Penn State No. 4 Josh Barr
Championship at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on
State’s fourth consecutive victory at 177.0,
Cruz
Ayala
Voinovich
Estrada
Caliendo
Arnold
A. Ferrari AJ Ferrari
Kueter
bie. I think they stayed for what this team and culture is.”
And they stayed for this year, too.
The women’s basketball team sold out its tickets for the second-straight year in a matter of minutes, proving the success of the past two seasons would have a lingering effect for the near future.
It was also only a matter of minutes between Bluder retiring and Jensen being hired as her successor — a no-brainer for athletic director Beth Goetz to promote Bluder’s 24-year sidekick. She’s a true extension of the established foundation of the women’s basketball program.
“This is a seamless passing of the baton,” Goetz said at Jensen’s introductory press conference. “Jan models daily what it means to have a tireless work ethic, to lead with compassion and fiery passion and to be confident in who you are and how to go about chasing your dreams. Everything we needed in the next leader of this storied program was right here.”
There were several positive outcomes that came with Jensen’s promotion — the main one being that not one player entered the transfer portal. It’s been a common theme that tends to follow a coaching change, but not then.
In fact, the only roster change that happened through the transfer portal was the addition of Lucy Olsen, the third-highest scorer for the 2023-24 season behind Clark and Juju Watkins and the No. 1 rated player in the portal.
And because Jensen was the main recruiter throughout the Bluder era, she still retained the five committed freshmen that included four top-100 players in Ava Heiden, Aaliyah Guyton, Teagan Mallegni, Taylor Stremlow, and Callie Levin.
This year’s team was relatively young compared to last season’s team. And while the 2024-25 season was far from perfect, the Hawkeyes managed to see huge lengths of success.
“Obviously, building a new team and that chemistry, it’s gonna take a while,” Affolter told Scott Dochterman of The Athletic. “It definitely took longer than we would have wanted or anticipated. But I think we’ve done a great job.”
Jensen started the season 8-0, the best start to a coaching tenure in program history. Iowa showcased a versatile offense in its exhibition game against Missouri Western, with all 11 eligible players scoring in the 110-55 victory against the Griffons.
“I am grateful to have a team that did what they should’ve done tonight,” Jensen told HawkeyeSports after the game. “It’ll be a different feeling when the games count, and when we start playing our caliber of players, but I’m grateful to have this win.”
Jensen’s first win as a head coach, while not counted in the Hawkeyes’ record or standings, set the tone for an electrifying start to the season. Iowa averaged just shy of 78 points per game in the first eight games of the regular season, all while holding opponents to an average of just over 58 points per game.
By December, however, the pressure was piling on, and cracks were starting to show. While fans knew that this season would have ups and downs, the Hawkeyes’ first loss on Dec. 7 to a toughened Tennessee squad was cause for concern, specifically the Lady Vols’ 11-1 run over the contest’s
from 1B
after proving themselves at the international level years prior.
Seven new first-year students joined the team with the projection to learn and compete against some of the more established wrestlers in the program.
With some new faces on the team, Iowa entered the season with expectations to repeat as the NCWWC national champion, despite being ranked No. 2 in the NWCA preseason rankings behind King University.
Going in with a little chip on their shoulder, the Hawkeye team slowly worked its way through
Iowa team members make their way to the court
the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes and the No. 11 Murray State Racers at Lloyd Noble Center
Hawkeyes defeated the Racers 92-57.
final three minutes and 30 Iowa turnovers.
If December was a slap to the face, January came as a sucker punch. The Hawkeyes dropped five straight contests, none of them by more than eight points. Even though Iowa was favored against teams like Illinois and led squads like Nebraska and Oregon, all three of these games ended with losses.
“The Big Ten season’s a long season,” fourth-year Olsen said after the 62-57 loss to Illinois on Jan. 9. “There’s a lot of teams in there. Got to take every game one by one.”
Despite their spirit being far from broken and the opti-
“We
had a lot of those adverse moments, but growing is usually painful.”
Jan Jensen Iowa women’s basketball head coach
mism sticking around, the Hawkeyes’ postseason ambitions were in jeopardy. Iowa needed to turn things around, and it did just that.
A 24-point blowout on the road over Washington. A 76-69 upset over No. 4 USC on the same day that Clark’s No. 22 jersey was raised to the rafters. An 81-66 redemption at Nebraska, where Olsen scored 32 points. These moments
the regular season, finding themselves 9-0 entering the NWCA Dual Championships at the year’s halfway point. Iowa made a statement in the dual championships despite the glaring increase in competition.
In the same event last season, the Hawkeyes used a passivity point from North Central College to secure the 21-20 victory and take home first place. This year, it was a different story. After winning the previous three matches by a combined score of 110-22, the Hawkeyes were pitted against North Central once again. This time around, the match was completely different. Iowa
dominated the Cardinals from the jump, securing a 28-13 victory and its second consecutive national dual championship.
This performance foreshadowed what would come for the rest of the season.
Iowa would win their remaining six dual matches, place five champions in the Grand View Open, and win the NCWWC Region VII Championships — earning a second consecutive NCWWC National Championship berth while winning all 10 weight classes.
The Hawkeyes performance in the national championships had very similar results as the year prior: a team title, three
PITCHER
from 1B
While doing work on the field to fix some mechanical pitching issues, Beuter also focused on fixing the mental aspect of his game.
Beuter is now playing in his last year of collegiate ball. Putting pressure on himself to perform in previous seasons, Beuter walked into 2025 with one goal in mind: Try to have fun.
“I wanted to not put outside pressure on me,” Beuter said. “Not worry about how well I’m doing results-wise,
I just wanted to enjoy myself and make sure when I’m out on the field, that I don’t have a bunch of anxiety and stuff like that.”
These two offseason adjustments have led to Beuter having a very solid start for the Hawkeyes. In three starts, Beuter has posted 2.12 ERA while giving up four runs in 17 innings.
His best appearance came on Feb. 23 against Maryland Baltimore County.
Recording seven innings pitched, one hit, zero runs, and five strikeouts, Beuter has never looked that sharp
in his Iowa career for what was his second win of the season.
The early season success can get to anyone’s head. Beuter is taking a methodical approach when looking at the rest of the year — taking in the good with the bad but never dwelling on a poor outing for too long.
“Being diligent in bullpens and your day-to-day work,” Beuter said when talking about maintaining success. “Don’t over analyze. Take the positives through past outings, but also see what you need to work on. Don’t make it bigger than it is.”
were the Hawkeyes getting back on their feet, and as postseason play drew nearer, Iowa seemed to be back on track.
“We had a lot of those adverse moments, but growing is usually painful,” Jensen said after the Hawkeyes’ 20th win on March 2, an 81-66 triumph over Wisconsin. “If you use it right, the beautiful part can come, and this is, I think, a really beautiful part.”
Iowa had a lot to unpack after a tumultuous regular season, but per Jensen’s advice, the Hawkeyes grew from what had previously held them back, besting Wisconsin again and upsetting Michigan State, a previous loss, to reach the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
“We’ve worked a lot in practice [in] different situations, so I think that’s helped,” Olsen said after Iowa bested the Spartans, 74-61. “Then all the games that we lost previously, we learned a lot of lessons from that as well. We didn’t want to lose that game. I think we all came together collectively to make sure that didn’t happen again.”
Although the Hawkeyes fell by a point to Ohio State in the following game, their turnaround had qualified them for March’s big event, and Iowa took the floor with vigor to start the NCAA tournament, beating 11th-seeded Murray State, 92-57, on March 22.
When the Hawkeyes’ season came to an end in the second round of the NCAA tournament against Oklahoma on March 24, Jensen’s first year was in the books: 23-11 overall, a breakout season for Olsen and the freshmen, and proof that Iowa women’s basketball is still on the map.
individual national champions, and 15 All-Americans. But this time around, Iowa dominated the competition, pulling away from the rest of the teams and showing a clear difference in talent and skill.
Even with fewer individual champions, Iowa topped second-place North Central by 30 points and separated itself from the other teams in the field.
Regardless of people’s opinions on whether Iowa did even better than last year, Chun did the best thing possible for her program — show everyone that year one wasn’t just beginner’s luck, but a warning for the rest of the sport.
Sahithi Shankaiahgari | The Daily Iowan
The Iowa baseball team celebrates during a game between Iowa and Milwaukee at Duane Banks Field on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The Hawkeyes defeated the Panthers, 12-6.
Cody Blissett | The Daily Iowan
during the first round of the NCAA tournament in a game between
in Norman, Okla., on March 22. The
END OF THE ROAD
The No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes fell to the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners, 62-96, in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma, on March 24.
Cody Blissett | The Daily Iowan
(Top) Oklahoma center Raegan Beers blocks Iowa guard Sydney Affolter during a NCAA tournament second round game between the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes and the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., on March 24. The Sooners defeated the Hawkeyes, 96-62. Affolter had three points and nine rebounds. (Middle) Oklahoma center Raegan Beers prepares to shoot a free throw during the game. Beers had 11 points, 13 rebounds, and two steals. (Above) Oklahoma players cheer during the game. The Sooners advanced to the Sweet Sixteen after their win over the Hawkeyes. This will be the first time showing of the Sooners in the Sweet Sixteen since 2013. (Beside) Iowa guards Callie Levin and Lucy Olsen embrace following the game. This was Olsen’s last game in black and gold after she transferred to Iowa this season from Villanova.
‘Severance’ Season 2 is disappointingly middling
The hit sci-fi show returns to repeat the first season — both its succeses and its costly shortcomings.
Grant Darnell Arts Reporter arts@dailyiowan.com
In many ways, my experience watching the second season of “Severance” made me feel just as disconnected from reality as the main characters. Don’t get me wrong, I think the show is pretty good. When I see headlines like “Severance Season 2 Will Blow Your Mind” and “Gripping, Mind-Bending Masterpiece,” I get a dissonant feeling. I’ve even seen takes already hailing the show as one of the greatest of all time.
Respectfully, if you think “Severance” is one of the greatest television series of all time, you need to watch more television. In case you’ve forgotten, the show follows a team of Lumon employees led by Mark Scout who, thanks to experimental technology, has separated their professional and casual lives into two distinct personalities. Whenever they walk into work, their “innie” takes control, and when work is done for the
day, their “outie” lives the rest of their life. Naturally, this kind of relationship builds to a breaking point, and Season 2 picks up as the Lumon team faces consequences for actions taken during the Season 1 finale. Right off the bat, the premiere spends most of its runtime reverting the world to Season 1’s status quo. While I understand this creative choice making sense for the sake of longevity, I would have liked to see more consequences based on how Season 1 ended. At the very least, though, it’s hard to imagine them pulling a similar trick for Season 3 considering how Season 2 wraps up.
After Episode 1’s hard reset, the rest of the season spends time introducing disparate plot threads that only occasionally intersect. This is often the case with television, but it especially sticks out once you remember how consistently driven Season 1’s narrative was. In Season 2, the frayed threads feel out of place.
Another area of concern for me is the mystery. After the Season 2 premiere, I became worried this show would take a
page out of “Lost’s” playbook and just keep
introducing mysteries without solving them, theoretically ensuring a perpetual run. The difference is with “Lost” you get a deep emotional connection to every character, while in “Severance” many characters only have
Respectfully, if you think "Severance" is one the greatest television series of all time, you need to watch more television
one or two archetypal traits to fall back on.
In other words, a character simply having wife problems can only get you so far. Bizarrely, “Severance” often reminds me of workplace sitcoms like “The Office” and “Superstore.” Nobody ever seems to get any work done, yet somehow, work gets done. I wasn’t prepared for the degree to
which this season would explore romantic relationships. Due to the nature of the severed employees, one person is essentially two, and this allows for several “love pentagons,” if you will. I suppose you’d be hard-pressed to find another show where that’s the case.
While the first season’s finale was hard to top, I enjoyed the second season’s closing. Mark’s final choice, albeit unsurprising, made sense for his character, and I would be interested in seeing what happens next. Though, I wasn’t a fan of the final episode completely neglecting the Burt and Irving storyline that had been building previously.
I’m probably one of the last published writers telling you “Severance” is worth a watch, but my recommendation comes tempered. I don’t care for every plot point, nor do I believe the mystery elements to be as engaging as they could be, but this is still a well-produced series that, if nothing else, serves as a gateway to much more worthwhile mystery stories.
A guide to Mission Creek Festival 2025
Mission Creek Festival is mere weeks away. Find out where and when the most exciting acts will be taking the stage.
‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ is a sad and yet still incredible prequel
“Sunrise on the Reaping,” a prequel to “The Hunger Games” series, provides more background on the second winner of District 12.
Kyrsten White Arts Reporter arts@dailyiowan.com
“May the odds be ever in your favor.”
This infamous phrase from “The Hunger Games” follows and taunts a tribute throughout the Games. But are the odds ever truly in their favor?
For Haymitch Abernathy, it seems they are not. In Suzanne Collins’ newest novel, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” readers follow the Games that brought Katniss and Peeta their mentor in the original trilogy.
Although these Games, the 50th and second Quarter Quell, are mentioned a few times in the second and third portions of the trilogy, this prequel describes them in excruciating detail. Compared to the usual Hunger Games taking 24 kids, or tributes,
Learning exactly what happens during Haymitch’s Games was not something I was prepared for.
for this fight to the death, this 25-year anniversary special called for a reaping of double the tributes.
Haymitch is from District 12, the poorest district known for coal mining, so the odds are not in his favor from the jump. Knowing this fact and how many children are going to die, this novel easily becomes one of the most devastating reads of the series.
Learning exactly what happens during Haymitch’s Games was not something I was prepared for. As someone who recently finished the original trilogy, I had some feeling the Games would be similar to Katniss' Games, which takes place 24 years after this one. But I was wrong.
Starting on page one with the reminder that the reaping always takes place on July 4, which happens to be Haymitch’s birthday, I knew immediately readers would be in for an emotional rollercoaster. Watching this boy who just turned 16 years old get illegally reaped for the Games for reasons outside of his control was almost as bad as all the things we had to watch Katniss go through.
By the end of the book, I had my eyes opened by the stark reminder that the Capitol easily glorified everything that happened, and even I had my brain warped by their messages.
Instead of the selfish version of Haymitch presented on the recording of his Games, this book gives fans the chance to see the true details of how he was simply trying to help those in his alliance by distancing himself from them. With President Snow having sent him into the Games with a promise of death, he knew it would not be safe for the others to be near him.
It also would not have helped his side's plot of breaking the very arena they were fighting in.
With the help of victors whom we get to meet younger than when they are introduced in the original series, Haymitch is willing to fight the Capitol’s rules and propaganda. He is even willing to sacrifice himself for this cause.
In many of these scenes where we see him working out these difficult plans and experiencing the desire to destroy the Capitol, I was immediately reminded of Katniss. There are several times where he almost parallels Katniss, despite their differences in “The Hunger Games.”
Another of their major differences lies in how each of their stories ends. As we know Katniss can save the majority of the people she loves, Haymitch comes home to find the nearly opposite situation. Almost everybody he loves gets taken away from him, and he pushes away those who do not, becoming the version of himself we meet in the trilogy.
The message behind Collins’ books has always been present, but this novel almost drives it home more than the others. It reminds us how the Capitol, meant to be similar to our government, is willing to glorify terrible events to twist the narrative in their favor. By directly destroying everything and everyone Haymitch — just a 16-year-old boy at the time — loved and lived for, we remember how their world may not be too much different from ours. Collins’ writing has always been powerful, and this novel is just more proof of that. Though it came with many tears, I think Collins’ presentation of Haymitch’s heartbreaking story will be difficult to forget.
Charlie Hickman Arts Editor charlie.hickman@dailyiowan.com
The 2025 Mission Creek Festival is almost upon us, featuring a host of exciting acts to commemorate the long-running dynamic arts celebration. Spanning several venues around Iowa City, it can be hard to track where the festival's most blockbuster acts will be staged. Worry not, reader. This list will point you where you want to go when the festival begins on April 3. Whether you’re looking for literature, rock and roll jams, or something more experimental, there is an event for you.
Lit Walk - Friday, April 4 at 5 p.m.
The annual Lit Walk features three rounds of various local and out-of-town writers at Iowa City hotspots, including Willow & Stock and Prairie Lights. This free event is a great way to explore new literature through readings and support small, beloved businesses in the area.
Rachel Kushner in Conversation with Kim
Gordon - Thursday, April 3 at 6 p.m.
Acclaimed author of “Creation Lake” and “The Mars Room,” Rachel Kushner is the opening act of this year’s Mission Creek Festival. The most star-studded literature event of the festival, this conversation is available with a festival pass. Kushner will be discussing her work with Sonic Youth band member and recent musical guest on Netflix’s “Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney,” Kim Gordon. These two artists of different mediums but equal renown are sure to deliver a satisfying and rich discussion.
Mannequin Pussy - Friday, April 4 at 7 p.m.
Philadelphia punk rockers Mannequin Pussy will take the stage with Mabe Fratti at The Englert Theatre on the second night of the festival. Their music, described by the band as a “galvanizing shout that demands to be heard,” is the best played loud in a crowd. The roof of The Englert Theatre will be thoroughly raised by the time Saturday rolls around.
Small Press & Literary Magazine Book FairSaturday, April 5 at 12 p.m.
This annual book fair is hosted around the second floor of Spare Me! Bowling Alley in the Chauncey Building. Perfect for anyone looking for literature outside the major national publishing houses, this fair highlights award-winning authors and publishing at a local and national level. Iowa City publications like Ink Lit , Brink, Earthwords, and more will be in attendance.
Neko Case in Reading and Conversation with Melissa Febos - Saturday, April 5 at 6:30 p.m.
Returning to the Mission Creek Festival after a blockbuster performance last year, Neko Case will discuss her new book “The Harder I Fight The More I Love You” alongside author Melissa Febos. Case brings her precise witty and candid songwriting to the realm of literature in this retelling of her rebellious, emotionally wrought life story.
Jazz and Rock at RiversideSaturday, April 5 at 7 p.m.
Riverside Theatre is the destination jazz and rock fans will want to be at on the last night of the festival, as three acts will perform on the close-up stage. Sun Centauri, an experimental jazz/R&B artist will open the evening of music. Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn will perform songs from their collaborative album “Pigments.” This experimental blend of music falls into the themed night of music that doesn’t quite fit a single genre. Drummer Mark Guiliana performs adventurous, acoustic jazz and will close out the trilogy of performances. Guiliana has worked with the likes of David Bowie, St.Vincent, and Matt Cameron from Pearl Jam.
On March 25, Mission Creek announed its headlining act — Julien Baker & TORRES — will not be performing due to "an unforseen medical situation," according to the Mission Creek Festival Instagram page. The organization is working to fill the duo's festival spot.
Emily Nyberg | The Daily Iowan Patrons stand outside of The Englert Threatre before a performance by North Carolina-based singer-songwriter Indigo De Souza during the second day of the Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City on April 5, 2024. Mission Creek is set for April 3-5 this year.
‘Girl’ modifiers bring women together
Women
Kyrsten White Arts Reporter arts@dailyiowan.com
The most noticeable features of Cielo, an Iowa City store owned by Monica Berry, are the bright fairy lights and clothes decorated with fun phrases. Shirts and sweaters reading “Literally just a girl” and “Feminine rising” put the store’s touch of femininity on display.
“This is really a safe place for people to feel cozy and safe and warm and silly, and that’s okay,” Berry said.
The phrase Berry uses on one of her shirts, “Literally just a girl,” is part of the phenomenon that started with the “I’m just a girl” trend. Traced back to 2023 on TikTok, this expression was used by women in a joking way to justify activities that were deemed “too difficult” or to justify why women would act in certain ways.
This later became part of the inspiration for many other girl-related phrases. In May of 2023, Olivia Maher created a video describing what she was eating for her “girl dinner.” This blew up and became a much bigger trend, essentially creating a snack plate on nights when a full meal might seem impossible to make. Within a few months, a myriad of new phrases were introduced, including “snail girl” and “that girl.”
The most popular of these secondary fads was “girl math,” which dates back to a 2015 YouTube video created by As/Is, Buzzfeed’s beauty company. But it was not until TikTok user @mckennaeliana’s video in August 2023 that the phrase was brought back to life.
Although most “girl” expressions have been introduced as a joke or as a way for women to bond over personal experiences, they might not always be used for fun.
into more of an individual story-telling tool removes most of the ability to turn the phrases into something negative.
“You can make it about yourself. You can make the joke about your own experience,” Kutlu said. “That’s when we can eliminate stigma.”
But this still opens up the possibility
“When women say to each other, ‘Oh, that’s so girl math of you that you’re doing this,’ it’s meant to be light and funny. But language never stays in its original context. People will see it, people will take it, people will recreate those videos, and then they’ll start making fun of women.”
Ethan Kutlu Assistant professor at the University of Iowa
Ethan Kutlu, an assistant professor at the University of Iowa, said these terms could have negative impacts on women.
“When women say to each other, ‘Oh, that’s so girl math of you that you’re doing this,’ it’s meant to be light and funny. But language never stays in its original context,” Kutlu said. “People will see it, people will take it, people will recreate those videos, and then they’ll start making fun of women.”
Even though these terms are mostly used by women to either take a jab at themselves or connect with others over a silly method of thinking, someone can always use the phrases in a harmful manner. “Girl math” is meant to point out how women rationalize spending money to make it feel like they are not, but instead of being an in-joke, the phrase gets weaponized. It becomes a way to perpetuate the stereotype that women are not good at math.
There are ways to recontextualize these phrases to remove the pointedness. Kutlu said turning them
of people making things up about the creator’s identity. While “girl” terms might not always be used properly, Berry recognized how they may not need to be changed. Simply having such a large number of women constantly using these phrases in a positive light drowns out the impact they have when used maliciously.
“I think we just take it back, and we become more powerful,” Berry said. “Then they can’t do anything about it.”
Similar to the impact of Berry’s store, these expressions give women an opportunity to express their inner child and the hidden parts of themselves. These women get the chance to take back many of the things they had given up on in fear of being “too girly.”
“I was always trying to hide my girliness before, and now it’s like I have permission to just be,” Berry said. “Femininity is nothing to be ashamed of.”
Berry quickly acknowledged how much of this came from the “Barbie”
Edited by Will Shortz No. 0219
movie. The 2023 film became an opportunity for several women to find their way back to the color pink, something that has always been a cultural demarcator of femininity. This is yet another of the many ways women were, and are, able to reclaim their womanhood.
She also said many women today are creating more business than ever before.
This is noticeable in downtown Iowa City, with shops like Heim and Yotopia existing among the many local, womenowned companies.
“There’s a different energy in these places, so I think that we’re just being loud and proud about it now,” Berry said.
Kaitlyn Schmidt-Rundell, a secondyear student at the UI, related to many of these feelings of not always getting the chance to express femininity.
“I grew up with a lot of brothers, so having that girly stuff was always
Kutlu said the use of “girl” instead of “woman,” can make women sound lesser. This connects back to the point of women needing to reclaim their womanhood, as it does not allow for them to be seen in a serious or legitmate way.
“There’s that disconnect of, ‘If I label this person as woman, then I’m almost giving the autonomy to that person,’ and society doesn’t want that,” Kutlu said. “So, keeping it as ‘girl,’ it’s fun. It’s less serious. It’s just a ‘girl thing.’” What seems like a simple change in wording can create a difference in how women are viewed by society. Calling women “girls” does not provide them room to grow up and be seen as adults.
“I grew up with a lot of brothers, so having that girly stuff was always harder for me because of my brothers, Having ‘girl math,’ it’s easier to get into the fun, silly, girly mindset.
Kaitlyn Schmidt-Rundell
Second-year student at the University of Iowa
harder for me because of my brothers,” Schmidt-Rundell said. “Having ‘girl math,’ it’s easier to get into the fun, silly, girly mindset.”
Even with all the camaraderie behind these phrases that bands women together, there are still many factors that put a damper on them. By using the word “girl” rather than “woman,” many societal norms can be reinforced.
Schmidt-Rundell noted the impact this word switch could have for women in the future. Instead of continuing to force women to stay in this box created by society, it would allow them to be seen as equals quickly. If everyone continues to think of and refer to all women as just “girls,” the chances of progressing in the world decrease.
“So, ‘I’m just a woman,’ it sounds stronger and more grounded, but ‘I’m just a girl’ is light and airy and floaty to me. I don’t know, that’s just how I think about it,” Schmidt-Rundell said. “To me, that’s a positive saying, like that’s just who I am. I’m a woman.”
Emma Calabro | The Daily Iowan
Monica Berry poses for a portrait during an interview with The Daily Iowan at Cielo in Iowa City on March 17. Berry is the CEO of the woman-owned business that sells clothing, jewelry, and self-care goods.
Inside IC’s theater ticketing structure
Leaders across Iowa City’s theater community talk rush and speculative ticketing.
Isabelle Lubguban Arts Reporter arts@dailyiowan.com
Tickets are the keys to the doors of the arts, whether it be to see a blockbuster movie or a highly anticipated theater production. However, these keys can eventually run out. When this happens, the staff must choose between selling tickets at the same price or distributing rush tickets.
“[Rush ticketing] is typically used in larger markets with a high volume of last-minute buyers, supported by a dense population and strong tourism,” John Schickedanz, executive director of The Englert Theatre, said.
The practice of rush ticketing practice is seen in Broadway and off-Broadway shows, where tickets are offered on a firstcome, first-serve basis at a discounted price for that day’s performance. Some productions use dynamic pricing, which is when ticket prices can fluctuate based on sales.
For theaters in Iowa City, though, rush ticketing is not a widely praised method. Schickedanz said he wasn’t aware of any venues in the area, or even the state of Iowa, usingrush ticketing.
“While The Englert does promote last-minute ticket sales, we focus on serving our core demographic by keeping ticket prices reasonable and accessible rather than relying on a rush ticketing model,” he said.
Hancher Auditorium Communications Director Rob Cline agreed, saying Hancher does not offer rush tickets because they hold down the prices on student tickets — the most likely demographic to rush.
“So, we’ll sell you a $10 ticket today, for example, rather than making you wait until the last minute in a line in the lobby,” Cline said.
Rush ticketing can also put pressure on box office staff and leave patrons frustrated if there are not enough last-minute tickets.
Although Hancher does not regularly offer rush ticketing, there have been some productions in the past they’ve considered an exception for, including “RENT” in 2019.
“Our contract with the touring company required rush sales. We were not, say, testing it out. We were meeting a requirement,” Cline said. “So, for contractual reasons, we sometimes engage in dynamic pricing. As a rule, however, we like to set our prices and leave them alone until we sell out or the event occurs. It feels most fair to the patron to do it that way.”
Even though these theaters have opted out of rush ticketing, speculative ticketing continues to toy with the concept of fairness between sellers and customers.
Schickedanz said venues like The Englert, Hancher, Hoyt Sherman, and others have faced issues with fraudulent ticket sales. It’s a costly problem venues eventually have to pay for. It starts when an individual buys tickets with hopes of reselling them through websites such as StubHub.
“This is called speculative ticketing, or ‘spec ticketing,’ because the end sale isn’t a sure deal,” Schickedanz said.
The resold tickets are usually sold at a steeper price, sometimes up to 500 percent more than their original value. If resellers are unable to resell the tickets, they at times claim fraud on the original transaction, leaving the theater to pay the bill.
Many problems have arisen from this practice. With resales, the venue loses control of the ticketing process, which also results in loss of communication about changes to the event. This separation could negatively impact the
patrons’ experiences.
“It’s a significant problem in our whole field,” Cline said. “It is why we always remind patrons to be sure they are on our website when purchasing online.”
Speculative tickets do not always accurately reflect demand. The venue could end up empty for shows where demand existed in the local market, but not on the fake resale sites, thus creating a tainted experience for both the patron and the performer.
“We’re also hoping to pass legislation regarding bots, which have been prevalent in the discussion regarding Taylor Swift,” Schickedanz said.
An article from CBS News raised concerns about ticket sales following the Taylor Swift Eras Tour presale on Nov. 15, 2022. The ticketing company Ticketmaster had accused bots of crashing their website.
The website received 3.5 billion requests, temporarily suspending sales and making it harder for fans to get normally priced tickets. The secondary market opened just after sales did, resulting in some Swift fans paying up to 70 times the original selling price for seats.
This and more led up to a Senate hearing in January 2023, during which the president and chief financial officer of Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation Entertainment Joe Berchtold accepted responsibility for the outrageous ticket sales but blamed cyber attacks for the failure.
“Bots are computers that buy up blocks of tickets speculatively and raise the price,” Schickedanz said. “We don’t think this is fair.”
As internet ticketing continues to pose a threat to the theater industry, rush tickets are unlikely to permeate smaller markets. Instead, theaters like Hancher and The Englert will continue to promote convenience and protection for their audience members by selling tickets directly from their box office.
Logan McCaw | The Daily Iowan
The Englert Theatre is seen in downtown Iowa City on March 13. The Englert, along with other Iowa City theaters, do not typically use rush ticketing at their venues.
