Little Village Issue 342 - July 2025 by Little Village Magazine

As Big Ag pollutes & guzzles groundwater, Iowans are left with boil advisories.

Hawkeye Softball’s fraught 2025 season

Inside a controlled prairie burn

Folk musician lizzie No knows no bounds

Quilt artist Ben Millett debuts in Des Moines

FOUR OUTSTANDING SHOWS

RAY LaMONTAGNE

TROUBLE 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

WITH SPECIAL GUEST THE WEATHER STATION

Tuesday, September 2 7:00 pm

BEN FOLDS

BEN FOLDS & A PIANO TOUR

WITH SPECIAL GUEST LINDSAY KRAFT

Monday, September 8

7:00 pm

INDEPENDENT IOWA NEWS, CULTURE & EVENTS

Since 2001

LittleVillageMag.com

30 Drill, Baby, Drill

Queer & Quilted

While folks fight wildfires out west, skilled crews in Iowa burn grasslands on purpose.

Iowa’s ancient aquifers cost a fortune to mine and take eons to replenish.

This Iowa artist makes pieces you can display, wear and snuggle.

Little Village (ISSN 2328-3351) is an independent, community-supported news and culture publication based in Iowa City, published monthly by Little Village, LLC, 623 S Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Through journalism, essays and events, we work to improve our community according to core values: environmental sustainability, affordability and access, economic and labor justice, racial justice, gender equity, quality healthcare, quality education and critical culture. Letters to the editor(s) are always welcome. We reserve the right to fact check and edit for length and clarity. Please send letters, comments or corrections to editor@ littlevillagemag.com. Subscriptions: lv@littlevillagemag.com. The US annual subscription price is $120. All rights reserved, reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. If you would like to reprint or collaborate on new content, reach us at lv@littlevillagemag. com. To browse back issues, visit us online at issuu.com/littlevillage.

EDITORIAL

Publisher

Jordan Sellergren jordan@littlevillagemag.com

Editor-in-Chief

Emma McClatchey emma@littlevillagemag.com

Arts Editor

Chuy Renteria chuy@littlevillagemag.com

News Director

Paul Brennan paul@littlevillagemag.com

Graphic Designer

Kellan Doolittle kellan@littlevillagemag.com

Calendar/Event Listings

Sean Haskins calendar@littlevillagemag.com

En Español Editor

Claudia Pozzobon Potratz

Corrections editor@littlevillagemag.com

July Contributors

Amanda Ray, Benjamin Skeers, Bethany Kaylor, Britt Fowler, Broc Nelson, Elisabeth Oster, Jes McCauley, Julia DeSpain, Kellee Forkenbrock, Lauren Haldeman, Liz Rosa, Ramona Muse Lambert, Rob Brezsny, Rob Howe, Sam Locke Ward, Sara Williams, Sarah Elgatian,

Since 2001 LittleVillageMag.com

Thomas Dean, Tom Tomorrow

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Meet this month’s contributors!

Amanda Ray is a librarian at the Iowa City Public Library. She loves to help patrons find their new favorite reads and learn how to use their smartphones.

Ben Skeers is a writer, cartoonist and social worker from West Des Moines. He is currently on parole in his community.

Bethany Kaylor is a writer in the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa.

Britt Fowler is a Des Moines photographer specializing in documentary style, landscape and portraiture. Her active project Shoot Des Moines (Shoot DSM) catalogues sights and stories from the Mecca of the Midwest.

Broc Nelson is a lifelong music fan, improviser, Quad Citizen and enthusiast of all things creative, tasty and weird.

Elisabeth Oster is a freelance writer and designer, and collector of dad rock.

Jes McCauley is an adult services librarian at the Des Moines Public Library who truly believes in the power of a good book recommendation. When she’s not behind the desk helping patrons, she’s busy tending to her numerous houseplants, chilling with her cat Little Edie, and of course, reading.

Kellee Forkenbrock is the awardwinning Public Services Librarian for North Liberty Library. She writes romance under the pseudonym Eliza David.

Lauren Haldeman is a graphic novelist and poet. She has received an Iowa Arts Fellowship, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award and fellowships from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Liz Rosa is a journalism student at Drake University, juggling class, freelancing and work while still finding time for creativity.

Ramona Muse Lambert makes art and music. Sometimes she’s in charge of dinner, too. Buy her art at ramonamuselambert.com.

Rob Howe has covered UI Athletics since moving to Iowa City in 1997. He began his journalism career five years earlier in the northeastern U.S.

Sam Locke Ward is a cartoonist and musician from Iowa City. He self publishes the comic zines Voyage Into Misery and ’93 Grind Out.

Sara Williams is a multidisciplinary artist who was raised in Bondurant, Iowa. She currently resides near Amana.

Sarah Elgatian is a writer, activist and educator living in Iowa. She likes dark coffee, bright colors and long sentences. She dislikes meanness.

Issue 342 July 2025

Cover by Julia DeSpain

In this issue, LV distills down Iowa’s precarious groundwater situation, and answers: Why do conservationists burn fields on purpose? Why did UI’s softball stars enter the transfer portal? And what the hell is prison sushi?

Julia DeSpain is a graphic designer, she lives in Iowa City with her husband Rob and two cats, Moose and Bear.

Thomas Dean is a facilitator with the Center for Courage & Renewal and writes often about place, community and nature.

THANK YOU TO THIS ISSUE’S ADVERTISING PARTNERS

This issue of Little Village is supported by:

— Beadology

— Critical Hit Games

— Get Fresh

— Hot Spot Tattoo & Piercing

— Mailboxes of Iowa City

— Record Collector

— Release Body Modification

— Revival

— The Green House

— Willow & Stock

Independent Highland Park/Oak

Park Neighborhood (63)

— Des Moines Mercantile

— The Slow Down

Independent Northside

Marketplace (14)

— Artifacts

— Dodge St. Tire

— George’s

— Pagliai’s Pizza

— R.S.V.P.

— The Haunted Bookshop

— Yotopia

Iowa Children’s Museum (52)

Iowa City Communications

Department (56)

Iowa City Public Library (52)

Iowa Department of Public Health (58)

Iowa Public Radio (22)

John’s Grocery (32)

Kim Schillig, REALTOR (20)

Mammoth Live (25)

Martin Construction (18)

Musician’s Pro Shop (32)

National Czech & Slovak Museum (6)

New Pioneer Food Co-op (60)

Next Page Books (56)

Nodo (10)

Orchestra Iowa (64)

Performing Arts at Iowa (56)

Philip J. Ochs (52)

Phoebe Martin, REALTOR (11)

Polk County Conservation (16)

Porchlight Literary Arts Center (22)

Prairie Lights Bookstore & Cafe (6)

Public Space One (16)

Pure Luxe Apothecary (20)

Rapids Reproductions (58)

RAYGUN (19)

RSFIC (58)

Shakespeare’s Pub & Grill (32)

Theatre Cedar Rapids (4)

The Club Car (52)

The Daisy (56)

The Dandy Lion (29)

The Englert Theatre (41, 43)

The Wedge Pizzeria (9)

Tim Conroy, REALTOR (52)

University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art (28)

Wig & Pen Pizza Pub (6)

Wildwood (45)

xBk (48)

Letters & Interactions

LV encourages readers to submit letters to Editor@LittleVillageMag.com. Please include your name, city of residence and any relevant job titles or affiliations. Letters may be edited for accuracy and style. To be considered for print publication, letters should be under 500 words. Preference is given to letters that have not been published elsewhere.

SOMETIMES CHANGING WITH CHANGING

TIMES IS A MISTAKE. At a meeting on June 11, the Board of Regents (BOR) of Iowa’s public universities gave first reading to proposed policy 3.23, a policy that would prohibit faculty members from covering certain subject areas in their courses, regardless of how crucial those areas may be to particular disciplines. If enacted, this policy would mark a sharp retreat from several important BOR policies and from existing BOR practice, which has been to acknowledge and support the academic freedom of faculty members.

Since the content of the proposed policy bears a strong resemblance to two bills put forward by the Republican majority in the legislature this year, but not enacted into law, it would be hard to see the BOR’s adoption of the policy as anything other than a move to bring the BOR in line with current political trends in Iowa. Not surprisingly, the forbidden subject

matters are diversity, equity and inclusion (as defined by the BOR) and Critical Race Theory.

Since its founding 110 years ago, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has regarded the protection of academic freedom as its core mission. Its policies explain academic freedom’s meaning and importance for students, faculty and society as a whole; its work to protect the integrity of teaching and research is recognized nationally and internationally. AAUP, an organization that is conservative in the best sense of that much-misused word, most certainly does not change with the times when it comes to academic freedom.

AAUP defines academic freedom as “the freedom of a teacher or researcher in higher education to investigate and discuss the issues in his or her academic field, and to teach and publish findings without interference from administrators, boards of trustees, political figures, donors, or other entities.” (AAUP.

HAVE AN OPINION?

org, Academic Freedom FAQ) Clearly, the proposed policy runs afoul of that definition. It would prohibit the faculty from speaking the truth on certain topics germane to many fields of study, and it would require that students working in those fields receive predigested, bureaucratically approved content or none at all.

So, why would the BOR want to dictate to highly credentialed faculty and inquiring students what they can teach and learn? The answer lies in prevailing political ideology and the mistaken belief that students need to be shielded from certain subject matter lest it—infect them? Persuade them? Discomfit them?

AAUP rejects all those rationales for infringing academic freedom, believing instead that learning and the growth of knowledge thrive only in an atmosphere of free inquiry. Up until the present, that has been the BOR’s belief, too. It is the strongly held view of the faculty at the University of

PUBLIC NUISANCE

SARA WILLIAMS

NORTHSIDE MARKETPLACE NORTHSIDE MARKETPLACE

Iowa. On May 6, 2019, the Faculty Senate adopted a “Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom.” The final paragraph of that Statement provides: “It would be naïve not to anticipate that some ideas expressed on this campus and even in some academic settings, such as classrooms and laboratories, will be seen as loathsome by many members of our community and the public more generally. Yet permitting the expression of such ideas is the predictable price of the freedoms we cherish. Our task is to create a space where free expression inside and outside the classroom may occur among all members of our diverse community.”

One would hope that a similar commitment motivated the legislature and the governor this year in directing the BOR to establish a Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa. Yet it now appears that the BOR is contemplating curtailing intellectual freedom for certain faculty members on certain topics. That’s not the way academic freedom works according to AAUP, its guardian for more than a century.

AAUP welcomes the BOR’s decision to think again before adopting proposed policy 3.23, and always stands ready to assist the BOR in protecting academic freedom. But as it stands, the proposed policy and the approach to education it represents should be rejected before the new Center for Intellectual Freedom commands the same respect accorded The Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984

Note: I speak for myself and not as a representative of the University of Iowa.

—Lois Cox, Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee A chairperson; AAUP UI chapter member

On June 20, Little Village received an anonymous handwritten note in the mail, which we posted to the @littlevillagemag Instagram. It read:

DISSOlUTIONED [SIC] FOOlS:

Every month or so, or whenever I see the pile of your LITTLE VILLAGE MAGAZINES at my Central Iowa library, I grab a large stack of those disgusting, vile + foul pieces of trash and promptly toss them in my RECYCLE BIN ♻

So, don’t get the idea that, ‘oh, we have

many readers there in ( )!’ I pity your future, or your kids’.

—John Q. Public

I feel like this person feels you are all dissolving. Maybe he just wants you to be more stable and solid! —Darryl Z.

Think the point would have been better made if he used them for toilet paper or something. —Dana T.

Well, if you’re getting emotional

RAMONA MUSE LAMBERT

If you have a tall fence, some energy to burn and a few of those hard chew toys, you may have a new best friend in Tucker. This all-black, high-jumping ray of light manages to give the name Tucker a good name. He’s a playful and affectionate 5-year-old. A Chesapeake Bay Retriever/lab mix, he’d likely enjoy a swim and agility course as much as a long game of fetch. Need a companion for your outdoor adventures? Meet Tucker at the Iowa City Animal Center: 319-356-5245, icanimalcenter.org.

INTERACTIONS

reactions out of people you know you’re doing a great job! —Bodkin W.

Sounds like censorship from another free speech warrior. —Chris E.

I think there should be a new feature called “diss solutions” where folks share or critique terrible solutions. Like, say, the time I tried to marinate cream cheese in the hopes it would sub for goat cheese. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. —Christine H.

I like how this person made a choice to swap pens and really dazzle w the GREEN RECYCLE SYMBOL. Lil flare there with the hate. —Genevieve T.

ACLU of Iowa warns five cities that their anti-drag ordinances are unconstitutional (June 5)

My mug featured on a piece about very serious legislation impacting drag shows in Iowa. I don’t generally perform in family-friendly shows, but the year that picture was taken I was so fed up with the very tired “what about the children” moral panic rhetoric thrown at queer and trans people that I chose to change

it up. I performed as an angel with religious iconography to show the divinity of drag and queerness. Specifically, so children could see a queer adult living openly and celebrated. I wanted them to see that queerness and gender expansiveness is beautiful and sacred. And you know what happened after? A group of teens afterward told me how much it meant to see that performance, and how blown away by how beautiful I was because I really looked like an angel. A child gave me a little trans pride dragon made out of fuzzy pipe cleaners. And no one erupted into flames. Imagine that.

The feeling in my gut is that legislation like this is the death rattle before the end of antiqueer and anti-trans bigotry. But the fight is not over for queer liberation. —Matt Adore

Drag artist Matt Adore performs at the 2022 Iowa City Pride Festival. Adria Carpenter/Little Village

ACCOLADES

Ann McGlynn , founder of the Davenport nonprofit Tapestry Farms, has been chosen as the World Food Prize Foundation’s 2025 Robert D. Ray Iowa SHARES Humanitarian Award recipient for advancing access to sustainable food. Since 2017, Tapestry Farms has grown literal tons of fresh food, including crops requested by local immigrant and refugee communities, across 11 plots of under-utilized land in the Quad Cities. They even grow produce hydroponically year-round in a reclaimed shipping container. McGlynn will receive the award at the Iowa Hunger Summit on July 16.

The nonprofit Save CR Heritage has received a $100,000 grant from the Hall-Perrine Foundation, which will go towards their campaign to purchase the historic Zastera Pharmacy building in northwest Cedar Rapids. “Save CR Heritage will bring the brick building back to its origins as a community hub, with a storefront for sales of the group’s architectural salvage materials, along with space to uplift the historic Time Check neighborhood,” according to the org.

Public Space One is opening applications for their Big Field Fund. Four research and development grants and six visual arts project grants totalling $60,000 will be awarded to eastern Iowa artists, supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. First-round applications are due Aug. 1.

INTERACTIONS

Zach Wahls is running for U.S. Senate with plans to ‘challenge the establishment’ in both parties (June 11)

Run, Zach, run!! —Bruce B.

J.D. Scholten. Way better. —Dave M.

I suspect Wahls is better positioned to win the nomination but it’s Scholten who would have a better chance against Ernst. He’s likely to pick up more votes in counties where Wahls could get clobbered. He came damn close to beating King.

Fine Zach but it’s actually ok to run without running down the Democratic Party. It’s so obvious how whipped so many Democrats feel that they grovel this way. Run unapologetically. Disappointed to see him falling for this kind of “both sides” garbage. Democrats are better than Republicans. In this era they are light years better than Republicans. Be proud of being a Democrat. It’s quite literally the only way we can organize at this point to keep from losing our state and our nation

to the cruel and destructive leaders in the Republican Party. Time to stop buying into their framing. —Henry W.

‘Spitting in the face of landowners’: Iowa House Republicans denounce Reynolds’ veto of eminent domain bill, call for special session to override it (June 12)

Burn it all down. —Joseph M.

I agree with Bobby Kaufman?!?! —Michael Z.

She’s drinking again ⬆ —@olik_nesnah_dirt_chamber

Christina Bohannan announces her third run for Congress (June 17)

Maybe let’s not go with the “centrist” neo-liberal thing this time. —Ryan S.

Girl again?? —Monty

Certainly it’ll work this time. —Paul H. Why does she keep doing this? —Izzy K.

In Case You Missed It

Catch up on LV’s top arts stories from June.

Review: The Original Pinettes Brass Band bring New Orleans heat to Iowa City

M.T.

Bostic, June 9

Review: The music was choice at Mr. Softheart’s last xBk show, though one band wouldn’t stop blowing smoke

Liz Rosa, June 13

Review: Riverside serves ‘Romeo & Juliet’ straight up for their 40th Free Summer Shakespeare show

By Emma McClatchey,

June 18

Education (98 votes) 19%

*of 516 votes.

All of the above ⬆️—@cybersocdem

All of the above. —Ana G.

It’s impossible for me to choose just one. All of the above. —Michael Z.

Please cover radon! Notable mentions are the nitrates in our water and just our water in general. —Ciera

5th answer option: they’re all interconnected issues! —Alaina E.W.

These issues are not separate. —Annelyse G.

You expect us to choose only one ?! �� —Elle B.

Tough question. —Allison K.

Yes. —@princessrani237

All of the above. —Jayne

How do you choose??? All the above —Beth F.

Fully Booked: Recommendations from Local Librarians

Pageturners for Any Mood Family Matters

I’ve just checked out the latest book by one of my favorite authors that I’ve been anticipating for months. I am excited, ready to dive into what is sure to be a new favorite. After reading a few paragraphs, I lose focus. Even if the writing and plot are brilliant, I just don’t feel like reading it. I only have a limited time to read this! What is wrong with me?

I, like many readers, suffer from an unfortunate affliction. My name is Jes McCauley, and I am a mood reader. Every book I choose to pick up (or put down) simply must match my current vibe, whatever that may be.

This can be problematic, as both a librarian and an avid reader, because I have an endless TBR. I check out every new and shiny book, like a literary magpie, yet I find myself uninterested in reading about 75 percent of them. If you, like me, are deep in the mood-reading trenches, I’m here with a few mood-specific suggestions. Are you desperate to escape the real world? Check out Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang, a cinematic, unputdownable fantasy that appeals to readers of all genres. Are you feeling a bit unhinged and want a book to match that energy? Check out Havoc by Christopher Bollen, an atmospheric psychological suspense novel about a meddlesome (and unhinged) elderly guest at a luxury hotel.

It’s so hot and humid outside, you may be cranky and need something to snap you out of it. Check out Woodworking by Emily St. James, a funny and heartwarming novel about Erica, a newly divorced closeted trans teacher, who finds an unlikely bond with Abigail, a trans student navigating her senior year.

Are you completely overwhelmed and can’t imagine sitting down with an ENTIRE BOOK? Check out The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw, a collection of genuinely short stories featuring four generations of characters grappling with their identities. If none of these recommendations match your current vibe, or if you would like help finding more books to read and love, let our librarians assist you in finding your next great read. Visit dmpl. org/bookchat to fill out a simple form and we’ll send you a personalized list of recommendations for any mood.

We all have a unique relationship with our family. Some of us get along really well, others not so much. Whether a fictional family feels familiar or foreign to you, family dynamics make for compelling stories. Here are some reading suggestions that represent a variety of family dynamics.

Worry by Alexandra Tanner is a newer fiction book that takes place just before and during the time of COVID. A pair of sisters, both going through their own adulting journeys, end up living together and have to reconcile their expectations with the realities and limitations of their lives. It’s darkly funny, with a dry wit that millennials and older zoomers will identify with for sure. Their mother flutters in and out of the story as well, and you can tell how the sisters are the way they are from how their mother acts.

Visitations by Corey Egbert is also new: a graphic autobiographical novel of a time during the author’s teen years after his parents’ divorce when his mother’s accusations against his father got more and more intense. The family ends up on a road trip, and the author navigates dealing with adolescence, his relationship with his parents and extended family, and how his religious faith factors into all of it. You really empathize with the young man and hope things turn out OK for him.

Another memoir, Tasha by Brian Morton, focuses on the author’s relationship with his aging mother as he takes charge of her care. He reflects on the trouble he’s had with his mother, but also recognizes what a wonderful and vibrant person she’s been—how she’s the kind of teacher we all wish we had, or would want our children to have. His mother is a highly entertaining character, and it’s great fun to get to know her as she and her son butt heads and figure out how to make each other happy in this stage of life.

If you’re interested in how decisions made in the past affect later generations, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is a perfect pick. It follows two sisters from Ghana— one who ends up in a life of privilege, one who is enslaved—and traces how past decisions reverberate across seven generations.

—Jes McCauley, Des Moines Public Library

—Amanda Ray, Iowa City Public Library

IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION

The Prison Foodie

Eating good requires going the extra mile.

By BENJAMIN SKEERS

What does it mean to be incarcerated in Iowa? This column describes the post-conviction experience of a nonviolent offender from eastern Iowa, in his own words. It focuses on the stark realities of life inside—realities few people care to imagine, but tens of thousands of Iowans have faced.

As a picky eater, one of my biggest fears about prison was the food. And indeed,

IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION

at CRC work, and money is added to their accounts. We get commissary every Friday afternoon, which is always exciting. Rice, ramen (“soups”), spices, meats and crackers are all available if you have the money on your books. I always make sure to have plenty of noodles on hand to get through the unpredictable chow hall offerings.

The Snack Shack is small but popular. Its top sellers are frozen pizzas along with frozen burgers and fried chicken. They also sell ice cream and flavored waters. The Hy-Vee brand of flavored waters is probably the most popular item, followed by breakfast pizza. The Snack Shack is a money suck, but worth it if you have the means. I like to treat myself with an Arizona sweet tea and a bacon cheeseburger when I can manage it.

And then there’s cooking at home, something inmates take great pride in and draw great joy from. Using items from commissary (meats, fish, rice, jalapeños) and from chow (chicken, bread), inmates turn the dorms and day rooms into restaurants. One of the first dishes I saw when I came to CRC was prison sushi. To make the dish, you start with tuna that comes in a foil package. You pack the tuna in white rice that comes from commissary or chow. Then, for seaweed, you wrap it with thin strips of tortilla. Finally, to add spice, you garnish it in the dust from Flaming Hot Cheetos from the vending machine.

Burritos are also popular homemade meals, one that can be made with whatever is on hand. Rice and beans come from commissary, and tortillas and cheese from the Snack Shack. From there, your imagination is the limit. I’ve had burritos stuffed with chicken strips, pickles, pork rinds, hot dogs and hamburgers, and they were all fantastic.

My favorite home-cooked meal has to be fancy orange chicken. You start by frying rice. To do this, you fill an empty popcorn bag with white rice, pour in the oil from a jar of hot peppers and microwave it. For the chicken, you use pork rinds drenched in melted jelly. The jelly-smothered pork rinds curl up, harden and taste just like orange chicken from Hy-Vee Chinese Express.

Chow isn’t just about taking in calories; it’s a way to maintain your humanity. You put your soul and personality into your concoctions, and make it your own. Most of all, prison food is something to be shared among friends—the most important ingredient when you’re on the inside.

Kellan Doolittle / Little Village

Sports

Short Stop

After shedding a coach that complained about players kneeling, the Hawkeye softball team found their groove. Then UI Athletics broke it.

By ROB HOWE

Soo-Jin Berry wrapped up our interview in May with an important closing thought.

“Coach Karl is the best,” Hawkeye Softball’s starting shortstop stated with conviction.

Karl Gollan stepped in as the team’s interim head coach during the middle of a season completed in early May. He led the University of Iowa to one of its best finishes in the last decade and a half. All-Big Ten pitcher Jalen Adams and starting catcher Desiree Rivera, also part of the interview, immediately agreed with Berry’s sentiment.

“No offense to anybody else, but we want Karl,” Rivera chimed in.

The three women were in a happy place, confident Iowa’s administration would agree with them. They’d just won 35 games, tied for the program’s most since 2009. It happened in the face of an off-the-field conflict threatening to divide the Hawkeyes as it has other sporting communities across the U.S.

“It’s a good culture when you can lose two coaches and everybody wants to come back and play for each other,” Ramirez said. “This program is building something really good from deep within.”

That was to be the conclusion of this piece following our May 21st discussion. A week later, it wasn’t.

members agreed with his concerns about kneeling. A meeting was called between games at the Arkansas tournament. Levin expected backing from the student-athletes he said supported his views. He did not get that, and informed everyone he was done coaching them.

“The day that coach Brian left the team,” Ramirez said, “we had just finished the game and we weren’t done with the weekend yet. So everyone was a little frantic.”

The team completed the tournament without a head coach.

“Playing that next day was one of the hardest games I’ve ever had to play, but my teammates were all there for me,” Berry said.

The Hawkeyes left Arkansas with a win against Illinois. When they departed Iowa City for the Alabama tournament the next weekend, Karl Gollan had been named the interim head coach.

Kneeling continued throughout the remainder of the season but wasn’t a distraction. Gollan put the squad’s focus on softball. With that, team members grew their relationships to better accept their differences. A dedicated activity was created and fostered bonding.

She cherished the coffee talks.

“I really looked forward to those trips,” she said. The student athletes composed a diverse roster of backgrounds. Adams grew up in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Berry and Ramirez were raised in California.

“I think it just helped me to kind of put my lens out further and see that softball is a big part of all of our lives, but it’s not the end-all, be-all,” Adams said.

The Hawkeyes spent a lot of time together beyond the coffee dates. Earning each other’s trust translated to success on the field. Iowa won seven of its next eight games after returning from Alabama.

Still, they entered Big Ten play as an afterthought, having won only six conference contests and finishing last a year earlier. They had other ideas, however.

Iowa kept the post-Levin momentum going with 15 league victories and a sixth-place finish among 17 teams. An early exit from the Big Ten Tournament ended the season just short of the team’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2009. The five teams ahead of Iowa in the Big Ten standings made it.

“The ending to the season was very unsettling, being on the cusp of making a regional,” Ramirez said. “The whole team doesn’t want to experience that again. We want to make next season a no-doubter that we’re in the tournament.”

But UI Athletics Director Beth Goetz would soon throw a wrench in Ramirez’s vision for 2026.

The disruptions started in December, just prior to practice beginning, when it was announced that head coach Renee Gillispie would miss the season due to personal reasons. Third-year assistant Brian Levin stepped in on an interim basis.

Players Adams, Berry and Ramirez said the Gillespie news created stress and took time to process, but the team was unified and believed Levin could lead it. Indeed, Iowa started with 10 wins in its first 13 games before heading to the Arkansas tournament from Feb. 28 to March 2.

Despite the on-field accomplishments, all was not well. Several Hawkeyes, including Berry, were kneeling during the national anthem as a form of protest, mainly against racial injustice and police brutality. The action did not sit well with Levin, a U.S. Army veteran and former green beret. He told the Daily Iowan that some team

“When we were on the road, we made it a point every morning, no matter how early we had to be at breakfast or be at warm-ups, we were getting coffee together,” Ramirez said. “You would see a group of girls in Iowa gear walking down the street to get coffee.”

Adams didn’t live with any softball teammates.

On May 28, Goetz announced former Hawkeye Stacy May-Johnson would be the new head coach of UI softball. Karl Gollan was out, much to the dismay of key Hawkeyes.

The choice makes sense when comparing resumes. Gollan was hired as Iowa’s pitching coach last August following a year in the same role at Mississippi. He spent 2023 leading Division III Augustana, the only time he’s been a college head coach in the U.S.; he’d mostly worked in the game internationally.

Soo-Jin Berry (left) with teammate Tory Bennett. Courtesy of Hawkeye Sports

Meanwhile, May-Johnson served as head coach at Fresno State and Utah Valley, improving both programs during her tenure.

To tab Gollan would have been a leap of faith largely based on the team’s 2025 results and the support from the players—after succeeding through adversity, they believed the team, including Gollan, had earned another shot.

After news broke that Gollan would be replaced, Adams, Berry and Ramirez entered the transfer portal. They were joined by infielder Jena Young, the team’s most decorated player, and second-team pitcher Talia Tretton. The group included the season’s top two hitters and pitchers.

“At the end of the day, we all had to make an extremely hard decision,” Ramirez said. “That could have maybe been avoided with different action taken from the athletic department.”

Recent NCAA rule changes allowing more student-athlete movement without new players having to sit out a season provided AD Goetz with greater power in choosing the coach she wanted. If hiring May-Johnson resulted in losing top players, the program could reload with immediately eligible replacements from other schools. And that’s what they’ve done.

Fresno State’s Serayah Neiss, the Mountain West Pitcher of the Year, will step in for Adams. UI Athletics has added five other transfers as of June 18. The roster turnover resembled what the school’s men’s basketball program experienced this spring when it hired Ben McCollom after firing Fran McCaffery.

Whether Goetz made the right hire won’t be known for years. If the Hawkeyes win, graduate and do it right, it’s a victory. If results go backwards, it’s fair to wonder what may have been achieved had the team been kept together.

Meanwhile, the stars of this season will be chasing glory at other schools. Adams (Arizona) and Tretton (Nevada) have new homes. Berry, Ramirez and Young are looking.

Berry took the change especially hard. She’ll miss being around teammates who supported her during an emotionally difficult time. Adams was especially important.

“She helped me get through everything with Brian. She was the first person to be there for me after the meeting, and she is always the first person to help me get out of my head,” Berry said.

They’ll keep in touch, perhaps getting together for coffee sometime, discussing what might have been. But it will never be the same as the magic they created during their final season at Iowa.

“It’s not something that can be manufactured,” Ramirez said. “It’s natural. You just feel like you’re with your sisters.”

Sisters that taught others what good can result from working through differences. It’s the legacy of the 2025 Iowa Hawkeye Softball team.

Baptism by Fire

A new generation is picking up the drip torch to give Iowa prairies the phoenix treatment.

By BETHANy KAylOR

Just after 12:30 p.m. on June 2, a group of 13 women and nonbinary folks gathered in a loose circle at the base of a ridgeline at Stone State Park. They were dressed in the standard outfit for prescribed-fire practitioners: flame-resistant Nomex yellow work shirts and green pants, heavy leather boots, yellow helmets and shatter-resistant glasses. Drip torches, bladder bags and fire rakes were arranged in a line nearby, and a small utility vehicle held a water pump.

It was the second day of the Trailblazers Academy, a multiday prescribed fire workshop facilitated by the Nature Conservancy and held in the rugged Loess Hills of western Iowa. The previous day, the 40 participants, each with varying levels of fire experience, rotated through a variety of training sessions, which included learning about basic medical aid, fire hand tools, ignition techniques, operating the radio, writing burn plans and the correct way to “sling weather” to track the relative humidity. Now, they were split into groups and deployed to units across Plymouth County, where they would put fire—good fire, intentional fire—on the ground.

Melanie Schmidt, the burn boss for this particular crew, passed out maps to each member. They were

tackling a 13-acre unit that hadn’t been burned in 10 years, she explained, and because there was barely any wind, topography would play an outsized role in the way the fire moved.

“The objective of the burn today is we want to set back some of that woody encroachment in the unit, specifically the sumac and other woody species

like dogwood that are in here.” She gestured towards the hillside. “We also want to help invigorate the native prairie.”

Schmidt split the crew into two units, Alpha and Bravo, each led by a squad boss. Alpha would take the hillside along the road; Bravo would work above on the prairie ridgeline. After explaining the escape

Members of the burn crew are constantly observing and communicating about the fire’s behavior and any change in weather conditions. Courtesy of Casey Strueker

Burn crews use drip torches, canisters filled with a mixture of diesel and gasoline, to ignite vegetation for a prescribed fire. Bethany Kaylor / Little Village

Prescribed fire practitioners use a belt weather kit to record temperature and measure the relative humidity every hour during a controlled burn. Bethany Kaylor / Little Village

routes, fuel breaks, safety hazards and water sources, Schmidt cleared her throat. “Would anyone like to decline the assignment?”

When no one declined, she clapped her hands and smiled. “Great!”

It was time to burn.

⸗ ⸗ ⸗

When people think of fire in a landscape, they often envision wildfire in the West, where tall flames engulf whole structures and burn through thousands of acres of forest, emitting thick blankets of smoke that last for days or weeks.

But most ecosystems in the United States have evolved to adapt with fire, and the prairie is no exception. Historically, grasslands burned through both lightning and human activity. Indigenous peoples across the Great Plains used—and still use—prescribed fires to manage game populations, create travel routes, maintain healthy watersheds and enhance biodiverse habitats, as well as for cultural purposes.

With European settlement, though, came fire suppression. Without regular fire on the landscape, woodland areas and forests encroached on the

Prescribed fire plays an important role in maintaining healthy grasslands. The lowintensity fire helps remove the buildup of dead vegetation, releasing nutrients into the blackened soil and encouraging seed germination. Bethany Kaylor / Little Village

grasslands, and today less than .01 percent of Iowa’s tallgrass prairie remains. Ironically, suppressing fire only increases the risk of wildfire, especially as years of drought and decades of climate change create more extreme and unpredictable fire behavior.

“Good” fire is intentional. It reinvigorates

ecosystems, cuts back on encroaching woodies and invasives, reduces wildfire fuel and enhances pollinator and grazing habitat. Putting good fire back on the landscape is one of the cheapest and most effective tools in conservation and land management.

“Bad” fire, in comparison, destroys everything.

Up on the ridgeline, where the dry grasses were receptive to the fire, it was easy for the Bravo crew to “build black,” creating blackened soil that acted as a fire break. The flames were low and slow, making it possible to step through them. As the fire’s heat increased, the updraft wind funneled the smoke in an opaque vertical column, turning the air singed and sweet. To ensure that any flames lit from Alpha below wouldn’t rip up the hillside and crash into them, the Bravo crew “fired ahead,” moving more quickly along their line.

On the hillside below, however, the Alpha crew struggled to build black. The shade and the rain from earlier in the week led to higher moisture levels, making it harder to light the ground with drip torches. Even when fire did catch, the orange flames crept feebly along the slope for only a few moments before disappearing.

The steep incline didn’t help. One member of the line crew fought her way through crooked thickets of sumac and wild raspberry, drip torch in hand, before breaking through vines and stumbling onto the road.

“I feel like I just experienced rebirth,” she said. The crew kept chugging along, doing the best they

could. Prescribed fire doesn’t play by luck. It plays by wind, topography and humidity, and sometimes the conditions aren’t favorable for a burn, especially in the growing season of summer.

The burn itself took only an hour. Afterwards, the entire crew walked through the unit for “mop up,” a process of extinguishing any remaining embers with water or hand tools. Atop the ridgeline, the soil was blackened, the small dogwood trees shriveled and scorched. To the untrained eye, the jet black earth may have seemed foreboding, but the crew was satisfied. Within weeks, green shoots of native grasses and wildflowers would start sprouting up through the soil.

The Trailblazers Academy takes place over three days at Camp Joy Hollow, a former Girl Scout camp on the Broken Kettle Grasslands, a preserve owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. The first full day is filled with training sessions; the other two days are dedicated to live fire. This year, participants burned 335 acres in the Loess Hills across a mixture of tallgrass prairie, oak savanna and wetland habitats.

A program like the Trailblazers Academy requires an equal amount of passion and planning to bring to life. Luckily, Amy Crouch is short on neither. Back in February of 2023, Crouch, the Little Sioux project director for The Nature Conservancy and longtime prescribed fire practitioner, overheard a colleague discussing the Women Woodland’s Stewardship Network, a program run by Iowa State Extension that aims to empower women in forest and woodland stewardship.

“It kind of got me thinking, what about doing that for women in fire?” Crouch said.

She floated the idea to her boss, Scott Moats, the director of Land and Fire Management for the Nature Conservancy. Moats was supportive of the idea, and Crouch immediately got to work. She connected with the outreach team at Iowa State Extension and attended the annual Iowa Women in Natural Resources Conference, where she workshopped the structure of the program with other fire practitioners and conservationists.

During the first year of the Trailblazers Academy, there were 26 participants; this summer, over 100 people applied for 40 spots. The fire experience of the participants ranged from beginner to advanced, and they came from states as near as Nebraska and as far as California. The goal of the Trailblazers program was to provide each participant with the opportunity to grow, whether that’s through mentorship, leadership or achieving specific task book objectives—such as operating a fire engine or implementing a firing plan—to obtain the next professional qualification.

Although the Trailblazers’ program is open to

applicants of all gender identities, the focus of the program is to empower female fire practitioners by providing a safe and supportive environment. Such an environment is needed—a 2020 study from the National Fire Protection Association (NPFA) shows that only 9 percent of combined volunteer and career firefighters are women.

Before attending Trailblazers, wildland firefighter Alex Garcia never had a non-male supervisor. “I liked coming here because I can see other women leaders, how they lead, how they speak, how they brief other people, how they communicate,” she said.

Other participants agreed.

“I lIKED COMING HERE BECAUSE I CAN SEE OTHER WOMEN lEADERS, HOW THEy lEAD, HOW THEy SPEAK, HOW THEy BRIEF OTHER PEOPlE, HOW THEy COMMUNICATE.”

— ALEX GARCIA, WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER

“Being on a line with all women is a great opportunity to ask questions and learn new things,” said Destiny Magee, a land steward for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and one of the few returners from last year’s program. “Fire is usually go go go, and there’s not much room to ask questions.”

Perhaps the greatest gift of a program like Trailblazers is the opportunity to see yourself in a new light, as Ruth Campos discovered. Through her six years of experience working in wildland and prescribed fire, Campos is familiar with being one of only a few women—particularly women of color—on a fire crew. Prior to Trailblazers, she found herself wondering whether a career in fire was worth all the sacrifice it required.

So when a leader of the Trailblazers asked her to be a burn boss for Thursday’s unit, Campos was taken aback. The role of a burn boss is to organize and manage all aspects of a controlled burn from start to finish, and getting to that level of qualification usually takes anywhere from 10 to 15 years. But she accepted the challenge, knowing that she would have on-the-ground support from a mentor.

On Thursday, she bossed her first burn on the Knapp Prairie Preserve with great success.

“It felt like being a director of a symphony,” she said afterwards. “I had a plan, I directed it and then I watched it all play out from a distance. It felt beautiful.”

The experience of burn bossing made Campos realize what was possible for her own career.

“I didn’t see myself in that role before,” she said, then paused for a moment. “And now I want it.”

Deep Water Horizon

Four out of five Iowa households rely on groundwater. As industries grow thirstier, the state has no plan to manage this limited resource.

By PAUl BRENNAN

Block diagram of Iowa aquifers from a 1978 report. The darker blue section represents the Jordan aquifer. Iowa Geological Survey / Public Domain

Friday the 13th was a lucky day this June for the southwest Iowa city of Avoca, pop. 1,700. Restaurants along Main Street had their best week since problems with the city’s water supply began.

“It was the first time we hit our standard Friday mark in weeks,” Andrea Radd, owner of Radberry Bakery, told Little Village. “It was a big relief. Business had been picking up all week—not back to where we were prior, but pretty good.”

The Regional Water Rural Water Association (RWRWA), a nonprofit utility headquartered in Avoca that provides water to communities in parts of five southwest Iowa counties, issued a boil water advisory and declared a Level Red water conservation emergency on May 11. The four-year-long drought that affected most of Iowa ended last spring, but drought conditions have persisted in the state’s southwest, straining rural water systems.

RWRWA began looking for new groundwater sources in 2016, and over the last nine years has drilled almost 100 test wells in three counties without success. The utility has searched for both shallow aquifers (200 feet or so below the surface) and mid-level aquifers (about 500 feet deep), and even considered drilling down more than 2,000 feet to try to tap a bedrock aquifer, the Jordan.

“At least in this part of the state, they’re saying you’ve got about a 40 percent chance of hitting [the

Jordan aquifer] at a cost of about a million bucks,” RWRWA General Manager Tom Kallman told Iowa Public Radio. “And for a nonprofit utility, that’s just not a good risk of our customers’ dollars.”

By the second week of May, RWRWA’s wells were only pumping at 60 percent of the standard capacity because the groundwater levels in its wells were still dropping. Eventually, water pressure decreased in the delivery systems to the point officials were no longer certain water from the top was safe to drink, so the boil advisory was issued.

“It pretty much killed business,” Radd said. “A lot of customers refused to come in when we were under the water boil. I understand that. They were worried that businesses weren’t doing their due diligence when it came to water. But we were.”

Radd used bottled water in the bakery, and was driving to Atlantic (a 40-mile roundtrip) and Council Bluffs (a 75-mile roundtrip) to fill 25-gallon water containers. The weeks following the boil advisory were stressful for everyone in Avoca and other RWRWA communities, and especially tricky for Radd.

Radberry Bakery had only been open for a few

Map showing projected future groundwater drawdown in the Jordan aquifer over the next 25-50 years. The zones in red project an additional drawdown of 200+ feet. Iowa Geological Survey / Public Domain

months. Radd, a trained pastry chef originally from California, quickly gained a loyal following after the bakery opened in February, not just for her breads and European-style pastries, but also for the lunches served in the bakery’s cafe. Even with that successful start, Radd didn’t have the sort of cash reserves to fall back on that the owner of a long-established business might have. With few customers, she had to severely cut staff hours.

“It was kind of scary because it put us way behind on production,” Radd said. “And it put us in the red.”

The boil advisory was lifted in Avoca on June 2 (it lasted longer in some of the other communities). The Level Red water conservation emergency was reduced to Level Yellow. Things started to approach normal. On Friday, June 13, Avoca held “Pour Into Avoca,” a special event to attract people to the Main Street businesses that had been impacted by the water crisis. It was a good day at Radberry Bakery.

The next day, RWRWA declared another Level Red emergency. No water boil advisory this time, just a return to the strictest conservation measures.

“It’s very frustrating,” Radd said.

Groundwater is essential to life in Iowa. Eighty percent of Iowans rely on groundwater sources for their drinking water, but public water supplies only account for 49 percent of the water pumped from wells in Iowa annually. The rest goes to agriculture (for both crops and livestock), power generation, industrial and other commercial uses. But the first thing that’s important to know about groundwater in Iowa is “it’s not evenly distributed,” Keith Schilling, the state geologist and director of the Iowa Geological Survey (IGS), told Little Village Northeast Iowa has the most abundant groundwater supplies, thanks to the porous nature of rock formations that allows water to move through

them fairly easily and its shallow aquifers to be recharged relatively quickly by precipitation. Its proximity to the Mississippi River also helps, as water leaks from the river into groundwater deposits. Even the Jordan aquifer, the state’s most productive bedrock aquifer, is nearer to the surface in northeast Iowa, making it easier to tap into.

The Jordan aquifer stretches beneath almost the entire state. It dates from the Cambrian-Ordovician period of the early Paleozoic era, roughly from about 541 million years to 444 million years ago. Depending where a well is located in the state, it can reach water in the Jordan at anywhere from 300 feet to more than 2,000 feet.

There are three other important, but smaller bedrock aquifers in Iowa located above the Jordan. The Silurian-Devonian (mostly used for water in north central Iowa and eastern Iowa), the Mississippian (used in north central) and the Dakota in northwest Iowa, which is of limited use because of the mineral content of the water.

Above the bedrock aquifers are mid-level and shallow aquifers, and above them, the water table. Along rivers, there are alluvial aquifers, shallow formations in sand and gravel. Except for deep aquifers covered by non-porous rock like shale or glacial till, all of these aquifers are recharged by rain and melting snow, but at very different rates. Water from precipitation can begin to reach shallow aquifers anywhere from days to years, depending on soil conditions, rock formations and other factors. Deeper aquifers have recharge rates measured in centuries.

“We’ve dated some of the water in the deep Jordan aquifer, and found it’s tens to hundreds of thousands of years old,” Keith Schilling told Little Village. “We even found samples there that were up to a million years old. This is really old water that was recharged a long, long, long time ago.”

“There are two different systems going on here,” he continued. “The shallow system that’s recharged every time it rains, and deep systems that are not recharged that way, so you get one-time use of that water.”

Those two systems also have different challenges when it comes to water quality. The water recharging shallow aquifers can carry pollutants—often ag chemicals—bacteria and other contaminants into aquifers. In bedrock aquifers, local geological conditions sometimes result in high mineral content.

As a general rule, good, accessible groundwater becomes scarcer in Iowa once you go west of Des Moines or south of Des Moines. Resources are most limited in the southwest part of the state. RWRWA has decided to address its problem by building a pipeline across Pottawattamie County to bring water from Council Bluffs to its Avoca plant.

Of course, it’s not just the southwest that has

Map of Iowa water quality based on Total Dissolved Solids. Green, yellow and red indicate good, fair and poor water quality, respectively. Iowa Geological Survey / Public Domain

issues with groundwater. There are examples from all around the state. In the southeast, the Poweshiek Water Association issued a mandatory water conservation order in March for customers of its Tama and Amana systems. The utility plans to drill two new wells this summer to increase supply.

Even in the northeast, where groundwater is plentiful, there are concerns over a mining company’s application to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to almost quadruple the amount of water it pumps annually from wells, from 977 million gallons to 3.7 billion gallons, including 1.4 billion gallons from the Jordan. (Because groundwater is considered a state resource, the DNR is in charge of all permitting.) The company says more water usage means more jobs, and the water not consumed in the mining process will be stored in disused quarries, where it will seep back into the ground, recharging the local groundwater supply.

Local residents, businesses and governments are concerned about the impact pumping that much water out of the ground will have on water levels in their wells and on the health of the area’s aquifers.

“These are valid concerns, but I’d caution everybody not to jump to any conclusions because the numbers are so big,” Schilling said. “We’re talking about a lot of water, but there’s a lot of water in that area. Everything depends on the hydrogeology of the site.”

The IGS is going to study the likely impact of the mining company’s plan.

To manage the demands on the state’s groundwater resources, Iowa needs a plan, Schilling said. The first step in making a plan would be creating a groundwater budget.

“Think of it like managing your checking account,” Schilling said. It’s a way of keeping track of what’s been pumped out of a system, how that system is recharging and if the current rate of use is sustainable.

But creating a groundwater budget requires detailed understanding of the state’s aquifers, and much of our understanding is based on research done in the 1970s, when the IGS had its own drilling program. Technological improvement in recent decades could create a much more accurate understanding of what is available and how long it will be available depending on how much it’s used.

Iowa is behind its neighbors in even basic groundwater monitoring. The state has a total of 49 wells in its groundwater monitoring network. Illinois has 307 wells in its network, Minnesota has 1,448 wells and Nebraska has 5,269.

But drilling wells takes money, of course. The IGS will be drilling a monitoring well into the

Iowa’s Old Faithful

At the corner of 8th Avenue and 8th Street in Belle Plaine, there’s a boulder with a bronze plaque put there in 1954 to commemorate “Jumbo,” a well-turned-geyser that briefly made the Benton County city famous almost 70 years earlier.

By the time the well that became Jumbo was dug, the Belle Plaine area already had a reputation for easy access to artesian wells, which are wells where the water is under enough pressure that it rises to the surface without pumping. Normally, that’s a good thing, but when the contractor the city hired to dig a well on its south side hit water at a depth of 195 feet on Aug. 26, 1886, it proved to be too much of a good thing.

The water shot up uncontrollably, pouring out at an estimated 3,000 gallons per minute, and started to flood the south side of Belle Plaine. A ditch that was dug to divert the water to the Iowa

River quickly became clogged, because the water was bringing sand—tons of it, eventually—rocks and even petrified wood. After an unsuccessful attempt to control the gusher, the contractor skipped town.

Jumbo quickly became a tourist attraction, and enterprising locals bottled some of the water in the ditch to sell to those who came to gawk. A series of unsuccessful attempts to control the well followed. One contractor did find success, not in stemming the flow of water, but by charging tourists admission to see the well after he built a tall wooden fence around it. It wouldn’t be until October 1887, 14 months after the water started flowing, that the well was brought under control.

Even today, almost 140 years after Jumbo was subdued, memory of the well lives on in Belle Plaine. “It is probably the iconic event for the town,” according to a Belle Plaine Historical Society video about Jumbo.

— Paul Brennan

Townspeople stand around Jumbo, the artesian well that erupted in Belle Plaine in August 1886.

Courtesy of the Paul C. Juhl collection, 1860-1935. PC 7. State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City.

Silurian-Devonian aquifer in Johnson County this summer. It will cost $30,000.

In 2024, the legislature did approve a one-time expenditure of $250,000 for the IGS to map shallow groundwater resources. The money was used to map alluvial aquifer resources along the Iowa River from Marshalltown to Iowa City.

“What we’re finding is that it’s infinitely more complicated than we thought,” Schilling said. As the course of the river has changed over the last million years, it has left behind a scattered network of alluvial aquifers in sand and gravel deposits that aren’t close to the river’s current course.

This year, that one-time appropriation became a line-item in the state budget, meaning it will likely be reoccurring for the foreseeable future. But the current appropriation doesn’t go very far in advancing the kind of research needed. The IGS will be requesting an additional yearly appropriation of $500,000 per year for aquifer mapping, as well as one-time funding of $300,000 for a new drilling rig.

What happens when the research needed to create a groundwater budget for Iowa meets the budget-making process at the Iowa Capitol remains to be seen.

In Avoca, Andrea Radd is also thinking about budgets, trying to work out what happens if there’s another water boil advisory.

“If it happens again, I may just have to shut down until it’s over,” she said. “But I’m not sure. I thought about a million things before opening a business,” she added. “But I never thought about running out of water.”

Map showing groundwater monitoring wells across the Midwest. Iowa has very few compared to neighboring states. Iowa Geological Survey / Public Domain

Not Your Grandma’s Quilt Show

By lIZ ROSA

A-list: Central Iowa

Iowa artist Ben Millett incorporates computers, queer history and pop culture into his exhibition of quilted art works.

Ben Millett’s quilts are tactile records, coded with color, memory and meaning. They look soft because they are, but their softness doesn’t dull their message. Instead, it amplifies it.

On July 26, 2025, the Des Moines Art Center will open its first-ever quilt-based solo exhibition, “Iowa Artists 2025: Ben Millett,” a showcase of about 20 quilted works that blend traditional craftsmanship with bold visual storytelling. Running through Nov. 2, the exhibition weaves together themes of queer identity, pop culture, family legacy and artistic innovation, all within the humble, yet historically rich, frame of quilting.

There’s a dashed line, Millett says, between quilting as an art versus a utility.

“I would hope [the line] is almost nonexistent,” he continued. “I think [the desired need] changes. Maybe I want the quilt to be used primarily for visibility, a beauty to look at, or for physical warmth. I think it can go back and forth, sometimes in the same day.”

Millett’s journey into quilting didn’t begin in an art studio, but sitting beside his aging grandmother, who crafted quilts for every family member as they reached major life milestones. Millett stepped in when she could no longer keep up. What began as a gesture of care became a calling.

Millett was tasked with creating a queen-sized quilt for his cousin. At the same time, a nephew was born. Millett was resourceful, taking the leftover fabric from the queen quilt to create one for the baby.

“I really enjoyed the process for the baby quilt— having this pile of leftover fabric and trying to figure out how to make it into something beautiful,” Millett said. “I made more quilts as more nieces and nephews came, but there are only so many couches and beds you can cover with quilts.”

Long after all familial needs for quilted goods were filled, the desire to create remained, and quilting evolved from hobby to art form. Millett found joy not just in the act of stitching, but in the puzzle of design: arranging fabric, shapes and colors into something visually compelling.

Invigorated with the spirit of creating from scraps, Millett found that quilting satisfied his desire for a creative outlet separate from his day job at an agriculture company in Des Moines. He rents a space in Mainframe Studios, where he pursues his art passionately.

In Millett’s hands, a quilt becomes more than a textile; it becomes a statement. The themes of his world are proudly and openly queer, drawing from the personal and political.

Hanky Code is a quilt inspired by a system of color-coded bandanas placed in back pants pockets,

Iowa Artist Ben Millett wears his quilted Jacket It’s Electric! in front of his Ombre Tessellations quilt at his studio. Britt Fowler / Little Village

used by gay men starting in the ‛70s to signal sexual preferences. At first glance, the quilt appears to be a traditional log cabin pattern, but quickly reveals its subversive layers.

In his earliest designs, Millett only utilized machine quilting, sewing with an Elna 720Pro, and then quilting with a Handi Quilter Moxie and Pro-Stitcher Lite.

Holding a doctorate in plant pathology, Millett’s two worlds overlap in his design process. Using a method learned working in the lab with potatoes, he formulates patterns in situ, “in the real world,” and in silico, on the computer. Typically, he composes the pieces online, finding fabrics to match the hex codes, and bringing them to life through the sewing machine. But this process is not rigid; sometimes, Millett’s process is entirely in situ, assembled physically.

Millett hand stitches some selected pieces, finding charm and originality in the human flaws. This is evident in Hanky Code—Millett’s hand embroidery

Above: Hanky Code by Ben Millett. Courtesy of Ben Millett Left: Not Everyone Wears a Rainbow as a work in progress. Courtesy of Ben Millett

Ben Millett models his Midsommar-inspired quilted sweatshirts. Courtesy of Ben Millett

runs around the quilt in different patterns, creating a cohesive jumble of variety.

Not Everyone Wears a Rainbow is all white, with “LGBTQ” and the names of various queer identities stitched in rows of block letters. When light is shined through the rainbow-printed backing fabric, a flood of colors seeps through.

A series of quilts titled If I Had Said Yes serves as the exhibition’s emotional centerpiece: a sprawling wall of nearly two dozen mini quilts, each one a variation on a shared theme. Limited color palettes and repeated shapes are reimagined in infinite combinations, exploring roads not taken, decisions deferred, moments of doubt and what might have been. Together, they tell a story not of one life, but of all the paths that split and spiral from a single point of possibility.

Millett’s pieces aren’t just wall-bound. Several quilted garments appear throughout the exhibit, often referencing pop culture or cinema. Two sweatshirts nod to the unsettling beauty of Midsommar, the 2019 Ari Aster horror film that explores grief, rebirth and collective ritual. Another piece is a hand-stitched book called The Book of Benjamin, inspired by the illuminated manuscripts of The Book of Kells, reworking lyrics from formative songs into poetic stanzas, bordered by needlework.

His palette is deliberately bold: pinks, yellows, acid green and other colors drawn from the Progress Pride flag’s 11 hues.

“Before I came out, the colors I gravitated towards were more subdued; I didn’t want to draw attention to myself,” Millett explained. “After I came out, I’ve been more excited with brighter colors. I’ve been out for 11 years now, and I’m still figuring things out—as I work on quilts, I use a lot of that time to process my own thoughts.”

In Millett’s practice, language is omnipresent. Each element, color, form and texture serves as a means of expression. A quilt can be soft yet fierce, quiet yet defiant.

Quilting is deeply rooted in Iowa history, particularly the heirloom quilts crafted by immigrant women. But Millett, as a gay male quiltmaker, is a small statistic in a space that has long been viewed as rural, domestic and female-coded. His work challenges those assumptions, not through rejection, but through expansion.

“Iowa Artists 2025: Ben Millett” is more than an exhibition. It’s a celebration of what textiles can do, of what stories they can tell, and of how something as familiar as a quilt can become radical art.

Admission to the Des Moines Art Center is free.

Friday, July 25, 5-7 p.m., Des Moines Art Center, Richard Meier building, Free

“Iowa Artists 2025: Ben Millett” Opening Ceremony

A-list: Eastern Iowa

Liz Flair

With a ’90s folk-rock sound and a keen sense of storytelling, Lizzie No is here to gracefully tear the fascists down.

By KEllEE FORKENBROCK

Lizzie No’s discography is an eclectic mix of everything from country ballads to folksy foot-tappers to alt-rock imbued with righteous anger—the kind of music that perfectly soundtracks a summer drive down a country highway. The expressive voice of No (the stage name of the band’s lead singer, Lizzie Quinlan, but also the band itself) connects the genres in seamless fashion.

“It’s fun to surprise myself with the number of influences I can fit into my own work and still have it sound like myself,” she told the Rolling Stone last March, as her acclaimed third album Halfsies debuted.

It made me excited for my own conversation with No, who will perform at the Englert Theatre on Friday, June 18, in an intimate performance in which the audience will join the artists on the stage. Opening for No is Michael Schodin of the Iowa City electric indie-folk outfit Joytrip.

Born in New Jersey and raised in the Bronx, No began her songwriting career as a child. “I grew up hearing my mother play James Taylor and Peter, Paul & Mary,” she recalled.

Her biggest inspirations came in the ’90s, with

the women No affectionately calls “The Lilith Fair Girls”: Natalie Merchant, Jewel, Liz Phair. Although this era of music held a predominant white feminine aesthetic, No never felt out of place in the genre as a Black woman.

“It’s the same as being a Black woman in any space, in any world,” No said. “We may be seen as the ‘stereotype threat,’ but we have always been present in folk and country music. There’s a huge spectrum and so much interesting change in country over the past 25 years.”

Still, until Halfsies in 2024, No said she “didn’t ever allow a synthesizer” into her songs “because I knew that as a Black artist, I was going to be held to a much higher, stricter standard if I wanted to be included in folk or country. People already call me a soul and R&B singer out of nowhere, so I was like, ‘I’m going to do everything I can to fit into this folk-y category,’” she told the Rolling Stone

As No expanded her career as a songwriter, she realized it wasn’t healthy to create while worrying about genre gatekeepers. As she expanded her sound, No joined the Black Opry Revue, a new touring collective “for Black artists, fans and industry professionals working in country, Americana, blues, and homefolk music,” according to the org.

When she’s not touring with her four-piece band, No, a Stanford University graduate, is active in politics and advocacy in Nashville, including the fight for reproductive rights. She’s a card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America; her live album, released in January, is cheekily titled Commie Country.

“I’m counting up my tips / Is there enough for half a tank? / ‘Cause little Black girls better move along when the sun goes down in this part of the country / Waiting by the side of the highway,”

she sings on the Halfsies track “Annie Oakley.”

“We all feel the weight of the dominant culture and white supremacy,” No told me. “So, I hope my songs can be a moment of self-reflection.”

As a Black woman who is also a creative, I know firsthand how exhausting it can be to constantly fight for what’s fair and just. I asked No how she avoids burnout. “I keep my safety and my health a priority, making my home space peaceful,” she said.

Home isn’t far from her mind as she continues her world tour.

“It’s been so much fun,” said No, who’s been on and off the road since 2017. “As an artist, I hope that our performances expand the circles of intimacy and change in a very tentative world.”

In addition to wrapping up her tour this summer, No will continue as the co-host of the podcast Basic Folk, hosting conversations with underrepresented voices in the folk, bluegrass and Americana sphere. She also has a new album in the works, due for release later this year.

Her top priority? “I’m challenging myself to stay the fuck home.”

Let that be motivation for us all to catch Lizzie No before she takes her much-deserved rest.

Intimate at The Englert: lizzie No Friday, July 18 at 6:30 p.m., The Englert, Iowa City

Courtesy of Lizzie No

July A-lIST: FILM

DES MOINES

Sunday, July 6, National Theatre live: Hamlet, Varsity Cinema

Wednesday, July 9, Escape From New York, Fleur Cinema

Thursday, July 10, PIEOWA: A Piece of America w/ Director Q&A, Varsity Cinema

Saturday, July 12 & Friday July 18, Goodbye, Mr. Chips in partnership with the Des Moines Metro Opera, Varsity Cinema

Wednesday & Thursday, July 16 & 17, Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory/ Premature Death The Movie, Varsity Cinema

Wednesday, July 16, An Evening with Ben lesser, Fleur Cinema

Opens July 18, Eddington, Varsity Cinema

Wednesday, July 23, Total Recall, Fleur Cinema

Friday, July 25, 21st Annual 48 Hour

Film Project Kick Off, Fleur Cinema

Monday, July 28, Murder on the Orient Express, Fleur Cinema

IOWA CITY

Sunday & Tuesday, July 6 & 8, I Am Cuba, FilmScene

Monday, July 7, American Graffiti, FilmScene

Thursday, July 10, Luther: Never Too Much, FilmScene

Saturday, July 12, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, FilmScene

Sunday & Thursday, July 13 & 17, Do the Right Thing, FilmScene

Monday, July 14, The Devil’s Backbone, FilmScene

Tuesday, July 15, Fellini Satyricon, FilmScene

July 19, 20 & 24, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, FilmScene

Saturday & Tuesday, July 19 & 22, La Ciénaga, FilmScene

Sunday, July 20, Once, FilmScene

Saturday, July 26, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, FilmScene

Sunday & Thursday, July 27 & 31, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, FilmScene

Sunday, August 3, Aliens, FilmScene

QUAD CITIES

Thursday-Saturday, July 10-12, A League of Their Own, The last Picture House

Thursday-Saturday, July 17-19, Star Wars Return of the Jedi, The last Picture House

Thursday-Saturday, July 24-26, Happy Gilmore, The last Picture House

Thursday-Saturday, July 31-August 2, The Blues Brothers, The last Picture House

LOCAL & NOTABLE

Little Village's monthly print calendar is a non-exhaustive, curated list of arts and cultural events across LV's reader areas. Want to see more?

Browse listings online at littlevillagemag.com/calendar.

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via Mosfilm

MUSIC

DES MOINES/AMES

Thursday, July 3, 6 p.m., Hello Fellow Humans & Friends, lefty’s live Music

Thursday, July 3, 6 p.m., Summer Concert Series: The Nadas, Jasper Winery

Friday, July 4, 6 p.m., Tonguebyte Summer Tour w/ Fishbait & Dirty Blonde, lefty’s live Music

Saturday, July 5, 6 p.m., Bradford Johnson, xBk Annex

Saturday, July 5, 7 p.m., The Groove: A Variety Show, xBk live

Sunday, July 6, 7 p.m., Music Under the Stars: Kristen Ronning & Clarence Padilla w/ Max Wellman, lauridsen Amphitheater at Water Works Park

Tuesday, July 8, 5:30 p.m., Jazz in July: Valley High School Jazz Combo & Mike Conrad’s Hard Bop Express, Hoyt Sherman Place

Thursday, July 10, 6 p.m., Summer Concert Series: B2wins, Jasper Winery

Thursday, July 10, 7 p.m., Jazz on the House w/ Max Wellman & Andrew Walesch – Birthday Show!, Noce

Friday, July 11, 6 p.m., Matt Jesson, xBk Annex

Friday, July 11, 7 p.m., Voix De Ville: A Noce Folly from Max Wellman, Noce

Friday, July 11, 7 p.m., Kings of the West: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, E-40, Too $hort, Mack 10, DJ Quik, Tha Dogg Pound, Suga Free, & CuhDeeJah, Wells Fargo Arena

Friday & Saturday, July 11 & 12, 9:30 p.m., After Hours, Noce

Saturday, July 12, 5 p.m., Haywire, Dose, Source of Fire, Enemy of Man, Animals on lSD, lefty’s live Music

Saturday, July 12, Patresa Hartman, xBk Annex

Sunday, July 13, Good Morning Midnight w/ Clip Clop and Duo Beats, xBk live

Sunday, July 13, 6 p.m., Flummox, Bhagwan, Kibble, lefty’s live Music

Sunday, July 13, 9 p.m., Asylum of Ashes Excellent Adventure, lefty’s live Music

Tuesday, July 15, 5 p.m., Apes of the State w/ Myles Bullen, lefty’s live Music

Tuesday, July 15, 5:30 p.m., Jazz in July: CJC youth Combo, Christian Ertl Quartet, Hoyt Sherman Place

Wednesday, July 16, Kelsie James w/ Sarah Tonin, xBk live

Thursday, July 17, 6 p.m., Clarence Tilton, Abbie & The Sawyers, 10 Watt Robot, lefty’s live Music

Thursday, July 17, 7 p.m., Jazz on the House w/ Kyle Bachara & Co, Noce

Thursday, July 17, 6 p.m., Summer Concert Series: Pianopalooza, Jasper Winery

Thursday, July 17, 7 p.m., Wade Bowen, Cory Waller & The Wicked Things, Wooly’s

Friday, July 18, 7 p.m., Something to Talk About: A Night of Classic Country w/ Gina Gedler ft. Abbie Sawyer, Noce

Friday, July 18, 7 p.m., Chad Elliot, xBk Annex

Friday, July 18, 9:30 p.m., After Hours w/ Carson Parker, Noce

Friday, July 18, 9 p.m., Boozewa, Worst Impressions and look @ Me, lefty’s live Music

Saturday, July 19, 7 p.m., Jazz Vocalist Marisa Cravero, Noce

Saturday, July 19, 7 p.m., Mark Rushton, xBk Annex

Saturday, July 19, 7 p.m., The Mesmerists Album Release w/ Bird Hunters and Sapwoods, xBk live

Saturday, July 19, 9:30 p.m., After Hours w/ Anthony Orji, Noce

Sunday, July 20, 1 p.m., Benefit for Sherrie Irons: Redwing, Jeff Banks Band, Richard Arndt, lefty’s live Music

Tuesday, July 22, 5:30 p.m., Jazz in July: Seth Rezek Quartet, Shorter Stories: The Music of Wayne Shorter, Hoyt Sherman Place

Tuesday, July 22, 6 p.m., Quintron and Miss Pussycat w/ Ramona & The Sometimes, xBk live

Thursday, July 24, 5 p.m., On Hiatus, January, Motel Pheromones,

Claymore, lefty’s live Music

Thursday, July 24, 6 p.m., Summer Concert Series: Dazy Head Mazy, Jasper Winery

Friday, July 25, 10:30 p.m., After Hours w/ Carson Parker, Noce

Saturday, July 26, 7 p.m., Heads in Motion: A Talking Heads Tribute, xBk live

Saturday, July 26, 8 p.m., The Brian Martin Big Band, Noce

Tuesday, July 29, 5:30 p.m., Jazz in July: The Trumpethood, Motown Jazz, Hoyt Sherman Place

Wednesday, July 30, 6 p.m., Paisley Fields, Adam Bruce, lefty’s live Music

Thursday, July 31, 6 p.m., Summer Concert Series: Not Quite Brothers w/ Emma Butterworth, Jasper Winery

Saturday, August 2, 7 p.m., The Domita Show ft. Travis Ness, Noce

IOWA CITY

Wednesday, July 2, 6:30 p.m., Music on the Move: Kevin Burt, Old Town Plaza

Thursday, July 3, 5 p.m., Farm Sessions w/ J. Knight, Wilson’s Orchard and Farm

Thursday, July 3, 7 p.m., Zorn w/ Source of Fire, Blaster & Oral Fixx, Gabe’s

Saturday, July 5, 9 a.m., Sam Ross and Joe Shanks at Iowa City Farmer’s Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp

Saturday, July 5, 8 p.m., Black Cudgel w/ Mystic Cross, Acoustic Guillotine & Slacker, Gabe’s

Tuesday, July 8, 7 p.m., Jord & Half Ivory w/ special guests Dirty Blonde, Gabe’s

MUSIC

Wednesday, July 9, 6:30 p.m., Music on the Move: Alone Tonight Quartet, Northside District

Wednesday, July 9, 7 p.m., Burlington Street Bluegrass Band, Wildwood

Thursday, July 10, 5 p.m., Farm Sessions w/ J. Knight, Wilson’s Orchard and Farm

Friday, July 11, 5:30 p.m., Blind Equation, Stomach Book, Payasa, thisworldisnotkind, iH8it here, Fear Boner, Gabe’s

Friday, July 11, 6 p.m., Brooks Band, PinSeekers, Tiffin

Friday, July 11, 6:30 p.m., Friday Night Concert Series: Flash in a Pan, Awful Purdies, Ped Mall

Friday, July 11, 7:30 p.m., Allison Degroot & Tatiana Hargreaves, Englert Theatre

Friday, July 11, 8 p.m., Joe Stamm Band Album Release, Wildwood

Saturday, July 12, 9 a.m., The Fritters at Iowa City Farmer’s Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp

Saturday, July 12, 6 p.m., Northside Saturday Night: Dirty Blonde, Northside District

Saturday, July 12 at 6:30 p.m., Rhythms at Riverfront Crossing: Swampland Jewels, Riverfront Crossings

Sunday, July 13, 3 p.m., Sunday Funday w/ Wolfskill and the Wild w/ CJ Parker, Wilson’s Orchard and Farm

Sunday, July 13, 7 p.m., Tom Jessens Dimestore Outfit w/ Dave Moore, Wildwood

Wednesday, July 16, 6 p.m., Silent Theory w/ NonGrata, Gabe’s

Wednesday, July 16, 6:30 p.m., Music on the Move: Saul lubaroff, Andy Parrott, Willow Creek Park

Thursday, July 17, 5 p.m., Farm Sessions w/ J. Knight, Wilson’s Orchard and Farm

Friday, July 18, 6 p.m., Detour Band, PinSeekers, Tiffin

Friday, July 18, 6:30 p.m., Friday Night Concert Series: Diane Road, The Recliners, Ped Mall

Friday, July 18, 7:30 p.m., lizzie No w/ Michael Schodin, Englert Theatre

Friday, July 18, 8 p.m., The Mesmerists, Second Half & Early Girl, Gabe’s

Saturday, July 19, 9 a.m., Jeff Stagg at Iowa City Farmer’s Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp

Saturday, July 19, 8 p.m., The Value of Human life, Daisy Glue, lou Sherry & Maaaze, Gabe’s

Saturday, July 19, 6 p.m., Northside Saturday Night: The Feralings, Northside District

Sunday, July 20, 3 p.m., Sunday Funday w/ Silt Creek, Wilson’s Orchard and Farm

Wednesday, July 23, 6:30 p.m.,

Music on the Move: Zebra Maneuver, James Alan McPherson Park

Thursday, July 24, 5 p.m., Farm Sessions w/ J. Knight, Wilson’s Orchard and Farm

Friday, July 25, 6:30 p.m., Friday Night Concert Series: Ben Schmidt Band, Whiskey Fund, Ped Mall

Saturday, July 26, 9 a.m., David Donald Trio at Iowa City Farmer’s Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp

Saturday, July 26, 2 p.m.,The Foxhead Five, Wilson’s Orchard and Farm

Saturday, July 26, 6 p.m., Northside Saturday Night: Golden Alexander, Northside District

Saturday, July 26, 6:30 p.m., Rhythms at Riverfront Crossing: Fez Presents: Iowa Rock and Soul Revue, Riverfront Crossings

Sunday, July 27, 3 p.m., Sunday Funday w/ Nic Arp, Wilson’s Orchard and Farm

Wednesday, July 30, 6:30 p.m., Music on the Move: Silt Creek, Terry Trueblood Recreation Area

Wednesday, July 30, 7 p.m., Gorepig w/ Abstract Forms & Wyvern, Gabe’s

Thursday, July 31, 5 p.m., Farm Sessions w/ J. Knight, Wilson’s Orchard and Farm

Thursday, July 31, 7 p.m., MC Chris w/ Swell Rell, Wildwood

Friday, August 1, 6:30 p.m., Friday Night Concert Series: Dandelion Stompers, Ped Mall

Saturday, August 2, 9 a.m., Freegrass at Iowa City Farmer’s Market, Chauncey Swan Ramp

Saturday, August 2, 6 p.m., Northside Saturday Night: Stephanie Catlett, Northside District

Saturday, August 2, 6:30 p.m., Rhythms at Riverfront Crossing: Natty Nation, Riverfront Crossings

CEDAR RAPIDS

Through July, Wednesdays, 7 p.m., Open Stage w/ house band, The Ideal Theater & Bar

Friday, July 11, 8 p.m., Eljuri w/ Reggae Rapids, CSPS

Friday & Saturday, July 11 & 12, 7 p.m., Alicia and Precious: The Iris Girls, Opus Concert Café

Friday July 18, 6 & 8 p.m., Orchestra Iowa Presents: Candles & Classics – Billy Joel and Chopin, Opus Concert Café

Wednesday, July 23, 7 p.m., Miles Damaso, Opus Concert Café

Friday & Saturday, July 25 & 26, 7 p.m., lynne Rothrock and Julia Andrews: Short Stories, Opus Concert Café

MUSIC

CEDAR FALLS/ WATERLOO

Friday, July 4, 8 p.m., Anarchy in the USA Punk/Metalhead Rockers: Joshua Mutant, Sean Someting, Ian Morrison, The Right Here, The Couch Potato Massacrew, Cabretta, Gravis Somnia, The loft, Waterloo

Saturday, July 5, 8 p.m., Mr. Softheart, Daisy Glue, Toon Smokes & DJ Pals, Octopus, Cedar Falls

Saturday, July 12, 8 p.m., Astro Brat, Maaaze & Obstacles, Octopus, Cedar Falls

Friday, July 18, 8 p.m., Daisy Glue & TVOHl, Octopus, Cedar Falls

Saturday, July 19, 8 p.m., The Janeys, Octopus, Cedar Falls

Wednesday, July 23, 8 p.m., Ragbrai Party

w/ loudmouth Brass, Octopus, Cedar Falls

Friday, July 25, 8 p.m., The Deeves, Octopus, Cedar Falls

Saturday, July 26, 8 p.m., Holding Hemlock, Make Good Choices & Jimmy’s Brother, Octopus, Cedar Falls

Thursday, July 31, 8 p.m., Henry Giddens, Octopus, Cedar Falls

QUAD CITIES

Wednesday, July 2, 8 p.m., Sinkane w/ CJ Parker, Redstone Room at Common Chord, Davenport

Friday, July 4, 8 p.m., Deep Galactic Bass Sessions Vol. X, Common Chord, Davenport

Saturday, July 5, 7 p.m., Precocious Neophyte w/ Ghost Days & Stoney Point, Raccoon Motel, Davenport

Saturday, July 5, 8 p.m., Amateur Selectors Presents: The Rewind w/ David Baker, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island

Sunday, July 6, 6 p.m., chokecherry w/ Penny Peach, Raccoon Motel, Davenport

Friday, July 11, 5 p.m., Free Summer Concert Series: Rude Punch, Skybridge Courtyard, Davenport

Friday, July 11, 5 p.m., Wyvern, Guilty of Treason, Abstract Forms, Braver Than I, Post AD, 12 Gauge Autopsy, Compound Fracture, Soul Devour, Redstone Room at Common Chord, Davenport

Friday, July 11, 7 p.m., Flatfoot 56 w/ False Negative, Raccoon Motel, Davenport

Friday, July 11, 8 p.m., Amateur Selectors: Reading is a listening w/ Apri Orion , Rozz-Tox, Rock Island

Saturday, July 12, 7 p.m., Friendship w/ 2nd Grade, Raccoon Motel, Davenport

Saturday, July 12, 7 p.m., The Big 9 Concert Series: DJ Buddha, UP Skybar, Davenport

Saturday, July 12, 8 p.m., Outta Space w/ Treepunk, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island

Saturday, July 12, 8 p.m., Marcia Ball & The Jimmys, Redstone Room at Common Chord, Davenport

Sunday, July 13, 6 p.m., Sweet Magnolia w/ David Zollo, Raccoon Motel, Davenport

Tuesday, July 15, 6 p.m., Zeta w/ Future Crib & Company Dimes, Raccoon Motel, Davenport

Thursday, July 17, 6 p.m., Fear Not Ourselves Alone w/ Cough N Flop & Camp Regret, Raccoon Motel, Davenport

Thursday, July 17, 7 p.m., The Big 9 Concert Series: Back Pocket, Micky’s Irish Pub, Davenport

Friday, July 18, 5 p.m., Free Summer Concert Series: John Resch & Doggin’ Out, Skybridge Courtyard, Davenport

Friday, July 18, 7 p.m., Pit lord w/ Bear Mace, Dirt God & 12 Gauge Autopsy, Raccoon Motel, Davenport

A-LIST: JULY 2025

Saturday, July 19, 7 p.m., OUTlETProgramme Presents: Jeremy young + Jesse Perlstein w/ Bissell & Berns, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island

Wednesday, July 23, 6 p.m., Somnuri w/ CMD/lINES, Raccoon Motel, Davenport

Friday, July 25, 5 p.m., Free Summer Concert Series: Fair Warning, Skybridge Courtyard, Davenport

Saturday, July 26, 8 p.m., Ill Island Music Group Presents: Kings and Queens of the City, Common Chord, Davenport

Sunday, July 27, 6 p.m., Primitive Man w/ Hunting Grounds Death Cult, Raccoon Motel, Davenport

Sunday, July 27, 8 p.m., The Pat Travers Band w/ QC Rock Academy, Redstone Room at Common Chord

Thursday, July 31, 6 p.m., Hippies and Cowboys w/ Jordy Arndt & The Howlers, Raccoon Motel, Davenport

DUBUQUE/ MAQUOKETA

Saturday, July 5, 8 p.m., JD McPherson w/ Avey Grouws Band, Codfish Hollow, Maquoketa

Thursday, July 10, 8 p.m., Tommy Stinson (The Replacements), The lift, Dubuque

Friday, July 11, 4:30 p.m., Barefoot & Sunshine, Maquoketa Brewing

Saturday, July 12, 8 p.m., Mama Said String Band, The lift, Dubuque

Thursday, July 17, 6 p.m., Maquoketa Summer Concert Series: Crooked Cactus Band aka los Nopales Chuecos, The Green, Downtown Maquoketa

Thursday, July 17, 9 p.m., Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters, The lift, Dubuque

Saturday, July 26, 7 p.m., Pendulum Hearts, The lift, Dubuque

Saturday, July 26, 8 p.m., Gear Daddies, Box 10, Codfish Hollow, Maquoketa

Thursday, July 31, 6 p.m., Maquoketa Summer Concert Series: The Rush Cleveland Trio, The Green, Downtown Maquoketa

THEATER & PERFORMANCE

DES MOINES/AMES

July 4-20, The Flying Dutchman, Blank Performing Arts Center, Indianola

July 6-19, The Cunning Little Vixen, Blank Performing Arts Center, Indianola

Opens July 11, Waitress, Des Moines Community Playhouse

Friday, July 11, 7 p.m., Voix De Ville: A Noce Folly From Max Wellman, Noce

Thursday-Sunday, July 24-27, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Haines Park Amphitheatre or CAP Theatre (weather permitting), Altoona

Opens July 25, The Spongebob Musical, Des Moines young Artists’ Theatre

Opens July 29, Parade, Des Moines Civic Center

Saturday, August 2, 7 p.m., The

IOWA CITY

Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., lady Franklyn Improv Show, Willow Creek Theatre Company

Friday, July 18, 7 p.m., Comedy show ft. Adrianne Chalepah, Willow Creek Theatre

July 18-20 & 25-27, various times, School of Rock, Coralville Center for the Performing Arts

Sunday, July 27, 6 p.m., Always Here: Trans Compilation Album Release Show, The James Theater

CEDAR RAPIDS

Through July 27, various times, Little Shop of Horrors, Theatre Cedar Rapids

July 10-27, various times, Naked Mole Rat

Gets Dressed, Theatre Cedar Rapids

Saturday, July 12, 8 p.m., CR Pride late Show, CSPS Hall

July 25-27, various times, Beetlejuice Jr., Theatre Cedar Rapids

CEDAR FALLS/ WATERLOO

July 11-20, various times, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Waterloo Community Playhouse

QUAD CITIES

July 6, Performance by Opera Quad Cities, lincoln Park, Rock Island

July 11-13, 17-20, The Prom, Prospect Park Auditorium, Moline

July 12, 13, 19, 20, Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra, lincoln Park, Rock Island

July 26, 27 & August 2,3, Aristophanes: Peace, lincoln Park, Rock Island

DUBUQUE

July 10-19, various times, Disney’s Descendants The Musical, Bell Tower Theater

Domita Show ft. Travis Ness, Noce

LIT & COMMUNITY

DES MOINES/AMES

Wednesday, July 9, 1:30 p.m., Meet the Songwriter: Chip Albright, Beaverdale Books

Wednesday, July 9, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author: Jeffrey Boldt Big Lake Troubles, Beaverdale Books

Friday, July 11, 7 p.m., Magic of the Night lantern Parade, Kingman Blvd., Des Moines

Saturday, July 12, 9 a.m., Dancing on Cowles Commons, Cowles Commons

Monday, July 14, 6:30 p.m., Chris Whitaker All the Colors of the Dark, Franklin Event Center

Tuesday, July 15, 6:30 p.m., Christine Brennan On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports, Franklin Event Center

Friday, July 18, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Poet: Charlie Peck World’s Largest Ball of Paint, Beaverdale Books

Monday, July 21, 6:30 p.m., Dupont Brass Free Family Concert, Colby Park, Windsor Heights

Tuesday, July 22, 6:30 p.m., Dupont Brass Free Family Concert, lauridsen Amphitheater at Water Works Park, Des Moines

Wednesday, July 30, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author: Bruce Weitz The Pursuit of Citizenship: Past, Present, Promise, Beaverdale Books

Saturday, August 2, 1 p.m., local Author Fair: Winter Austin, Elizabeth Donne, John M Donovan, Emma Fust, Jackie Reinig, Beaverdale Books

IOWA CITY

Through July 25, Iowa Summer Writing Festival, University of Iowa

July 4-6, Iowa City Jazz Festival,

Downtown Iowa City

Friday, July 11, 7 p.m., Kathleen Williams Renk in conv. w/ Mary Helen Stefaniak No Coward Soul Have I, Prairie lights

Saturday, July 12, 11 a.m., Second Saturday All Ages Art: Print your Present with Bella Esptein, PS1 Close House

Saturday, July 12 at 6 p.m., Sunset Salsa, Ped Mall

Monday, July 14, 7 p.m., Robin Hemley How to Change History, Prairie lights

Tuesday, July 15, 7 p.m., Jared Joseph Soft Lightning, Prairie lights

Friday, July 18, 7 p.m., Jill Viles Manufacturing My Miracle, Prairie lights

Monday, July 21, 7 p.m., Tim Bascom in conv w/ Patricia Foster Continental Drift, Prairie lights

Tuesday, July 22, 7 p.m., Karen Bender The Words of Dr. L, Prairie lights

Wednesday, July 23, 7 p.m., Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo in conv w/ Bruna Dantas lobato The Tiny Things Are Heavier, Prairie lights

Tuesday, July 29, 7 p.m., Anna Bruno in conv w/ Claire lombardo Fine Young People, Prairie lights

CEDAR RAPIDS

Wednesdays, 6 p.m., Wednesday Trivia Night, NewBo City Market

Thursdays, 5:30 p.m., Meet Me at the Market weekly wellness series, NewBo City Market

Fridays, 6 p.m., Rock the Block weekly concert series, NewBo City Market

Sundays, 12 p.m., Sunday Bingo, NewBo City Market

Saturday, July 19 at 4 p.m., Not a

Monolith: Black Foodies & Wine Tasters, African American Museum of Iowa

Monday, July 21, 1 p.m., Czech ‘Em Out Book Club: Spaceman of Bohemia, National Czech & Slovak Museum and library

CEDAR FALLS/ WATERLOO

Saturday, July 19, ¡Fiesta!, Waterloo Center for the Arts

Tuesday, July 15, 2 p.m., Author Seedbed Series: “Digging Deeper: Research Strategies for Creative Writing” w/ Amandajean Freking Nolte, Waterloo Public library

Thursday, July 24, 2:30 p.m., Cedar Falls RAGBRAI Party, River Place Plaza, Cedar Falls

QUAD CITIES

Fridays, 5 p.m.., Mercado on Fifth Festival, 423 12th St., Moline

Saturday, July 12, 10 a.m., Allie Sambert Author Signing, The Atlas Collective, Moline

Saturday, July 12, 5:30 p.m., Sheryl Weikal Reading, Q&A and Signing, The Atlas Collective, Moline

Sunday, July 13, 12 p.m., Rock Island Artists Market, Skeleton Key Art and Antiques, Rock Island

Saturday, July 19, 12 p.m.., Food Truck Fight, The Rust Belt, East Moline

DUBUQUE

Friday, July 4, 5 p.m., First Fridays: Oracle Poets, The Stu

Friday, July 4, 5:30 p.m., First Fridays:Double Vision: Sandra Dyas and Jamie Elizabeth Hudrlik, Voices Studios

Sunday, July 27, 9 a.m., Convivium Neighborhood Open House, Convivium Urban Farmstead

via Quad City Music Guild

ART & EXHIBITION

DES MOINES/AMES

July 5, 1 p.m., “light Within Ourselves: Haitian Art in Iowa” Exhibition Tour, Des Moines Art Center

Through July, “The Art of Dr. Seuss” exhibition, Moberg Gallery, Des Moines

July 12, 1 p.m., “Firelei Báez” Exhibition Tour, Des Moines Art Center

July 16, 6 p.m., An Afrofuturist’s Guide to the Galaxy w/ Tiffany E. Barber, Des Moines Art Center

July 20, 1:30 p.m., Gallery Talk: “Firelei Báez” w/ Associate Curator Elizabeth Gollnick, Des Moines Art Center

July 25, 5 p.m., Exhibition Opening Celebration: “Iowa Artists 2025: Ben Millett”, Des Moines Art Center

IOWA CITY

Through July 20, “it’s a fine thing” exhibition, Stanley Museum of Art

Through July, “One An Other” lobby Installation by Jiha Moon, Stanley Museum of Art

July 5-August 2, Katrice Kelly “Oneiromancy” exhibition, Public Space One

Friday, July 11, Katrice Kelly “Oneiromancy” reception and storytelling event, Public Space One

July 11-August 9, Thomas Agran “Hickory Hill” exhibition, PS1 Close House

Friday, July 11, 5 p.m., Thomas Agran “Hickory Hill” exhibition opening reception, PS1 Close House

CEDAR RAPIDS

Wednesday, July 2 at 12:15 p.m., Art Bites: Strokes of Genius: American Impressionism and its legacy, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

Thursday, July 10, 5 p.m., Wanyen Hsieh Exhibition opening reception, The Cherry Building

Opens July 10, Wan-yen Hsieh Exhibition, The Cherry Building

Opens July 11, 5:30 p.m., “When Color Meets Water” Exhibition, CSPS

Saturday, July 19, 12 p.m., Ken Davison Meet and Greet, DKW Art Gallery, Marion

QUAD CITIES

Tuesday, July 15, Metro Arts Showcase: Celebrating 25 years, Figge Art Museum

Thursday, July 17, Community Celebration: “Chain Reaction” interactive exhibition, Figge Art Museum

Thursday, July 24, Collectors & Artist Talk: “Fever Dreams: German Expressionism,” Figge Art Museum

DUBUQUE/ MAQUOKETA

Through July 26, Sandra Dyas Exhibition, Voices Studios, Dubuque

Through July 26, Jamie Elizabeth Hudrlik Exhibition, Voices Studios, Dubuque

Friday, July 4, First Fridays, Voices Studios, Dubuque

Wednesday, July 9, “Art in the Park” Creativity in Downtown Maquoketa, Maquoketa Art Experience

Dear Kiki,

I’m having a hard time prioritizing others at this stage in my life and I’m not sure whether it’s OK to keep centralizing my own needs, or if I’m being unreasonable by doing just that. By default, I no longer make future plans outside regular obligations such as work and home. When friends and family reach out to spend time together, I almost become prickly. I feel selfish and I know I could be setting myself up for a lonely life if I don’t strike a balance. I worry that some day, I’ll reap what I have sowed and find myself without the social and family network I once enjoyed. Even my therapist has said something to the effect of “well, everyone’s busy” as if I’m asserting that my time and peace matter more than others. Really, I’m just learning to say “no” after a lifetime of saying “yes.” How do I make sure my loved ones know I care, even though I need a lot of space to function for the indefinite and possibly long-term future?

Thanks for your advice, Leave Me Alone!

Dear Leave Me Alone,

Ah yes, the age-old dilemma: Which came first, the chicken of equanimity or the egg of solitude? How do we move forward when we’re waffling back and forth between our obligations to others and our own well-being? Where is the line between healthy boundaries and dangerous isolation?

These are the sort of questions, L.M.A., that you very clearly do not have time to wrestle with!

So, don’t.

Life feels like it’s stretching out like a vast path in front of you, L.M.A. But in order to make it through to the end, we need to survive each moment along the way. And the fact is that each moment we live is its own tiny crisis. At any instant, we could cease to be. Every breath we take is a choice we make, etcetera etcetera. And the reason that’s a good thing is because we all know what to do in a crisis, right? A quick search of the section of the brain labeled “Hackneyed Adages that Prove Annoyingly Useful” reveals the following:

Put your own mask on first.

L.M.A., it’s obvious that you care deeply about the

community you’ve built around you. That means you owe them the very best of yourself. And you can’t be your best self if you don’t centralize your own needs. When you continue trying to give when you’re empty, your worst self is likely to emerge. That road is paved with the hurtful things you never meant to say, the half-assed apologies you never wanted to have to make, the promises you fully intended to keep but didn’t—in short, all the things that can end up burning bridges that might otherwise just need some shoring up.

It’s scary, I know. It can feel selfish, solipsistic. But, L.M.A., it only feels that way because we are each our own biggest critic. You, L.M.A., are your own biggest critic. Know how I know? Because I don’t think that your therapist believes you to be “asserting that [your] time and peace matter more than others.” I’d bet that “well, everyone’s busy” was intended not as a condemnation, but as a reminder that the people around you are liable to be more forgiving than you expect, because they all know quite well how it feels to be torn in this way. Your brain just interpreted the phrase through the filter of your own anxiety.

Of course it’s also true that not all of your relationships will survive a fallow season. But that’s true of any season. Some relationships wouldn’t survive even under the most tender and attentive care. That sucks, and it can be hard to accept. But what’s most important is that you survive, L.M.A.—and that you survive with your capacity to nurture relationships (both old and new) still intact.

So how do you make sure your loved ones know you care? Well, first of all, you tell them. Send them this column if it helps. Make your needs explicit. Secondly, you tell your guilt to gtfo. Folks will sense that you’re feeling prickly at their invitations, and that is what will erode the relationship, not the mere denial of your company. Stick to specifics: say, “Why don’t you try me again in September?” or “Is it OK if I reach out when my schedule clears up?”

Third, remember the little opportunities to show you care. Send them memes that make you think of them. Mail out a trinket or souvenir. Small things done with sincerity can have a great impact. xoxo, Kiki

Submit questions anonymously at littlevillagemag. com/dearkiki or non-anonymously to dearkiki@ littlevillagemag.com. Questions may be edited for clarity and length, and may appear either in print or online at littlevillagemag.com.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): There’s a story from West African tradition in which a potter listens to the raw material she has gathered from the earth. She waits for it to tell her what it wants to become. In this view, the potter is not a dictator but a midwife. I believe this is an excellent metaphor for you, Cancerian. Let’s imagine that you are both the potter and the clay. A new form is ready to emerge, but it won’t respond to force. You must attune to what wants to be born through you. Are you trying to shape your destiny too insistently, when it’s already confiding in you about its preferred shape? Surrender to the conversation.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Here’s my odd but ultimately rewarding invitation: Tune in to the nagging aches and itches that chafe at the bottom of your heart and in the back of your mind. For now, don’t try to scratch them or rub them. Simply observe them and feel them, with curiosity and reverence. Allow them to air their grievances and tell you their truths. Immerse yourself in the feelings they arouse. It may take 10 minutes, or it might take longer, but if you maintain this vigil, your aches and itches will ultimately provide you with smart guidance. They will teach you what questions you need to ask and how to go in quest for the healing answers.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Wise gardeners may plan their planting by the moon’s phases. Through study of the natural world, they understand that seeds sown at the ripe moment will flourish, while those planted at random times may be less hardy. In this spirit, I offer you the following counsel for the coming weeks: Your attention to timing will be a great asset. Before tinkering with projects or making commitments, assess the cycles at play in everything: the level of your life energy, the moods of others, and the tenor of the wider world. By aligning your moves with subtle rhythms, you will optimize your ability to get exactly what you want.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In parts of Italy, grapevines were once trained not on wires or trellises, but on living trees, usually maples or poplars. The vines spiraled upward, drawing strength and structure from their tall allies. The practice kept grapes off the ground, improved air circulation and allowed for mixed land use, such as growing cereals between the rows of trees and vines. In the coming weeks, Libra, I advise you to be inspired by this phenomenon. Climb while in a relationship. Who or what is your living trellis? Rather than pushing forward on your own, align with influences that offer height, grounding and steady companionship. When you spiral upward together, your fruits will be sweeter and more robust.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Migratory monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles, guided by instincts and cues invisible to humans. They trust they will find what they need along the way. Like them, you may soon feel called to venture beyond your comfort zone—intellectually, socially or geographically. I advise you to rely on your curiosity and adaptability. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the journey will lead you to resources and help you hadn’t anticipated. The path may be crooked. The detours could be enigmatic. But if you are committed to enjoying the expansive exploration, you’ll get what you didn’t even know you needed.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your assignment is to uncover hidden treasures. Use the metaphorical version of your peripheral vision to become aware of valuable stuff you are missing and resources you are neglecting. Here’s another way to imagine your task: There may be situations, relationships, or opportunities that have not yet revealed their full power and glory. Now is a perfect moment to discern their pregnant potential. So dig deeper, Sagittarius—through reflection, research or conversation. Trust that your open-hearted, openminded probing will guide you to unexpected gems.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong said, “If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” What did he mean by that? That we shouldn’t try to use words to describe and understand this complex music? Countless jazz critics, scholars and musicians might disagree with that statement. They have written millions of words analyzing the nature of jazz. In that spirit, I am urging you to devote extra energy in the coming weeks to articulating clear ideas about your best mysteries. Relish the prospect of defining what is hard to define. You can still enjoy the raw experience even as you try to get closer to explaining it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the Andean highlands, there’s a concept called ayni, a venerated principle of reciprocity. “Today for you, tomorrow for me,” it says. This isn’t a transactional deal. It’s a relational expansiveness. People help and support others not because they expect an immediate return. Rather, they trust that life will ultimately find ways to repay them. I suggest you explore this approach in the coming weeks, Aquarius. Experiment with giving freely, without expectation. Conversely, have blithe faith that you will receive what you need. Now is prime time to enhance and finetune your web of mutual nourishment.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): How often do I, your calm, sensible counselor, provide you with a carte blanche to indulge in exuberant gratification, a free pass for exciting adventures, and a divine authorization to indulge in luxurious abundance and lavish pleasure? Not often, dear Pisces. So I advise you not to spend another minute wondering what to do next. As soon as possible, start claiming full possession of your extra blessings from the gods of joy and celebration and revelry. Here’s your meditation question: What are the best ways to express your lust for life?

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Greek philosopher Socrates declared, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” That extreme statement is a foundational idea of Western philosophy. It’s hard to do! To be ceaselessly devoted to questioning yourself is a demanding assignment. But here’s the good news: I think you will find it extra liberating in the coming weeks. Blessings and luck will flow your way as you challenge your dogmas and expand your worldview. Your humble curiosity will attract just the influences you need.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Recently, I brought an amazing Taurus to your attention: the German polymath Athanasius Kircher, who lived from 1601 to 1680. Once again, I will draw on his life to provide guidance for you. Though he’s relatively unknown today, he was the Leonardo da Vinci of his age—a person with a vast range of interests. His many admirers called him “Master of a Hundred Arts.” He traveled extensively and wrote 40 books that covered a wide array of subjects. For years, he curated a “cabinet of curiosities” or “wonder-room” filled with interesting and mysterious objects. In the coming weeks, I invite you to be inspired by his way of being, Taurus. Be richly miscellaneous and wildly versatile.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): How does a person become a creative genius in their field? What must they do to become the best? In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell said that one way to accomplish these goals is to devote 10,000 hours to practicing and mastering your skill set. There’s some value in that theory, though the full truth is more nuanced. Determined, focused effort that’s guided by mentors and bolstered by good feedback is more crucial than simply logging hours. Having access to essential resources is another necessity. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Gemini, because I believe the coming months will be a favorable time to summon a high level of disciplined devotion as you expedite your journey toward mastery.

Main Street

Mario’s Italian

Monk’s Kaffee Pub

Oolong Asian Cuisine

Paul’s

Riux Records

River Lights Books

Smokestack

The Lift

The Spot

The Vault Restaurant & Lounge

Wayfarer Coffee

Wicked Dame

FAIRFIELD

Arandas

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Convention Center

Box Office

Everybody’s Whole Foods - Grocery

Fairfield Economic Development Assoc.

India Cafe I

Fairfield Public Library

Information Center

Istanbul Grill

Mira’s Organic Cafe

Nobel House Kava

Thai Deli

GRIMES

Breadeaux Pizza

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GRINNELL

Grinnell College Museum of Art

HIAWATHA

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Roaster’s Coffee House

HILLS

Old 218 Tap

HUXLEY

Casa Azteca

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INDIANOLA

Cabin Coffee

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Beauty

Crouse Cafe

Des Moines Metro

Opera

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Mojo’s Bar

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Coffee

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IOWA CITY

Alley Cat

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FilmScene

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IC Downtown District

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Department

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Java house

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Stuff, Etc

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UI QuickCare - S.

Clinton

UI QuickCareMormon Trek

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Vfw

Vice

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JOHNSTON

Johnston Library

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KALONA

Kalona Chocolates

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KNOXVILLE

Atlantic & Pacific Pub

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Deng’s Garden

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Fast Freddy’s Pizza

Grand Theater

Hometown Market

Meats & Deli

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Restaurant

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Revive Hair Studio

MADRID

Sisters In Cheese

MAQUOKETA

Maquoketa Art Experience

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Tiny Pond Theater

MARION

Alter Ego Comics

Belleza Salon & Spa

Frydae

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MOLINE/E MOLINE (IL)

Atlas Collective

Co-Op Records

East Moline Coffee Co.

Jenni's Boxcar

Late Rider

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MAW - Midwest Ale

Works

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Rust Belt

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MOUNT VERNON

Bijou Theater

Chameleons

Fuel

Ink Expression

Lincoln Wine Bar

Little Scratch Coffee

Roasters

The Local, Glen Mayr

Winery

White Tree Bakery

NEWTON

Gezellig Brewing

NORTH LIBERTY

Bluebird Diner

Copper Boar

El Azul

Java House

Johncy’s Liquor Store

Laundromania

Linder Tire

North Liberty Auto

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Premiere Automotive

Smash Juice Bar

Smokin Joe’s Tobacco & Liquor

Suga Peach

Sugar Bottom Bikes

The Lounge Hair & Beard Parlor

University of Iowa North Liberty Campus

Urban Fuel

Wig & Pen

PELLA

Butcher’s Brewhuis

Cellar Peanut Pub

In’t Veld Meat Market

Main Street Markt

Pella Books

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Smokey Row Coffee

The Brew Coffee

The Queue

The Wijn House

Windmill Cafe

PLEASANT HILL

Breadeaux Pizza

Copper Creek 9

Great Escape

La Feria Mexican

Pleasant Hill Diner

Pleasant Hill Public Library

RIVERSIDE

La Chiva Loka

ROCK ISLAND (IL)

Arthur’s Garden

Delicatessen

Aunt Bea's Cafe

Awake Coffee

Bayside Bistro

Bent River Brewing

Brandon's Pub

Cool Beanz

NEST Cafe

Peewee's

QC Botanical Center

QC Coffee Break & Pancake House

Ragged Records

Rozz-Tox

Skylark QC

Soi 2 Thai Street Food

Wake Brewing

SLATER

Slater Public Library

Town & Country

Markets

URBANDALE

Bike World

Campbell’s Nutrition

Friedrichs Coffee

Hotel Renovo

Living History Farms

Palmer’s Deli & Market

Revel Hotel by Hilton

Rieman Music

Ted’s Coney Island West

Twisted Bean Coffee

Urbandale Public Library

WASHINGTON

Cafe Dodici

Coffee Corner

Frontier Family

Restaurant

Lewbowski’s Rock n’ Bowl

Panda Palace

Taste of China

The Hair Bar

The Wooden Spoon

Bakery Outlet

Washington Public Library

WATERLOO

Basal's Pizza

Hungry Charlie's Lunchbox

Newton's Paradise Cafe

Rodney's Kitchen

SingleSpeed Brewing Co.

Sub City

Waterloo Bicycle Works

Waterloo Center for the Arts

Waterloo Community Playhouse

Waterloo Public Library

WAUKEE

Central Standard

Home Sweet Cone

Kue’d Smokehouse

Kyle’s Bikes

Palms Theatres

Saints Pub + Patio

WEST DES MOINES

Atomic Garage

Banana Leaf

BeerStyles

Bike World

Budu/Bu

Coffee Cats

Early Bird Brunch

Eggs & Jam

Element West Hotel

Herbally Anointed

Hilton Garden Inn

Hurts Donuts

Hyatt Place West

Jay’s CD & Hobby

Kavanaugh Gallery

La Barista

Roslin’s on Fifth

Sheraton Hotel

The Distillery at the Foundry

The Hall at the Foundry

The Rewind by Hilton

Townplace Suites by Marriot

Urban Cellar

Val Air Ballroom

Valley Junction

Foundation

Waterfront Seafood

Market

Wellman’s Pub

West Des Moines

Public Library

Westown Tap

In print at least monthly since July 2001, Little Village is among the longest-running free alternative publications in the Midwest.

We distribute an average of 20,000 free copies each month at about 800 Iowa locations.

Known to support and participate in the local, brickand-mortar community at above average rates, nearly all LV readers picked up the mag while visiting their favorite food, retail, performance or other cultural venue.

LV readers are deeply invested in community. 73% are, and have 1-2 children per household on average. 98% voted in 2020, and 96% in 2022. With your help, we’ll reach 100% in 2024!

Deadwood

Paper Crane Ramen

Uptown Snug

SUN CENTAURI

Flux4D

INSTAGRAM.COM/SUN.CENTAURI

When Alyx Rush declares, “I need my space,” in the first atmospheric gasps of Flux4D, it would be easy to assume the aforementioned space only speaks to normal human conflict, bound entirely to Earth. Certainly, in a literal sense, each song is about the push and pull dilemma of whether to be entangled in the closeness and confines of romance— the hesitations of a classic, conflicted love song. The narrative begins with the romancer creating intentional distance to avoid the dangers of falling in love. That distance, however, quickly vanishes over the next couple of songs, giving in to the lack of space present in heated, carnal intimacy, complete with

their new duo project under the name Sun Centauri, that in itself felt like a collaboration of stratospheric proportions. Although Rush and Swim are frequent collaborators, Sun Centauri feels like a deliberate move toward more intentional music theming, culminating in this first EP effort, Flux4D, which delivers atmospheric and spacy synth slow jams.

The swing toward the conceptual, via the project’s space theme, oozes through the tracklist and its visual counterparts. Visions of satellites, spaceships, and Swim and Rush in alienesque eyewear, on the verge of being beamed up, fill the EP’s music videos. Lyrically, Sun Centauri pens clever galactic analogies, spouting references to radar blips and gravitational pulls. The music production is just as otherworldly, with its layers of synth, vibrating bass, echoey harmonies and general lushness—a proper wall, or rather a whole universe, of sound.

In the first 15 seconds of Flux4D, a glittery sonic swell of pure atmosphere materializes, airy and untethered. There’s a feeling of enlightened transformation in those first 15 seconds. When Rush’s honeyed vocals come to the forefront, the smooth spell of Swim’s masterful production only deepens in the EP’s prelude “Next to the Moon.” That’s how this newly minted duo kicks off the tracklist: in meditative sound.

A GlITTERy SONIC SWEll OF PURE ATMOSPHERE MATERIAlIZES, AIRy AND UNTETHERED. THERE’S A FEElING OF ENlIGHTENED TRANSFORMATION IN THOSE FIRST 15 SECONDS.

intertwined heartbeats, pheromones and temptations. Inevitably, the romantic subject responds with their own form of space—they pull away, “gone to the night.” The initial fear becomes a reality in a mere five songs.

But as much as Sun Centauri concern themselves with emotional space, they also seem fixated on the vastness of cosmic space, maybe even of the extraterrestrial variety. Indeed, last summer when Iowa City mainstays Alyx Rush and Jim Swim—music and production mavens of the R&B, hip hop and pop realm—announced

PIT lORD

Massive Grilling Capacity

There is a persistent conflict in heavy metal: that of silliness versus profound seriousness. Extreme metal sees the most self-serious, philosophical bands win critical favor and masked bands are, again, taking the top of the charts. The most complex and challenging musicians in the metal sphere are still prone to wearing corpse paint, writing songs about murder or weed, or pushing nihilism to hyperbolic extremes. Thankfully, there is a sweet spot that brings balance to this dynamic, and it is most often found in death metal.

Thrower’s chaotic comic-book inspired art from Realm Of Chaos. Their sense of humor is enhanced with samples from movies, television and… cooking videos? Where they get some of these samples is known only to a well-used grill brush or set of tongs. Songs like “Mandatory Burgercide” and “Done As Shit” pay homage to other metal bands (Slayer and Sanguisugabogg) while other songs amplify Pit Lord’s own chops. “Kings Of The Carnivorous Creation” features some outstanding black metal moments and a ripping guitar solo coda. “The Matter Of Platter” approaches techdeath territory, balancing blast beats and complex riffs while the duo share

MASSIVE

From there, “How Long” supplies seductive, pure ’90s R&B, while “Can’t Be Blamed” and “Tiptoes” showcase the acrobatic ease of Rush’s vocal range over Swim’s hypnotic beats. The ending track, “Hollow,” provides a sorrowful lament, as the space widens between narrator and lover. Whether regarding earthly concerns or the stars above, Sun Centuari lands a perfectly packaged musical flight. Ultimately, Sun Centauri is a compelling framework for Swim and Rush to playfully experiment. Flux4D shows a confident growth in artistry from both musicians, proving that being constantly in flux, in life or musically, is merely a beautiful opportunity for discovery. And despite the daunting nature of the unknown, Sun Centauri pulls the listener warmly into their orbit.

—Elisabeth Oster

Davenport’s Pit Lord have never had any pretense about being serious. From their inception, they have dedicated their death metal arts to the macabre savagery of barbecue. Yeah, barbecue. Death metal themed around summertime grill-outs may seem like a gimmick quick to burn out, but Pit Lord is unleashing their third (and best) full-length album Massive Grilling Capacity on July 18. The project features perfectly smoked and slightly charred metallic musings covering all things cooked meat.

Under all the sauce, Pit Lord rips. Though they are a two-piece (Dan Frietag and Lyndon Ehlers), they don’t sound like it. They perform and record all of the instruments on the album, letting a fog-machineequipped grill stand in for the backtracked drums when they play live. Their musicianship, paired with their album title, prove that Pit Lord are ardent students of death metal. Massive Grilling Capacity is a nod to Dismember’s Massive Killing Capacity —even in the album art, which shows a similar war machine, though Pit Lord’s art also invokes Bolt

GRIllING CAPACITy EASIly ESCAlATES THE BAND INTO THE UPPER ECHElONS OF IOWA EXTREME METAl WITH ITS SEARING TRACKS AND SUCCUlENT ODES TO OlD SCHOOl DEATH METAl.

vocal duties like a grill sizzling both hot dogs and hamburgers. There is even a doom section on “Chili’s Baby Back Ribs,” adding to the variety. Pit Lord reminds us metalheads that there is a lot of fun to be had in death metal. You can melt listeners’ faces off while still leaving them smiling. Massive Grilling Capacity easily escalates the band into the upper echelons of Iowa extreme metal with its searing tracks and succulent odes to old-school death metal. So fire up the smoker, grab a beer and headbang your way to dinner.

—Broc Nelson

Massive Grilling Capacity Record Release Show

Friday, July 18 at 7 p.m., Raccoon Motel, Davenport With support from Bear Mace, 12 Gauge Autopsy and Dirt God

Iowa— by staying up-to-date on recommended screenings!

Health screenings help to identify diseases and chronic conditions before symptoms occur. The CDC recommends:

Talk to your healthcare provider about getting screened! Some people should be tested more often—visit the web resources below to learn more. We can stop

All people ages 13-64 should be screened for HIV at least once in their lifetime.

All people ages 18+ should be screened for hepatitis B at least once in their lifetime.

All people ages 18+ should be screened for hepatitis C at least once in their lifetime.

Pregnant women should be screened for HIV and hepatitis B and C each pregnancy.

Scan the QR codes below to learn more about recommended screenings: stophiviowa.org/testing Scan here for HIV information

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MR. SOFTHEART

Reflections On Primitive Action

MRSOFTHEARTINTL.BANDCAMP.COM

In a musical landscape littered with algorithm-choked playlists and brandsafe radio edits, Mr. Softheart comes forward in a defiant whisper. Their latest EP, Reflections On Primitive Action, spins a glittering web of discontent, yearning and sleazy dramatics on this six-track stunner. It’s the hottest release of the summer and arguably the most enigmatic thing to crawl out of Des Moines since… well, ever.

“Comedians have that percept about how you need to suck at it for a decade before you finally start sounding like yourself and things get interesting,” said Nick Fisher, the band’s frontman and lyricist. “So it is with music, or at least the type of music we’re doing.”

Reflections On Primitive Action is not your shitty quintessential “turning 30” album. There’s no defeatism here. Instead, Mr. Softheart leans further into their strange brilliance.

The record opens with “Inertia I,” a track that begins not with a melody, but the words of English novelist Martin Amis. “The world may not be getting better—it is getting less innocent,” he says. It sets the tone for the entire EP. Bleak, reflective, yet pulsing with life.

That pulse continues seamlessly into “Inertia II,” a dreamlike descent into American malaise: economic despair and vanishing dreams. “Foray into nothing, finding steady work for no pay.” The line lingers in the air like heat off asphalt. But this isn’t a dirge. Even at its most disillusioned, the song is buoyed by hazy synths, like a synthetic lullaby.

With “Calling Sister Sea,” the tone shifts. A melodic synth leads the listener into a vision of the seaside – not sunshine and cocktails, but crashing surf and political decay. “A thousand eyes, a thousand lives – all just windows through which to see America crashing.”

This synth-pop funeral for a country in decline is weirdly catchy.

Then comes “Drowning in the River (Of You),” the standout track. Sexy, funky and devastating. “Good morning! How ya been? I been drowning in the river of you…” It’s hard not to fall for the song’s sleek drum machine and sensual vocals. “What’s that you do to me? Do it some more.” It’s sultry without being cheap. It grooves and aches in equal measure.

“Tip of the Spear” opens with the echoing voice of Halen Becker, “The dilettante drugstore poet crawls the stage,” before diving into the EP’s moodiest meditations. It’s selfindulgent, assuming the band sees themselves as well-cultured poets who happen to grace the lives and ears of those around them. Delivered with a breathy detachment, the song summons the apocalyptic humor of poet Vijay Seshardi, whose book can be seen on the EP’s cover. The song is slow and seething, luring the listener further into Softheart’s dream-like critique of reality.

Closing track “Sweetbriers” is one of the EP’s more upbeat tracks and stays true to its name. Induced by love and drenched in a sharp sweetness, the track’s poetry is lumbering and hazy, describing love’s duality in a melancholic blur.

Reflections On Primitive Action is not background music and should not be listened to that way. With its analog textures, sleazy synths and intimate lyricism, the EP is handcrafted: equal parts nostalgia and future shock. The sound is human, despite its mechanical heartbeat.

The band recorded most of the album at home with a rotating collection of synths, guitars and an old Alesis drum machine. Nick shared that his brother and fellow bandmate, John Fisher, ran many synths through effects processors, scored at a bargain from an elderly lady off eBay. Final touches and drums were added with the help of Phil Young at Trillix Studio, with live drum contributions from session player Aaron Knight (Kl!ng, Daisy Glue). It’s a labor of love, patched together by many helping hands.

Mr. Softheart is entirely their own species, adjacent to punk, flirtatious with dream pop and soaked with electronic intimacy. Gravely sexual in their drum machine’s pulse and dangerously gentle in their guitar’s hush. There’s curated restraint here, but also boldness.

—Liz Rosa

PENNy PEACH

Yearn 2 Cleanse PENNYPEACHJR.BANDCAMP.COM

Perhaps you’ve read to be cautious when finishing off a peach— that the pit contains trace amounts of cyanide. While not quite true (it contains a compound that the enzymes in your gut turn into the poison), it’s close enough that one should probably refrain from crunching on the pits of stone fruits.

I couldn’t help but come back to this fact while listening to Yearn 2 Cleanse, the latest EP by Iowa City songstress Penny Peach (a.k.a. Elly Hofmaier).

The seven tracks on this EP are as acerbic as they are straightforward. They seethe with justified anger at the state of affairs we see ourselves in in 2025.

The first thing we hear on the opening track “hero” is the alwayson-point vocals of Penny Peach, “oh I need a hero / someone to follow / someone to help me grow.” The track, like the majority of the tracks on the EP, is minimal, with most of the musical space taken up by the strumming of an acoustic guitar and Peach’s vocals.

But this is not to say that the arrangements are simple. Take the way Peach stretches the enunciations of “one time, twwwo times…” on the latter half of the track. Hofmaier wielded her voice in a similar way on her last project, the art rock funhouse stylings of KL!NG’s 5 SONG SWEETIE PIE! Given the stripped down arrangements and somber lyrical content, Peach’s vocals hit here differently. There are hisses in frustration and the yawps of discontent swelling in the crowds of the oppressed.

But don’t take my word for it; look at the title of the second track on the project: “if a tree falls in the woods and no one’s around to hear

it,, is it still complicit in imperialist capitalism??” The track is a diatribe on the temptation towards complicity we all experience. “Oh I’m tempted / to just give up / move out the country / and sell all my stuff.” This resignation is in conflict with our urge to acknowledge the truth, the temptation “to reclaim my labor / from the corporate regime / to refuse to further fuel / the killing machine.”

If Yearn 2 Cleanse had a thesis statement, it would be the standout track “i.c.p.d.” Peach asks of the Iowa City and University of Iowa Police Departments, “What’s it gonna take to get you off my case???” Like all great political songs, it has a laser-like efficiency, “icpd / please don’t stop me / i’m not guilty / i was only walking.” There are no similes or metaphors; this is about the police in our community fucking with people we know. It also happens to be one of the catchiest songs on the project. It’s not hard to imagine an audience joining in for the track’s denouement, “icccccpdddddd / you wonnnnntttt / stop meeeeeeee.” (This is how Peach writes out the lyrics, which are helpfully supplied for each track on Bandcamp.)

It takes skill to synthesize such palpable frustration in music. This deserves to be an anthem, a chant adopted on streets across the country. God knows there are plenty of opportunities to sing it.

To be effective in calling out injustice, you have to be clear and put something on the line. Yearn 2 Cleanse could be a manifesto—a poison pill one jams down the throat of the fascist imperialists that seemed to have kicked up their feet in our living rooms. Perhaps Penny Peach was our hero all along?

—Chuy Renteria

VARIOUS AUTHORS

Pitched with the concept “if A24 made horror in the days of shot-onvideo,” indie press Filthy Loot’s horror collection Soft Ceremonies absolutely hits its marks.

For the uninitiated, A24 is an indie film production company whose horror is known for arthouse elements and getting under people’s skin. “Shot-onvideo” is exactly what it sounds like: think The Blair Witch Project or Hoop Dreams. So this book asked its authors to think high-brow, low-tech horror.

The four stories in Soft Ceremonies vary in subgenre, style and trope. The voices are different, the characters are different, the impact is different. But they each feel cinematic and they each made enough of an impact on me that I had to read them in separate sittings.

I am not a proper horror fan but I have a large collection of horror movies and I’ve read a handful of horror books. I’m not new to the genre. I want to emphasize this because I was unprepared to be so creeped out, unnerved, haunted.

The first story in the collection A Room in Father’s House by Charlene Elsby is full of body horror and focuses on a woman seeking salvation from a punitive church. It made me sick to my stomach. I shuddered at one point. As the stakes escalated, I waited for resolution. This isn’t a teen-movie slasher, though. This collection doesn’t play the narrative-bell-curve game.

I had to take breaks reading the second story, By the Witchroot, By

the Dawn by Joe Koch. Like the first story, this one is visually grounded and even overwhelming at times. It follows a young man who watches a videotape he found under his parents bed, the contents of which haunt him indefinitely. Somehow grounded and gorey while being a little abstract, this piece was wildly creepy.

The third piece, Meslithe by Sam Richard, deals with the way our lives become open to suggestion when we are bereaved. A normal, widowed man is doing his best to survive his new grief and, in going through the motions, finds himself unable to escape another kind of haunting. Meslithe felt like a campy horror trope (it isn’t though—I can’t quite place whether it’s a haunted house or a cursed object or just a vulnerable person in the wrong place at the wrong time…) was matured and allowed to reach its potential.

The final piece, Sigil by Jon Steffens is an upsetting contemporary take on the classic question: is the character crazy or is this really happening? We see how these events could have transpired, but we also see a mother falling apart while

IT MADE ME SICK TO My STOMACH. I SHUDDERED AT ONE POINT... THERE WERE TIMES READING THIS BOOK WHEN I WAS GENUINEly SCARED.

no one around her notices.

The unsettling collection also comes with a soundtrack on cassette that is eerie and fitting for the project. This press is clearly invested in the experience of consuming their products, and is careful to curate an atmosphere around them.

There were times reading this book when I was genuinely scared. It was more than the faint idea that someone could be behind me, more than walking faster through the house in the dark. This collection reminds us that what is most frightening is outside of our control. Random chance events could haunt us and we’d be unable to stop them. These stories will stay with me.

—Sarah Elgatian

That Comes Through Loss

UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS

In Becoming Native to This Place, Wes Jackson says, “Either all the earth is holy or none is. Either every square foot of it deserves our respect or none does.” In Off Izaak Walton Road , winner of the River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize Laura Julier shows us how true this is with heart, grace and honesty.

The cabin and land on the Iowa River that becomes Julier’s beloved place is an unconventional subject for an entire book. From the author’s own descriptions, this place would not appear in nature magazines or travel brochures. Just beyond readymix plants, grain bins, a salvage yard and warehouses, it is “not pretty.” Yet this borrowed cabin on a river oxbow becomes a cherished refuge and a place of profound personal belonging and awakening—and inevitable loss.

Julier’s journey to “R’s” cabin in many ways began years earlier, when she lived in a small house in Iowa City. A job in Michigan forced a move, but the community beckoned her back, where she took up residence in the small cabin on the river for periods of time ranging from days to months.

Her detailed journey with the cabin and land tells a compelling story of connection to place. She shares months and years of close attention and learning—about birds (eagles and owls play prominent

roles), about the river itself and its neighboring marsh, about the property’s history (though difficult to trace and remaining incomplete). This intentional familiarity leads to a deep sense of belonging. But even more significant is the development of a profound love for the place as well as self-understanding.

About halfway through the book, an epiphanic moment of opening and release occurs. Tears fall unbidden, and her eyes rise to gaze upon three red-tailed hawks riding the thermals. “Pain and loss continue to dissolve, taken up, the broken and the healed, on the rising air.” This healing moment is central to Julier’s deep connection to this place. Now she can “know that I am right in my skin. That I am in the right place.”

Julier’s relationship to R’s cabin is about being “a part of this ecology,” but it is also about “working free of my own past.” The author at times makes general, if not oblique, references to past abuse, woundedness and loss. Early on, we get a fair measure of understanding of the loss of that first Iowa City home, but no specifics.

Despite that mystery we become quite intimate with the place itself through Julier’s skilled, highly detailed chronicle, and I am grateful for her courage in opening her heart to us readers to the extent she does. We all have experienced sadness and loss, so perhaps knowing we share such wounds generally is enough. Any more detail would serve only to satisfy my curiosity rather than provide a deeper understanding of how powerful a place can be in our lives.

Significant events—natural and human—alter Julier’s relationship with the cabin off Izaak Walton Road. Her deep love for this place makes these changes painful yet also builds resilience within her to withstand them. Laura Julier has provided us not only with a profound demonstration of how to love a place, but also unique insight into how that love serves, supports and clarifies the complexities of the human heart and soul.

—Thomas Dean

lAURA JUlIER Off Izaak Walton Road: The Grace

21. Wax target, perhaps

23. Cheeky feature?

25. Hog hangout

26. Sticks with one’s crew?

27. Stumble

28. Pueblo people

29. Copycat

30. Pittsburgh school with America’s first robotics dept.

33. Group with the hip hop classic “93 ’til Infinity”

37. Turns that are easier in England

38. Stretched-out stretches

39. Kind of sax

40. Apple on a desk

41. Color when you don’t want color, but also don’t quite want white

43. Breaks down, in a way

44. Way, way, WAY more advanced

48. Half an African fly

49. Dig it!

50. Big name in elevators

51. Intense, powdery liner

52. Action figure (I mean, let’s face it)

53. Sheepish statement?

56. “Yeah, but still ...”

59. Last obstacle to victory in many a video game, or a hint to the circled words in this puzzle

61. Genoan goodbye

62. Get a rise out of

64. “Begone with you!”

65. Sage, e.g.

66. 8-Down, often

67. Fashion collection

68. Totally dominates

69. Midday sueño

70. Crux

DOWN

1. Lava-filled devices, perhaps

2. Native Alaskan

3. Name in noise reduction tech

4. Bigfoot’s Himalayan counterpart

5. “D’oh!” inducers

6. Easternmost Great Lake

7. Common name on the Avengers: Endgame set

8. Beneficiary

9. [Throw the ball!]

10. Like some grapes and rye breads

11. Nickname of the buddy/ sport/tiger variety

12. “Don’t just stand there!”

13. Test type

14. Put forth, as a question

22. Sits on a windowsill, say

24. “Not 100% sure, but ...”, in a text

27. Take your turn, Wheel of Fortune–wise

28. Cupboard

29. Love along the Loire

30. Lashes, anatomically

31. Distributed, with “out”

32. Vessels often

seen on “Treehouse of Horrors” episodes of The Simpsons

33. Big rigs

34. Able to vote, say

35. Like some outdoor cats

36. Runners with long ears

37. Happy melody

41. Ghost costume necessities

42. An amoeba has one

43. “Take it down a notch”

45. Jeffersonian notes

46. First available

47. Show featuring Brian Tyree Henry as Paper Boi

51. Things on a synthesizer

52. Unsavory bars

53. “Queen Bitch” artist

54. Mountain or tree pose, e.g.

55. To this point

56. Common effect in dub music

57. Daytime talk show whose latest theme song is sung by Leona Lewis, with “The”

58. Donald’s character on 47-Down

59. Kid ’N Play hairstyle

60. Aquaphor product

63. Cabin Fever director Roth

Little Village Issue 342 - July 2025

FOUR OUTSTANDING SHOWS

RAY LaMONTAGNE

BEN FOLDS

30

Drill, Baby, Drill

Queer & Quilted

Top Stories

THANK YOU TO THIS ISSUE’S ADVERTISING PARTNERS

Letters & Interactions

SOMETIMES CHANGING WITH CHANGING

HAVE AN OPINION?

PUBLIC NUISANCE

INTERACTIONS

ACCOLADES

INTERACTIONS

In Case You Missed It

Fully Booked: Recommendations from Local Librarians

Pageturners for Any Mood Family Matters

The Prison Foodie

Sports

Short Stop

Baptism by Fire

Deep Water Horizon

Iowa’s Old Faithful

Not Your Grandma’s Quilt Show

Liz Flair

July A-lIST: FILM

DES MOINES

IOWA CITY

QUAD CITIES

LOCAL & NOTABLE

MUSIC

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MUSIC

CEDAR RAPIDS

MUSIC

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QUAD CITIES

A-LIST: JULY 2025

DUBUQUE/ MAQUOKETA

THEATER & PERFORMANCE

DES MOINES/AMES

IOWA CITY

CEDAR RAPIDS

CEDAR FALLS/ WATERLOO

QUAD CITIES

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LIT & COMMUNITY

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Downtown Iowa City

CEDAR RAPIDS

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ART & EXHIBITION

DES MOINES/AMES

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CEDAR RAPIDS

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PIT lORD

MASSIVE

Yearn 2 Cleanse PENNYPEACHJR.BANDCAMP.COM

That Comes Through Loss

UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS