Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social

15 hours ago

“There was a corporate feel last year. It felt different,” said Renae Wickham, a Hinterland veteran from Dubuque. This year, however, "was better than expected. It feels more like the original Hinterland vibe."

'The Hinterland vibes are back': Iowa's biggest music fest returned with a vengeance for 10th year - Little Village

This August, as festivalgoers streamed into the new grounds of Hinterland Music Festival, the question wasn't just whether the music would be good, it was whether organizers could recapture the magic ...

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social

2 days ago

University of Iowa alum Aaron Pang's solo show 'Falling: A Disabled Love Story' was developed at Riverside Theatre, where it debuted to local acclaim last month.

"And now I’m here in Edinburgh trying to take a big swing and see if it resonates with people," he told Little Village.

Aaron Pang isn't brave. But he's currently sharing stories from his sex life at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. - Little Village

Only a day removed from a red-eye journey from Iowa City to Edinburgh, Scotland, Aaron Pang, as he puts it, is a sleepy baby. Pang and crew did that thing you try to do when traveling; power-through a...

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social

2 days ago

ON STANDS NOW: Little Village's 2025 🌽 Bread & Butter 🍄 dining guide

📍 Find a copy: bit.ly/lvlocations 🌐 Read online: littlevillagemag.com/lv-july-2025 📬 Subscribe for home delivery: littlevillagemag.com/subscribe

Cover art by Ben Minniear

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social

3 days ago

Unlike other Joni Ernst challengers, Jackie Norris doesn't mention Ernst, Trump, the GOP spending bill or even the word "Democrat" in her campaign announcement video. But she does emphasize her background as a teacher and "mom on a mission."

Democrat Jackie Norris, Des Moines School Board chair and Michelle Obama's former chief of staff, is running for U.S. Senate - Little Village

Jackie Norris, chair of the Des Moines School Board, is running for U.S. Senate. Norris hasn’t run for federal or statewide office before, but she’s been active in Iowa politics […]

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social

3 days ago

When the researchers onstage at Monday's event were asked if the state has “reached a point” where “regulation is necessary," all four — and the crowd of roughly 500 — proclaimed "yes."

The 200-page CISWRA report found nearly 80% of nitrate contamination in Iowa rivers comes from ag sources.

Hundreds gather for presentation on Polk County water quality report; researchers, crowd call for regulation - Little Village

More than 500 individuals gathered Monday to hear what comes next following the release of an in-depth water quality report commissioned by Polk County.  Another 500 watched online to hear […]

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social

6 days ago

Despite the Trump administration yanking their NEA funding, FilmScene has all but secured the future of its original Ped Mall location with the help of RSFIC.

FilmScene begins two-year process to buy their Ped Mall building after Moen foreclosures - Little Village

In April, GreenState Credit Union surprised Iowa City by foreclosing on some of the city’s best-known buildings, properties owned by real estate developer Marc Moen and business associates. When news ...

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social

6 days ago

Are the hills of Iowa enmeshed with a vast network of death camps, comparable in moral terms to those of the Holocaust? That is one of the questions raised, indeed hurled, in this 1999 novella-of-ideas by a Nobel laureate.

Plain Spoken: More than 40 million pigs are slaughtered in Iowa annually. This author has a word for that. - Little Village

Are the hills of Iowa enmeshed with a vast network of death camps, comparable in moral terms to those of the Holocaust? This is one of the questions raised, indeed […]

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social

7 days ago

Bayer—which has spent more than $10 billion settling lawsuits from customers claiming the product Roundup gave them cancer—has substantially increased its lobbying budget.

Pesticide manufacturer Bayer spent more than $200K lobbying in Iowa - Little Village

Bayer, the biotech company and manufacturer of Roundup, has substantially increased its spending on lobbying in Iowa since the introduction of a pesticide labeling bill in 2024.  In 2025, according […...

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social

7 days ago

Congrats to the Bartender’s Handshake for making USA Today's "29 best bars in America in 2025" list.

"Conversation flows easily at the Bartender’s Handshake, which has a gentle, warm atmosphere reminiscent of spending time in your grandparents' low-lit den," Mady Stano wrote in her review for LV.

LV Recommends: The Bartender's Handshake, an intimate place for a cozy cocktail in Des Moines - Little Village

For 2024, “stale, cheesy cocktail bars” are out and “vibey, modern cocktail bars” are in. The Bartender’s Handshake located on Ingersoll in Des Moines is no stranger to the latter. […]

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social

7 days ago

Gabe's has made USA Today's "29 best bars in America in 2025" list. 🍻

For half a century, the downtown IC spot (which used to be much, uh, crustier) has "served as a salon for the broke art and music kids who hung out on Tuesday nights drinking 25-cent draws of beer." From 2019:

Cosmic cowboys, quarter beers and nightmarish bathrooms: The history of Gabe's - Little Village

In the beginning there was the Pub, opening inside a nondescript two-story brick building on East Washington Street in Iowa City, which previously housed ACT, Inc.’s offices, in 1970. The restrooms ha...