27th December 2022

Stop pushing transgender and gender non-conforming people to the back of the #MeToo Movement

Transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are at a statistically higher risk than women for sexual violence, and yet they are often disregarded in movements aimed at stopping sexual violence.

Kansas City Magazine • 10th November 2022

How local hospitals are grappling with staffing shortages

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, health care workers were praised as heroes for putting themselves in the line of fire everyday as this new unknown illness swept the nation. The role of health care workers in the pandemic has not changed, but the number of them in hospitals has.

Hospitals around Kansas City have lost staff, and it’s not only putting immense stress on health care workers but also affecting the numbers of patients hospitals can handle.

Health care workers have been put

Kansas City Magazine • 26th September 2022

Here’s what meteorologist Gary Lezak has planned after retiring from KSHB 41

Rain or shine, something Kansas Citians have been able to count on for the last thirty years is turning to KSHB 41 News and watching chief meteorologist Gary Lezak tell them what to expect. But with Lezak’s retirement quickly approaching, we’re left wondering what’s next for Kansas City’s favorite weatherman

Lezak—who was named the best weatherman in town by our readers in August’s Best of KC issue—is regarded for his accuracy in predicting the common seven-day forecast. He also founded Weather

The Daily Iowan • 23rd September 2022

Englert Theatre introduces Frontline Responders Fund to give 600 free tickets to healthcare workers

At the end of August, the Englert Theatre announced their new Frontline Responders fund, which will provide 600 free tickets to healthcare workers who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After nearly two and a half years of tirelessly fighting COVID-19, frontline responders are being met with a “thank you” from the Englert Theatre.

The theater’s Frontline Responders Fund, implemented on Aug. 31, will provide 600 free tickets for frontline responders to attend a variety of performances at the

The Daily Iowan • 7th September 2022

Senior capstone project Prompt for the Planet returns to Iowa City to inspire environmental change through art

In 2018, a UI senior chose to do her capstone project on raising awareness for the environment through art. Five years later, one non-profit organization formed, and an inaugural poem later, Prompt for the Planet is starting its second chapter.

Tricia Windschitl the cofounder and director of the Lena Project a collaborator/sponsor of Prompt for the Planet poses for a portrait on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

What started as a senior capstone project later birthed an Iowa City non-profit organization

Kansas City Magazine • 2nd September 2022

Kansas and Missouri both face extreme teacher shortages–Missouri has a controversial solution

Small salaries, student loan debt, political agendas, angry parents—and an important job to do on top of it all. Teachers have been struggling with these things for years, and it’s starting to show through staffing shortages in both Kansas and Missouri. Missouri now has a solution, but is it really fixing the problem, or is it just another way to devalue teachers?

Earlier this summer, Missouri loosened its teacher licensure requirements, making it much easier for aspiring teachers to enter the

Kansas City Magazine • 1st September 2022

The ins, outs and how-tos of emerging flower trends from Kansas City’s floral TikToker

Historically, flowers have belonged to the colorful seasons of spring and summer. But according to Kansas City TikToker and florist Lexi Nardini, there are some autumn floral trends beginning to surface for the upcoming season.

Nardini graduated from Mizzou last year with a major in event management, a plant science minor and a floral design certificate. Soon after, she opened the floral division of Platinum XP, a preexisting event-planning business focused on corporate events. Now, Nardini is

Kansas City Magazine • 15th August 2022

TJ Roberts spreads love and community through coffee

TJ Roberts served his first cup of coffee when he was ten. When he grew up, he began working in the sales and insurance industries, but that isn’t what made him happy. Those coffee shop meetings did. So, while holding a day job, Roberts began working at coffee shops on the weekend. He was used to being the only Black person in any given space. Following the murder of George Floyd, Roberts noticed an indisputable difference in the industries––a difference in acceptance, understanding and effort t

Kansas City Magazine • 11th August 2022

The Arabia Steamboat Museum finally seems ready to shove off from the River Market

Standing in the same location since 1857, the City Market is nearly as old as Kansas City itself. In the 1850s, over three hundred steamboats traveled on the Missouri River—including the Arabia before it sank in 1856.

The Arabia is probably the best-known steamboat of the era, at least in Kansas City, where for over thirty years its salvaged cargo has been on display at a museum in the City Market. The museum’s owner, Matt Hawley, has asked for more space from the city and says he was ignored.

Kansas City Magazine • 1st August 2022

Best of KC: Handmade Brooms Fashioned from Missouri River Driftwood and Walnut Shells

An everyday kitchen broom may seem like an average cleaning tool, but look into its past a little further and unleash a world of rich history. This is what made Amanda Lee (instagram.com/pleasesendword) fall in love with the craft of broom making and become the city’s only broomsquire.

In a cozy studio she built from the ground up on Virginia Avenue in KCMO, Lee spends her days dedicated to the many steps that go into creating a handmade broom. She cures found driftwood from the banks of the Mi

Kansas City Magazine • 1st August 2022

Best of KC: An Overland Park Family’s Tiny Food Pantry Has Done Massive Good

As the pandemic began to overstay its welcome in September of 2020, Jennifer and Adam Parker knew they wanted to do more to help those in need—so they converted what was once a tiny library in their front yard into a tiny food pantry, which has since been rebuilt to be as large as a typical kitchen pantry, even including a mini fridge for perishable items.

Standing tall in front of the Parker home on W. 71st Street in Overland Park, the tiny pantry has flourished to the point where Jennifer and

Kansas City Magazine • 14th July 2022

Why a historically Black university started Missouri’s newest police academy

In a class of twenty-six students, Gary Hill was one of only two Black students when he attended the police academy in 1997. That’s why he founded the Lincoln University Law Enforcement Training Academy, the first of its kind at any of America’s historically Black colleges or universities.

Now the chief of police at Lincoln University in Jefferson City and an alumnus of the school himself, Hill is the head instructor of the new program.

After working for the Missouri Sheriff’s Training Academy

Kansas City Magazine • 7th July 2022

Muralist Vania Soto is showing scenes from KC’s rich Mexican heritage

Downtown Kansas City is lined with murals. Some celebrate sports victories and iconic Kansas City symbols while others tell a deeper story. KC muralist Vania Soto has a hand in both. Soto has been a full-time artist in Kansas City for fourteen years, working in what she calls “the industry of storytelling,” and is deeply invested in sharing stories of Mexican culture on the walls of Kansas City.

Soto was born in Ciudad Juárez and grew up in the small Tennessee town of Kingsport, where she start

The Daily Iowan • 8th April 2022

New exhibit at Main Library honors Asian Americans at University of Iowa

The exhibit, “No Longer Invisible: Asian and Pacific Islander Students at the University of Iowa,” was curated by graduate student Jin Chang to tell the stories of Asian Americans on the UI campus.

Jin Chang, creator of the No Longer Invisible exhibit at the University of Iowa, poses for a portrait at the Lindquist Center on April 7, 2022.

When graduate student Jin Chang set out to research the student archives on Asian American organizations at the University of Iowa, they were surprised to f

The Daily Iowan • 6th April 2022

Englert Mission Creek Festival returns live

The annual festival put on by the Englert Theatre to celebrate music and literature will return to Iowa City for the first time in-person since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Closet Witch drummer, Royce Kurth, performs at Gabe’s during Mission Creek’s Underground Showcase on Saturday, April 7, 2018. They describe themselves as a grindcore band. The style is known for its highly aggressive punk, heavy metal, and industrial influences.

Musicians, poets, and writers from all over the country

The Daily Iowan • 31st March 2022

UI professor donates funds raised from fused-glass artwork to children in Ukraine

Eric Hoffman, who researches radiology, medicine, and biomedical engineering, will donate all proceeds from his artwork sales at Iowa City’s spring Gallery Walk to children in Ukraine.

Eric Hoffman, a professor of radiology, medicine, and biomedical engineering, poses for a portrait in the University of Iowa Hospital on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. (Isabella Cervantes/The Daily Iowan)

As a researcher who has extensively studied the human lung and heart with CT imaging, University of Iowa Professor

The Daily Iowan • 30th March 2022

Broadway musical ‘The Band’s Visit’ to make stop at Hancher

‘The Band’s Visit’ is the recipient of 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical — the production is set to take the stage at Hancher Auditorium on April 6-7 as a stop on its national tour.

In 2016, The Band’s Visit took the stage for the first time, bringing New Yorkers to Israel with a touching story of what it means to be human. The Broadway show swept the Tony Awards with 10 wins, including Best Musical in 2018.

Now, the show is coming to Hancher Auditorium with performances on April 6-7 as p

The Daily Iowan • 23rd March 2022

Dads by day, rockstars by night — local band Trophy Dads to play at Wildwood

Trophy Dads is a rock band out of Solon, IA. During the week, you can find them at work or coaching practice, but on the weekends they’ll be hitting the stage with fan-favorite early 90s rock.

The Trophy Dads, a local dad band from Solon, Iowa, pose for a portrait in Elray’s Live and Dive on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. The group will be performing on Friday, March 25, at the Wildwood Smokehouse and Saloon in Iowa City.

What started as four dads jamming out in a high school music room has turned i

The Daily Iowan • 24th February 2022

Dancer, teacher, poet, and cashier — Jhe Russell is a man of many talents

Jhe Russell is a cashier at the New Pioneer Food Co-op with a rich history that he’s eager to share. With an MFA in dance from the UI, teaching his self-developed method for the five ballet positions is one of many ways he gives back to the world.

Jhe Russell poses for a portrait next to his angel number on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. Russell has a degree in Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa and has developed new dance teaching methods.

At the New Pioneer Food Co-op on Van Buren St

The Daily Iowan • 18th February 2022

Art and Write Night returns to the UI Museum of Natural History

The UI’s Museum of Natural History has reintroduced “Art & Write Night,” a program that invites artists and writers into the space to use the museum as inspiration. In its return after COVID-19-related cancellations, Art & Write Night will occur on the first Friday of each month until the semester’s end.

A pencil and a notebook are seen at the Museum of Natural History in Macbride Hall on Feb. 17 2022.

On the first Friday of every month, after the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History c

The Daily Iowan • 17th February 2022

Beatles tribute ‘Pepperland’ to hit Hancher stage

The Mark Morris Dance Group will visit Hancher Auditorium on Friday with their performance ‘Pepperland,’ a tribute to The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. It will be their first time in Iowa City in 25 years.

Dancers costumed in fluorescent 60s’ style suits move in a trance-like dance to reworked music from the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. This is the Mark Morris Dance Group’s Pepperland – and they’ll be at Hancher Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 18.

The este

The Daily Iowan • 10th February 2022

Englert Theatre to host Chicago comedy troupe The Second City

Chicago’s Second City sketch comedy theater will travel to Iowa City on Feb. 10-11 to perform their annual show at the Englert for the first time in two years.

The Englert theatre is seen on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019. The Englert holds a variety of concerts and events.

With alumni including the likes of Steve Carrell, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, and many more, Chicago-based comedy theater The Second City is one of the bigger names that Iowa City has hosted over the years. Specializing in sketch

The Daily Iowan • 15th November 2021

Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well: The Short Film’ has fans happy, free, confused and lonely all at once

Last Friday, Taylor Swift released ‘All Too Well: The Short Film’ shortly after releasing her re-recording of her 2012 album ‘Red.’ The film took the audience on a whirlwind experience that explains the premise of the song.

Taylor Swift takes a selfie with fans at an appearance at a butterfly mural in the Gulch in Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday, April 25, 2019. (Alan Poizner/For The Tennessean)

Last Friday, fans were gifted the original 10-minute version of the heart-wrenching breakup song they

The Daily Iowan • 15th October 2021

Hobo Johnson & The LoveMakers take on the Iowa City bar scene

Poetry, Funk, Folk and Rap rolled into one — Hobo Johnson & The LoveMakers played Gabe’s last night, giving a high-energy performance that had fans wired.

Lead singer Frank Lopes Jr. douses himself in water to cool himself during a Hobo Johnson concert at Gabe’s in Iowa City on Thursday, Oct. 14 2021. Hobo Johnson has been touring their newest record, “Hobo Johnson Alienates His Fanbase,” which was released on Aug. 1, 2021. (Cecilia Shearon/The Daily Iowan)

Yesterday’s Hobo Johnson & The LoveM