For the past month, Iowa City Starbucks workers have been on an unfair labor practice strike—even succeeding in shutting down the store. Here’s why.
Search
For the past month, Iowa City Starbucks workers have been on an unfair labor practice strike—even succeeding in shutting down the store. Here’s why.
The Iowa City City Council candidate wants to bring her library background into city government. When Clara Reynen turned 18, she asked her parents if it would be OK for her to skip school that day because she had something important she wanted to do: Register to...
Parade attendees expressed their frustration amid immigration crack downs in Iowa.
Iowa has long stood at the intersection of First Amendment battles.
Escucha Mi Voz held a press conference Friday where Laura Castro, Jorge González’s partner, spoke out about her partner’s ICE abduction. She said González always complied with ICE while he was going through the legal immigration process, and even wore an ankle monitor provided by the agency.
Iowa immigrants’ rights group Escucha Mi Voz says that ICE abducted Jorge Eliesar Gonzalez Ochoa of Iowa City, an essential worker who lives with his family at the Catholic Worker House. On September 25, three men who refused to identify themselves as anything but “federal agents” were caught on video detaining Ochoa at an Iowa City grocery store.
A longtime favorite sports bar in Iowa City has been called one of the best “college bars” in the United States by The Athletic.
Iowa is closing its Historical Society research center in Iowa City to save money, potentially unloading 60% of the collection, including irreplaceable Meskwaki Nation artifacts, Civil Rights Movement records, and Women’s suffrage documents.
On this segment of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith, Amie Rivers, and Avery Staker explore the devastating impact of closing Iowa City’s archive.
Toss some bags at declining school enrollment… the coming loss of a historical archive in Iowa City… And how the 1986 Deere strike connects to today’s tariff layoffs…
Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line. This podcast is produced by me and edited by Rebecca Steinberg. Our music is by Avery Mossman and our show art is from Desirée Tapia.
*SHOW RUNDOWN:*
00:30 – Coffins on Doorsteps: The Dramatic Rally to Save Iowa History
01:00 – Suzanne White Buffalo’s Powerful Speech: “You Are the Reason Why”
02:00 – 60% of Collection May Be Lost: What Happens to Donated Materials?
02:30 – The Meskwaki Nation: Cultural Genocide Continues Through Neglect
04:30 – Civil Rights and Women’s Suffrage Archives Under Threat
06:30 – The Real Budget Story: Unlimited Vouchers vs. $800K for History
07:30 – What This Says About Iowa’s Values and Priorities
08:30 – State Rep Adam Zabner: “Fighting Back Against This Decision”
*LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO CORNHOLE CHAMPIONS:*
– YouTube – https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2LsUFhizO07jdk5Wav4mOT7tArltF8z5&si=FryZd7N7tG5tJ5Ju
– Substack – https://cornholechampions.substack.com/
– Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cornhole-champions-podcast/id1779497714
– Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5rzNpiA4IwgLmxbyrhETY6?si=6c4a527fa9ad4f64
– PocketCasts – https://pca.st/74atty1j
… and everywhere you listen to podcasts
*FOLLOW ZACHARY OREN SMITH ON SOCIAL MEDIA:*
– Twitter – https://x.com/zacharyos
– Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/zacharyosmith
– Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/zacharyos.bsky.social
– Threads – https://www.threads.com/@zachosmith
– LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyos/
*FOLLOW IOWA STARTING LINE ON SOCIAL MEDIA:*
– Twitter – https://twitter.com/iastartingline
– Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/IowaStartingLine
– TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@iowastartingline
– Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/iowastartingline
– YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UCXN791Qw5opBRLyvTWYl43w
You may have heard two weeks ago that a man drove his car into an Iowa City homeless encampment. But you probably don’t know the full story.
Thousands of Iowans gathered across the state for the No Kings protests on Saturday, June 14. Here are a few thoughts and scenes from Iowa City.
Iowa City’s pizza offerings will not disappoint.
Reddit says these places are must-visits.
You probably heard about the very public bankruptcy of Iowa City's *other* hospital, Mercy Iowa City, and how around 1,000 jobs were saved when the University of Iowa Health Care (UIHC) agreed to buy Mercy, changing the hospital's name to UI Health Care Medical Center...
Here’s a dive into some of the top spots for seafood in Iowa City, where the ambiance and flavors promise to transport you to the coast—even in the heart of the Midwest.
The Iowa City and Linn-Mar school districts face a combined $10 million budget shortfall as the state continues to underfund public schools and funnel millions toward private school tuition. According to data from the Iowa Department of Education, 471 students who...
Hills Elementary School will close next school year after nearly 60 years of educating students, and members of the Iowa City School Board cite inadequate state funding as one of the reasons why. “It is the result of chronic and persistent underfunding by the state...
When Judy McKillip and her husband neared retirement 24 years ago, they bought a mobile home in Iowa City's Modern Manor and found a close-knit community. "It was good to stay among friends," McKillip said. "We played cards together, we bowled together. It was a good...
Banned Books Week seems especially relevant in Iowa this year. Here are a couple events to help you celebrate this week, both free and open to all:
Iowa City Starbucks workers went on strike for the second time this summer, this time taking recurring issues with their site’s manager to the picket line. The Iowa City Starbucks, located at Burlington and Clinton in downtown, is the first and so far only Starbucks...
A Republican congresswoman holding an open town hall in the bluest part of Iowa was shouted down for saying a federal assault weapons ban was “ineffective.”
“By asking a business if they’re LGBT-friendly or a transgender safe space, that sends a message to the community, because those people need to know expressly that they are welcome there.”
Iowa City Starbucks workers and community members gathered for a one-day strike on Friday, joining over 3,000 workers in more than 150 stores across the country.
Several thousand current and former employees of University of Iowa Health Care (UIHC) should soon see at least a little cash coming their way soon.
Krisha Kapoor, a senior at Iowa City West High, was named Iowa Journalist of the Year.
Twenty behind-the-scenes workers that keep productions at a historic Iowa City theater running smoothly—including this weekend's Mission Creek Festival—are asking for the public's help to put pressure on their employer for their first union contract. Englert Theatre...
A Starbucks coffee shop in Iowa City is the first Starbucks in the state to file for union representation. The move occurred just two days before the company's former CEO was asked to testify before a US Senate committee for union busting. Thirty-one workers at the...
An Iowa City company started during the pandemic as the "last mile" delivery service for Amazon will close next month. GRIT Delivers LLC, which delivered Amazon packages in Amazon-branded delivery vehicles to the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area, notified the state it...
If all goes well, the city of Sheldon will have a new $3.5 million water tower up and running by June 2024, almost a decade after Public Works Director Todd Uhl first mentioned the need to the city council. For years, the new water tower was a mainstay on Sheldon’s...
An Iowa town of fewer than 2,000 people is now home to a good-old-fashioned newspaper war and Tyler Anderson is smack-dab in the middle of it. Anderson is the managing editor of the Calhoun County Phoenix, a Lake City-based newspaper that will put out its first...
Activists, union members, and a worker who says she is owed tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime protested in front of an Iowa City burger restaurant Monday. Rita, who requested Starting Line not use her last name, said she worked for the past 13 years at...