Field to Family extends Online Farmers Markets into remainder of 2020
Claire Benson, News Reporter
October 23, 2020
Field to Family, a local organization that works to support area farmers and combat food insecurity within Johnson County, recently announced that it will extend its Online Farmers Market into the months of November and December According to a press release sent on Friday, the Online Farmers Marke...
Iowa City Downtown District, Johnson County Public Health Department host restaurant and bar forum in preparation of upcoming football season
Claire Benson, News Reporter
October 22, 2020
The pandemic is still here, but Iowa City is bracing for a busy autumn with Big Ten football returning for a fall season. The Johnson County Department of Public Health and Iowa City Downtown District hosted their monthly Restaurant and Bar forum on Tuesday to discuss how to maintain health and s...
Iowa City Public Works facility receives Efficiency in Energy Efficiency Design award
Claire Benson, News Reporter
October 19, 2020
The newly constructed City of Iowa City’s Public Works facility, which employees moved into in December 2019, recently received the Excellence in Energy Efficiency Design award from Alliant and MidAmerican Energy companies. City Facility Manager Kumi Morris said the building sits at 85,257 squar...
ICAD launched $3 million economic recovery and resiliency campaign
Claire Benson, News Reporter
October 18, 2020
The Iowa City Area Development Group this month launched a new three-year, $3 million campaign through 2021 to 2023. The campaign prioritizes economic recovery and resiliency, and identified three key areas to create a long-term stable local economy: community development, business innovation, and d...
ICPD and UIPD encourage education over punishment as bars reopen
Samantha Murray, News Reporter
October 15, 2020
Last weekend saw the first college students at Iowa City bars since August. Now, everyone from police to employees face new issues with reopening and staying open while COVID-19 cases in continue to rise. The University of Iowa campus police has been assisting the city department with party patro...
FilmScene and The Englert join the #DoNotAbandonUs campaign
Megan Conroy, Arts Reporter
October 14, 2020
The Englert stage and FilmScene theaters have been quiet since April when the venues closed their doors earlier this year. Both theaters joined the #DoNotAbandonUs campaign along with arts venues, employees, and supporters nationwide. The campaign echoes the importance of arts institutions, and h...
Johnson County Department of Public Health promotes healthy and safe Halloween
Claire Benson, News Reporter
October 12, 2020
The coronavirus isn’t likely to spread via a pack of M&M’s, according to Johnson County Public Health, but residents should avoid big Halloween parties. With COVID-19 still present in Johnson County and Iowa City, traditional Halloween celebrations and festivities will look different than ...
Patrons flock downtown over weekend
Claire Benson, News Reporter
October 11, 2020
Patrons stood often shoulder-to-shoulder in lines snaking outside of popular bars in Iowa City the first weekend in a month after Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ closure order expired on Oct. 4. Johnson County, home of the University of Iowa and Story County, home of Iowa State University, were the l...
Iowa City Area Development group announces winners of new resiliency award
Claire Benson, News Reporter
October 8, 2020
The Iowa City Area Development group recently created the Iowa City Area Resiliency Awards, where community members nominate large and small businesses, nonprofits, community projects, and individuals who have shown great positivity, strength, and resiliency in response to COVID-19. There were 25 nomina...
Downtown restaurants brace for cooler temperatures
Claire Benson, News Reporter
October 7, 2020
As October brings cooler temperatures to Iowa City, many downtown restaurants that heavily utilize and rely upon outdoor patio seating for socially distanced business during COVID-19 are being forced to reevaluate their plans for the upcoming season. Iowa City Downtown District Director of Op...
Strengthen Grow Evolve Campaign celebrates $5 million milestone
Megan Conroy, Arts Reporter
October 5, 2020
Since its launch last April, the Strengthen Grow Evolve campaign fueled The Englert and Film Scene’s efforts to make Iowa City the Greatest Small City for the Arts. As of Oct. 1, the campaign had officially raised $5 million of its $6 million goal. The capital and programmatic campaign was l...
Iowa City Public Library to focus on DEI, alternatives to police intervention in new strategic plan
Brian Grace, News Reporter
October 4, 2020
The Iowa City Public Library is working toward committing 30 percent of library resources to BIPOC communities by fiscal 2022 and looking for alternatives to police intervention for library policy violations. The Iowa City Public Library released its strategic plan for 2021-23 on Sept. 23, which...