When I moved to Iowa City 25 years ago, one of the first things I did to familiarize myself with my new surroundings was ...

Lefty’s Live Music’s late namesake, Lefty, onstage during a show. — courtesy of Anne Mathey After a decade as a pillar of the music scene in Des Moines, Lefty’s Live Music is closing. “As our tenth ...

This comic was originally published in Little Village’s November 2025 issue.

Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump meet with minority leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in a failed attempt to avert a government shutdown, Sept. 30, 2025. — Daniel ...

Prescribed burn practitioners with the Nature Conservancy’s Trailblazers Academy prepare for a burn in the Broken Kettle Grasslands preserve. — Bethany Kaylor/Little Village “When Americans think of ...

This comic was originally published in Little Village’s November 2025 issue.

Comical levels of villainy have been unleashed in 2025, but it’s easier than ever to be a hero: just care about something. In this issue, Little Village offers a guide to dozens of Iowa nonprofits ...

Tatiana Schlote-Bonne’s sophomore novel The Mean Ones (Creature Publishing) sounds relatively straightforward from the summary: a young girl survives a ritual sacrifice in the woods at summer camp, ...

Utopia: the world we’re building— a gallery exhibition opening November 8th A point of optimism, a place for hope. Join us in ...

Your charitable gifts support freely accessible, independent reporting on Iowa news, culture and events. That started to change last year, as the Biden administration announced it wanted to address ...

Gov. Kim Reynolds signed SF 496 into law in May, after it was pushed through the Iowa Legislature with only Republican votes. Among the bill’s provisions is a requirement that school districts remove ...

Emily and Josh Culbreath performing. Photo care of the artists. As a Midwesterner, a unique point of pride is when the region attracts top-level artists and practitioners from around the world. When ...