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The Daily Iowan WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2024
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COMMUNITY SINCE 1868
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‘CAPTAIN KIRK’ STAYS STEADY Iowa’s 26th football head coach Kirk Ferentz is in his 26th year at the helm of the Hawkeye program.
Marandah Mangra-Dutcher Managing Print Editor marandah.mangra.dutcher@dailyiowan.com Shouts and screams reverberate throughout Melrose as hundreds of people dash to the gates after hours of tailgating, hoping to make it inside before kickoff. In bars, restaurants, and homes across Iowa, fans donning the same Black and Gold settle in for the game ahead against another Hawkeye foe. Inside, cheers already resonate throughout Kinnick Stadium. A sea of Black and Gold encompasses the stands with speckles of opposing colors. Before the game even begins, tension starts building among the crowd lucky enough to be packed in. “Back in Black” booms out from Kinnick’s speakers, signaling Iowa’s entrance — the moment also known as The Swarm. Synchronized clapping fills the stadium, as the practiced routine of greeting the team spreads to any newcomers. Despite the ear-splitting noise from the bleachers, Kirk Ferentz marches out onto Duke Slater Field chewing a piece of gum — his signature look. While the tension is building to the team’s entrance, cheers still increases as fans around the stadium catch sight of the longest-tenured active coach in college football.
INSIDE
The 69-year-old’s career has been filled with trials and triumphs, ranging from great seasons and charity work to losing streaks and lawsuits. Despite the ups and downs, the head coach remains one of the most revered — and highest-paid — individuals in the state of Iowa.
Community view Ferentz was featured as part of an Iowa City staple when Herky on Parade returned over the summer. Of the hundred Herky statues built and decorated, one was made to celebrate Ferentz’s 25 years with the Hawkeyes. The Herky, titled “25 Years of Captain Kirk,” was revealed and gifted to the coach on May 1. The statue was covered in hundreds of images of the coach from over the years and is located just outside the Hansen Football Performance Center. Artist and University of Iowa graduate student Yuchen Liu spent around six hours a day over the course of a month on each Herky she completed. Cap-
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Southeast hurricanes hit home
Iowans rally to provide aid and share stories on recent natural disasters. Emma Jane News Reporter
news@dailyiowan.com
Crystal balls, singing bowls, and precious stones in Iowa City With Halloween approaching, The Daily Iowan dives deeper into the city’s spiritual community and businesses with healing practices and other worldly experiences at the forefront. 80 HOURS | 1C
ONLINE • Hannah Stuelke visited the
Iowa Memorial Union during a homecoming week blood drive. The nation is currently in one of the worst blood shortages. The Abbott and the Big Ten “We Give Blood Drive” will give the winning school $1 million to put toward community health. Check out the full story at dailyiowan.com.
• Listen to the latest episodes of The Daily Iowan’s two podcasts, Above the Fold and Press Box Banter, where reporters cover the latest news and talk sports at dailyiowan.com.
For five agonizing days, Cedar Rapids father Brian Jones thought his daughter and grandson were dead, swallowed whole by the unexpected wrath of Hurricane Helene in the mountains of inland North Carolina. “They had no clue,” Jones said. “Nobody had any indication this was going to happen at all.” Making landfall as a Category 4 storm on the Gulf Coast on Sept. 26, Hurricane Helene unleashed historic rain and wind across western North Carolina in the days leading up to the storm’s peak. The relentless deluge devastated inland mountain areas unaccustomed to such events, leaving towns isolated for days as flooded roads and landslides cut off access. As the unprecedented destruction played out on national news ravaging the mountainous area of Burnsville, North Carolina, where his daughter Jeshua and 10-year-old grandson Kaden lived, Jones feared the worst as repeated calls to his daughter went unanswered. “For her mother and I, this was very traumatic,” Jones said. “We thought we lost her.” Then, after five days of uncertainty, the phone rang with the news Jones and his family had
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John Charlson | The Daily Iowan Volunteers Barb Hartgrave and Joyce Rozek sort through supplies during a donation drive for Hurricane Helene victims set up by a partnership between Rozek and JMS Transportation in a warehouse south of downtown Cedar Rapids on Oct. 13. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” Rozek said, who has worked in sales for multimillion, international companies like Grainger for nearly two decades. “I go home tired every night, but I go home with a huge smile on my face.”
Holy Cow! State Fair butter cow travels to D.C.
The iconic slice of Iowan culture will be featured in the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Grace Olson News Editor
grace.olson@dailyiowan.com
When representatives from the Smithsonian of American Art visited the Iowa State Fair butter cow artist Sarah Pratt, she was overjoyed to just show them a few of her sculpting tools. When she realized she’d be creating an entire cow to be featured in an installation, she thought she was dreaming. “I still am pinching myself,” Pratt said. “Even
though we’ve been in this process for over a year, I still feel like, ‘Is this really happening?’ This is truly amazing.” The exhibition, tentatively titled “The State Fair,” aims to honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. and will feature items from state fairs dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. Pratt will begin sculpting the new cow in July 2025 before the exhibit opens in late August with a state-of-the-art refrigerator case in which the work will be displayed. The case in the museum allows visitors to view the sculpture from all four sides.
Pratt has sculpted butter cows for the state fair since 2006, when she inherited the role from Norma “Duffy” Lyon. In addition to the cow, Pratt also sculpts a complimentary piece every year, such as the Caitlin Clark sculpture in 2023. Before the sculpting process even starts, Pratt extensively researches dairy cows and their movements. She visits farms with her daughters Hannah and Grace to observe cows and take notes for her art.
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