A L W A Y S
ISSUE 340 May 2025
F R E E
Independent Iowa News, Culture & Events
LV digests eight years under Gov. Kim Reynolds. Life in Shiloh's Cult Schools & Summer Camps
Trump Cuts Make Storm Season Scarier
Saying Pspspsps at Local Cat Cafes
Who Wrote The Book of Love? This Guy!
MAY 30 – JUNE 1 HANCHER AUDITORIUM HANCHER.UIOWA.EDU OR 800-HANCHER
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Paris Young in advance at (319) 467-4849 or at paris-sissel@uiowa.edu.
Hancher’s 2025–2026
Subscriptions go on sale to the public on Monday, June 9 More info at hancher.uiowa.edu/Broadway
JANUARY 23–25, 2026
MARCH 27–29, 2026
MAY 1 – 3 , 2026
ADD ON
March 1, 2026 Broadway Series Partners: VERNON HEIN FUND
JEFFREY & KRISTINE NIELSEN
JOHN & DYAN SMITH
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Paris Young in advance at (319) 467-4849 or at paris-sissel@uiowa.edu.
LittleVillageMag.com/Support INDEPENDENT IOWA NEWS, CULTURE & EVENTS Since 2001 LittleVillageMag.com
8 Top Stories 10 Ad Index 12 Letters & Interactions 17 In Case You Missed It 21 Fully Booked 22 En Español 23 Storm Season 24 This is Not My Beautiful House 26 Gov. Kim Reynolds 30 Shiloh Pt. II 35 Bread & Butter: Cat Cafes 40 Prairie Pop 43 A-List: Eastern Iowa 46 Contact Buzz 47 A-List: Events Kellan Doolittle / Little Village
59 Dear Kiki 61 Astrology 65 Album Reviews 69 Book Reviews 71 Crossword
26
30
"Our liberties we prize and
A cult-run summer program in
Kim Reaper
35
Camp Hell
Meet Cute
our rights we will maintain?"
eastern Iowa set out to "break
cat cafe (Kitty Corner), and
Not on her watch.
spirits"—and succeeded.
the original (Coffee Cats).
Inside the state's newest
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EDITORIAL
Tom Tomorrow, Victoria
Publisher
Fernandez, Winston Jamison
Jordan Sellergren jordan@littlevillagemag.com
Meet this month’s contributors! Ariana Martinez is a freelance film
Lauren Haldeman is a graphic
PRODUCTION
critic and Cinema Studies graduate
novelist and poet. She has
Digital Director
student at the University of Iowa.
received an Iowa Arts Fellowship, a
Editor-in-Chief
Drew Bulman
Emma McClatchey
drewb@littlevillagemag.com
emma@littlevillagemag.com
Sustainable Arts Foundation Award Arlette Uribe-Gonzalez is a library
and fellowships from the Iowa
assistant at the Des Moines Public
Writers’ Workshop.
SALES & ADMINISTRATION
Library. She spends her time knitting,
Arts Editor
Jordan Sellergren
snuggling with her cats, or stumbling
Matt Laux is a father, chef and artist
Chuy Renteria
jordan@littlevillagemag.com
across new hobbies (see: obsessions).
living in Iowa City. Connect with him
Advertising
Ben Skeers is a writer, cartoonist and
ads@littlevillagemag.com
social worker from West Des Moines.
Mike Roeder is a self-declared Music
He is currently serving a 10-year
Savant. When he isn't writing for Little
Creative Services
sentence at the Correctional Release
Village he blogs at playbsides.com.
Website design, E-commerce,
Center in Newton, Iowa.
chuy@littlevillagemag.com News Director
on Instagram, @mattdrawsdnd.
Paul Brennan paul@littlevillagemag.com Graphic Designer
Publication design
Kellan Doolittle
creative@littlevillagemag.com
Ramona Muse Lambert makes art Dan Ray is a journalist, musician,
and music. Sometimes she’s in
model and 1994 Aquarius. You can
charge of dinner, too. Buy her art at
CIRCULATION
connect with her over on Instagram,
ramonamuselambert.com.
Calendar/Event Listings
Distribution Manager
@heyimdanray.
Sean Haskins
Joseph Servey
calendar@littlevillagemag.com
joseph@littlevillagemag.com
kellan@littlevillagemag.com
En Español Editor
Distribution
Claudia Pozzobon
Matt Benson, Heber Martinez,
Sam Locke Ward is a cartoonist and Elisabeth Oster is a freelance writer
musician from Iowa City. He self
and designer, and collector of dad
publishes the comic zines Voyage
rock.
Into Misery and ’93 Grind Out.
Ryan Nuss, Joe Olson, Joseph
Emma Krab is a writer, journalist and
Sarah Elgatian is a writer, activist
Corrections
Servey
seventh generation Nebraskan. She
and educator living in Iowa. She likes
editor@littlevillagemag.com
distro@littlevillagemag.com
resides in Ames while earning her
dark coffee, bright colors and long
MFA from Iowa State University.
sentences. She dislikes meanness.
May Contributors
OFFICES
Ariana Martinez, Arlette
Little Village HQ,
Jess Quintero is an emerging poet
Sara Williams is a multidisciplinary
Uribe-Gonzalez, Ben Skeers,
LV Creative Services
from Brookfield, Illinois. They think
artist who was raised in Bondurant,
Dan Ray, Elisabeth Oster,
623 S Dubuque St
about love a normal amount.
Iowa. She currently resides near
Emma Krab, Jess Quintero,
Iowa City, IA 52240
John Busbee, K. Twaddle,
319-855-1474
Kembrew McLeod, Lauren
Amana. John Busbee produces The Culture Buzz, a weekly arts & culture radio
Tiffani Green is an Iowa City
show on kfmg.org.
writer and Little Village restaurant
Haldeman, Matt Laux, Mike
SOCIAL MEDIA
Roeder, Ramona Muse
Facebook @LittleVillageMag
Lambert, Rob Brezsny, Sam
Instagram @LittleVillageMag
K. Twaddle is an Iowa transplant and
Locke Ward, Sarah Elgatian,
Bluesky @littlevillage.bsky.social
a lifelong book enthusiast. She lives
Victoria Fernandez is the Teen
in rural Iowa with her partner and
Services Librarian at the Iowa City
three cats.
Public Library.
Issue 340
Kembrew McLeod is a founding
Winston Jamison is a proud member
May 2025
Little Village columnist and the chair
of his community. When he's not
of Communication Studies at the
writing he enjoys espresso at night
University of Iowa.
and volunteers.
Sara Williams, Tiffani Green,
Cover by Kellan Doolittle She won't be running for reelection in 2026, but that doesn't make the Reynolds era any easier to stomach. Plus:
reviewer.
Send us a pitch! Culture writers, food reviewers and columnists, email:
A child labor camp in rural
editor@littlevillagemag.com. Illustrators, photographers
Iowa, Magnetic Fields' 69 Love
and comic artists, email: design@littlevillagemag.com
Songs, cat cafes, edgy theater and much more.
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 7
LittleVillageMag.com
Top Stories Catch up on some of Little Village’s most-viewed headlines from last month,and get the latest news sent to your inbox every afternoon: littlevillagemag.com/subscribe.
Iowans will rally in cities across the state to protest Trump administration actions on Saturday By Paul Brennan, April 3 So far, the strongest pushback against the rapid,
GreenState Credit Union forecloses on The Chauncey and other Moen properties in downtown Iowa City By Paul Brennan, April 18
chaotic cuts and changes being made by the
GreenState sued real estate developer Marc Moen and
Trump administration has happened in courtrooms. But on
his associates on Feb. 4, claiming they had defaulted on about $28
Saturday, things will be different. “Hands Off!” protest rallies are
million in payments on loans made between 2016 and 2023. The
scheduled for cities across the country, including 17 in Iowa.
five foreclosed properties will be sold off at a sheriff’s auction.
Bill trying to stop Iowa universities from losing accreditation because of new state laws awaits governor's signature By Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch, April 21
UI international students sue Department of Homeland Security after student visas are revoked By Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch, April 23
HF 295 would bar higher education accrediting bodies from
students and graduates from China and India,
taking negative action against state universities for complying with
and claim they're “experiencing intense mental and financial
state law, such as the prohibition on funding or maintaining DEI offices.
suffering because they cannot continue with their studies,
Critics warn it may leave state schools with lower quality accreditors.
and fear being detained and removed if they do so.”
The four plaintiffs are University of Iowa
Until we see you again in print next month, subscribe to LV newsletters to stay up to date: LittleVillageMag.com/newsletters 8 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
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LittleVillageMag.com
Letters & Interactions LV encourages readers to submit letters to Editor@LittleVillageMag.com. Please include your name, city of residence and any relevant job titles or affiliations. Letters may be edited for accuracy and style. To be considered for print publication, letters should be under 500 words. Preference is given to letters that have not been published elsewhere. Sen. Chuck Grassley will hold Judiciary Committee hearing on courts blocking Trump actions (March 31)
No vote on bill protecting pesticide manufacturers from cancer lawsuits as Iowa House Republicans balk (April 4)
Oh now the mfers want to talk about checks and balances, so the GOP Senate can act but only to destroy the judiciary for its king. What a disgrace, the crypt keeper’s legacy of abject spineless submission. —I.B.P.
Apparently, some GOP couldn’t square a ‘yes’ when we’re #2 for cancer. Boycott Bayer, they wanted this, they LOBBIED to put their PROFITS over your health. And Iowa Republicans nearly gave Bayer a win. —C.R
The Iowan-produced ‘Bob Trevino Likes It’ premieres at Varsity Cinema, FilmScene Friday (April 4)
Review: Mission Creek 2025 kicks off with the glorious Kim Gordon, Rachel Kushner and LA LOM (April 4)
Congratulations, Edgar! We were at the Varsity last night, and the film was incredible! Thank you for coming back to Des Moines for this. Can’t wait to see your next projects. —Katie M.B.
She was on top of it. Cool tunes. The opener La Lom was fantastic. —Douglas R.
So proud of you Edgar!! —Talia B.W.
hundreds of games meetups and events every week friendly & casual vibes comfy chairs & big tables
Review: From rapt silence to cathartic screams, Mission Creek’s Day 2 performers crowd-surfed the line between rage and joy (April 7)
HAVE AN OPINION?
F U T I L E W R A T H
S A M LO C K E WA R D
Better write about it! Send letters to: Editor@LittleVillageMag.com Kent, your instincts were 100 percent correct - we couldn’t stop gushing over Kim Gordon and talking about what an inspiration she is. It was truly the best way to get pumped. It’s such a testament to Mission Creek Festival that it can create moments of unbridled collective joy even in times like these. Bravo, everyone. —Rachel K. (Younger bandmember) Love the Feed Me Weird Things shirts. —Aditya I pledge my allegiance to those i love, and everyone who truly needs assistance, to my own pulpit and witch's sand, one human under nobody with anarchy and justice for all. —Eric C. After a year of pop-ups, Diversions Tabletop Game Lounge is opening a permanent home in Coralville with 400 games (April 9) Yay!! Love this lil’ spot!! —Emily S.
T R U E L O V E
RAMONA MUSE LAMBERT
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 13
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I N T E R AC T I O N S
MOMBOY
LAUREN HALDEMAN
Omg so happy this has come to fruition. —Sarah E. Thank you for capturing some of the quirky and cozy vibes of our new adventure, Paul! —Diversions Gov. Kim Reynolds will not run for reelection (April 11) I'd like to think that it is from all the angry letters I've sent since 2020. —Michelle M. Wonder who the next bootlicker the Republicans will put forth will be. —Art B. Golly gee. I sure hope the corporate lobbyists can find another GOP lackey to let them write legislation. —Tim A. She's got a good resume, I'm sure she'll land on her hooves. —Yale C. I'm certainly not a fan, but I always have to wonder how she got to be a less popular governor than the one who killed a puppy! —Sharon F. I don't understand why people are celebrating, she's not done with her Reign of Terror. Grassley retires, she appoints herself to the senate. —Julie J.
It's too bad Rob Sand was trapped in a never-ending labyrinth of the soul shaped like the Iowa State Fair and was never seen again because he could probably do something here. —Aaron
GreenState Credit Union forecloses on The Chauncey and other Moen properties in downtown Iowa City (April 18)
This only helps the state if we can elect a Democrat. The GOP will nominate another degenerate creature to replace her. —Randy K.
UI grad student becomes one of the more than 700 international students whose visas have been revoked by the Trump administration (April 11)
How the mighty have fallen. —Jeff K. Glad this isn’t affecting FilmScene. —Logan L.
Unfortunately the republican potential candidates are just as awful. I've heard Brenna Bird and Ashley Hinson are both considering a run. —Kathy H.K.
The absolute hate & chaos will ripple throughout the world for the ages. This is what we’ve become. Is this what we will remain? It is past time to RISE UP. —MJ G.
I hope and assume that the Moen individuals probably are taking a loss on their investment in these units and for sure Green State will, but
P U B L I C N U I S A N C E
Oh that’s not good. —Brian V.
SARA WILLIAMS
PERSONALS
I N T E R AC T I O N S I think the TIF loans will be repaid without loss to the City. —Stan M. I know that the TIF loan on Plaza Towers was paid off years early because the project was so successful. —Susan C. Meanwhile all the rest of us paid higher taxes to pay for city, county and school services while these properties were not paying their fair share. —Janelle R.
This 2-year-old rabbit provides all the fluffy sweetness of a Cinnabon, without the inevitable regret. Cinnabun has been awaiting adoption at the Iowa City Animal Center since November—far too long for a girl this charming! She may not smell like cinnamon, but she's not bad either; a hygienic bun, she keeps her litterbox, coat and semi-floppy ears clean and tidy. She enjoys her independence, and would probably prefer to be a solo bun. Get to know this ball of dough at the shelter, 3910 Napoleon Ln. Send your personals for consideration to editor@ littlevillagemag.com with subject line “Personals.”
Wow I didn't realize nearly every glass wart that's popped up on the Ped Mall was his. If only we could just like... get rid of the buildings too. —David S. Ugh. Will we have to change the name to Barkalow City? —Julie J. Book Review: ‘Blue Light Hours’ by Bruna Dantas Lobato (April 18) I shared this book with my department and they loved it. I’ll be having my high school sophomores read it next year. —James M.
I read and I loved it. —Giovana Madalosso (The Tokyo Suite author) Bill trying to stop Iowa universities from losing accreditation because of new state laws awaits governor’s signature (April 21) I'm no expert, but I don't think this is how it works.... I love that I live in a state that is admittedly making its educational standards subpar. —Millie B. UI international students sue Department of Homeland Security after student visas are revoked (April 23) The U of I needs to back and support these students in the strongest possible terms. —Jennie C. I’m so sorry to all the international students at Iowa and across the Nation. This is immoral and absolutely wrong. There are millions of us who are glad you are here. —Genie M. Wishing them success & thanking them for their courage. —Vilia T.
LittleVillageMag.com
In Case You Missed It
In Case You Missed It
Catch up on LV’s top arts stories from April.
Catch up on some of Little Village’s most-viewed headlines from last month,and get the latest news sent to your inbox every afternoon: littlevillagemag.com/subscribe.
Review: Mission Creek 2025 kicks off with the glorious Kim Gordon, Rachel Kushner and LA LOM By Kent Williams, April 4 There is a Mission Creek feeling, shared in knowing glances between festival veterans. Its hallmarks have always been experimentation, eclecticism, inclusivity and optimism. Thursday night at Hancher was an exemplar of this ethos.
UI grad Torrey Peters reads from new book ‘Stag Dance,’ discusses writing for a trans audience at Prairie Lights By Mauricio Ruiz, April 8 Award-winning author Torrey Peters told the packed MCF crowd that she’s more interested in depicting “trans culture rather than the trans experience.” Early in her career she realized she’d “been writing about guilt and shame for a cis audience,” a mistake she hasn’t made since.
Review: Upcycled and refreshingly unironic, Sadya’s ‘Warning Signs’ fashion show at 237 Collective was an orange and earth-toned treat By Malcolm MacDougall, April 11 A common theme of the looks was subversion of thrift-store staples. Ties snaked around hemlines and collars, wrapping around the shoulders of one piece in a McQueen-style harness look. Shirts twisted and draped; a fringed tapestry morphed into a helmet-like cowl.
LittleVillage
READER POLL April showers bring May: Mowing
13%
Student loan payments
25%
Measles outbreaks
26%
Coups d'etat
36% *of 107 votes
AC C O L A D E S Iowa City author and Writers’ Workshop alum Garth Greenwell’s latest novel Small Rain has won the 2025 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, considered the most prestigious peer-juried literary prize in the U.S. The book is set in Iowa City, and inspired by a medical crisis Greenwell experienced himself. The award comes with a $15,000 prize. Iowa State Daily was awarded the digital news Gold Crown Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) for the 2023-24 academic year. The national honor went to one other college paper, the Los Angeles Loyolan. This is the ninth time the ISU student paper has won the CSPA award, most recently in 2020-21. Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa, will receive the 2025 Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature from Words Without Borders in June. The honor comes weeks after Merrill disclosed the termination of federal grants IWP has received for 58 years, by order of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The cuts will reportedly shrink IWP’s fall residency program by half.
Missing Missed Connections? Submit! Submissions may be edited for clarity and length, and may appear in print or online. Think you’re the subject of one? Reach out: littlevillagemag.com/missed-connections
I N T E R AC T I O N S What's the loss of a little human freedom and and dignity as long as some airhead former governor of a state with a population so small it makes Iowa seem crowded can cosplay as a cop on television? —Yale C. Iowa atheist group sues Reynolds, Reynolds sues Des Moines Register over her withholding documents (April 28) Realistically, executive privilege should not exist. You want to have discussions about the state/country, it's on the record. Hold elected officials to a higher standard. —Kurt H. I've never wanted to read anything as much as I want to read these. —Ben S.
Correction from last month's issue Photos taken by Chris Pole and contributed by the Des Moines Swimming Federation for the “All Hands on Deck” spread in April’s issue were mistakenly credited to “Chris Cole.” Little Village regrets this error.
College of Humanities, Arts & Sciences
your awaits EXPLORE OUR PROGRAMS: CHAS.UNI.EDU
Fully Booked: Recommendations from Local Librarians Great Manga Romances
Books that Answer ‘What Can I Do?’
T
installment, only to realize I forgot to
A
check it out.
their own solutions. Young people are apex
here are few things I dislike more than finishing a manga volume and reaching over to pick up the next
s a librarian who works with teens, I know the job isn’t just about recommending books. It’s about making
information digestible to help them formulate
You needn’t fear a dangling cliffhang-
community members, and they have many
er when it comes to my first recommen-
questions right now. They’re passionate, ded-
dation. DMPL has added ComicsPlus
icated and hungry for ways to be impactful
to our list of databases, making manga
while trying to understand how they best
and graphic novels easier to access
fit into our world.
than ever. All published volumes of
My first recommendation is The Littlest
Minato’s Laundromat, which chronicles
Drop by Sascha Alper. Based on a parable
a high schooler’s infatuation with a local
from the indigenous Quechua people of South
business owner in his small town, are
America, this is Alper's first picture book, and
available whenever I need a dose of
legendary illustrator Jerry Pinkney’s last set of
lighthearted friendship, romance and
illustrations. Completed after Pinkney’s death
funny family dynamics.
DMPL HAS ADDED COMICSPLUS TO OUR LIST OF DATABASES, MAKING MANGA AND GRAPHIC NOVELS EASIER TO ACCESS THAN EVER.
by his son, Brian, some brushstrokes are more whimsical than you might expect, but they work. Together with the text, demonstrates what can be achieved when we all do what we can with what we have. Drawing heavily from the Japanese internment camps and the Holocaust during WWII, Smira Ahmed’s Internment imagines Muslims rounded up and sent to a detention camp in the California desert. The first few pages are so ominous and prophetic, I could barely put it down. She captured the defiance of
Insomniacs After School follows a
her high school protagonist and contrasted
pair of students who just want to get
this with her cautious parents who just want
some sleep but end up finding friendship
to protect their child. Ahmed spoke to high
and romance almost by accident. Ex-
schoolers in the ICCSD in April. I had the
overworked students will relate to Ganta
privilege to sit down with her last month,
and Isaki’s struggles, and the solace they
and the full interview will be available at
find in the stars and each other.
youtube.com/@thelibrarychannel.
I’m in Love with the Villainess also
Yale historian and On Tyranny author
features a main character who leaves
Timothy Snyder explores freedom and what
behind her chaotic work life in favor of
is at stake when we do not fully understand
living as her true self and finding true
its definition in his latest, On Freedom. He
love. When Rei wakes up in her favorite
is referred to as “the leading interpreter of
romance roleplaying game from when
our dark times" for a reason. Part history
she was a teen, she decides to seduce the
and part personal experience, Snyder is
villainess, instead of any of the game’s
adept at explaining complex macro ideas
princely suitor options. It’s easier than ever to read my favorite manga series from when I was
and connecting dots like a pro. I thoroughly enjoy his writing style, and this is a timely, necessary read!
a teen, I Hear the Sunspot. Originally
The artist behind Badass Cross Stitch has
translated via fan projects when it began
penned an extremely well-researched book
serialization in 2013, I Hear the Sunspot
on the relatively new idea of craftivism, Let’s
follows a hard-of-hearing college stu-
Move the Needle. While not explicitly about
dent, Kohei, who finds friendship and
the how-tos of crafting, this is a fabulous
eventually romance with an over-the-top
read for those looking to activate commu-
and optimistic classmate, Taichi. Though
nity with their crafting prowess. Shannon
updates have come slowly over the past
Downey will be visiting ICPL again over
10 years, I’m always excited to learn about
Zoom on Aug. 9.
new installments.
—Victoria Fernandez, Iowa —Arlette Uribe-Gonzalez, Des Moines Public Library
City Public Library LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 21
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CANIS CARNÍVORA / BESTIA DE CUERPO DELICADO POEMAS ESCRITAS Y TRADUCIDAS POR JESS QUINTERO / POEMS WRITTEN AND TRANSLATED BY JESS QUINTERO
El coyote cruza las carreteras y reza para no ser golpeado / una panza llenita / dormir en el campo hoy. Ella juega con los pájaros colilargos en los árboles como solía hacerlo con su hermano y hermana. Rastreando el tambor de latidos índigos / el vacío brillos que vive debajo de cada pluma y cada hueso. Corazón en su boca, ella llama a casa y el cielo le responde aullando. Ella es demasiado joven / jadeante / confundiendo el querer con la pena. Hay tanta distancia entre lo que ama y lo que puede lamer. Hay tanta vida por agarrar entre sus dientes. Atardeceres devorados enteros Canis Carnívora / esta bestia de cuerpo delicado.
CANIS CARNIVORA / DELICATE-BODIED BEAST Coyote crosses the highways and prays to not be hit / for a full belly / that she may sleep in the fields
La nena alacrán no pica ni siquiera cuando él la sacude para sacarla de su zapato cada mañana. Su cuerpo, un chasquido contra piso de cerámica, lento por el turno de noche y recién agrietado fuera de la cáscara de sueños aplastada por el sol. La mano de él es una sombra, ella a menudo camina al rinconcito del cuarto. No sabiendo como ella encuentra consuelo en este juego de escondidas hasta las rodillas. Incluso los sentidos, incluso el amor. Ella podría ser poeta como eteriza esta tristeza. Algún día aprenderá a escribir; a ser más que el nombre de dios fingiendo ser la muerte en sus labios de profeta.
Scorpion Girl does not sting even when he shakes her out of his shoe every morning. Her body smack on ceramic tile, slow from last night’s late shift and freshly cracked out of the shell of impossible sun-struck dreams. His hand a shadow, she skitters often off to a small corner of the room. Not knowing how she finds solace in this hiding game sinking everything to its knees. Even the senses, even the love. She could be a poet how she etherizes this sadness. Someday she will learn to write; become more than god’s name pretending death on her prophet’s lips.
today. She plays with the long-tailed birds in the trees the way she used to with her brother and sister. Tracking indigo drum heartbeats / the hollow brightness that lies beneath every feather in every bone. Heart in her mouth, she calls home and the sky howls back. She is too young / wet-muzzled and panting / mistaking love for grief. There’s so much distance between what she loves and what she can lap up. There’s so much life to hold between her teeth. Sunsets swallow whole Canis Carnivora / this delicate-bodied beast. 22 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
Jess Quintero is an emerging poet from Brookfield, Illinois. After graduating from the University of Iowa this spring, Jess will pursue an MFA in Creative Writing. They think about love a normal amount. Jess Quintero es un poeta emergente de Brookfield, IL. Después de graduarse de la Universidad de Iowa esta primavera, Jess estudiará un MFA en Escritura Creativa. Elle piensa del amor una cantidad normal.
CONCENTRIC How cultures in Iowa use sound to induce meditative and transcendent states
PERFORMANCE JUNE 10, 7PM
Warning Bells Federal forecaster layoffs may leave Iowans more vulnerable to the elements this storm season. BY EMMA KRAB
This image is created from eight images shot in two sequences as a tornado formed north of Minneola, Kansas on May 24, 2016. The prolific supercell went on to produce at least 12 tornadoes, and at times had two and even three tornadoes on the ground at once. Courtesy of Jason Weingart
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n the afternoon of May 21, 2024, a tornado tore across Iowa. It formed in the state’s heartland, gray and wide above the cornfields. Then it began to barrel directly toward the National Weather Service office in Des Moines. According to Iowa State University meteorology professor William Gallus, the station had a plan. “If a local office has to take shelter,” Gallus said, “another office takes over the duties.” That day, the service office in Omaha, Nebraska, assumed the responsibilities of the Des Moines office, tracking the storm while the local staff sheltered in place. After it passed, the Omaha station returned the duties to Des Moines. By then, the storm had changed. The stronger twister was racing through Iowa at 70 mph—faster than meteorologists had predicted. “By the time the Des Moines employees could get back to their desks and look at what was happening,” Gallus said, “the tornado was almost out of the area. They had not issued one downstream. So here were people who only had two or three minutes of tornado warning.” When the storm ended, the May 21 tornado had devastated the area southwest of Des Moines, including the city of Greenfield, which crumbled under EF4 winds reaching gusts of 185 mph, according to the National Weather Service. It was one of 125 tornadoes to hit Iowa in 2024—an all-time record. For Gallus, the Greenfield tornado highlights the precision and pressure facing today’s weather forecasting employees, especially amid increasing strain on the National Weather Service. “It’s kind of like spinning a roulette wheel,” he said. “Even with the weather balloons, we know in theory that losing data is going to hurt forecasts. And having weather service offices be understaffed is increasing the chances of something going wrong.” As winter ends in the Midwest, Iowans are about to be hit with another storm season. But
as the National Weather Service grapples with widespread federal layoffs, meteorologists face mounting pressure to respond to severe weather with increasingly dwindling resources. Since January 2024, federal hiring freezes and layoffs under the Trump administration have deepened staffing shortages at NOAA, the National Weather Service’s parent agency. In late February, about 10 percent of NOAA’s workforce faced layoffs—mostly probationary workers, including about 375 employees at the National Weather Service, according to the Associated Press. Another round of cuts, reported in March, aims to eliminate 1,000 more jobs, reducing NOAA’s workforce to just 75 percent of its original size. NWS spokesperson Marissa Anderson declined to comment on staffing cuts, citing long-standing policy. But U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen of Illinois, a former meteorologist, confirmed in February that meteorologists at the Quad Cities station in Davenport were among those laid off. Gallus called the Des Moines weather station “lucky” to avoid the recent layoffs, but warned that even relatively untouched weather stations may be feeling the squeeze from hiring freezes. He also noted a general decline in staffing at weather services over the past few years, which may further contribute to the strain. “It’s almost as though you’ve been getting colds constantly,” Gallus said, “and you’re already weak, and then someone gives you influenza.” The NWS employs meteorologists at 122 stations to monitor weather and issue alerts. However, some stations have rolled back duties to compensate for staffing issues. One such change: weather balloon launches. According to the NWS, each of the agency’s offices typically launches two balloons per day, which collect atmospheric data to aid in forecasting. Some stations across the Midwest have been forced to limit launches
to once per day or to stop balloon flights entirely. One of these stations in Omaha, Nebraska covers large areas of western Iowa, though no stations within Iowa have reported flight changes. Stations are also scaling back public training and community outreach. According to Gallus, weather stations often rely on public reports of severe weather and host storm spotter training sessions to inform locals. With fewer staff, many offices have canceled these sessions to focus on forecasting. Still, Gallus said the public may not notice every cut. He shared that during the Greenfield tornado, he and his students initially panicked when they realized Omaha hadn’t launched a balloon—but found their computer models remained accurate. “That’s pretty good evidence that most of the time, missing balloon data isn’t the end of the world.” Des Moines NWS meteorologist Andrew Ansorge didn’t speak to the staffing measures or layoffs. But he reiterated that the most important step Iowans can take to protect themselves remains the same: be alert and think ahead. “It’s important to think about these things,” he said. “Where are you going to shelter?” Ansorge also encouraged Iowans to receive weather warnings by multiple means. He suggested monitoring severe weather through both an app and a television or radio station. Gallus agreed with doubling up. “The public may want to pay extra close attention to the weather,” he said. “Especially in situations where the weather service can’t get the warning out quite as often. If you know a tornado’s at the county to your west, pay attention. Because maybe for us, we’ll get three minutes of warning instead of 15.” Gallus said the National Weather Service has timetested systems in place to keep Iowans safe—even as additional strain befalls the employees there. “There are a lot of unknowns,” he said. “But the weather service has hardworking people, and they do incredible things.” LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 23
This is Not My Beautiful House
The Place In Between What it’s like “waiting for a bag” at Oakdale. BY BENJAMIN SKEERS
What does it mean to be incarcerated in Iowa? This column describes the post-conviction experience of a nonviolent offender from eastern Iowa, in his own words. It focuses on the stark realities of life inside—realities few people care to imagine, but tens of thousands of Iowans have faced.
I
n Iowa, incarcerated individuals come from all walks of life and end up in one of nine state prisons. They come from all 99 counties on a plethora of charges. But there is one place they all spend time: the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville, better known as Oakdale. When you are in County, they don’t tell you when you are going to Oakdale until the morning you leave, but when they do it’s a relief. “Anything is better than County” is the common refrain. The first thing you notice about Oakdale is that it is surrounded by more fencing and razor wire than your typical county jail. I went in the dead of winter, giving the place a bleak look against an unforgiving gray sky. You go in a group and arrive with prisoners from other jails.The first thing they do is “process you”— fingerprints, DNA swabs, strip searches, photos of tattoos, mug shots, the works. It goes by very slowly and you have nothing else to do but wonder what the other men did to wind up there. After you’re processed, you are taken to “reception,” where you usually stay for seven to 10 days. I did six. Reception, according to one C.O., or correctional officer, is where they put you to see if “you do anything crazy.” It’s in a giant room with 20-some-odd two-man cells. Small cells. Just built-in bunk beds and a toilet-sink combo. During your time in reception, you are locked up for 23/24, meaning they let you out for only an hour a day except on weekends, when they don’t let you out at all. It was here that I really felt it hit me: I was in prison. I was here for the stay. After about a week, the doors unlock and you are taken to what is called “R and S,” two large rooms with 16 six-man cells. I was sent to F unit, and when I first walked in, it looked like a madhouse.
LittleVillageMag.com I thought of Arkham Asylum. R and S is 21/3, and when they transfer guys from reception, everyone is out of their cells. I was swamped by people asking me where I was from, how much time I had and what cell I was in. Having been in County, a six-man cell was familiar and I settled in. The other guys were cool and taught me how things worked. It was true; it was better than County. There is a full hospital at Oakdale, and I spent a month seeing different service providers. They gave me a physical and did bloodwork. I had my intelligence tested and had a long visit with a prison psychiatrist. Much of the staff was on the younger side, and they were always training new people. I got the feeling it was hard to keep staff. In fact, there was a giant “now hiring” sign in the front. Oakdale Classification is a cold, dreary place with little to do. You just sit in your bunk until they let you out into the dayroom for an hour at a time. Everyone rushes for the phones when they get out—four phones for nearly 100 people. Each call is 20 minutes, so only a handful get to use it during recreation. This is my main memory from my time in Oakdale: fighting to make a phone call home. The food is better than County, but that is not saying much. And the whole time, you know your behavior determines where you’ll go. “We are all just waiting for a bag,” one of my cellmates said, referring to the brown paper bag you are given the night before you leave. There is quite the mix of people in Oakdale, since everyone goes there. You have petty criminals mixed in with Big Times, and somehow it all works. Most of the people are loud and obnoxious, but also peaceful and respectful. In some ways it felt like the end of senior year, where everyone knew it was the end of the road and we wouldn’t be seeing each other after the next turn. I made friends, but I wasn't sad to leave when I got my bag and was taken to my final destination: Correctional Release Center.
KNOWLEDGE INTO ACTION
THE MUSEUM’S COLLECTION AS A CATALYST JANUARY 7 – MAY 19, 2025
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THE BACHELOR OF ARTS EXHIBITION APRIL 17 - MAY 19, 2025 Enrique Chagoya, Illegal Alien’s Guide to Existentialism, or My Private Border Patrol, 2007. Pastel, acrylic paint, and water-based oil paint on canvas, 60 x 80 in. Grinnell College Museum of Art Collection (2007.008)
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Red State Blues Civil rights, education, wages, health, housing, free speech, food access—the Reynolds era has taken a bite out of them all.
A
BY PAUL BRENNAN
range of emotions could be heard in Gov. Kim Reynolds’ voice as she spoke to reporters at the annual Terrace Hill Easter Egg Hunt on April 12. It was the day after her surprise announcement that she wouldn’t run for reelection in 2026, and Reynolds was clearly feeling sentimental as she reflected on her time as governor. “It’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve Iowans in this capacity,” she said at the beginning of the 26 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
10-minute Q&A. “You know, every day I felt the weight and the privilege of being able to do that, and I worked really hard to just give it 100 percent of my time.” Reynolds repeated what she said in her April 11 announcement: The reason she’s not running is because she wants to spend more time with her family. It’s probably true. She’ll be 67 when her term ends. Her husband has been undergoing treatment for
lung cancer, her grandchildren are getting older and so are her parents. There were other factors in her decision—“You know, you make a list and pretty, pretty even, you think a bit longer,” the governor told the reporters at the egg hunt—but she didn’t say what they were. Still, it’s easy to identify some things that might be on such a list. For example, polling suggests another run for governor wouldn’t go as well for her as 2018 and 2022 did. For five straight quarters, Reynolds has been the most unpopular governor in the country, according to Morning Consult’s quarterly tracking poll of approval ratings. The final poll in that losing streak—showing Reynolds as the only governor with an underwater approval rating—was published the day before the governor’s announcement. That’s too late to affect her decision, but Reynolds’ cratering approval rating was a story long before that last poll. There’s also the Trump factor. No state is safe from the president’s erratic behavior, or that of his biggest campaign donor, whom Trump is letting slash federal funding and decimate federal agencies with his DOGE team. Iowa is particularly vulnerable, and not just because the agri-business-industrial complex that’s dominated the state for decades relies on money, guarantees and other services from the federal government. It’s also that Trump in his second term seems to relish indulging in petty acts of revenge, and he surely hasn’t forgotten Reynolds campaigning for Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Iowa Caucus. Not running for reelection means Reynolds is only responsible for dealing with whatever damage Trump does for the next 20 months, and won’t have to contemplate what to do if Trump tries to run again or stay in office after his term ends. But beyond the Trump factor, there’s the Reynolds factor. Reynolds has transformed Iowa in fundamental ways. She reorganized the state government in 2023 and 2024, eliminating agencies and public advisory boards, concentrating more power in the governor’s office. Under Reynolds, the state income tax structure has gone from progressive to a flat tax, and further restrictions have been placed on property taxes, limiting revenue for state and local governments. At the same time, Reynolds has introduced Education Savings Accounts, a school voucher program modeled on Arizona’s, where vouchers have become a crippling burden on the state budget. The full impact of these massive changes hasn’t been felt yet, and won’t be felt until Reynolds is out of office. What happens to services people depend on when state and local tax revenue drop (as federal cuts likely continue)? What happens to already underfunded public schools as more and more money Protesters gather in the State Capitol Building rotunda to protest SF 418 on Feb. 27, 2025. Kellan Doolittle / Little Village
is funneled to private schools through vouchers? Will the reorganized state government be able to effectively deal with those and other problems—climate change, a shrinking market for corn ethanol, the possibility of another major disease outbreak either among animals on Iowa’s factory farms or humans? Perhaps it’ll all work out for the best. In any case, they’re questions for the next governor(s) to deal with it. Reynolds is getting out of Des Moines while the getting is still good. ††† Kim Reynolds is a historic figure, there’s no question about that. She ascended from the lieutenant governor’s seat to the state’s highest office on May 24, 2017, after Gov. Terry Branstad left to join the Trump administration. Already the first woman governor of Iowa (and 39th nationwide), she became the first woman to be elected governor by Iowans over a year later.
WHAT WILL SECURE REYNOLDS A NOTEWORTHY PLACE IN U.S. HISTORY BOOKS IS THE FACT SHE'S THE FIRST GOVERNOR TO CUT A STATE’S CIVIL RIGHTS ACT IN ORDER TO STRIP AWAY LEGAL PROTECTIONS FROM SOME OF HER CITIZENS. ... ERASING PROTECTIONS FOR TRANS AND NONBINARY IOWANS THAT HAD BEEN IN PLACE FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS. What will secure Reynolds a noteworthy place in U.S. history books, however, is the fact she’s the first governor to cut a state’s civil rights act in order to strip legal protections from some of her citizens. SF 418, which Reynolds signed into law on Feb. 28, eliminated gender identity from the Iowa Civil
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Rights Act, erasing protections for trans and nonbinary Iowans that had been in place for almost 20 years. But the bill will do more than end civil rights protection for a vulnerable minority when it goes into effect July 1—it also makes fundamental changes to state law, ending any official recognition of trans and nonbinary people. The bill redefines gender as nothing more than a synonym for sex, and only allows the state to recognize two sexes, male and female. A person’s gender/sex will be whatever the doctor entered on their birth certificate at the time of their birth. The state will not make any accommodations for trans people according to their identities as trans people, nor will it permit local governments to do so. Iowa law will now officially contain a grim echo from America’s history of legal racial segregation that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 71 years ago. “The term ‘equal’ does not mean ‘same’ or ‘identical,” SF 418 states. “Separate accommodations are not inherently unequal.” The bill was proposed not to address any existing problem in Iowa, but as a matter of ideological commitment on the part of the governor and Republican leaders in the legislature. Reynolds has always been an enthusiastic and early adopter of whatever the rightwing cultural grievance of the day is, from banning teaching about “divisive concepts” like racism and sexism in schools to hyping a nonexistent “war on meat” (the governor declared Iowa was on the side of meat), to participating in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s photo ops stoking fears of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The bill Reynolds signed in February was the latest in a series of anti-trans bills, which began in 2022 with the banning of trans girls and women from participating in school and college sports on teams that match their identity. There had never been a problem with trans student athletes reported in Iowa. It didn’t matter. Medical experts, mental health professionals and educators who work with trans students all opposed the bill. It didn’t matter. The bill passed with only Republican support, and Reynolds held a signing ceremony surrounded by children. This year’s historic bill also passed with only Republican support, moving through the legislature at breakneck speed. It was exactly one week between the bill’s introduction and Reynolds signing it. It hit Reynolds’ desk the same day it passed the Iowa House and Senate. It wasn’t the first bill the legislature passed this year, but it was the first one Reynolds signed into law. The last time a bill passed that quickly also involved stripping rights away from Iowans. In 2023, Reynolds called a special one-day session of the Iowa Legislature so Republicans could pass one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. Reynolds waited three days before signing that bill, so she could sign it at the annual “summit” meeting of The Family Leader, a powerful rightwing Christian 28 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
political organization and one of her biggest backers. ††† Reynolds credits leading the state through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with changing how she approached her role as governor. “I just came out a different governor,” she told the reporters during the Easter egg hunt at the governor’s mansion. “Appreciative, not afraid to move on stuff that I believed in. So if you see things that need change, you go for it.” Reynolds often talks proudly about minimizing the economic impact of COVID in Iowa, and working to keep meat-processing plants operating, even as the virus spread rapidly in the plants, sickening workers and killing many. Of course, that last part isn’t something the governor mentions when she talks about COVID.
THE 20 MONTHS BETWEEN NOW AND THAT TUESDAY IN JANUARY 2027 WHEN THE NEXT GOVERNOR IS SWORN IN MAY BE A SPRINT FOR REYNOLDS, BUT THEY'LL BE A SLOG FOR THE REST OF IOWA. The pandemic was the biggest surge in preventable deaths in the state’s history. And according to an analysis of COVID deaths by the founding dean of the University of Iowa College of Public Health, Reynolds’ policies contributed to the death toll. “It is instructive to compare Iowa and Minnesota, which have nearly identical proportions of their populations at high risk because of being 65 years of age and older (17%). Minnesota, however, has nearly double the proportion of minorities, a second well-established risk factor for increased COVID-19 mortality,” Dr. James A. Merchant wrote in an op-ed published by the Des Moines Register in October 2021. “Yet, Iowa has suffered 99 per 100,000 population more COVID-19 deaths than has Minnesota, a total of over 3,000 excess preventable deaths for Iowa’s population of 3.155 million as of 2019.” Merchant, also the former director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at the CDC’s Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, attributed the difference in the death rate to the difference in political leadership. Minnesota enacted strong public health mitigation measures; Iowa didn’t. The state undertook very limited mitigation efforts. Reynolds focused on preventing disruption to businesses. The governor and Republican leaders in the legislature also prohibited local governments and school districts from creating
their own mask mandates or requiring proof of COVID vaccination status (while allowing them to require proof of the other vaccinations mandated by state law); and created penalties for any business that required proof of COVID vaccination from customers. There was plenty of pushback against Reynolds’ approach to handling the pandemic—from Democratic lawmakers, from local officials of both parties, from the Iowa Board of Medicine and even from President Trump’s White House Coronavirus Task Force. All of them wanted the governor to do more. She didn’t. “I’m really proud of just the herculean team effort that I think we’ve put in place to help serve Iowans through this really difficult time,” Reynolds said in early March 2021, just before the one-year anniversary of the state’s first COVID cases. ††† “I still have almost two years left,” Reynolds reminded the reporters at the egg hunt. The governor promised to remain focused on her duties during her time left in office. “I am a hard charger, like, I am all-in, always have been,” she said enthusiastically. “And I’m going to sprint hard right across the finish line.” The 20 months between now and that Tuesday in January 2027 when the next governor is sworn in may be a sprint for Reynolds, but they’ll be a long slog for the rest of Iowa. At the end of March, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis published its preliminary analysis of how state economies performed in 2024. Iowa ranked 49th in economic growth and 48th in personal income growth. The agri-business-industrial complex at the center of Iowa’s economy is particularly vulnerable to President Trump’s international trade tantrums. Most of Iowa’s ag exports go to a handful of countries, notably China, Mexico and Japan, all of which have been targeted with arbitrary tariffs. The major export market for Iowa’s ethanol is Canada, where anti-U.S. sentiment is growing in response to Trump’s tariffs and gratuitously insulting rhetoric. Even if it was economically secure, industrial ag exacts a heavy toll on Iowa, polluting the air, contaminating the water and wasting the top soil. Rural areas of the state have struggling healthcare systems. A third of Iowa’s counties are considered maternity care deserts. Food banks around the state report seeing record levels of food insecurity. The exodus of talented young people continues. Iowa has the second-highest rate of new cancers in the country. There’s very little in Reynolds’ record as governor to suggest she’ll make substantial progress on any of those urgent problems during her remaining time in office. But just in terms of Reynolds’ legacy, leaving all that, and more, for her successor to grapple with won’t matter much. Because Gov. Kim Reynolds has already secured her place in history.
10th Anniversary Event!
PRESENTED BY
Vino Vérité is a series of thought-provoking, chance-taking, and visually-arresting films paired with hand-selected wines and dessert. Our tenth anniversary film is a reflection on the value of art, the importance of creating space, and yes, the meaning of life — hope you'll take a trip with us to Secret Mall Apartment!
SUNDAY, JUNE 8, 7:00PM
Ticket includes film, reception and handpicked wine. Director Jeremy Workman in person
www.icfilmscene.org/vino-verite
S H I LO H
Defeated Ambition In this Christian cult, kids were conditioned to work more, think less and say nothing as boundaries were crossed. BY EMMA McCLATCHEY
Content warning for descriptions of child abuse, including sexual assault.
T
itus Walker lived in Hawaii, but he flew to rural Iowa for summer camp. Growing up in an insular church community in the 1980s, it was a blast to hang out with kids his age, even if the Young Adult School of Prophets (YASP) wasn’t much of a camp. “They would take us out into the fields below Shiloh,” the church’s township south of Kalona, Walker recalled. “At the time it was just plagued with these thorny-ass rose bushes. And we would remove rose bushes all day long.” Boy-girl relationships were highly restricted at camp, as were snacks. Campers were fed mostly bland oatmeal, rice and salads for weeks on end. But they found time for “14-year-old shenanigans”— harmless pranks, dips in the leech-filled lake, perhaps even a day trip. “[We’d call] that old fucking checkered cab and pile in like sardines, and we'd go to Iowa City or
Children participate in the Living Word Fellowship's Young Adult School of Prophets at Shiloh in Washington County, Iowa, circa 1990. Courtesy of Kesha Lozinski
some shitty water park,” Walker said. (The shitty water park was Davenport’s Wacky Waters.) But for him and a half a dozen fellow campers, YASP changed overnight. “We were the more outspoken, rowdier kids. They gathered us up late at night and dragged us into a room with four or five Shepherds,” Walker recounted in an interview with the Oops, I’m in a Cult podcast. “Shepherds” were the adult leaders in the church. “They basically told us, ‘You guys are fucking assholes. You’re just running around, doing whatever you want.’ We were ‘pieces of shit.’” “They said they're going to break our spirits,” he continued. “And so the next morning, they woke
us up at 5 o’clock, and that became our routine.” The morning started with calisthenics, then a twomile run. “We were throwing up, puking, and it was no mercy. They didn't care. Keep going. Keep going.” The handful of teens forced into this “boot camp,” as the Shepherds called it, would serve and clean up meals for the regular campers, and were instructed to keep their heads down, avoid eye contact. The only breaks from work were the multi-hour church services in the evenings—great for stealth napping, Walker said, until Shepherds started making them take notes on each sermon. “And then when the service was over, we’d have to go back to scrubbing toilets and cleaning the bathrooms.” The day might finally end at 10 p.m., then begin again at 5 a.m. with military-style bed inspections and more running. “After doing it for so long, you learn to fall in line,” Walker said. “I was not the same person after that boot camp. I was super outgoing before that, and I became very introverted.” Being a girl at YASP could be traumatizing as well. In addition to manual labor and a malnourished diet, female campers say boundaries were frequently crossed by Shepherds—and worse. Walker recalls church leader Rick Holbrook bragging to the boys about barging unannounced into the girls’ dorms and seeing them undressed. “This was an adult, like, dishing on 15-, 14-, 13-year-old girls. The dude was a fucking scumbag.” The #MeToo story of Shalom Abrahamson-Caples, who was groped by Holbrook at YASP during one of these “dorm checks,” was posted online in 2018. (“My eyes were closed and my breasts were touched,” she writes.) In her early 20s, she was Dorms on the Shiloh property housed YASP campers for decades. Courtesy of Kesha Lozinski
30 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
LittleVillageMag.com sexually assaulted by him again. Over the years, she reported what happened to other church leaders. They “didn’t question him but blamed me, silenced me, shamed me for speaking out against Rick, and sent me to a physiatrist for possible chemical imbalance to be medicated,” Abrahamson-Caples wrote. “I was too trusting and allowed people to control my life decisions that in return hurt me and others around me. I was fearful and intimidated and even worse, I believed they were the only way to God, ‘Christ in the flesh.’” Abrahamson-Caples going public with her story was perhaps the single most pivotal event leading to the church’s implosion. She, along with four other people, filed lawsuits against church officials in 2020. Its board disbanded, and its properties have been sold or destroyed. Shiloh was leveled in a controlled burn by the city of Kalona in 2020. But former “cult kids” are still reckoning with the childhood they lost to the church’s false prophets. ††† During the Great Depression, a 14-year-old farm kid in Story County, Iowa picked up a pen and wrote some 400 words that would define his life. A young John Robert Stevens’ musings on what it means “To Be a Christian” became the centerpiece of his fundamentalist church, the Living Word Fellowship (LWF), which formed in southern California in the 1950s and grew into an international organization. Shiloh was established in the 1970s, and touted by Stevens as “the center of the universe.” Followers cited “To Be a Christian” more often than any Bible verse, and considered it as equally, if not more, divinely inspired. “To be a Christian,” it reads, “means that in everything I am and do—when I eat and drink, when I buy and sell, when I work and play, when I read and think—that I look to Jesus as my Master. … My joy must be in doing His will, in being His slave, in the confidence that whatever comes to me, when following Him, is His doing. … I am also sure it will be mainly waste, friction, vain striving and misdirected effort, sickening failure and defeated ambition if I try to direct my own life.” “Brother John” Stevens said he had a direct line to God, and even though his teachings could strain belief—from claiming to time travel to accusing his first wife of being possessed by an evil Nephilim spirit (after she discovered his rampant infidelity), to ordering the stockpiling of supplies for an apocalypse that never arrived—“To Be a Christian” remained a well of sanity his followers could return to. Stevens never wrote another thing like it. And in fact, he didn’t write “To Be a Christian” either. “He basically founded the church on a lie,” said Charity Navalesi. Ex-LWF members and Oops, I’m in a Cult
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A spread from the 1990 YASP yearbook details the manual labor done by child and teen campers to complete the Shiloh Amphitheater. Courtesy of Scott Barker, Oops! I'm in a Cult
podcast hosts Navalesi and Scott Barker confirmed in 2023 what others had suspected for years: Stevens plagiarized his church’s founding text. It was taken, word for word, from an 1897 publication called Cut Gems, which is preserved in the Library of Congress. While the author is unknown, the piece was published 22 years before Stevens was born. “The cornerstone [of the LWF] was ‘To Be a Christian,’ and they made such a big deal out of it. It’s on the website, I think even still,” Navalesi said. Indeed, the site johnrobertstevens.com, owned by remnant LWF members, credits Stevens with writing the piece in 1933, when he would have been a student at Washington High School. By the time Stevens’ original sin was revealed in 2023 on Navalesi and Barker’s podcast, his church had already fallen. But it still shocked many exfollowers, causing some to reevaluate the words that had moved them to tears and cheers during shows at the Shiloh Amphitheater—and were used as justification for Stevens and his successors, Gary and Marilyn Hargrave, to control members’ every decision. “Instead of giving yourself to a higher power,” Navalesi explained, “it was giving yourself to a person who said they were your higher power … Anytime you kind of showed up as an individual, it was, ‘we gotta break you back down to be submissive.’” ††† Education isn’t a big priority in cults, especially of the doomsday variety. As Barker puts it, “What’s the point of getting a college education when the Kingdom is coming?” Still, Stevens didn’t want to lose his young flock to mainstream, “Babylonian” institutions, so he diverted them to Living Word schools. From preschool through 5th grade, Navalesi attended class in the basement of the Shiloh compound, roughly 1983 to ’89. Most of her memories of that time are a haze. 32 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
“I just remember that I hated it, and I didn't feel safe there,” she said. Children who misbehaved were beaten with wooden Navy paddles, or made to stand in the corner of the room holding their ankles, rear-end facing the class. This did nothing to help Navalesi, a shy child, come out of her shell. “They kept telling my parents ‘something’s wrong with her,’” Navalesi told Little Village. “There was always that sense that I was defective. It got so bad to the point where I would pretend to be sick every Sunday evening so that I didn't have to go to school the next day.” One afternoon, the principal boarded the school bus and told a 6- or 7-year-old Navalesi she wouldn’t be getting off at home. “They had decided that, because I was too bonded to my mother, they were going to take me away from her for a time and have me live with this other family,” she said. The relocation only ended up lasting a few days, but it wasn’t the last time Navalesi was threatened with being “taken away for good” by leadership. “That was my experience for most of my time in the cult: Something’s always wrong with Charity.” Navalesi’s 3rd grade teacher, however, was a godsend. She was the only teacher to have a degree in education, and could see Navalesi was a bright, normal student. “That's when things got to be OK for me.” The basement school was shuttered when Navalesi was in 5th grade, so she and her peers were enrolled in public school in the Mid-Prairie Community School District. “We did get a pretty good education, from what I can tell, thinking back on how we performed when we got to public school,” Navalesi said. “But socially, like, we were weird. We were just weird. And I remember that feeling of, I’m a stranger in a strange land.” Barker, about a decade younger than Navalesi,
attended an LWF school in Los Angeles from preschool through 2nd grade, then junior high and high school in the early ’00s. “I had that little gap where I went to public school, and I remember being intimidated thinking all these kids at the church school are super smart. [But] I realized really quickly it was just kind of a free-for-all,” Barker told Little Village. “They kept calling it a college prep school. I didn't go to college, because I was not prepped.” There were only six people in his graduating class, and all played hooky often. Boys would be pulled from class to do construction work or set up for an event, while girls might be tasked with cooking a meal for the Hargraves when they visited. Female students typically faced harsher treatment from the principal (also the English teacher), who shared Marilyn Hargrave’s belief that a succubus lurked in the soul of every woman. “None of them put the kids first,” Barker said. “They just didn’t care to protect anyone.” One of Barker’s L.A. teachers is mentioned in the ongoing abuse lawsuit. This teacher was in his late 20s, was raised in the church and had no college education. When he wasn’t gabbing about Friends or Survivor, Barker said, “He would talk about his sex life. He'd ask the kids about their sex life. He’d talk about sex positions and sexual acts [and] his sexual status. All of this was, like, during history class or math class.” According to filings, the teacher successfully pressured two students to make out, and would instruct girls to try and hold a pencil under their busts to “test” their breast size. “The principal gave him reprimands, but he was never suspended, never fired, over a 15-year teaching career,” Barker said. “Everything is connected, and there’s no checks and balances because the Shepherds are the principals, the teachers, and they can tell your parents what to do.” Like Navalesi, one caring adult saved Barker from alienation. In his case, it was his father, a Shepherd who taught a video class. “Because of my dad, I definitely felt very privileged. I got to kind of escape,” he said. “Everybody would go spend lunch with [the younger teacher], and I would just go into my dad’s room and work on video stuff.” After her freshman year of college at the University of Iowa, Navalesi attended a LWF young adult leadership conference in Colorado, where she faced pressure from Gary Hargrave to get a job as a church secretary. “He said, I quote, ‘because you have a servant's heart, you could just drop out of college.’” Such counsel was not uncommon. “Shiloh University was the fulfillment of the Word in that sense,” Barker explained. LWF’s unaccredited college programs, like its leaders, fed aspiring professionals back into the Kingdom Businesses
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YASP participants attend a group gathering in the Sanctuary. Courtesy of Kesha Lozinski
that supported the church. “Some people that wanted to have medical degrees, for example, were turned to alternative medicine.” “A lot of promising young people, definitely young men, got turned away from school and into the construction stuff to keep ‘building for the Kingdom.’” “I knew of one guy,” Navalesi added, “that was a year out from finishing his master's degree, and they told him to quit and just work for the church building. And he did.” “If it came from Gary and Marilyn, you were prone to just agree with whatever they said.” Still, after years of agreeing, Navalesi ignored Gary’s secretary pitch, instead returning to UI and graduating with the Class of 2001. “I was like, I’m not fucking dropping out of college.”
††† Navalesi was 12 when the Young Adult School of Prophets—YASP, later renamed the Young Adult Summer Program—debuted at the end of the ’80s. “We were young and dumb enough to think it was cool to spend our summers paying to do manual labor,” she said. “There were four Ws: The Word, work, worship and ‘wec-we-ation.’ And let me tell you, there wasn't much wec-we-ation. It was just mostly working … It was all in the name of learning discipline and submission and breaking barriers.” Apart from grounds duties, campers were put on construction projects, farm work, kitchen crew and, if they’re lucky, the yearbook staff. They watched videos on how to make their beds and fold their
clothes like Army recruits. Navalesi remembers being scolded for giggling with a friend during nap time. As punishment, the pair were made to clean the walk-in refrigerator with toothbrushes. Another common task: weeding around a pond of human sewage on the property. “Obviously, like, no one needs a shit lagoon to look nice. It was just to labor for the sake of labor,” she said. Bootcampers got it the worst. “Go pull weeds, go move rocks, dig a hole and throw a rock in and bury it, you know, dumb shit,” Walker said. “They just wanted to let you know who was in charge. And if you buck that system, it was game over.” Walker tested this one mealtime. “I hated peas. I didn’t want to eat those damn peas. So I was taken out behind the maintenance building and I was made to do push-ups over my plate of peas until I ate them.” The Shepherds also separated Walker and his best friend from back home, his only confidant. He believes his parents were just happy to have him gone, and they trusted the Hargraves—the same Hargraves who would watch the campers running hills from the window of their cushy Shiloh apartment. “I just bowed down and broke. They basically neutered me,” Walker said of the boot camp. “And the crazy part is, after all of this, I asked to stay in Shiloh.” Dreading returning to his rough high school back in Hawaii, Walker stuck around Iowa for the year. Whether it was inertia or conditioning, he had set his mind on becoming a Shepherd. He got a job on a construction crew, building facilities for the LWF around the country. The pay was good at $800 a month, even though room and board at Shiloh wasn’t included. “I felt really special being a part of the crew … they made you feel like we were the ones that were going to usher in the Kingdom.” The hours frequently resembled YASP boot camp or worse, with no such thing as overtime. On one 48-hour shift working a rush job in L.A., Walker fell asleep at a jackhammer. He hung up his hat and went home, only to be awakened by an angry phone call informing him his shift wasn’t done. He found the will to refuse. “I was just like, I’m done being slave driven.” Walker didn’t lose his job, but he was falling out of favor. He was called to a meeting one day, and found himself in a room with LWF’s top brass, including Gary and Marilyn Hargrave, the latter regarded as “the voice of God.” At a recent get-together, Walker and a girl his age had had consensual sex. She confessed the encounter to the Shepherds. “Sex was not OK in the church if you weren’t married,” Walker said. “... They’re like, alright, well, Campers clear Shiloh's rose bushes. Courtesy of Kesha Lozinski LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 33
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you’re done. We gotta set you out. We’re gonna make an announcement in the church, nobody’s allowed to talk to you.” Walker was devastated and angry. He turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. “I started robbing, stealing, breaking into cars, doing shitty-ass things. I was homeless for a little while, and went to the deepest, darkest places I never thought I would go.” After a stint in jail, a friend picked him up and helped him enter a six-month rehab and work program through the Salvation Army. Bit by bit, he built his life back. In 2018, the same year LWF dissolved in controversy, Walker’s house in Paradise, California was destroyed in a wildfire. Any lingering grief over being ousted by the church seemed to burn away, too. Walker felt reborn and clear-eyed.
"TO BE TRAPPED IN [A CULT] EVEN THOUGH YOU'VE BEEN REJECTED BY IT IS THE WORST KIND OF HELL I CAN THINK OF." — TITUS WALKER, RAISED IN THE LIVING WORD FELLOWSHIP “To be trapped in [a cult] even though you've been rejected by it is the worst kind of hell I can think of,” he said. Abrahamson-Caples’ open letter accomplished what she intended. “I want the other girls and women and men and children who have also been abused to know that they are not alone,” she wrote. “I am not being brave, I just believe that the truth will set me free and hopefully provide a way, a safe way, for others to come forth with their truth and be set free.” Navalesi and Barker hope their podcast interrogating the cult’s history and highlighting survivors’ stories can do the same. Institutions that operate like LWF are more empowered than ever as the Trump administration dismantles the Department of Education, and states like Iowa relax child labor laws while passing “school choice” legislation diverting public funds to private religious schools. “One of the best ways that we have in our communities to pick out trouble, whether it’s sexual abuse, physical abuse, stress, dietary issues, all of this stuff for kids, is public school,” Barker explained. “[Too many] kids are now locked into an environment like we were in the Living Word, where Sunday is the same people as Monday through Friday.” “The more insular they can make it,” Navalesi added, “the more they’re able to control you and control even your beliefs, because if you’re not exposed, you’re not educated.” 34 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
I OWA C I T Y
LittleVillageMag.com Bread & Butter
City Cats If you want to hang in downtown Iowa City’s coolest new spot, you can’t be afraid of a little fur.
T
BY TIFFANI GREEN
he first cat café in the world opened in Taipei, Taiwan in 1998. Called Cat Flower Garden, it was born out of its founders’ love for local strays and from a desire to set their café apart from others in the area. All the cats are permanent residents of the cafe. The concept quickly spread to Japan, where it became wildly popular among cat-lovers living in small dwellings that aren’t suitable for pet ownership. The first U.S. cat café opened in Oakland, California in 2014 with a slightly different approach: Cat Town grew out of a nonprofit cat rescue and focused on finding homes for its felines by providing a relaxed environment for cats and humans to mingle. This became the dominant model in the U.S., and there are now over 250 cat cafes nationwide. In 2025, Iowa City got in on the action with Kitty Corner Social Club. Located at 20 Clinton St, Kitty Corner takes the café-as-adoption center concept and expands on it. Founded by mother-son duo Katy and Cooper Gordon Brown, Kitty Corner seeks to match adoptable cats with loving homes, but also wants to serve as a community connector for Iowa City’s human residents. “I got long COVID in 2023 and was bed ridden for months. I had to leave school,” said Cooper, the general manager. “When I recovered, I realized I couldn’t go back to working in kitchens, which is what I’d been doing before. I mentioned the idea of
a cat café to my mom, and it took off from there.” Kitty Corner’s mission is multipronged. “We want to create as many responsible cat owners in Iowa City as we can,” he said. “But especially after the election, we feel like it’s important to foster connection in the community. We want students to feel comfortable studying here. We want to be a space for people to meet each other, to have serious conversations and do some community organizing.” To that end, Kitty Corner is designed to be cozy for both cats and humans. The space resembles a stylish living room with large, plush sofas and chairs and a banquette running along one wall. Cat motif wallpaper and cat-themed art maintain the theme, while dark jewel tones and some truly beautiful light fixtures lend a 1920s literary salon vibe. Floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with books and board games flank a fireplace,
Above: Patrons relax at Kitty Corner Social Club, 20 S Clinton St, Iowa City. Right: Howard Hamlin is transfixed by cats on the television. Below: Biggums lounges on a cat-sized couch in the window; Hattie the Asshat curls up next to a patron. Kellan Doolittle / Little Village
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 35
BREAD & BUTTER
Find Little Village on
Bluesky
Goose, permanent resident and director of communications at Kitty Corner, lounges by the front door, welcoming patrons. Kellan Doolittle / Little Village
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and bird feeder videos play on a TV screen. (The cats, apparently, control the remote.) The stars of the show roam freely and are provided with numerous beds and cat trees, giving them the ability to choose when and how much they interact with visitors. In addition to being an
inviting environment, the living room setting serves a purpose: it teaches Kitty Corner’s cats what living in a home might be like, which makes the transition easier when they’re adopted. In partnership with the Iowa City Animal Care and Adoption Center, Kitty Corner Social Club fosters
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"ESPECIALLY AFTER THE ELECTION, WE FEEL LIKE IT'S IMPORTANT TO FOSTER CONNECTION IN THE COMMUNITY... WE WANT TO BE A SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO MEET EACH OTHER, TO HAVE SERIOUS CONVERSATIONS AND DO SOME COMMUNITY ORGANIZING." —COOPER, GENERAL MANAGER between two and six cats at a time, with ages ranging from kittens to teens. “We rely on the shelter staff to choose which cats we foster,” Cooper said. “They make lists of the cats that they think would do well in this environment and then about a week ahead of time, they’ll let us know which cats they think are best suited for it at that time.” At the time of writing, Kitty Corner is home to five cats. Goose and Edie are resident kitties, and Biggums, Hattie and Hot Lips Houlihan await their forever homes. The lounge is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Visitors can choose from 15-, 30- or 60-minute sessions ($11, $15 and $22, respectively) and can schedule appointments online at kittycornersocial. club, or visit on a walk-in basis. Each visitor also signs a waiver prior to entry. Once inside, visitors can mingle with the cats (and other humans present) or hang out with a book or a laptop, waiting to see if a cat chooses them. Tea and water are offered, and while Kitty Corner doesn’t serve food, visitors are welcome to bring their own. Due to popular demand, they’ve begun implementing a monthly membership program and 10-visit package deals as well. Interested in adopting through Kitty Corner? The adoption application can be filled out online or via QR codes in the space. Potential adopters can apply for a specific cat or choose to have their application kept on file until the right one comes along. It is also possible to sponsor adoptions, paying the fee for someone else to adopt their new best friend/overlord. All kitties are sent to their new homes with samples of food, vet referrals and some pointers on how to care for them long term. Cooper stressed that Kitty Corner is committed to setting all cat owners up for success and has extensive resources available to anyone who wants to become a better cat parent. “We can assist with registering cats as emotional support animals, help troubleshoot health problems and offer advice on behavioral issues. We’re available to answer questions and we have tons of reference materials that anyone can access, whether they’re adopting with us or not.”
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DES MOINES
Huckleberry Finn (above) lounges in the window while Luke (below) eyes Huck Finn's tail mischievously. Dan Ray / Little Village
or arriving early—the cafe accommodates up to six reservations and two walk-ins per hour.) A playlist of calming instrumental music plays, and you’re free to amble around the room, hanging out with whichever cats cross your path. There are a lot of toys in the room if there happens to be a roused cat during your visit. But, as the Coffee Cats website says, “On average, cats sleep 16-20 hours per day, and the cats in the lounge are
IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO A CAT CAFE, THE CATS DO NOT ACTUALLY SERVE YOU COFFEE.
Bread & Butter
Slow Pours, Slow Blinks The cheapest therapy in West Des Moines can be found at Iowa’s original cat cafe.
A
BY DAN RAY
fter 40 years as a mental health counselor, Mary Jankowski wanted to do something different, but wasn’t sure what. Then she saw an article about a cat cafe and thought it looked fun. So she partnered with the Animal Rescue League and, in the summer of 2020, opened Coffee Cats, the first cat cafe in Iowa. Nestled into a quiet corner of Valley Junction, Coffee Cats is a little haven where you can find
seasonal coffee drinks made from local beans, cat paraphernalia from local vendors and, of course, cats. If you’ve never been to a cat cafe—my boyfriend was disappointed about this—the cats do not actually serve you coffee. But they do serve up big naps, snuggles and an incredibly relaxing atmosphere. Ten dollars at Coffee Cats buys you a full hour in the cat room, where you’ll find up to 12 cats and eight people. (I recommend making a reservation
no exception.” It’s more likely you’ll spend your time reaching into the warm confines of cat tree cubbies, gently searching for a slowly rising and falling belly to pat. After several failed attempts over the years at getting a second cat, I promised my Korat, Macaulay Culkin, that she’d never have to live with another animal. So my trips to Coffee Cats are purely for the joy of it—appreciating the instant drop in blood pressure I feel when I enter the cat room. But if you are in the market to bring a new friend home, every cat in the cat room is adoptable. Jankowski said they often do as many as 11 adoptions a week. Since the cafe opened in July of 2020, over 1,660 cats have been adopted. The cats rotate regularly as current residents get adopted, but my favorites this trip were Huckleberry Finn, a medium-hair tuxedo who provided some of the most actionable moments of my visit as he gingerly moved from one napping post to the next; Annabeth, a gray and white lady who meowed at me just as forcefully as Macaulay does at home; and a sleepy tabby I believe to be Oscar, who let me slow blink at him and snuggled into my hand when I reached into his cubby. Pro tip: To make an extra-relaxing day of it, top off your cat visit by heading across the street to Saint Kilda Collective for a bite to eat. Coffee Cats is open varying hours Tuesday through Sunday. They also offer special events, such as Yoga with Cats, Cat Bingo and Reading to Cats. Check out their website, coffeecatscafe.com for more info and to make a reservation.
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Prairie Pop
The Triple CD of Love
The Magnetic Fields perform their 50 Song Memoir in 2016. Greg Cristman, courtesy of The Magnetic Fields
Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs. You can count Stephin Merritt among them.
M
agnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs contains two of Stephin Merritt’s most beloved numbers, “The Book of Love” and “Papa Was a Rodeo.” Each have become standards a quarter century after their release, though they represent but a tiny fraction of equally brilliant earworms that appear in that industrial-sized collection of music. When Merritt started working on 69 Love Songs in the second half of the ’90s, his music was known only to a small subsection of the alternative music-buying public. For an artist with such a modest commercial footprint, most record companies would have balked at releasing an album containing nearly three hours of genre-jumping music. Fortunately, Merritt’s label was the artist-run Merge Records, which knew he was a genius who could maintain his high standards of quality control across three CDs. Given all this, Merge was fully on board with that ambitious project, which originated in a Midtown Manhattan piano bar. “They were playing various Broadway show tunes,” Merritt told me, “and I was thinking about what I wanted to do next. I thought it’d be a good time to The Magnetic Fields. Courtesy of The Englert Theatre 40 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
BY KEMBREW McLEOD
do something large, and I’d been listening to Charles Ives’ 114 Songs.” 114 Songs was not a single cohesive work —it’s more of an anthology—but Merritt has a habit of pretending that some compilations close to his heart are actually one unified project. He points to Pavement’s
The Magnetic Fields, performing 69 Love Songs The Englert Theatre, Iowa City, Friday & Saturday, May 16 & 17, 7:30 p.m., $20-$100
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"I'M A BIG BELIEVER IN THE FRAME. IF YOU GO BEYOND THE FRAME, YOU'VE REALLY DAMAGED THE ARTWORK." — STEPHIN MERRITT Westing (By Musket and Sextant), which is actually an anthology of singles and EP tracks, but Merritt didn’t know that when he fell for the album. “It was kind of a formative experience for me,” he said, “because the songs are all differently recorded and don’t sound like they’re on the same album at all. And, in fact, they weren’t. One of the records that formed my childhood aesthetics was Desolation Boulevard by Sweet. In the U.S., it was released as a studio album, but in fact, it’s a compilation taken from a little more than two different albums and some singles that they put out in Britain to make one really great U.S. album.” While Merritt sat at the piano bar, he hatched the idea to do something that combined romance with Warholian detachment and mechanical repetition. Eventually, 100 Love Songs popped into his mind. Merritt then began brainstorming a show that involved four drag queens and an audience Clap-O-Meter that would determine the night’s most popular performer. Merritt was imagining a show poster, because he
finds it easier to have musical ideas if they originate in another medium, which is why he often ends up designing a T-shirt, poster or record cover before the songs arrive. “I kept thinking about the poster for 100 Love Songs,” he said, “and I realized that 100 might just be too many. That would be 300 minutes long. I started looking for a number lower than 100 that still had a large industrial quality, and I noticed 86 has a nice gothic feel. But when I got down to 69, I thought that was perfect for love songs and I realized that this is what I should be doing with my life. So, within the space of a few minutes, I went from thinking, ‘Woe is me,’ to thinking, ‘Oh my God, I have a project!’” Merritt wrote in his notebook, “I hereby swear to do this,” and he gave himself one year to record the entire album, with a three month-runway to start writing (the project only went over by about two weeks). The deadline made 69 Love Songs possible, he said. “I’m a big believer in the frame. If you go beyond the frame, you’ve really damaged the artwork.” Over the course of writing and recording, he discarded many tracks that were either not up to par or didn’t quite work for the project. Merritt points to the lyrics for “(Crazy For You But) Not That Crazy,” which contain the couplets: “I built a ship with my own hands / To take us to the moon / I took a pen in my own hand / And wrote you a hundred tunes.” “I had already written 100 when I wrote that line,”
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he said. “Some of them were terrible, some of them were very tossed off, and some of them just didn’t fit on 69 Love Songs, like ‘The Sun and the Sea and the Sky.’ It is not a love song to a person. It’s an appreciation of the natural world, and that was originally slated to be on the record until I realized that it didn’t fit.” The way that Merritt brainstormed ideas in that Midtown piano bar was typical of his work routine, because he likes to write in public. Much of 69 Love Songs was developed in Dick’s Bar, a divey watering hole on 12th Street and 2nd Avenue in Lower Manhattan, along with an Irish bar on St Mark’s Place, St. Dymphna’s. “I write everything in public spaces,” he explained. “At home, there’s too much to do, and I have dogs slobbering all over me. Writing is something that I do in public with a cocktail in my hand. So, I have a daily routine of spending a few hours in a restaurant or bar with music that isn’t too loud, where I can eavesdrop on other people.” Some of those spots subliminally influenced the music on 69 Love Songs, like the arrangement of “Busby Berkeley Dreams,” which contains what Merritt later realized was a melodic quote from a song on the jukebox at Dick’s Bar. It was a subtle influence, because the borrowed arrangement appears only in the cello line, not the top line vocal melody. “The other place that I was writing was St. Dymphna’s,” Merritt continued. “There definitely is
PRAIRIE POP
a song on 69 Love Songs that I can’t imagine that I would have written had I not been hanging out at St. Dymphna’s, and that is ‘Abigail, Belle of Kilronan.’ It’s a song set in Ireland around 1911, where the protagonist has to go off to war to save Ireland. I actually wrote it in Costa Rica on the beach while reading a biography of Stephen Foster, but it’s directly influenced by St. Dymphna’s.” 69 Love Songs made a big noise upon its release. It topped music critic polls and sold quite well for a triple CD set on an independent label, and its music quietly seeped into the mainstream during the first decade of the new century. “Papa Was a Rodeo” became an immediate favorite, with its gorgeous melancholy melody and sardonic lyrics (“I see that kiss-me pucker forming / But maybe you should plug it with a beer”). However, it was “The Book of Love” that carried Merritt’s music to a wider audience after Peter Gabriel’s cover of the song was included in Shall We Dance?, starring Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere. “Suddenly, ‘The Book of Love’ took off in a weird way,” Merritt told me. “It became a wedding standard. It was on Dancing With the Stars, which had nothing to do with me doing anything, you know. Dancing With the Stars never called me. I didn’t get to meet Cloris Leachman or something. But yeah, I wrote ‘The Book of Love’ at St. Dymphna’s one afternoon, and 10 years later it’s on Dancing With the Stars through absolutely no more work of my own.” Money can’t buy love, but the licensing income generated by “The Book of Love” did buy Stephin Merritt a home. It is not your ordinary love song because it contains his characteristically ambivalent lyrics, like the lines, “The book of love has music in it / In fact that’s where music comes from / Some of it is just transcendental / Some of it is just really dumb.” I mentioned to him that it strikes me as an odd nuptial song and Merritt replied, “I strongly agree with you. I would never play it at my own wedding.” 69 Love Songs features many different voices, including Claudia Gonson, Merritt’s longtime manager and musical collaborator, and Shirley Simms, who duetted with Merritt on “Papa Was a Rodeo” and who sings on several more tracks. Gonson is not touring with the group while she focuses on her managerial duties, but Simms will be on the road with the Magnetic Fields. “I met Shirley when she was 10,” Merritt said. “I have known all of the current members of the Magnetic Fields since 1990 or before, but I met Shirley in the ’70s. I like working with people again and again. We’re not like a rock group or something, so we don’t fit the standard model of how to be a band. It’s more like a film director and cast, like John Waters or Orson Welles working with the same actors again and again.” Kembrew McLeod stumbled across the Magnetic Fields’ fourth album, Holiday, in 1994 and has been a fan ever since. 42 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
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CEDAR RAPIDS
Still from The Negro Artist. Directed and produced by Nikolas Ira Heftman, starring Caleb Rainey
A-List
Future Filmmakers of America An alien, a poet, an EDM DJ, a troupe of drag queens and an animated dino walk into a movie theater. Welcome to the 25th CRIFF.
C
ollins Road Theatres was positively buzzing the weekend of April 4-6, and not just because A Minecraft Movie had premiered. The Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival (CRIFF) returned to screen a new slate of original, Midwest-made films inside an unpresuming Marion shopping center. As the lights dimmed for my first film of the fest, I immediately fell in love with the animated short
BY ARIANA MARTINEZ
Hunky Dory by LeMars filmmaker Steven Vander Meer. Stunning hand-drawn dinosaurs stomped, factories churned and bees buzzed around a casket, setting nature’s beauty alongside humanity’s mundanity. The beautiful folk hymns of Béla Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart accompanied the images. It wasn’t the last time I’d be awed and delighted during the 25th anniversary CRIFF. Another short film standout was Stronghold, about
a foster care worker named Fran. When the foster home is forced to close, Fran tries to find teenager Leo’s mother and place him in her custody before starting a new chapter of her own in Iowa with her daughter. With the demands of a tough, tragic story, the acting in the film rises to the occasion. It’s exceptional from all sides. Director Meghann Artes was raised in Clear Lake and attended the University of Iowa. Amid strict restrictions on abortion access, the film forces viewers to consider the difficult realities of motherhood and the overwhelmed foster care system. CRIFF 2025 also included two discussion panels, the first being “Representation and Identity in Independent Cinema.” The panel followed a slate of films that tackled subjects ranging from trans identity and the drag community in Des Moines (Garden of Des Moines, dir. Teri Underhill) to Black artistry and spoken word poetry in Iowa City (The Negro Artist, dir. Nikolas Ira Heftman). During the discussion panel, Underhill shared that Drag artist Kilda Mann performs in a still from Garden of Des Moines. Written, produced and directed by Teri Underhill. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 43
A-LIST
Garden of Des Moines was not accepted into another Midwest film fest because it was considered “too political.” At one point in the documentary, Underhill has her subjects address the camera: If they could say anything to Gov. Kim Reynolds, what would it be? A premonitory shout of “Retire!” stood out.
PEOPLE WERE LINED UP IN THE THEATER ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON, AND BY THE EVENING SCREENING, EVEN THE OVERFLOW ROOM WAS PACKED.
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In The Negro Artist, Heftman follows author Caleb Rainey and his journey of finding and forging a community around spoken word poetry within Iowa, as well as his work with the Iowa Youth Writing Project and Des Moines Poetry Workshop. It is especially beautiful to see Rainey bring this art form into the classroom with IC Speaks, guiding Black students to find their own voice within a UNESCO City of Literature. On Saturday night, the festival presented The Eddy Awards Ceremony to honor the films in their respective categories. Among the winners were Hunky Dory, which was awarded gold for Professional Freestyle; Stronghold, taking gold for Professional Narrative Short; and The Negro Artist, winning silver for Professional Documentary. Sunday, the last day of the festival, was entirely devoted to student films. Several Iowa colleges were highlighted in the programming, including Loras College in Dubuque, Augustana College in the Quad Cities, Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Coe College in Cedar Rapids, and the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Pluto—created by UI students, including director Lua Rasga—centered on an alien coming to Earth and connecting with a suicidal student. The comedic scifi short foregrounded gorgeous displays of colorful lighting and dynamic shot compositions of downtown Iowa City. From Loras College, director and EDM producer Than San submitted EDM is Plastic? challenging judgments on the emptiness of the genre while explaining how an EDM DJ operates their equipment. There was another round of awards for the student films, including the presentation of a $1,000 Student Scholarship by Collins Road Theatres owner Bruce Taylor (dubbed the “real-butter wrangler” in reference to his theater’s signature popcorn with real Hunter Jones takes home silver in the Student Narrative Short Form Film category
Wanatee Park
LinnCountyIowa.gov/Conservation
for Unwritten. Theo Gillaspie, courtesy of Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival
LittleVillageMag.com butter). The winner: Than San. Upon his acceptance, the young filmmaker declared he would be donating the funds to his home country in response to the Myanmar earthquake. “[My family] is safe but the city is in bad shape.” The $1,000 would go a long way, he said. The second panel discussion was a “Student Filmmaker Forum,” asking students in the audience about their goals and fears surrounding the film industry. Naturally, generative AI came up. “A human touching a story is always going to be better than a robot,” said Jacob Daniels of Mediaverse Studios in Marengo. It was nothing short of a delight to witness youth and adult filmmakers mingling and applauding one another. The opportunity to show your film in a cinema, on the silver screen itself, is unforgettable, and you could clearly feel that excited energy permeating throughout the venue. The festival’s enthusiastic young interns are crucial to its success, according to CRIFF founder Scott Chrisman, who teared up as he reflected. Chrisman said he asks each applying intern two questions: What is your favorite movie, and what is your dream job? The answers help him determine which behind-the-scenes role is the right fit. Interns have helped guide the direction of the fest over the past quarter century. This year, organizers scheduled the festival to start earlier in the day on Friday—a somewhat risky choice that was rewarded. CRIFF Director Eric Freese said people were lined up in the theater on Friday afternoon, and by the evening screening, even the overflow room was packed. When it was time for Davenport director Stephen Folker to screen his film My Heart Remembers, Freese decided to expand seating into the VIP lounge to accommodate the remaining guests. The next morning, again, the theater was packed. Amongst the bustling groups of families and teens chomping real-butter popcorn, Chrisman saw “a lot of familiar faces.” Freese added that the turnout and palpable excitement were “a testament to the quality of work produced over one or two years across the state. There are really talented indie filmmakers based right here.”
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DES MOINES
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Kim Haymes in Squeamish, an About Time Theatre Company production. Courtesy of About Time Theatre Company
About Time Theatre Company: Squeamish The Haunt, Des Moines, May 30 & 31, June 6 & 7, 7:30 p.m., $34; must be 21+
Contact Buzz
Speakeasy, Act Strangely This band of risk-taking thespians hopes Des Moines isn’t afraid to squirm.
I
BY JOHN BUSBEE
f you have an adventurous palate when it comes to theatrical experiences, it’s about time this seven-player troupe came into your life. About Time Theatre Company is made up of stage and creative arts veterans from across the country who converged on Des Moines. “[We] moved here from the Chicago market where I’d done a lot of theater, including companies I felt weren’t doing things the right way,” said actor Kim Haymes, whose husband Dan is also in the company. “I really wanted to do something that I knew we could do the right way. Everyone agreed on the structure and the way we should run things, and to a level of standards that we will operate under.” The members play dual roles as About Time’s nonprofit board: Kim Haymes (president), Michael LaDell Harris (treasurer), Nick Strickland, Marnie Strate, Dan Haymes, Josh Visnapuu and Maggie Jane (secretary). The company is “committed to producing innovative and socially relevant theater that reflects the rich tapestry of experiences within our community,” according to their mission statement. Since they formed earlier this year, the group has performed in many Central Iowa shows, and 46 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
psychological horror about craving what terrifies us.” This one-woman show stars Kim Haymes, herself a five-time Cloris Awards nominee and three-time winner. Squeamish will run May 30-31 and June 6-7 at The Haunt, a small speakeasy within the Slaughterhouse Haunted Attraction in downtown Des Moines. This will be the first production staged within the space, but hopefully not the last, according to owner Ian Miller. Every ticket includes a specialty cocktail (alcoholic or NA) designed by The Haunt to pair with the show. Speakeasies are increasingly popular spots for immersive theater in cities like Minneapolis and Chicago, Haymes said. About Time is pleased to be breaking new ground in Iowa. “The classics and traditional plays are covered in town. Modern plays are covered, too. I still think there’s a route for shows [other theater companies] cannot do that we can,” Harris explained. “They have a subscriber base. They can’t be too offensive, too weird. We’re not looking to own a space. We just have to deal with the rental, get in and get out. We’re trying to speak to something that isn’t spoken to here.” This flexibility works well for the company’s seven creatives, who all go home to kids aged 6 or under. “As parents, we like the idea of doing shows that we parents can be in,” Harris said. “Changing the structure of how theater is done, to make it more malleable to the cast and crew and director, such as where to rehearse, when to rehearse, respecting time, these are all essential to how we develop.”
on many of the area’s best stages. Members have earned a collective 12 nominations for Central Iowa’s Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Arts Awards. Meanwhile, Strickland brings years of experience competing in—and winning—Des Moines’ 48 Hour Film Project. “What we’re focused on is eventually having seasons and doing really interesting theater,” Harris said. “We’re not against doing other things, too. With Nick, we may do a short film. We may do poetry slams. We’re open "WE WANT TO PRESENT RISKIER to everything.” CHOICES. MAYBE IT DOESN'T APPEAL The troupe wants to see “more interactive theater, immersive theater. TO EVERYBODY, BUT THAT'S OK... WE'RE Things that aren’t happening in Des TRYING TO SPEAK TO SOMETHING Moines,” Harris continued. “We want THAT ISN'T SPOKEN TO HERE." to present riskier choices. Maybe it doesn’t appeal to everybody, but — MICHAEL LADELL HARRIS, ABOUT that’s OK.” TIME THEATRE COMPANY About Time’s first show is Squeamish by Aaron Mark, originally produced Off-Broadway. Described by “We don’t need some giant production,” he Time Out New York as a “tour-de-fear,” the show continued. “Just give us two chairs and two good is “a grotesque tale of phobia and compulsion as actors. Of course we’re going to do what the play two sides of the same coin, a minimalist work of needs, but it starts from a place of truth.”
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PRESENTED BY PERFORMING ARTS AT IOWA
Mean Presented with Des Moines Roller Derby, Varsity Cinema
via Janus FIlms
Still from The Decline of Western Civilization via Spheeris Films
May A-LIST: FILM
Tuesday, May 27, 7 p.m., Minnesota
Thursday, May 29, 7 p.m., Paris is Burning – A Pride Kickoff Extravaganza, Varsity Cinema A special screening to kick off Pride Month. Join local community orgs to celebrate the groundbreaking documentary following Paradise Garage and the drag ball culture of the '80s.
I OWA C I T Y Saturday, May 3, 12 p.m., Wright House Documentary, FilmScene Directed by Josh Booth and featuring Andre Wright,
DES MOINES
Thursday, May 22, 10 p.m., The Decline
this 30-minute biopic follows Wright
of Western Civilization, Varsity Cinema
as he creates the first fashion house in
Friday, May 4, 1 p.m., Star Wars with
Presented with Iowa Basement Tapes,
Iowa. Booth and others involved with
Audience Interaction, Varsity Cinema
the radio show covering the history
the film join for a post-screening Q&A.
of DIY music in Iowa, this doc covers the infamous '80s L.A. punk scene.
Sunday, May 4, 3:30 p.m., Beloved
via Max Collins
via Studio Ghibli
LOCAL & NOTABLE
Tuesday, May 6, 7 p.m., Princess
Friday, May 23, 4:30 p.m., Death by
Mononoke, Varsity Cinema
Fruitcake, Fleur Cinema This all-Iowa joint, written and directed by Max Allan Collins of
Thursday, May 8, 7 p.m., Tall Tales
Road to Perdition fame, stars Alisabeth Von
A Companion Film to Thom Yorke’s
Presley and Paula Sands. The two navigate a
New Album, Varsity Cinema
whodunit set in small-town Iowa after the star of a Christmas play bites it during a rehearsal.
Tuesday, May 13, 7 p.m., Amadeus with Des Moines Symphony
Wednesday, May 14, 7 p.m., Ritual Mountain Bike Film Tour, Varsity Cinema Friday, May 16, 10 p.m., The Legend of Butch & Sundance, Fleur Cinema
via CRIFF
Introduction, Varsity Cinema
Sunday, May 25, 5:30 p.m.,
Little Village's monthly print calendar is a non-exhaustive, curated list of arts and cultural events across LV's reader areas. Want to see more? Browse listings online at littlevillagemag.com/calendar.
Are you planning an event? Add it to our online calendar: littlevillagemag. com/calendar. (Please include: event image, event name, date, time, venue name and address, admission price or price range and a brief description. No all-caps, exclamation points or advertising verbiage, please.)
5683, Fleur Cinema LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 47
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FILM
on 35 MM, FilmScene Monday & Thursday, May 5 & 8, 7
PRESENTED BY PERFORMING ARTS AT IOWA
MUSIC DES MOINES
p.m., Post Tenebras Lux, FilmScene
Saturday, May 10, 7 p.m., The Joyann Parker Band, Noce Saturday, May 11, 2 p.m., Get Off My Lawn Mother’s Day Matinee, xBk Live
Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m., Derry & Tuesday, May 6, 7 p.m., Mother’s
the Dirty Dishes, xBk Live
Nature: The Body Beautiful + Dreaming Rivers, FilmScene
Wednesday, May 14, 5 p.m., Deceased, Traffic Death & Toxic Hell, Lefty’s Live Music
Saturday, May 3, 7 p.m., XTC’s Terry Chambers & Friends, xBk Live Sunday, May 5, 7:30 p.m., Future Islands w/ Open Mike Eagle, Hoyt Sherman Place
via Means TV
Tuesday, May 6, 5 p.m., Escape from the Zoo, Hans Gruber and the Die Alyssa Leicht / via Mr. Softheart
Hards, The Moray, Motel Pheromones and Americature, Lefty’s Live Music Wednesday, May 7, 7 p.m., Out of Office w/ Means TV + Rock Hard Caucus,
Tuesday, May 6 7 p.m., EEM Triplin, 76 Tutes and DC The Don, Wooly’s
FilmScene This documentary covers a strike of office workers in Wisconsin.
Thursday, May 8, 6 p.m., Flamy Grant,
The screening features a live Rock Hard
Temple Theater, Des Moines Civic
Caucus podcast recording with director
Center The conclusion of the Capital City
Will Roberts. All ticket sales for the event
Pride Speaker season sees the singer-
will go to Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund.
songwriter drag queen Flamy Grant
Wednesday, May 7, 10 p.m., Race
Wednesday, May 14, 6 p.m., Mr. Softheart,
perform. Grant was the first drag performer
Blanky & Toon Smokes, xBk Live The
to appear on Christian music charts.
post-punk Des Moines band performs with
with the Devil, FilmScene
fellow locals Toon Smokes and the visiting Friday, May 9, 7 p.m., Abbie Sawyer,
Blanky. Word is this will be the last chance
Temple Theater, Des Moines Civic
to catch Mr. Softheart in DSM for a while.
via Arman Hodasefat
Center Abbie Sawyer stops by Temple for her Des Moines album release show.
Thursday, May 15, 5 p.m., Wormrot, No/
Check out our review of the album, titled
Mas, Oxygen Destroyer, Rig Time &
Persimmon, on page 67 of this issue.
Moon Summoner, Lefty’s Live Music
of Arman Hodasefat, FilmScene After this screening of short films by director Arman Hodasefat, he will be joined by others on the creative team for a Q&A. Sunday, May 11, 12 p.m., National Theatre Live: Dr. Strangelove, FilmScene Monday, May 12, 7 p.m., Hamlet 2, FilmScene Tuesday, May 13, 7 p.m., Reservoir Dogs, FilmScene Saturday, May 17, 3:30 p.m., Stories of Community 6, FilmScene Saturday, May 31, 4 p.m., Observer, FilmScene 48 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
Flamy Grant live in Birmingham Katherine Mullen / via Flamy Grant
Saturday, May 10, 4 p.m., University of Iowa MFA Thesis Screening: The Films
A-LIST: May 2025 Friday, May 16, 5 p.m., Sundogs at Midnight, Bellyard, Wade St & Luke S. Williams, Lefty’s Live Music Friday, May 16, 7 p.m., Follies: A Night of
via Deb Talan
Broadway w/ Napoleon Douglas, xBk Live
Friday, May 16, 7 p.m., Deb Talan, xBk Live Deb Talan, formerly of The Weepies, ventures on a solo journey in this show supporting her debut solo album I thought I saw you. Check out an interview with Talan discussing the album and her hero's journey at littlevillagemag.com. Friday, May 16, 9 p.m., BanjoKat Cabaret ft/ Day’s Live Music, Naomi Marie & Stormy Rose, Lefty’s Live Music Saturday, May 17, 4 p.m., Display Case, Attacked by Badgers & American
via Brother Trucker
Hole Wizard, Lefty’s Live Music
Saturday, May 17, 7 p.m., The Listening Room: An Album Release w/ Brother Trucker, Noce Des Moines-based Brother Trucker have been rocking along for more than 25 years. The band visits Noce to celebrate the release of Live at Octopus—a review of which can be found on page 65 of this magazine. Saturday, May 17, 7 p.m., Lipstick Homicide and Polyachi, xBk Live Sunday, May 18, 12 p.m., The Sunday Sermon w/ Heatbox, xBk Live Tuesday, May 19, 7:30 p.m., Abstract Citizen, Hoyt Sherman Place
PRESENTED BY
A-LIST: May 2025
MUSIC
Friday, May 30, 7 p.m., The Finesse:
Saturday, May 31, 4 p.m., Jesse’s
Tuesday, May 20, 6 p.m., Volume, 10 Watt
Abraham – The Rerelease, Temple
Birthday Bash ft Crisis Child, Safe
Robot & Goalie Fight, Lefty’s Live Music
Theater, Des Moines Civic Center
Space, Saving Sidon, NonGrata &
Friday, May 23, 5 p.m., Dave Helmer Band,
Friday, May 30, 7 p.m., More Group Therapy
New Bodies & Triple Elvis, Lefty’s Live Music
Tour ft King Iso, A- Wax, Taebo Tha Truth,
Saturday, May 31, 7 p.m., BYOBrass album
Snake Lucci & Dj DOC, Lefty’s Live Music
release w/ Bluff Street, xBk Live
Friday, May 30, 7 p.m., Nap Sings Nat:
Saturday, May 31, 7 p.m., The Fab 4: Gina
Napoleon Douglas w/ his band, Noce
Gedler Sings Bette Midler, Peggy Lee,
Ataraxis, Lefty’s Live Music
Friday, May 23, 9 p.m., Lyxe, Nathan Thiessen & Doc Bullfrog, Lefty’s Live Music
Barbra Streisand & Linda Ronstadt, Noce
Friday, May 23, 7 p.m., For Once in My Life: A Night of Stevie, Luther, &
Saturday, May 31, 8 p.m., Georgette
More w/ Napoleon Douglas, Noce
Jones, Hoyt Sherman Place Saturday, May 24, 4 p.m., Micawber, Ill
I OWA C I T Y
Instinct & Habeas Corpus, Lefty’s Live Music Saturday, May 24, 7 p.m., The Nate Sparks Big Band, Noce Friday, May 23, 7 p.m., Napalm Death and Melvins, Wooly’s
via Lady Revel
Omen, Still Stayer, Diezeleater, Infernal
Friday, May 2, 7:30 p.m., Munk Rivers, Chrash, Second Half & Dizzy Bridges, Gabe’s Friday, May 2, 7:30 p.m., Deb Talan Friday, May 30, 7 p.m., Lady Revel
Album Release Show, The Englert
album release w/ Munk Rivers, xBk Live Witness the meeting of two Des Moines
Sunday, May 4, 7:30 p.m., City Mouse, Black
Saturday, May 24, 6 p.m., Oceano,
indie bands, neither afraid to make
Dots, Lipstick Homicide, TV Cop, Gabe’s
Escuela Grind, Filth, Backbiter
some noise. Lady Revel is set to play the
and Drowning Life, Wooly’s
entirety of their new album, Slow Burn.
Sunday, May 4, 2 p.m., Family Folk Machine: Love Spring Concert, The Englert
50 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/CALENDAR
PRESENTED BY PERFORMING ARTS AT IOWA
Tuesday, May 6, 7 p.m., Upchuck w/
Concert Series: West Liberty High & West
Smiths w/ The Mamiltons, The
Burger & Flowerfield, Gabe’s
High Jazz Ensembles, Iowa City Ped Mall
Ideal Theater, Cedar Rapids
Friday, May 9, 5 p.m., Crock-Pot Battle
Saturday, May 24, 8 p.m., Linc & The
Saturday, May 24, 6 p.m., Rebel Queens w/
of the Bands, United Action for Youth
Drifters w/ Illinois John Fever, Wildwood
Toxic Blonde, The Olympic, Cedar Rapids
Crock-Pot Battle of the Bands event at UAY.
Wednesday, May 28, 6 p.m., COLD
Check out the future of IC’s music scene
– Celebrating 25 years of 13 Ways
CEDAR FALLS/ WAT E R LO O
as these young performers battle it out.
to Bleed on Stage, Wildwood
Friday, May 9, 7 p.m., Michael
Friday, May 30, 6:30 p.m., Friday Night
Sarian’s ESQUINA w/ Sam Ross
Concert Series: Clear Creek Amana & City
Quartet, PS1 Close House
High Jazz Ensembles, Iowa City Ped Mall
Friday, May 9, 7:30 p.m., Lou Sherry, Daisy
Saturday, May 31, 8 p.m., Winterland
Glue, Dearborn & Sean Tyler, Gabe’s
w/ Shining Realm, Wildwood
Saturday, May 10, 2 p.m., Forever Young:
CEDAR RAPIDS
Swaim Youth Center It’s the second annual
Friday, May 2, 8 p.m., Denku, Rad Rascal, Tay Yung & DJ No Relation, Octopus, Cedar Falls Sunday, May 4, 8 p.m., Levi Temple, Octopus, Cedar Falls Thursday, May 8, 7 p.m., Bluff Street & Kensett, Octopus, Cedar Falls
The Music of Bob Dylan, The Englert
Friday, May 9, 8 p.m., In My Blood, Octopus, Cedar Falls
Thursday, May 15, 8 p.m., Ellis Bullard, Wildwood
Night Concert Series: Iowa Steel Band, Iowa City Ped Mall Friday & Saturday, May 16 & 17, 7:30 p.m., The Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs
Festival, 702 Lincoln St., Cedar Falls
via Fuerzas Culturales
Friday, May 16, 6:30 p.m., Friday
Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m., Cedar Falls Spring
25th Anniversary Tour, Club Hancher
Saturday, May 10, 8 p.m., Big Fun, Octopus, Cedar Falls Friday, May 23, 5:30 p.m., Fridayloo Summer Concert Series: Dead Presidents, Lincoln Park, Cedar Falls
Saturday, May 3, 6 p.m., Cinco De Mayo w/ Fuerzas Culturales, CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids
QUAD CITIES
Saturday, May 17, 6:30 p.m., Godot,
Formed in 2022, Fuerzas Culturales is the first
thisworldisnotkind, Thought Wrong &
ballet folklorico group in Cedar Rapids. The
AngelWithoutWings, PS1 Close House
dancers will perform and discuss the origins
Friday, May 2, 5 p.m., Tommy Prine w/
of Cinco de Mayo, a holiday often celebrated
Angela Autumn, Raccoon Motel, Davenport
Saturday, May 3, 8 p.m., Michael Charles Secret Formula, The via One More Hour!
Ideal Theater, Cedar Rapids
via Variety Film Production
in the U.S. but widely misunderstood.
Thursday, May 8, Frizzi to Fulci Zombie Hour, Greg Wheeler & The Poly Mall Cops, Running Man & TV Cop, Gabe’s From IC locals One More Hour and TV Cop to Des Moines mainstays Greg Wheeler & The Poly
The Composers Cut Live, Capitol Theatre
via Bella Moss
Saturday, May 17, 8 p.m., One More
A bonafide horror legend, Fabio Frizzi has credits on more than 100 movie soundtracks. Capitol Theatre and Void Church present this screening of Zombie with
Mall Cops, Iowa bands from near and far
Wednesday, May 7, 6:30 p.m., Bella Moss,
will descend upon Gabe’s in a show that
Paramount Theatre An up-and-coming artist
promises loud tunes and good vibes.
from Dubuque, Bella Moss brings her mellow,
Friday, May 9, 7 p.m., Fillmore East & West
heartfelt folk stylings to the Paramount.
– The Beaker Brothers Band, The Redstone
Frizzi and band providing the tunes live.
Room at Common Chord, Davenport
Tuesday, May 20, 7 p.m., Sheer Terror w/ Dose, Blaster, Crimson Temple
Saturday, May 10, 7 p.m., Dr. Z’s Experiment
& 12 Guage Autopsy, Wildwood
& Jumbies, The Olympic, Cedar Rapids
Friday, May 23, 6:30 p.m., Friday Night
Saturday, May 17, 8 p.m., Wonderful
Saturday, May 10, 7 p.m., The Textures w/ Lady Igraine & Genevieve Heyward, Raccoon Motel, Davenport LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 51
A-LIST: May 2025
FILM WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA
MUSIC
JUNE 7, 2025
Friday, May 16, 7 p.m., Leisure Hour w/
7:00PM
Pomfret, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Friday, May 16, 8 p.m., Nefesh Mountain, The Redstone Room at Common Chord, Davenport
VETERANS MEMORIAL STADIUM
Sunday, May 18, 5 p.m., Demsfightingwords & more, The Redstone Room at Common Chord, Davenport
© 2025 Universal Studios. All rights Reserved.
May 17, 2025
Paramount Theatre
May 18, 2025
Coralville Center for The Performing Arts
via Takaat
MASTERWORKS VI
Sunday, May 18, 7 p.m., OUTLETProgramme Presents: Takaat (Of Mdou Moctar) w/ Nonnie Parry, Rozz-Tox, Davenport The rhythm section of Mdou Moctar, Takaat (meaning noise in Tamashek)
IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION IOWA’SDISCOVERYSTATION
embraces a gritty punk-infused sound, citing influences like Fugazi and Unwound. Saturday, May 24, 7 p.m., Inthewhale, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Saturday, May 24, 7 p.m., Facs w/ God’s Hand, Rozz-Tox, Davenport Monday, May 26, 6 p.m., Gentlemen Rogues w/ Company Dimes & TV Cop, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Wednesday, May 28, 6 p.m., The Atlas Moth w/ Oriska & Aseethe, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Thursday, May 29, 6 p.m., Donny Townsend w/ Maggie Driscal, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Friday, May 30, 8 p.m., Byobrass, The Redstone Room at Common Chord, Davenport Friday, May 30, 7 p.m., Doom Flower w/ Liv Carrow Electric Band, Rozz-Tox, Davenport Friday, May 30, 6 p.m., Wolkskill & The Wild Vinyl Record Release Show, Ragged Records, Davenport
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PRESENTED BY PERFORMING ARTS AT IOWA
THEATER & PERFORMANCE
via Theatre Cedar Rapids
CEDAR RAPIDS
Through May 4, The Wolves, Theatre Cedar Rapids This play, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, was written by Sarah Delappe and follows a high school girls soccer team in their pre-game warm-ups. Their conversations are both big and small, as they via Mae The Force
navigate big questions on and off the field. Saturday, May 3, 3 p.m., Tchaikovsky Discovers America, Paramount Theatre Saturday, May 3, 8 p.m., Allure A Night of Burlesque at Opus, Opus Concert Cafe
I OWA C I T Y
Tuesday, May 27, Nolte Academy Acting
Sunday, May 4, 7 p.m., Steve Trevino:
and Vocal Showcase, The James Theatre
Good Life Tour, Paramount Theatre
Saturday, May 31, Bluebird
Friday & Saturday, May 9 & 10, 8
Improv, The James Theatre
p.m., Sign of the Times: Caution
Friday-Sunday, May 2-4, Seussical Jr., The James Theatre Friday-Sunday, May 2-4, 9-11, various times, City Circle Theatre Company
DES MOINES
Saturday, May 17, 8 p.m., Living
presents: The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Coralville Center for the Performing Arts
Children at Play, CSPS Hall
May 2-18, Alice in Wonderland,
Improverty, CSPS Hall
The Playhouse Friday-Sunday, May 30-Jun 1, various
Friday-Sunday, May 16-18, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,
May 6-11, various times, & Juliet,
The James Theatre Iowa Conservatory
Des Moines Civic Center
presents their second annual spring musical. This comedy sees a quirky cast
Saturday, May 10, 7 p.m., Flashforce
times, La Cage Aux Folles, CSPS Hall
CEDAR FALLS/ WAT E R LO O
of youngsters compete at a spelling
University Graduation Show, xBk
bee. The musical keeps the audience on
Live Come see the latest graduates of
Friday-Sunday, May 16-18, various times,
their toes as four real audience members
FlashForce University, an eight-week
Inkwell: A New Play Festival, Historic
are invited onstage to compete in the
burlesque program in Des Moines formed
Oster Regent, Cedar Falls INKWELL
spelling bee alongside the characters,
by Leo LaFlash and Mae the Force. Cheer
is a new play festival from Cedar Falls
among other improv elements.
on the graduates as they strut their
Community Theatre that shines the spotlight
stuff on stage for the first time ever!
on the talent of Midwest playwrights.
Saturday, May 24, Let Them Eat
The festival accepts submissions of full-
Cake A Food & Revolution-themed
Friday, May 23, 7 p.m., Panic at the
length or one act plays from playwrights
Burlesque Show, The James Theatre
Burlesque Show Vol. 4.5, xBk Live
currently living in and around Iowa. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 53
A-LIST: May 2025
PRESENTED BY PERFORMING ARTS AT IOWA
via Orchestra Iowa
CLASSICAL & OPERA
I O WA C I T Y/ CEDAR RAPIDS
Percussion: We Don’t Dance, Figge Art Museum, Davenport The QCSO percussion section moves from the back
Friday, May 2, 4:30 p.m., First Friday
of the orchestra to center stage in this
Jazz: Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra,
vibrant concert at Figge Art Museum as
Opus Concert Cafe, Cedar Rapids
part of their Day of Percussion event.
Saturday, May 17, 7:30 p.m., Orchestra
Saturday, May 10, 7:30 p.m., Quad
Iowa Masterworks VI: A Booming Finale,
City Symphony Orchestra presents
Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids
Video Games in Concert, Bartlett
Orchestra Iowa closes out their season
Performing Arts Center, Moline
with a bang with performances of classic and modern masters. The show closes with
Sunday, May 11, 3 p.m., Youth Symphony
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. Which
Orchestra Finale Concert, Bartlett
Orchestra Iowa describes as “an enduring
Performing Arts Center, Moline
statement of resisting oppression.” Sunday, May 18, 2 p.m., Orchestra Iowa Masterworks VI: A Booming Finale,
DES MOINES Sunday, May 18, 2:30 p.m., Des Moines Symphony: Pines of Rome, Des Moines Civic Center
QUAD CITIES Saturday, May 3, 7:30 p.m., Up Close with Quad City Symphony Orchestra
via Quad Cities Symphony Orchestra
Coralville Center for the Performing Arts
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/CALENDAR
via Big Grove Brewery
LIT & COMMUNITY
I OWA C I T Y
Book Fair days with this all-ages fair, hosted in collaboration with Prairie Lights
Friday, May 2, 5 p.m., Fools Magazine
Books and Sidekick Coffee and Books.
Sweet 16 Release Party and Reading, Public Space One Close House
Sunday, May 25, 2 p.m., Dianne Prichard Raising America, Prairie Lights
Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m., Writing Grief, PorchLight Literary Arts Center
Saturday, May 31, 1 p.m., Long Project Check-in, PorchLight Literary Arts Center
Saturday, May 3, 1 p.m., Kaleb Wyse There’s Always Room at the Table, Prairie Lights
DES MOINES
Sunday, May 4, 2 p.m., Helen Miller
Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m., Bergman
I Don’t Swim, Prairie Lights
Academy Book Fair, Beaverdale Books
Tuesday, May 6, 7 p.m., Rawaan
Tuesday, May 6, 6:30 p.m., Shannon
Alkhatib Hot Date! Sweet and
Vesely Keeping Watch on Soap
Savory Recipes, From Party Food to
Creek, Beaverdale Books
Everyday Feasts, Prairie Lights Monday, May 12, 6:30 p.m., Bill R. Saturday, May 10, 2 p.m., NEA Big Read
Douglas The People Are Kind: A Religious
Discussion w/ Tameka Cage Conley &
History of Iowa, Beaverdale Books
DK Nnuro, Stanley Museum of Art Thursday, May 22, 6 p.m., Laura Julier Sunday, May 11, 5 p.m., Second
Off Izaak Walton Road: The Grace That
Sunday Sessions, Press Coffee
Comes Through Loss, Beaverdale Books
Thursday, May 22, 5 p.m., Book Fair
Thursday, May 29, 6:30 p.m., B. John
w/ Prairie Lights & Sidekick Books, Big
Burns The German Helmet on the
Grove Brewery Relive your Scholastic
Basement Shelf, Beaverdale Books
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/CALENDAR
PRESENTED BY PERFORMING ARTS AT IOWA
"Dreaming of the Beach" Linda Lewis / via Mainframe Studios
via CSPS Hall
ART & EXHIBITION
Opens May 10, Saw Naing Lin Fires art exhibition, CSPS Hall Saw Naing Lin was born in 1977 in a mixed Buddhist/Christian household in Karenni State, an ethnicminority region in Burma/Myanmar. Lin and his family fled from his war-torn home and resettled in the U.S., eventually landing in Cedar Rapids. This exhibition depicts events and imagery of Lin’s refugee journey, from idyllic scenes before the conflict, to the fires that consumed his family’s house. An opening reception with the artist takes place Saturday, May 10 at 5:30 p.m. Opens May 17, All that Jazz: Photographs by Carl Van Vechten and George & Henry May, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids
DES MOINES
CEDAR RAPIDS
Friday, May 2, 5 p.m., First Fridays:
Through May, level influx: Making Steady
The Environment, Mainframe Studios
in Turbulent Times, Gilded Pear Gallery
Through May 17, Oh, Repetition! Curated
Friday & Saturday, May 2-3, Beyond Fashion Festival, various locations, Iowa City Iowa City’s premiere fashion festival returns for a weekend of events that fully explore the intersections of fashion, culture, activism
via Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
I OWA C I T Y
via Gilded Pear Gallery
by Kathranne Knight, Moberg Gallery
Through May, Jillian Moore solo exhibition:
and more. Highlights include slam poetry
Mirabilia, Gilded Pear Gallery Artist Jillian
with guests Donovan Beck and IC Speaks,
Moore describes her solo exhibition as “an
Create a Culture Live, a fashion show with
exhibition of objects that are exuberantly
live band backing, the premiere of the
uncanny. Juicy candy colors and buzzy
Wright House Documentary and a keynote
patterns collide across shapes reminiscent
by Luke Haverhals, founder of Natural
of fruiting bodies, organs, mineral specimens
Fiber Welding (NFW) a materials company
and cell diagrams.” Moore, an artist
(And Down): Depictions of Clothing
taking on the petrochemical industry.
based in Cedar County, works primarily
in the Collection, Cedar Rapids
in contemporary jewelry and sculpture.
Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids
56 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
Through May 18, All Dressed Up
A-LIST: May 2025
CEDAR FALLS/ WAT E R LO O
COMING SOON
MAY
TICKETS AT
ENGLERT.ORG/EVENTS
Courtesy of Patrick Luber
2 Deb Talan 6 Upchuck 7 Lucius Through May, A Period of Time Patrick Luber, Waterloo Center for the Arts Patrick Luber’s relief sculptures, “constructed from the detritus of popular culture, recycled materials and obsessive production practices,” explores the social, political and theological elements that make up the American experiment. This exhibition looks specifically at 20 years of the artist's output from 2005-2025. Luber’s work explores broad questions about the relationship between the body and the divine.
QUAD CITIES
“I Thought I Saw You” Album Release Show Track Zero at Gabe’s with Burger & Flowerfield
with Victoria Canal
SPONSORED BY: Best Case Wines
10 Forever Young: The Music of Bob Dylan PRESENTED BY: Summer of the Arts
16 The Magnetic Fields -17 Performing all of “69 Love Songs” across 2 nights
CO-PRESENTED BY: Hancher Auditorium
20 Prairie Preview: Robin Wall Kimmerer "Mayanauts" © Diego Romero
PRESENTED BY: Bur Oak Land Trust
31 Bluebird Improv at The James Theater 2 performances with Matt Walsh, Brad Morris, & Joe Canale
JUNE Through May, Cara and Diego Romero: Tales of Future Past, Figge Art Museum, Davenport Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m., Second Saturdays: Free Admission, Figge Art Museum, Davenport Saturday, May 17, 7 p.m., Glow Up: The Figge’s Official Public Party, Figge Art Museum, Davenport Thursday, May 29, Future Now Opening Celebration, Figge Art Museum, Davenport
1 Valerie June 12 A.J. Croce
with Jess Nolan
Heart of The Eternal Tour
14 I’m With Her SPONSORED BY:
Marcus-Fitzpatrick Team of Blank & McCune
DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT 119 1/2 E Washington Street DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN CIT Downtown Iowa City (319) IOWA 339-8282 DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN IOWA CIT
TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY DEAR KIKI TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA D CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA D CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY KIKICITY WANTS QUESTIONS! TY DOWNTOWN IOWA TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY TY DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY
LittleVillageMag.com/DearKiki
ear Kiki, When are things going to get better? Many thanks, Worried and Tired
ear Worried and Tired, My friend (I call you, a stranger, my friend because we all need as many friends as we can get at this time), I have been wondering the same for quite a while now. And there are so many platitudes aimed at moments such as these, aren’t there? Sayings and truisms and even comforting art that helps us navigate the day-today blows that keep knocking us back. But your question is bigger than that, and I’m going to turn to a rather unlikely source to find an answer. A few months ago, delusional DOGE daddy Elon Musk went on The Joe Rogan Experience and told the podcast’s millions of listeners that, “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” There was all sorts of context to the quote that isn’t really relevant to my answer to you, including references to marketing professor Gad Saad and his philosophy of “suicidal empathy.” But the quote itself exploded over the internet, fertilizing countless minds beyond its pronatalist progenitor’s wildest dreams. The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy. Here’s the thing, W&T. I think he’s right. And I think it’s beautiful. Championing the primacy of “Western civilization” and ostensibly protecting it against the influences of other civilizations are at the center of the horrors that you and I are hoping will someday get better. Making America “great again” is intrinsically tied to a return to a time before we strayed so far from our European founders—before the Internet showed us that American exceptionalism was myopic. The push against DEI is, at its core, an argument in favor of radical assimilation to a culture that few still believe is inherently superior. I believe that things will get better when we
are finally ready to let go of the idea that the West is best. And Musk has helpfully told us how to accelerate that process: Empathy. Musk’s quote, his own relative lack of empathy, and his evident fear of the power of empathy, led me to return to one of the most quoted, most treacly, most insipid-seeming platitudes of all and view it in a whole new light. I’m talking, of course, about the proclamation from Dr. Seuss’ Lorax that, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot / Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” Aren’t you sick of hearing that? Worried and Tired, aren’t you fed up with the implication that we who care and are exhausted from caring should somehow care more? I know I was. But it works. It truly does. It’s up to each and all of us to continually practice the choral breathing of caring, resting when we must, trusting others to sustain the note, and adding our voice back in when we’re able. When enough of us do it together, people like Musk start realizing that empathy really can topple civilizations—and build them. xoxo, Kiki
Adapted from The Lorax
Jordan Sellergren / Little Village
Submit questions anonymously at littlevillagemag. com/dearkiki or non-anonymously to dearkiki@ littlevillagemag.com. Questions may be edited for clarity and length, and may appear either in print or online at littlevillagemag.com.
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 59
YOUR JOURNEY STARTS HERE
Protect your health with free testing for HIV, sexually transmitted infections and hepatitis C! Johnson County Public Health offers:
• Free HIV testing • Free hepatitis C testing • Free testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis • Referrals for hepatitis A and B vaccination
Walk-in hours available: Mondays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Additional times:
Appointments are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please schedule ahead!
For questions or to schedule an appointment: (319) 356-6040
• Staff can even help you find out what vaccines you’ve received and discuss which ones you might need! All services are completely confidential and provided in a safe, judgement free space.
To learn more about services at Johnson County Public Health, visit https://johnsoncountyiowa.gov/ITS
AST R O LO GY
11 LIVE FIRST-CLASS CONCERTS 6 at the Paramount in Cedar Rapids and 5 bonus Concerts at the Gallagher Bluedorn in Cedar Falls
Admission to all 11 concerts $60 TOTAL—not each!
CRCommunityConcert.org 319-540-2301
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus author Nellie Bly (1864– 1922) was a daring trailblazer. It was almost impossible for a woman to be a journalist in the 19th century, but she did it anyway. One of her sensational groundbreaking stories came when she did an undercover assignment in New York’s Women’s Lunatic Asylum. Her reporting on the neglect and brutality there prompted major reforms. I nominate Bly as your role model for the foreseeable future. You are, I believe, poised for epic, even heroic adventures, in service to a greater good. (P.S.: Bly also made a solo trip around the world and wrote 15 books.) GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini painter Henri Rousseau (1844–1910) never saw a jungle in person. In fact, he never left his native country of France. But he painted some of modern art’s most vivid jungle scenes. How did that happen? Well, he visited zoos and botanical gardens, perused images of tropical forests in books, and heard stories from soldiers who had visited jungles abroad. But mostly, he had a flourishing imagination that he treated with reverent respect. I urge you to follow his lead, Gemini. Through the joyful, extravagant power of your imagination, get the inspiration and education you need. The next three weeks will be prime time to do so. CANCER (June 21-July 22): No, ruby-throated hummingbirds don’t hitch rides on airplanes or the backs of geese. They make their epic migrations completely under their own power. To get to their wintering grounds, many fly alone from the southern United States to the Yucatan Peninsula, crossing the 500-mile expanse of the Gulf of Mexico in 20 hours. I don’t recommend you attempt heroic feats like theirs in the coming weeks, Cancerian. More than usual, you need and deserve to call on support and help. Don’t be shy about getting the exact boosts you require. It’s time to harvest the favors you are owed and to be specific in articulating your wishes. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The golden pheasant is dazzling. Among the bright colors that appear in its plumage are gold, red, orange, yellow, blue, black, green, cinnamon and chestnut. In accordance with astrological omens, I name this charismatic bird to be your spirit creature for the coming weeks. Feel free to embrace your inner golden pheasant and express it vividly wherever you go. This is a perfect time to boldly showcase your beauty and magnificence, even as you fully display your talents and assets. I brazenly predict that your enthusiastic expression of self-love will be a good influence on almost everyone you encounter. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo poet and visual artist Dorothea Tanning (1910–2012) had a few mottoes that endlessly nurtured her abundant creative output. Here’s one: “Keep your eye on your inner world and keep away from ads, idiots, and movie stars." As excellent as that advice is, it’s a challenge to follow it all the time. If we want to function effectively, we can't always be focused on our inner worlds. However, I do believe you are now in a phase when you’re wise to heed her counsel more than usual. Your soul’s depths have a lot to teach you. Your deep intuition is full of useful revelations. Don’t get distracted from them by listening too much to ads, idiots and celebrities. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is essential for the functioning of your body and every other animal’s. It carries instructions about how to build proteins, and your cells are full of it. We humans can’t edit this magic substance, but octopuses can. They do it on the fly, enabling them to adapt quickly to changing environmental conditions. Even though you Libras can’t match their amazing power with RNA, you do have a substantial capacity to rewrite your plans and adjust your mindset. And this talent of yours will be especially available to you in the coming weeks. Your flexibility and adaptability
By Rob Brezsny
will not only help you navigate surprises but may also open up exciting new opportunities. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Is there a sanctuary you can retreat to? A relaxing oasis where you can slip away from the world’s colorful madness? I would love for you to be bold enough to seek the precise healing you need. You have every right to escape the rotting status quo and give yourself full permission to hide from pressure, demands and expectations. Is there music that brings you deep consolation? Are there books and teachers that activate your profound soul wisdom? Keep that good stuff nearby. It’s time for focused relief and regeneration. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The chemical element known as arsenic is notoriously toxic for humans, but has long been useful in small amounts. Ancient Chinese metallurgists discovered that blending it with copper and tin made the finest, strongest bronze. In modern times, arsenic fortifies the lead in car batteries. People in the 19th century sometimes ingested tiny doses as a stimulant. In this spirit, Sagittarius, I invite you to transform potentially challenging elements in your life into sources of strength. Can you find ways to incorporate iffy factors instead of eliminating them? I assure you that you have the power to recognize value in things others may neglect or reject. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Renowned Capricorn author Henry Miller (1891–1980) had to wait far too long before getting readers in his home country, the United States. American censors regarded his explosive texts as too racy and sexy. They forbade the publication of his books until he was 69 years old! His spirit was forever resolute and uncrushable, though. In accordance with astrological omens, Capricorn, I recommend you adopt his counsel on the subject of wonders and marvels. Miller wrote, “The miracle is that the honey is always there, right under your nose, only you were too busy searching elsewhere to realize it.” Here's another gem from Miller: He advised us “to make the miracle more and more miraculous, to swear allegiance to nothing, but live only miraculously, think only miraculously, die miraculously.” AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): For now, everything depends on your foundation, your roots and your support system. If I were you, I would devote myself to nurturing them. Please note that you’re not in any jeopardy. I don’t foresee strains or tremors. But your graduation to your next set of interesting challenges will require you to be snugly stable, secure, and steady. This is one time when being thoroughly ensconced in your comfort zone is a beautiful asset, not a detriment to be transcended. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The coming weeks are a favorable time for you to build symbolic bridges. I hope you will link resources that aren’t yet linked. I hope you will work to connect people whose merger would help you, and I hope you will begin planning to move from where you are now to the next chapter of your life. I advise you to not model your metaphorical bridges after modern steel suspension bridges, though. Instead, be inspired by the flexible, natural, and intimate bridges made by the ancient Incas. Woven from ichu grass via community efforts, they were strong enough to span rivers and canyons in the Andes mountains. ARIES (March 21-April 19): To create microgardens, you plant vegetables and herbs in small containers placed on your porch, balcony, window sills and kitchen counter. Lettuce, peas, spinach and basil might be among your small bounties. I encourage you to use this practice as a main metaphor in the coming weeks. In other words, gravitate away from huge, expansive visions, and instead work creatively within existing constraints. For now, at least, “less is more” should be your operative motto. Meditate on how apparent limitations might lead to inviting innovations. Seek out abundance in unlikely places. LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 61
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DISTRIBUTION LOCATIONS ALTOONA Breadeaux Pizza Altoona Public Library Brightside Aleworks Rasmussen Bike Shop AMANA Amana Colonies Visitor’s Center Amana Society Main Office Brau Haus Ox Yoke Inn The Ronneburg Restaurant AMES 1+1 Restaurant & Tea Alluvial Brewing Ames History Museum Ames Public Library Asylum Tattoo Aunt Maude’s Bike World Blue Owl Boulder Tap House British & American Foods & Gifts Burgie’s North Burgie’s South Cafe Beaudelaire Cafe Diem Cornbred BBQ Della Viti Dog:Eared Books El Azteca Mex. Restaurant El Jefé Mex. Restaurant Elan Spa & Lash Bar Gateway Hotel Great Plains Sauce & Dough Company Heroic Ink His & Hers Salon - Emily Bickels Barbershop The IowaStater Restaurant Jeff’s Pizza Shop Labyrinth Coffee Little Woods Herbal Shop Lockwood Café Macubana Mayhem Collectibles Morning Bell Coffee Mother’s Pub Mr. Burrito Mex. Food Mucky Duck No Escape Noir Octagon Center For the Arts Prarie Moon Winery Rieman Music Salon Bonita Skunk River Cycles Stomping Grounds Studio7 Salon & Spa Sunstone Massage Sweet Caroline’s Kitchen & Cocktails The Cafe The Groom Room The Grove Cafe The Loft The Spice Torrent Brewing Co. Valor & Violet Van Hemert’s Dutch Oven Bakery Vinyl Cafe Welch Ave Station Wheatsfield Co-op Whiskey River
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62 May 2025 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340
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ALBUM REVIEWS
WOLFSKILL & THE WILD Feral Heart WOLFSKILLANDTHEWILD.BANDCAMP.COM
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t may seem counterintuitive to first notice and bask in the silence of an album, when music is quite literally about the sound created. But something genius unfurls from the quiet as Wolfskill & the Wild’s Feral Heart comes into view. A good 10-second fade-in and 20-second fade-out bookend the beginning track, “Beautiful Memories,” with stillness. Violin and guitar careen in and subside—waves of sound and feeling, anchored in and returning to that initial stillness. But, of course, Quad City-based indie folk duo Wolfskill & The Wild are anything but silent and still. Feral Heart is a debut EP written over seven months, meticulously produced, fundraised and lovingly released into the world. The frenetic drive to musically create and the ferality of the title narrator’s heart is evident. Which works as counterpoint to the inherent restfulness of the band’s folk sound. At the heart (feral or tamed) of any folk music project is a certain warmth and contemplation, best heard in its narration and instrumentation. Here, the warmth is deftly captured by Madison Anthony’s soaring violin, the beating center of each of the tracks. J. Wolfskill’s raw and gravelly vocals— its sorrows and joys—ponder lost love and time. If the pulsating violin is the project’s core, the lyrics and the candid shouts of each word are the feral heart—growing with abandon out of longing, unruly but hopeful. A full hero’s journey takes place across Feral Heart’s five tracks. Wolfskill & The Wild mark these rest stops and story arcs with clarity: the hero battles “through lasting love, with trials, tribulations, determination, rebirthings and ultimately elixir.”
Submit albums for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 54420 The first stop on a hero’s adventure— lasting love and its trials—is presented contemplatively in the quiet of “Beautiful Memories,” and in the dejectedness of “Take Me As I Am.” As that love breaks open, folky growls poetically plead, “Don’t take me as I was, take me as I am.” The paired guitar and violin soar over each other in a harmonious coupling, contrasting against the layered shouts of desperation. Tribulations follow soon after, as the relentlessness of time is questioned by a troubadour unloading by a campfire. This wallowing is dashed quickly jumping into standout track “Pursuit,” with layered, haunted vocals, the violin kicking into gear at a progressively quickening pace.
AT THE HEART OF ANY FOLK MUSIC PROJECT IS A CERTAIN WARMTH AND CONTEMPLATION... HERE, THE WARMTH IS DEFTLY CAPTURED BY MADISON ANTHONY'S SOARING VIOLIN, THE BEATING CENTER OF EACH OF THE TRACKS. Anthony’s violin proves to be as much a storyteller as each song’s wistful lyrics, presenting hesitation, franticness and, finally, joy on the closing track “Lights Went Out.” It soars, it warbles and it sings. By the time the listener reaches the band’s form of elixir, of long-lost lovers and long-lost selves, Feral Heart reaches its full swell of atmosphere. The smell of pine needles accompany the soundscapes, every lyric bathed by the warmth of a crackling fire. Lyrics of satisfaction and simplicity are clothed in those warm harmonies. Ultimately, the quiet is so very loud here. —Elisabeth Oster Wolkskill & The Wild Vinyl Record Release Show Ragged Records, Davenport, Friday, May 30, 6 p.m.
BROTHER TRUCKER Live at Octopus BROTHER-TRUCKER.COM
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ou can’t talk about the history of music in Iowa without mentioning the seminal (and sadly defunct) grassroots record label Trailer Records, started by Iowa City musician David Zollo. Recently on the Iowa Music Archive Series, Zollo shared the genesis of the label. “...[Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey, Radislav Lorkovic and I] wanted something more funky and under the radar that was more local… There was a real punk-rock ethos– it was me and a small-balance credit card and a belief in the music and the music from this area.” One of those early signings to Trailer Records was Des Moines roots-rock band Brother Trucker. Founded by lifelong friends Andy Fleming and Mike Fitzpatrick, Brother Trucker has been a stalwart live music institution for over 25 years. Speaking via email, singer and songwriter Fleming said, “Zollo’s been my consigliere since the first time he took me under his wing… When I first started recording albums back in 2000 he impressed on me, ‘The album is the novel, the performance is the play.’ We do [Zollo song] ‘Parnell’ at every show as a way of thanking him.” The performance of “Parnell” on Brother Trucker’s sixth album Live at Octopus holds true to Zollo’s: a letter of weary regret, a dream chased and lost. The song fits perfectly in a setlist of Brother Trucker’s dry-eyed dispatches of the struggle of blue collar heroes. There were a few things at work to bring Live at Octopus to fruition. Ralph Bryant’s constant archiving of the live music scene at the Octopus on College Hill in collaboration with proprietor (and House of Large Sizes frontman) Dave Deibler provided the opportunity to create a multitrack
recording of the performance. The inspiration for doing a live recording was Bo Ramsey’s rockin’ Live album from 1995 on Trailer Records—a CD that Fleming recalls playing as a band pre-show tradition when they got within 30 miles out from a venue. Live at Octopus captures a band with both the polish of seasoned road warriors and the edgy electricity that comes from playing live to a welcoming room of fans hungry for the songs they know. Every song drives home what a groove machine live Brother Trucker is. The addition of Iowa drumming legend Jim Viner to the band in 2012 is no small part of that. Viner knows how to bring the right touch to each song and provides a framework for Lyle Kevin Hogue’s
EVERY SONG DRIVES HOME WHAT A GROOVE MACHINE LIVE BROTHER TRUCKER IS. bass to slink around. “Let’s Have a Nice Friday Night,” one of the new songs on the album, reminds me of the early live performances of the E-Street Band when they leaned more towards the party rocking sounds of Motown and Mitch Ryder. Taking a wider view of Brother Trucker’s catalog, and Fleming’s songwriting in particular, the band is continuing a time-honored tradition of danceable sing-along songs with colorful portraits of characters and stories with glints of familiarity to those of us who grew up in small towns across the Midwest. During the heyday of Trailer Records, it seemed that you could see any of the hard-working and hard-rocking bands on that label live in bars every weekend in bars across Iowa. Live at Octopus captures that feeling perfectly, reminding us that we can (and should) still go see amazing live shows here. —Mike Roeder The Listening Room: An Album Release w/ Brother Trucker Noce, Des Moines, Saturday, May 17, 7 p.m.
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ALBUM REVIEWS
ABBIE SAWYER Persimmon ABBIESAWYER.BANDCAMP.COM
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itting and listening to Abbie Sawyer’s Persimmon was a blissful experience. It feels like frolicking on the first warm day of spring after a dreadful winter—fresh and bright, delightful despite the memory of the lingering cold. With 12 soul-stirring songs, the album blossoms with tenderness. It’s the kind of album that makes you long for open windows and fresh-cut flowers on your bedside table.
Submit albums for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 54420 Love hangs in the air from the title track “Persimmon,” carried by Sawyer’s luxuriant lyrics, “I’ll be your persimmon / Will you be my macaroon?” It’s a tender line that lands just right. The lyrics are a sweet homage to the beautiful dance between lovers, full of charm and ritual. Album standout “Empty Drawer” comes at the album’s tail end. Sawyer’s voice feels lightfooted and affectionate. There’s a playfulness in the way she romanticizes decluttering: “That’s why less is actually more.” It reminds listeners that not everything needs to be a grand gesture; there is beauty in everyday ease. “Turn the Tide” closes the album with a final note, like reducing sugar after a spree of caramels. The sweetness doesn’t vanish or burn, it simply concentrates. There is clarity in Sawyer’s vocals about seeing the best in someone even when all your friends say otherwise. “How’d I get here again, tangled in
SAWYER SINGS AS IF SHE COATED EACH WORD WITH SUGAR BEFORE OFFERING THEM; EACH NOTE A GINGER SNAP, BRINGING CRISP BRIGHTNESS TO THE EARS OF LISTENERS. Album opener “Sunken Sailor” captures blind faith, which is clear through the first few lyrics, “Hurting, hoping and unknowing.” Sawyer’s voice is a dewdrop among the track’s delicate string instruments. Sawyer sings as if she coated each word with sugar before offering them; each note a ginger snap, bringing crisp brightness to the ears of listeners. Her tone holds clarity and warmth. However, her voice is not just pretty, it’s enchanting and holds true throughout the rest of the album. The third track on the LP, “January,” embodies its title impeccably. Imagine the coldness of the month, the overwhelming mound of snow trapping you inside, emphasizing the need for comfort, warmth and love. Sawyer explores the highs and lows of the season, where love seems fleeting. The repeated line “Will you hold me?” echoes toward the end, a quiet yearning.
your web,” she sings—part confession and part expression of resentment, as if she’s reflecting on her once star-eyed decisions and finding the bitterness in it. It’s an honest closing track, one that finishes the album not with a cherry on top, but instead with an unexpected, yet satisfying garnish. Persimmon was both tart and sweet. It’s the subtle scent of tulips blossoming during a bleak moment in one’s life. Each track feels hand-woven in careful precision. Whether she’s singing about longing, love or the bittersweet weight of regret, Sawyer carefully delivers each line with care. Her voice shines, urging listeners to go enjoy the richness of life, no matter the season. —Winston Jamison Abbie Sawyer Temple Theater, Des Moines Civic Center, Friday, May 9, 7 p.m.
Hoyt's grounded world of sunsets and beach days in tracks like “Kind of Paradise” and “Cloud 9" gives way to a skyful of stars and more esoteric musings. The bigness of his feelings clearly can’t be contained in a few love metaphors. In “Perfect,” a slow R&B serenade, love becomes a cosmos, a universe, a whole world of its own. As campfires die and darkness falls, highlight track “Postcard” sets in, all moonlight and constellations. Instrumental strings surge and warbly guitars wail, sweeping and cinematic.
ANDREW HOYT Kind of Paradise ANDREWHOYTMUSIC.COM
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un-drenched hooks and sunscreenslathered horn sections are not very Iowa. But for Andrew Hoyt and his latest EP, Kind of Paradise, bottling sunshine is the point, whether charting heartbreak or relationship blissdom. A born and raised Iowan, Hoyt blends his Midwest sensibility with the polish of his Nashville collaborators and a Hawaiian influence to make a final product as tropical as it is timeless and polished. There’s also a lot of creative flair laid bare within its six tracks with luscious production, balanced between full band and a pared-down pluck of a ukulele. Throughout the EP runtime, Hoyt is caught between old breakups and new love songs, often against backdrops of paradise, albeit with spurts of rough tides. But no matter the subject, there’s an assuredness that the music will swell and remain upbeat, even when the lyrics are in direct conflict with that mood. It’s paradise, kind of. That chameleonic nature carries into Hoyt’s genre blend—somewhere between the ’00s pop traditions of Jason Mraz and Andy Grammar, the tropical wistfulness of a Jack Johnson crooner and a new league of breezy soul-inspired R&B à la Lawrence and Vulfpeck. The result is a marriage of balmy heartbreak with cinematic brass and maybe one too many Mai Tais. Within its tracks, Kind of Paradise has the danceable and euphoric juice of a song of the summer. “Caught in the Middle” is a perfect encapsulation of Hoyt’s happy-sad song speciality. Equal parts smooth vocal elasticity and an absolute earworm of a chorus, the tune belongs on the speakers of a windows-down car in summertime, doleful lyrics be damned.
NO MATTER THE SUBJECT, THERE'S AN ASSUREDNESS THAT THE MUSIC WILL SWELL AND REMAIN UPBEAT, EVEN WHEN THE LYRICS ARE IN DIRECT CONFLICT WITH THAT MOOD. IT'S PARADISE, KIND OF. And yet, the vacation is over. Goodbyes are exchanged. “This will all be just a memory before you know,” Hoyt pensively sings. But don’t worry, he’ll send you a postcard. The sand has been rinsed from our sandals, but Kind of Paradise needn’t be a memory. This vibrant EP is a dose of summer you can return to time and time again. —Elisabeth Oster Andrew Hoyt SingleSpeed Brewery, Des Moines, Saturday, May 15, 7 p.m.
LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV340 May 2025 67
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BOOK REVIEWS
FORREST GANDER Mojave Ghost NEW DIRECTIONS
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read about one book of poetry a year. I enjoy poetry now, despite an adolescence spent being intimidated by it. I am thrilled that Mojave Ghost by Forrest Gander became my poetry book of the year. Structured with page breaks and asterisks but no formal titles, he creates something that flows effortlessly even in its most disjointed moments. Gander’s author’s note grounds the reader, providing the critical context of the death of his mother and wife. What unfolds after is a story that shines with love despite the weight of its absence. The majority of the work is Gander’s reflection on lost relationships, which is then mirrored by the journey he physically takes through the collection’s coda. The Mojave Desert serves as the backdrop for the broader story of his life. Mojave Ghost focuses strongest on the loss of Gander's wife. His memorial to her is framed through a gentle remembrance of their shared history. He frequently returns to the night they first met, painstakingly recreating their first interactions in poems that crop up several times across the course of the novel-poem. In one of the final resurrections of this moment, he achingly notes, “In photographs taken of me before we met / I only see the impending joy in my face.” His mourning never pollutes these lingering moments, and in doing so becomes one of the truest testaments to grief I have read on page. Gander is able to uphold the pleasure of his
Submit books for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 54420 relationship, acknowledging the pain but helping the reader understand that the two emotions can paradoxically exist together. The use of nature within this collection is so intentional and exacting, it brings to mind Annie Dillard, or perhaps some of the more tolerable sections of Thoreau. Nature becomes the vehicle through which Gander hikes the stages of grief. He establishes this precedent within the first poem of the collection. He melds casual natural observation (“She asked quietly if he noticed. / What? How the small moths come out / at dusk, but the big ones – these, she said / casting her eyes into the darkness, / only after midnight”) with scientific descriptions (“It all changes / in the seconds it takes for a parasite / in the saliva of a sand fly / to replicate itself in the gut / and migrate to the fly’s proboscis”). The end result is romantic and repulsive. One of the most refreshing aspects of this collection is that, despite how much it careens into grief, it never goes so far as to be despairing. Gander shows a strong respect for the human
ONE OF THE MOST REFRESHING ASPECTS OF THIS COLLECTION IS THAT, DESPITE HOW MUCH IT CAREENS INTO GRIEF, IT NEVER GOES SO FAR AS TO BE DESPAIRING. experience and all that includes— especially the darker parts of being a person. In doing so, he presents a collection that shows his grief without ever being overwhelmed by it, a delicate balance that communicates how deeply he loves and how actively he still lives. Halfway through the novel-poem, Gander remembers a conversation with his wife and notes, “It isn’t through my ears I hear you / I find myself listening with my whole body.” Mojave Ghost is a collection that is read with the whole body, its descriptions and musings so visceral that I felt them in my bones. —K. Twaddle
almost always do. / I say things like easy peasy. No worries, no hurries. But something’s always wrong / with my mouth. My brother, landing at night: Darker than you’d imagine, / like closing your eyes.’”
VANADA INVITES US TO WORSHIP AT THE ALTAR OF UNDERSTANDING... SHE CREATES GLIMMERING, EXACTING PHRASES THAT DESERVE TO BE STUDIED ON THEIR OWN.
KELSI VANADA Optional Saint BENCH EDITIONS
K
elsi Vanada’s Optional Saint is a delicate collage of poetic styles that maintain a signature sparseness of language—the poems ask the reader to connect the dots. What’s interesting and exciting about Vanada’s poetry is that she trusts the reader and invites the reader to become part of the narrative. With brevity, with compression, Vanada creates a language and the reader achieves fluency as the book wears on. I have now read Optional Saint nearly three times. The first third of the collection I reread almost immediately, sensing that I was not in the right place to read it when I began (I wasn’t; a waiting room full of distractions made me miss so much of what makes this book special). I read it all the way through after that and, then feeling energized and excited, I reread it the next day. I had other things to do and to read, plus I had a review to write, but reading Optional Saint made me want to read. It made me want to write. It made me want to play with and understand language. These poems interrogate language, the church, the way our days are moved by the paradigms in which we live. Where some poems rely on imagery, even iconography, others are sonic and conceptual. In the poem Virtual Sit Meditation, Vanada opens a stanza with plain, conversational language and then weaves several images together into one bright metaphor, “My cold sores shouldn’t leave a scar, but they
The connective tissue isn’t lost in these poems because she’s effectively taught you how to read her language. The repeated idea of translation serves to underscore the malleability and intangibility of language. With these reminders, each poem has a resonance that reaches into and beyond the next. Vanada invites us to worship at the altar of understanding. She presents discordant imagery and phrases in different languages and she creates glimmering, exacting phrases that deserve to be studied on their own. This book is essential for anyone who loves words (From the poem Manual Acts, “Workshop looked like worship, a mistake I’ve made before.” From By and Large, “You could pull from any number of passages, but you don’t…I make the translations again.” From Transcription Pedal, “A successful language is not / like a helpless one.”) but I want to force it into the hands of people who are reluctant to engage. I want to point to each poem and remind them what it is supposed to be. This book is a creative act. This book asks you to remember the stories you were told and confront them: How do they serve you now? How can you make something new? —Sarah Elgatian
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arayes 23. Helen Mirren or Emma Thompson 24. Trashiest spot on the internet? 28. Emoji indicating interest 29. 401(k) rollover destination, maybe 30. Comedian DeLaria 31. Either of two Muslim holy days, casually 33. Mostaccioli cousin 35. Concert memento 38. Sort of activity
encouraged by a kisscam: Abbr. 40. Cleansing super-coily strands? 45. Initials on a corporate jet flight manifest 46. Apt rhyme for cram 47. Greige hue 49. Sympathetic lead character? 51. Stone fruit center 53. React to a stubbed toe, maybe 54. In the thick of 57. Dairy animals that pair
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their grazings with sweet Italian dessert wines? 62. Wim Wenders film unrelated to the fruit in a popular Spanish rum cocktail 63. Carol Burnett’s alma mater 64. DOT dot ___ 65. American Dialect Society’s 2023 word of the year, which describes the decay of online platforms, or what has befallen 18-, 24-, 40-, and 57-Across
71. Unit that was part of the Presidential Fitness Test 72. Tweak 73. Water sandal brand 74. Candy Crush ___ 75. Pieces of office furniture 76. “Right this minute!”
37. Perris Benegas’s racing sport 39. “Oh, and I want no ___. And I mean, NO ___. You put ___ on this thing and you’re in big trouble, OK?” (Michelangelo ordering pizza in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) 41. Boxer’s stat 42. Who’s your daddy? 43. Conveniently forget, maybe 44. Develop 48. Jumping ability, casually 50. Porn, rather judgmentally 52. Senate attire, once 54. Chimps and bonobos 55. 5×5 crosswords, for example 56. App found in “Michelin star” 58. Set of eight 59. Nickelodeon bucketful 60. Cortado locales 61. Panna ___ (Italian dessert) 66. Russian River’s Pliny the Elder, for one 67. Stock in a certain parlor 68. Twelve-for-one items from BMG, in the ’90s 69. Sex cells 70. Go out briefly?
DOWN 1. Creates conditions for a reply-all snafu, maybe 2. Fave shared with a friend 3. Unlikely to be thrown off balance, as a certain performer 4. It comes later than a five o’clock shadow 5. CIO partner 6. Lucy of Charlie’s Angels 7. They get high in the summer, for short 8. Once around the sun, say 9. “Why was seis afraid of ___?” [n.b. this joke doesn’t work in Spanish!] 10. Regular doc 11. Craps cheating device 12. Hazardous solar emission 13. “Are you picking up what I’m putting down?” 17. Brown boozes or breads 19. Rudd of Wet Hot American Summer 20. Like the 1998 Pikachu Illustrator card 24. Rapper ___ April ANSWERS Khalifa OM I T S AME C E L L O 25. Black Panther WA D E A V I D T R A I L villain Killmonger E X E C L ONG H I R E D D I S H C O N T I N U E D 26. Debacle I ON E E L 27. Way forward P A P E R F OR S H A K E N OD E E CRU S U P I N E 32. Warby Parker SOA R H I ND I ROS A spectacle in 2021? E RR A T A CU E S S UR R E L E A S H E D L I K E S 34. “Hold me ...” P T O B I N 36. Letters on Tadej QU I E T QU I T T I NG U T U R N D U L L I D E A Pogacar’s Tour de ME A N T O I N K MO T T France jersey A ND SO GP A S E L S E
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