Orchard Green Restaurant and Lounge 521 S Gilbert St
Plated Table 625 S Dubuque St
Pop’s BBQ 130 N Dubuque St
Pullman Bar & Diner 17 S Dubuque St
Quinton’s Bar & Deli 215 E Washington St
Raising Cane’s 201 S Clinton St
ReUnion Brewery 113 E College St
Roxxy 127 E College St
Sports Column 12 S Dubuque St
St Burch Tavern 127 Iowa Ave
Summit 10 S Clinton St
The Box 525 S Gilbert St
The Dandy Lion 111 S Dubuque St
The Stuffed Olive 121 E College St
The Vine Tavern & Eatery 330 E Prentiss St
The Vue Rooftop 328 S Clinton St
Trumpet Blossom Cafe 310 E Prentiss St
Wilder
210 S Dubuque St
Z’Mariks Noodle Cafe
19 S Dubuque St
Zolly’s Grill
201 S Clinton St
ASIAN/SUSHI/ CHINESE
China Star
201 S Clinton St
Formosa Sushi Bar & Restaurant
221 E College St
Hoja
201 S Clinton St
K-Bap
201 S Clinton St
La Wine Bar
180 E Burlington St
Le Gourmet Korean Bowls & Lunch Box
201 S Clinton St
Paper Crane Ramen Shop & Cocktail Lounge
121 N Linn St
Sumo Sushi
122 E Washington St
Saigon’s Corner
201 S Clinton St
Soseki Cafe
227 S Dubuque St
Szechuan House
320 Burlington St
Thai Flavors
340 E Burlington St
Uncle Sun
100 S Linn St
COFFEE/TEA/BAKERY
Bread Garden Market
225 S Linn St
Bread Worthy Bakery
203 N Linn St
Cookies & More
201 S Clinton St
Dunkin Donuts
8 S Clinton St
fix! Coffee
404 E College St
Hyper Energy Bar
115 E College St
Insomnia Cookies
125 E Washington St
Java House
211 E Washington St
Kindred Coffee
287 N Linn St
Le Crave
14 S Clinton St
Mammitas Coffee
224 S Linn St
Midnight Coffee
301 E Market St
Poindexter Coffee
210 South Dubuque St
Prairie Lights Cafe
15 S Dubuque St
Starbucks
228 S Clinton St
Teamo Tea
121 E Washington St
The Bép Teahouse
201 S Clinton St
The Encounter Cafe
376 S Clinton St
TSpoons
201 S Clinton St
DELI/SANDWICHES
Annie’s Vietnamese
Sandwiches Shop
221 S Gilbert St
Brix Cheese Shop & Wine Bar
209 N Linn St
Bruegger’s Bagels
245 Iowa Ave
Get Fresh Cafe 109 Iowa Ave
Heirloom Salad Company 211 E Washington St
Jimmy Johns
130 E Washington St
nodo
5 S Dubuque St
FIRST HOUR FREE PARKING IN IOWA
CITY RAMPS
Chauncey Swan Ramp, 460 E Washington St
Court Street Transportation Center, 380 S Dubuque St
Dubuque Street Ramp, 280 S Dubuque St
Old Capitol Town Center Ramp, 253 S Clinton St
Tower Place & Parking, 351 Iowa Ave
DUBUQUE STREET
DOWNTOWN IOWA CITY
FRENCH
Claude
215 N Linn St
Crepes De Lux Cafe
309 E College St
One Twenty Six
126 E Washington St
ICE CREAM/ FROZEN YOGURT
Aspen Leaf Frozen Yogurt
125 S Dubuque St
Yotopia: Iowa City’s Original FroYo
132 S Clinton St
INDIAN
India Café
227 E Washington St
Masala Indian Cuisine 9 S Dubuque St
ITALIAN/PIZZA
Airliner
22 S Clinton St
Baroncini Ristorante
Italiano
104 S Linn St
Basta Pizzeria Ristorante 121 Iowa Ave
Falbo Bros Pizzeria
457 S Gilbert St
Mesa Pizza 114 E Washington St
Moonrakers
126 E Washington St
Pagliai’s Pizza
302 E Bloomington St
Papa John’s Pizza
307 S Gilbert St
Sam’s Pizza
441 S Gilbert St
Scout’s Honor
219 Iowa Ave
TapTap
121 1/2 E College St
The Wedge 113 Iowa Ave
MEDITERRANEAN
Oasis Falafel 206 N Linn St
George’s Best Gyros 213 Iowa Ave
Saj Grill 23 S Dubuque St
MEXICAN
Cactus Mexican Grill & Cantina
245 S Gilbert St
Cactus 3
114 S Clinton St
Chipotle
201 S Clinton St
Coa Cantina
18 1/2 S Clinton St
Estela’s Fresh Mex
184 E Burlington St
Luna’s Tacos
127 E Washington St
Panchero’s Mexican Grill
32 S Clinton St
Que Chimba Colombian
Street Food
201 S Clinton St #101
STEAKHOUSES
Iowa Chop House
223 E Washington St
Joseph’s Steakhouse 212 S Clinton St
the Webster 202 N Linn St
Dining Guide BUTTER BREAD&B
Hear Me Out
These small farms cultivate crops common in Africa, Southeast Asia and beyond.
Chuy Renteria’s mother dishes on how to make a delectable tripe soup.
Refugees of U.S. nuclear testing and their ancestors plant roots in Dubuque.
Little Village (ISSN 2328-3351) is an independent, communitysupported news and culture publication based in Iowa City, published monthly by Bayleaf, LLC, 623 S Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Through journalism, essays and events, we work to improve our community according to core values: environmental sustainability, affordability and access, economic and labor justice, racial justice, gender equity, quality healthcare, quality education and critical culture. Letters to the editor(s) are always welcome. We reserve the right to fact check and edit for length and clarity. Please send letters, comments or corrections to editor@littlevillagemag.com. Subscriptions: lv@ littlevillagemag.com. The US annual subscription price is $120. All rights reserved, reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. If you would like to reprint or collaborate on new content, reach us at lv@littlevillagemag.com. To browse back issues, visit us online at issuu.com/littlevillage.
Nicole Yeager / Little Village
EDITORIAL
Publisher Jordan Sellergren jordan@littlevillagemag.com
This Bread & Butter, we put fruits and veggies front and center. Explore international restaurants, incubator farms, Iowa hot dog lore, a taco shop fighting fascism, and a resilient community of Pacific Islanders on the Mississippi. Plus: Maria Bamford recalls her time in a Star Trek traveling show.
Austin Chadderdon, the portrait photographer and filmmaker behind Soul or System Photography, spins everyday chaos into cosmic, cinematic art.
Dianne Rosales Siasoco is a writer, crafting her debut novel in mom jeans and blue-light blockers.
Elisabeth Oster is a freelance writer and designer, and collector of dad rock.
Jessie Kraemer is a writer and artist living in Iowa City. Follow her on instagram (@jkraem).
John Busbee produces The Culture Buzz, a weekly arts & culture radio show on kfmg.org, covering Iowa’s arts scene with an inclusive sweep of the cultural brush.
K. Twaddle is an Iowa transplant and a lifelong book enthusiast. She lives in rural Iowa with her partner and three cats.
Kirsten Kraklio lives and works in Ames and loves writing, photography and cutting it close to deadlines.
Lauren Haldeman is a graphic novelist and poet. She has received an Iowa Arts Fellowship, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award and fellowships from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
Lee Keeler is a film professor for the Des Moines Area Community College. He is a regular contributor for Boing Boing and spins records at Black Sheep in downtown DSM. He co-founded Green Gravel Comedy in 2014.
Liz Rosa is a journalism student at Drake University, juggling class, freelancing and work while still finding time for creativity.
Nicole Yeager is a critical psych nerd, freelance writer and photojournalist from the Driftless, now based in Iowa City.
Sadie Jones is a multimedia journalist and Drake University student with bylines in Drake Magazine and the Times-Delphic
Sahithi Shankaiahgari is a freelance photographer and a lover of good coffee, travel and her dog, Jasmine.
Sam Locke Ward is a cartoonist and musician from Iowa City. He self publishes the comic zines Voyage Into Misery and ‘93 Grind Out
Sarah Elgatian is a writer, activist and educator living in Iowa. She likes dark coffee, bright colors and long sentences, She dislikes meanness.
Sara Williams is a multidisciplinary artist who was raised in Bondurant, Iowa. She currently resides near Amana.
Seth Coughlin is a multimedia journalism, magazine and brand media major at Drake University.
Skyler Gonzalez is a library worker and musician based in Iowa City. Catch him waxing Beatlemaniacal at Tuesday night Gabe’s jams.
Tiffani Zanotti-Green is a writer, devoted cat mom and crispy chicken sandwich connoisseur living in Iowa City.
Top Stories
Catch up on some of Little Village’s most-viewed headlines from the last month, and get the print edition delivered to your mailbox every month: littlevillagemag.com/subscribe.
Painter Marcia Wegman’s final exhibition includes nods to things & things & things, her beloved bygone Iowa City store
By Annie Gauger, July
3
Wegman first came to Iowa City in 1957. Now aged 90, the artist says her final show also serves as an homage to her time running a beloved retail store in the heart of Iowa City.
Polk City will pay almost $200,000 to paramedic fired over comments about Charlie Kirk
By Paul Brennan, July 16
An award-winning Iowa EMT sued after she was fired last year for Facebook posts in which she called Kirk a “bigoted prick.” She’s now taking home a $189,000 settlement, plus attorney fees.
Josh turek leads Ashley Hinson in one of two new election polls; Rob Sand beats Zach Lahn in both
By Paul Brennan, July
6
Collectively, Democrats Josh Turek, Christina Bohannan, Sarah Trone Garriott and Lindsay James raised nearly $2 million more than their GOP opponents this spring, according to reports.
With another record-breaking haul, Rob Sand widens fundraising lead; one gOP PAC donated 78% of Zach Lahn’s campaign fund
By Paul Brennan, July
21
Zach Lahn received 431 donations to his gubernatorial campaign between May 27 and July 14. Rob Sand reported 33,500 donations in that same period.
Diverse Collections:
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This issue of Little Village is supported by:
Adamantine Spine
Moving (69)
Agudas Achim
Congregation (17)
Autonomy Iowa City (61)
Bard (33)
Basta (29)
Black Magic Tattoo (33)
Brucemore (57)
Case Group Realty (43)
Cedar Rapids Czech Village/ New Bohemia Neighborhood (40-41)
- Moss
- Indigo River & Co.
- The Daisy
- Next Page Books
Cedar Ridge Distillery (32)
Cindy Clark, Realtor/ Owner (35)
Cole Services (14)
CommUnity Crisis Services (33)
Coralville Public Library (9)
Critical Hit Games (64)
Crooked Path Theatre (60)
Des Moines Highland Park/Oak Park Neighborhood
- Des Moines Mercantile
- The Slow Down
Des Moines Metro Opera (66)
Des Moines Public Library (9)
Dupaco Credit Union (45)
Feed Iowa First (23)
Field to Family (35)
FilmScene (58)
Grinnell College Museum of Art (66)
Hancher Auditorium (48)
Heartland Yoga (45, 63)
Hoefer Flaming (37)
Hot Spot Tattoo & Piercing (64)
Iowa City Communications (6)
Iowa City Downtown (62)
- Mailboxes of Iowa City
- The Green House
- Release Body Modifications
- Record Collector
- Revival
- Yotopia
- The Dandy Lion
- Micky’s Irish Pub
- Beadology
Iowa City Downtown District (2-3)
Iowa City Human Rights (51)
Iowa City Mutual Aid (27)
Iowa City Public Library (59)
Iowa City Northside Marketplace (10-11)
- Hare Parlor
- John’s Grocery
- Dodge St. Tire
- Oasis Falafel
- George’s
- Willow & Stock
- R.S.V.P.
- The Haunted Bookshop
- Bluebird Cafe
- Pagliai’s Pizza
- Northside Family Dental
- Artifacts
Iowa Public Radio (33)
Iowa Shares (55)
Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors (27)
Jimmy Jack’s (29)
KCCK Jazz 88.3 (60)
KRUI 89.7FM (63)
Kim Schillig, Realtor (17)
Linn County Conservation (68)
Lost Woods Music Festival (72)
Maharishi School (19)
Marshalltown Arts & Culture Alliance / Meet in Marshalltown (43)
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.
Letter to the editor: Where were the candidates at Iowa City Pride? (June 25)
We noticed that too, and thought that the parade would have been an important event for the candidates. Especially noticed the absence of Sand. —Scott G.
So shit on their campaigns and help the Republicans? This seems ridiculously self-centered. Who cares if they’re at the parade? Do we donate to campaigns to get our ego stroked? This is about basic civil liberties which are being attacked by the Republican Party. Can we please just support the people who aren’t monsters? Please? Please? —Henry W.
Sadly, what the letter writers say is true. However, it wasn’t just politicians who were
a no-show. There were businesses and civic groups that participated in prior years, only to conveniently forget. One group that is no longer allowed in the parade is the VA (US Dept of Veterans Affairs). They were always here until the recent regime change in DC, when, suddenly, no federal groups could recognize Pride Month. —Dave B.
Bohannan needs every Iowa City vote she can get and this is no way to do it. Stop taking Iowa City and the Pride community for granted. Candidates have made this mistake before and that’s how we ended up with Miller-Meeks. Johnson County and Iowa City are reliably Democratic but when an election in the past has been decided by 6 votes, you might want to earn as many here as you can, and that starts with people being excited to vote for you rather than
HAVE AN OPINION?
voting for you just because the alternative is worse. Right now that is what is happening. In order to find those extra six voters you have to actually earn our votes. —Laurie H.
They know they’ve screwed the gay community and are afraid to actually face us. Cowards. —Calista A.K.
I remember Phil Hemingway in the Pride March with his gay brother who still worked the family farm. Sand & Turek were not as brave as he was. —Kent W.
Class-action lawsuit alleges Hy-Vee has failed to pay overtime wages (June 29)
Of course they did. Not surprised by this at all. —Sandy R.
Yep worked there as a department manager. Staff got cut and I ended up working 60 plus hours with no overtime pay. I was making my margin goals and sales goals. —Olik N.
PUBLIC NUISANCE
SARA WILLIAMS
This gentle Tsunami was found earlier this summer as a stray cat with a limp. Vet staff found a BB pellet lodged in his shoulder, causing severe nerve damage and requiring his front right leg to be amputated. Tsunami recovered from surgery at a foster home, getting along great with the family’s other cats and senior dog while learning to navigate life as a tripod. This young adult cat is now ready to make a splash at a home of his own. If you can offer a calm, accessible space and many aggressive head pets, inquire about Tsunami at the Iowa City Animal Care & Adoption Center.
AMES, JULY 1
I was performing at a bar in Ames and you were in trucker hat watching me. I liked it but was too tired after the gig to say hi. And that your lil mustache is cute.
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
OAK PARK/HIGHLAND
HIGHLAND PARK/OAK
INTERACTIONS
I’ve been boycotting HyVee since they closed their First Avenue store in Cedar Rapids, thereby creating a food desert for local residents (many of whom don’t own cars) that depended on that location for access to fresh food, as well as the in-store pharmacy. HyVee is only interested in profit. —Karen S.
One more reason to not shop at HyVee. —Leslie A.G.
Yeah, so much for a friendly smile in every aisle! —James L.
Yet another example of why you should keep track of your worked hours! —Jayne
Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Costco are way better options for shopping and employment. —Lara M.
Planned Parenthood to close Iowa City Health Center — one of its last two clinics in the state (June 30)
Smh. Free contraception and STD screening just got removed from
a college town. —Steve W.
Heartbreaking. PP was such a valuable resource for my well women’s healthcare when I was poor and uninsured in college. —Erin S.
This will be tragic for women’s health. As a health care provider at a free clinic, I saw how demand skyrocketed in 2018-2020 after the initial attack. I doubt it will be at all feasible to even come close to filling the gaps that this closure will create. I encourage as many people as possible to donate to the Emma Goldman Clinic and/ or the Iowa City Free Medical Clinic to help keep their doors open to be able to provide women’s health screening tests, as well as the many primary care services that were provided at PP. —Cecilia N.
I’m so scared they’ll close the one in Des Moines. —Raven B.
American Misogyny. —Sam W.
The war on bodily autonomy continues… —Joe L.
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Des Moines
Highland Park/Oak Park Neighborhood
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Chef thyron Mathews, a decorated Iowa pitmaster, flew home from London at the end of June with new awards from the Fume BBQ Festival, which included a competition of dozens of the world’s best barbecue chefs. Mathews won Best New Dish and Best Overall Champion.
The self-proclaimed “meat mechanic” hails from Royal, Florida, “a historic Black farming town where families were once granted their 40 acres,” Mathews writes on his website. He founded T&T Barbecue with his wife Terrishane to bring “explosive” Southern flavors to their home in Oelwein, Iowa. The pair grew their catering company and food trailer into a line of “Thyron Mathews BBQ” barbecue sauces, seasonings and rubs—even jugs of Mop Sauce and handheld mops with which to apply it.
While his ribs with Mop Sauce are a big hit—Detroit Lions and Hawkeyes legend Jared DeVries called them the best he’s ever had— Mathew’s winning dish at Fume was “The Taste of Iowa,” billed as “A Midwest-inspired celebration of Iowa comfort food flavors,” featuring smoked pork belly and pork loin served over his Momma Pal’s Cream Corn.
Statistician, computer scientist and recently-retired University of Iowa mathematics professor Luke tierney will split a $1 million award after being named a laureate of the Rousseeuw Prize for Statistics, along with four other members of the R Core Team. Tierney and his colleagues have worked for more than 30 years to develop and maintain the computer programming language R. The free, open-source software arrived in 1993 and has been widely used for statistical computing and data visualization since—across media, pharmaceuticals and a range of other industries.
Freshly retired, Tierney said he’s not sure what he’ll do with his portion of the Rousseeuw Prize money, endowed by the King Baudouin Foundation of Belgium. “Primarily, I hope to put it back into supporting work on the R Project,” he told Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Iowa City made CNN Travel’s “America’s Best Towns to Visit 2026” list. In an article titled “The American city where almost everyone seems to be writing a book,” CNN’s Barry Neild interviews a number of local artists and business owners—including Little Village’s publisher. “Jordan Sellergren remembers being drawn here from Cedar Rapids to ‘hang out when we were kids, to smoke and buy hippy clothes’ and watch gigs at Gabe’s, a still-thriving rock venue whose stage once hosted Nirvana just before they blew up. These days she runs Little Village, a monthly news, arts and culture magazine that distills Iowa City’s easygoing spirit into print and distributes it far afield.”
INTERACTIONS
Two federal judges in Iowa rebuke ICE over ‘astonishing conduct’ and violations of court orders; ICE officer held in contempt (July 1)
Utter lawlessness in ICE and DHS. —Scott M. Until they start jailing & disbarring these people for their contempt nothing will change. —N.W.H.
The US is a fascist police state you can tell because literally the only solutions offered for anything ever are empowering the cops or their commanders in the rest of the “justice system.” —O.C.E.
Sioux Center egg producer and two other companies will pay $3.3 million and donate 53 million eggs to settle lawsuit alleging price collusion (July 1)
From 2022-2025. Remember Biden being blamed? —Jane
So this is what got Trump elected? —Pat
Painter Marcia Wegman’s final exhibition includes nods to Things & Things & Things, her beloved bygone Iowa City store (July 3)
My favorite store in Iowa City in the early 80s. My sister and I both purchased sets of wooden handled flatware that we still use. —Laura R.
What a beautiful story, I want to be friends with her! —Talya M.
I remember it well. In fact, I worked there one holiday wrapping gifts. —Barb P.
Marcia! I worked at THINGS for three years, 83-85….one of my favorite jobs ever….awesome store that literally had a little bit of everything. Love Marcia and her wonderful art…. —Brian K.
That was my favorite store for years!!!! —Denise J.M.
Best store Iowa City ever had! —Cherise C.
I’ve been a fan since the first car load of treasures came up from Mexico! —Larry O.
I loved the store and love her work. We own one of her paintings. It is so rich and beautiful. —Janelle R.
Terrific job capturing Marcia and the history of Things, Annie Gauger! —Gilbey S.
I loved Things, things, things…always treasure in there and the fortune teller was always a hit! —Erin M.H.
‘Anti-establishment’ candidate Zach Lahn celebrates (familiar) Trump endorsement, pledges to continue Gov. Reynolds’ work (July 13)
The copy-and-paste candidate! —K.M.M.
When you endorse someone it means you believe they are right for the job. “They won’t let you down” is his [Trump’s] endorsement tagline. I know nothing about Feenstra but it’s ridiculous to insinuate that backing the winner of the primary is disingenuous. —Randy C.
When Trump claims certain people “will never let you down”, it means they already have. —Gregory D.
When you’re so excited to be endorsed by a rapist-felon-pedophile, what does that say about you Zach?? —Jane S.Z.
Anti-establishment? Are Iowa republicans seriously that stupid to believe this shit???? —Jennifer O.
More like “anti-citizen” and common sense. Can’t be “anti establishment” when they control every level of every part of the government and are endorsed by the same PACS as every rich POS in the system. —Adam S.
Fly back to Kansas and stay there. Shame on you for thinking your big money backers will enable you to phone in the role of Governor of Iowa. —Ric H.
Iowa has 15,309 animal feeding operations, aerial mapping finds — thousands more than the state monitors (July 15)
Oh my god. That is so disturbing and another reason to get the hell out of that state. It’s a disgusting place and full of filthy water and now endless data centers. Way to go Republicans. —Sandy R.
Every dot on that map is a massive shit factory. Their biggest concern is how to be rid of it all, in case you are wondering why your water isn’t fit to drink, or why we’re sterilizing the Gulf of Mexico. —RJ S.
In Case You Missed It
Catch up on LV’s top arts stories from July.
‘Kamal’s,’ a new documentary about a Muslim chef and mayoral candidate in grinnell, shows at Des Moines Art Fest
By Ariana Martinez,
June 26
Review: Des Moines Metro Opera stages Steinbeck, corruption in Rome and a 100-year-old ‘mysterium’ for summer season
By Meghan Klinkenborg,
July 14
New Mary Oliver documentary inspires Iowa City orgs to celebrate a poet often disregarded in elite circles
By Nicole Yeager,
July 23
As other states have moved away from CAFOs, Reynolds has turned Iowa into the nation’s toilet. —Lisa M.
Shut them down. Make Water Great Again. —Craig Z.
No surprise there! When it comes to CAFOs, our government looks the other way.
—Elizabeth S.
Polk City will pay almost $200,000 to paramedic fired over comments about Charlie Kirk (July 16)
Excellent. Free speech stands. —Starz R.
Oh, really? Apparently you can make bank when white supremacist Charlie Kirk fanatics fire you for saying true things. —Nathan E.D.
Being self employed, I sure wish I had fired myself for my statements at the time. I’d be rich right now!! —Craig A.
It is what Charlie would’ve wanted. —Donald S.
Why were so many sensitive snowflakes firing their employees for telling the truth? —Tristan C.
Good! Except the taxpayers will cover
the bill and the idiots who made the decision will skate. —Jerry N.
Calling Chuckie a “bigoted prick” is really soft in the name calling business. What a bunch of wussies that work for Polk City. —Charles R.
I wish I loved anything as much as Republicans love spending my money on culture war nonsense
—Andrew D.
“EMT makes a couple year’s wages for saying the truth.” —Luke A.B.
Crazy how Rob Sand is silent about THIS government waste. —Kyle S.
Turek took in more money than Hinson over last reporting period; three of four Democrats running for U.S. House outraise Republicans (July 17)
Don’t worry. A million dollars from DJT’s network, and she’ll catch up in no time. The GOP playbook runs something like this. Wait until October. Then pour millions into TV ads, when independent voters start to notice there’s an election this year. —Jim B.
Josh does it the right way!!! —Jim C.
Can’t afford another Democrat soon to be Socialist! Vote Ashley! —Jerry A.
With another record-breaking haul, Rob Sand widens fundraising lead; one GOP PAC donated 78% of Zach Lahn’s campaign fund (July 21)
Its David vs. Goliath....and we all know who won that battle. “Lahn is the man for the job. Period.” —Nick K.
the man to run Iowa into the ground even more than what reynolds and branstad have done. —Toni B.
What is important to note about this report, is the number of individual IOWANS who believe enough in Rob Sand to make a donation, however small. Lahn is dependent on big money donors who are not even in Iowa. —Kris M.A.
His wife and father-in-law gave the campaign $7M+. —Dan C.
That’s actually less than I thought they’d give. —Madi M.
Iowa governor race. The only race about which I am optimistic. A VERY popular D with huge name recognition v a guy who lives in KS that no one had heard of who is related by marriage to the Kochs. —Maureen O.
Secretary of State Paul Pate gave Iowa voter data to the Trump admin. The Democrat running for Pate’s seat wants answers. (July 23)
It would be a miracle for anyone on the right to explain themselves logically at this point. —Geoffrey
Courts have ruled AGAINST giving thks info to them!!!!! WTF!!!!!! —Linda W.N.
Pate should be sued for violating the Constitution. —Paul J.
QUITE THE SPREAD
Bread & Butter always includes international restaurants, but this year’s dining guide is all about first- and second-generation immigrants expanding palates throughout central and eastern Iowa. (There might be some hot dog history in the mix, too.) Take a seat, peruse the menu below, and ¡buen provecho!
Grocery and Deli (Indian, Pakistani, Turkish, Middle Eastern, African, Eastern European, South and Central American) PG 30
Des Moines
Iowa City
Cedar Rapids
Marshalltown
Heavenly Asian Cuisine (Vietnamese) PG 22
Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery (Turkish) PG 24
Pammel
Annie’s Vietnamese Sandwiches Shop PG 30
Que Chimba (Colombian) PG 32
The Global Food Project PG 35
Global Greens PG 34
La Carreta Mexican Grill PG 27
The first factorymade franks PG 44
Community Fridges Near You
AEquitable Land Access Farm Business Incubator PG 37 Tapestry Farms PG 34
Menudo on the menu PG 38
Community Fridges Around Iowa Virtual Map Dubuque Quad Cities
The Midwest’s largest Marshallese community PG 40 Open Sesame (Lebanese) PG 25 ManilaBoy (Filipino) PG 26
s our leaders continue to fail us, food pantries and free meal programs are stretching further than ever to keep everyone fed. One tool in the frontline fight against hunger is the community fridge—a refrigerator and/or cupboard in a public space with food and household supplies available on a help-yourself, no-questionsasked basis. While the pickings are limited compared to a full food pantry, community fridges are open at all hours, have a small footprint and require no social interaction. Some are operated by nonprofits, others by libraries, churches and schools; some welcome you to take and leave nonperishable items like a Little Free Library, while others are stocked on a schedule by their host. Explore your nearest community fridge to see what’s inside and learn how you can help keep it full.
EAStERN IOWA
Iowa City Community Fridge, Wright House of Fashion, 910 S Gilbert St, Iowa City; Open 24/7
Wellington Heights Community Church, 1600 4th Ave SE, Cedar Rapids; Open 24/7 in spring and fall
Muscatine Community College, 152 Colorado St, Muscatine; Open during college business hours
The Minnie Fridge, 1220 Minnie Ave, Davenport; Open 10:30 a.m.6 p.m. every other Saturday
CENtRAL IOWA
Altoona Public Library, 700 8th St SW, Altoona; Open during library hours
DMACC Ankeny, 2006 S Ankeny Blvd, Ankeny; DMACC Urban Campus, 1144 7th St, Des Moines; DMACC Southridge Center, 1111 East Army Post Rd, Des Moines; Open during building hours
Sweet Tooth Community Fridge, HOME Inc. Parking Lot, 1618 6th Ave, Des Moines; Open 24/7
Community Youth Concepts, 1446 MLK Jr Dr, Des Moines; Open 24/7
North Des Moines Community Fridge, St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 5720 Urbandale Ave, Des Moines; Open 24/7
New Beginnings Christian Church, 8631 Hickman Rd, Des Moines; Open 24/7
Des Moines Central Library, 1000 Grand Ave, Des Moines; Des Moines Franklin Ave Library, 5000 Franklin Ave, Des Moines; Des Moines Southside Library, 1111 SW Porter Ave, Des Moines; Open during library hours
Carelon Health, 1530 E Euclid Ave, Des Moines; Open during building hours
Oakridge Neighborhood Services, 1401 Center St, Des Moines; Open during variety center hours
Commonbond Properties, 1440 E Grand Ave Bldg 1440, Des Moines; Open during community room hours
St Mark Neighborhood Fridge, St Mark Lutheran Church, 1105 Grand Ave, West Des Moines; Open 24/7
New Virginia Community Refrigerator, Jesus’ Right Hand, 413 West St, New Virginia; Open during office hours
Simpson College, McNeil Hall, North C St, Indianola; Open during building hours
Indianola Public Library, 207 North B St, Indianola Truro Public Library, 114 E Center St, Truro
Norwalk Easter Public Library, 1051 North Ave, Norwalk Lacona Public Library, 107 W Main St, Lacona Perry Public Library, 1101 Willis Ave, Perry Granger Public Library, 2200 Walnut St, Granger
Roy R. Estle Memorial Library, 1308 Walnut St, Dallas Center
Minburn Public Library, 618 5th St, Minburn Open during library hours
Redfield City Hall, 808 1st St, Redfield; Woodward City Hall, 204 Cedar Ave, Woodward; Open during city hall hours
New Opportunities, Inc., 2816 1st Ave, Perry; Open Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Calvary Assembly of God, 916 State St Dexter; Open during church hours
Vietnamese Restaurants
Don’t see you favorite spot on the list? Let us know: editor@littlevillagemag.com
Mapo Tofu with a side of rice from Heavenly Asian Cuisine. Sadie Jones / Little Village
Manna from Heaven
In continuing her parents’ 30-year restaurant legacy, Nhina Chau honors her own Vietnamese roots.
BY SADIE JONES
Nhina Chau, owner of Heavenly Asian Cuisine, will never put freezer-burned veggies in her egg drop soup. She crinkles her nose at the thought of it.
“I personally hate the smell of frozen peas and carrots,” Chau said, squirming in her chair.
Egg drop soup is a Chinese restaurant classic. The people of West Des Moines are used to having it with the frozen veggies, Chau explained. But her family has always made it with tofu.
“I’m educating some of our customers here, away from what they used to know and introducing them to something new,” she said. …
Chau’s great grandparents were born in China. They fled to Vietnam in 1938, after China was invaded by Japan at the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Years later, Chau’s parents met in Vietnam. They decided to settle there.
Chau’s aunt got married and moved to the United States. She convinced Chau’s father to follow suit. Foreseeing better opportunities for his five children in America, plus a better education in Iowa specifically, Chau’s father started the paperwork. She was 5 years old when she touched down in Iowa for the first time in 1980.
From 1970 to 1982, Iowa’s Asian population increased from 3,420 to more than 8,000. Not one Vietnamese person lived in Iowa in 1970, according to Matthew R. Walsh’s 2017 book The Good Governor: Robert Ray and the Indochinese Refugees of Iowa. Ten years later, Iowa was home to 2,476 Vietnamese people.
A variety of factors contributed to the rise of immigrants in Iowa. Some were fleeing the communist coalition that took power in 1975 in Vietnam. Some were escaping conflict in Laos and Cambodia. Others weren’t facing persecution, but were seeking better opportunities.
“I would hate to think about the money I’ve spent at Shang Yuen over the years,” Custis admitted. “It’s got to be 40 grand.”
He was heartbroken, to say the least, when Chau’s mother became ill in 2020, requiring Shang Yuen to hire new management and the menu to transform. A couple years later, Custis received word that a member of the Chau family had opened a new restaurant in West Des Moines.
On his first visit to Heavenly Asian Cuisine, Custis reunited with the Kung Pao chicken of his dreams. “As if nothing had changed,” he said.
He was partly right—Chau didn’t change the Chinese dishes. But everything else about Heavenly was different. …
Regardless of what brought them, Southeast Asian immigrants were shocked by the food in Iowa, according to Vinh Nguyen, a Vietnam War refugee who is now the president of the Vietnamese American Community in Iowa.
“We missed Vietnamese food so badly,” Nguyen said. A traditional Vietnamese meal includes rice, soup, a vegetable dish and a protein dish. However, Iowa’s restaurant scene mainly offered burgers and pizza.
“That’s why a lot of Vietnamese men at the time started learning how to cook, because [otherwise] we’d have to go for ramen noodles,” Nguyen said.
Chau’s family felt the same. “We would go out to a restaurant, we would taste it, and we’re like, let’s make this at home—and we can make it better at home.”
Her childhood kitchen was a lab, where she and her mom would test recipes. Chau did most of the prep work. Her mom made most of the sauces and marinades. When they were finished experimenting, they’d invite the aunts, uncles and cousins over for dinner.
Oftentimes, their loved ones would insist they sell the dishes at Shang Yuen, one of Des Moines’ first Asian restaurants. Chau’s parents opened it in 1990, on the corner of Merle Hay and Hickman Road.
Their Kung Pao chicken quickly became a staple in Des Moines resident John Dana Custis’ diet. He and his friends would get takeout, then watch The Simpsons. Even when he settled down and had kids, Shang Yuen was still a Sunday tradition.
Despite the encouragement at those family gatherings, Chau’s parents didn’t introduce Vietnamese food to the menu at Shang Yuen.
“You can tell what’s going to work and what’s not going to work,” Chau said. “You have to think: this is what people in Des Moines are used to eating, and you don’t try to make it too different.”
In 2023, Chau’s mother passed away. Chau took time off work, and traveled to China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, India, Dubai and France. It gave her a sense of empowerment to not only open a restaurant, but add her favorite Vietnamese dishes to the menu.
“Through my travels, and having a very vast experience in palate and taste, I feel that I have a good sense of what would be good to introduce to the market,” Chau said.
Her spiral menus, in addition to orange chicken and mongolian beef, list variations of pho, bahn mi and her current food-fixation, bao bao sliders.
She’s not too shy to sell her more experimental recipes. Chau offers two dozen different boba drinks. The Dragon Slayer layers tapioca pearls, mango and dragon fruit smoothie on top.
Chau has a strong client base after three years in business, but she’s reaching for the sky, hoping to grow and take chances.
“I want to introduce different cultures and traditions [to West Des Moines],” Chau said. “I want to make it good quality that people can enjoy.”
Le Crave, 14 S Clinton St, Iowa City; Sun 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Mon-Thurs 8 a.m.8 p.m.; Fri and Sat 8 a.m.-10 p.m.
Baklava N More Bakery, 401 IA-1, Iowa City; Sun 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Mon-Sat 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
Saj Grill, 23 S Dubuque St, Iowa City; Daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; 925 25th Ave, Coralville; Daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Mr. Shawerma, 1451 Coral Ridge Ave, Coralville; Sun 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Mon-Thurs 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Fri and Sat 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
The Halal Guys, 3220 Redhawk St, Coralville; Sun-Tues 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Wed and Thurs 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri and Sat 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m.
Pita Kabab, 3100 6th St SW, Cedar Rapids; Daily 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
O’s Grill, 3911 Center Point Rd NE, Cedar Rapids; Sun 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Mon-Thurs 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fri and Sat 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Pita’z Mediterranean and American Cuisine, 1057 N Center Point Rd, Hiawatha; Closed Sun; Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Plus Saporis Mediterranean Latin Cuisine, 4808 Forest Grove Dr, Bettendorf; Closed Sun; Mon and Tues 4:30-8:30 p.m.; Wed and Thurs 4:30-9 p.m.; Fri and Sat 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4:30-9 p.m.
Olive Tree Cafe, 2513 53rd Ave, Bettendorf; Closed Sun; Mon-Thurs 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m.; Fri and Sat 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.
L&B Gyros, 5009 Competition Dr, Bettendorf; Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-7:45 p.m. (Closed Mon); Fri and Sat 11 a.m.-8:45 p.m.
Gyro 600, 600 E Le Claire Rd Ste 3, Elridge; Sun 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
CENtRAL IOWA
The Green Olive, 524 SW 9th St Suite 116 and 4221 Fleur Dr, Des Moines; Sun 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; 1960 Grand Ave, West Des Moines; Mon-Sun 8 a.m.-9 p.m.
Open Sesame, 313 E Locust St, Des Moines; Closed Sun-Mon; Tues-Thurs 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5:30-8 p.m.; Fri and Sat 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5:30-9 p.m.
Olympic Flame Restaurant, 514 E Grand Ave, Des Moines; Closed SunMon; Tues-Sat 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Tarboosh Lebanese Kitchen Food Truck, 208 5th St, Des Moines; Thurs 4 p.m.-8 p.m.; 310 Court Ave, Des Moines; Sat 7 a.m.-12 p.m.
Mo’z Mediterranean Grill, 5954 Ashworth Rd, West Des Moines; Daily 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
With Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery, the Kayas brought one of the world’s oldest cuisines to their new home in Iowa.
BY JOHN BUSBEE
Michelle Kaya was reluctant to leave her Michigan home, where she had family, friends and a teaching career. But her husband Ahmet’s job in executive management necessitated a move to central Iowa. Early in the process, he was staying at a hotel near Jordan Creek Town Center. Michelle came to visit, and she wanted sushi.
“It was about 9 or 10 at night, and as we were entering the restaurant, two groups of girls [were] coming from different directions [from] where the sushi bar was, their obvious meet-up place. They were laughing and enjoying the moment,” Ahmet recalled. “Michelle looked at me and said, ‘That would never happen in Detroit.’ That’s when she quickly fell in love with Iowa.”
Ahmet had 30 years in the restaurant business, and both he and Michelle saw an opportunity to open something special in their new community. Ahmet decided to leave his corporate job. In February 2025, the Kayas launched Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery, a Turkish restaurant at 3281 100th St in Urbandale.
Little Village: Can you share how you decided to stay in Des Moines and set up your restaurant? Ahmet Kaya: I was an executive for a growing company, with growing travel demands. Their expansion to the East Coast pushed us to house-shop there. Michelle’s reaction was, “I am absolutely not leaving Iowa for the East Coast.”
There’s a hospitality in the Midwest, especially in Iowa. On the East Coast you don’t see that. I was traveling so much. Michelle said that I should find something to do local. I had experience and a background in the restaurant business.
Michelle and I have been married for 27 years. The first time I took her to Turkey, she fell in love with Turkish food. That inspired her to suggest, “Since we love Iowa so much, why don’t we bring something new to the community?”
Dubai Chocolate Cookie from Le Crave. Mara Cole / Little Village
How did the commitment to open Istanbul grill happen? We talked about opening a restaurant. I told Michelle, “I know the food is great, but it’s still risky.” Michelle then said something that really made a lot of sense to me: “Ahmet, don’t you think that [for] 99 percent of the restaurants in Des Moines, you already know what’s on the menu before you even pull into the parking lot? Wouldn’t it be really cool if people said, ‘Hey, let me surprise myself and treat myself to something different’?” I agreed, and that’s how we started the Istanbul Grill.
Can you talk about turkish cuisine? Turkish cuisine is probably one of the oldest cuisines in the world. We have a dish called Iskender Kabob, which is the Alexander Kabob, a dish that was first made for Alexander the Great when he was invading that part of the world. He was passing through the Byzantine Empire, so he asked the local chefs to make him a traditional meal. He really loved it, so
they named it after him. That dish has been passed down through the millennia, and we honor its legacy today at Istanbul Grill. Another favorite dish is Turkish Döner. Everybody confuses this with gyro, which is made out of the cheapest part of the meat. Our Döner is made from lamb loin, lamb leg and top prime sirloin.
With Turkish cuisine, you have to make everything fresh. The only frozen item we have is fries. Everything else is made fresh. People ask if our food is spicy. Not really. With Turkish food, you are supposed to taste what you eat—the meat, the vegetables, not the spices or sauces. Our meats, we marinate them at least 18 hours.
Are there any signature dishes at Istanbul grill? One is our mixed platter with seven different appetizers: a generous portion of hummus, baba ganoush, ezme, grape leaves, falafel and cheese rolls (sigara boregi). We have unique dishes like Sultan’s Delight (hunkar begendi), a sautéed beef served on eggplant over a creamy smoky eggplant puree. Our Turkish pizza (lahmacun) is flatbread baked with seasoned ground lamb and served with sliced onions, tomatoes and lettuce.
The Taste of Istanbul plate includes our top sellers: Turkish Dumplings, Sultan’s Delight, Turkish Meatballs, the Döner and the Turkish Pizza on one plate. It’s so big that we now list it as a meal for two.
Baklava is one of the world’s first desserts. We offer seven kinds.
On its socials, the Istanbul grill Cafe & Bakery shows a lot of love to its chefs. Can you talk about your culinary team?
Our executive chef [Chef Hasan] has a culinary degree. He has opened several Turkish restaurants in Dubai, France, Europe and England. We brought him here with his team. We’ve added experienced American chefs. We worked with our head chef to design the menu before we opened, doing about two months of testing the menu offerings.
Everyone’s a Winner
The name “Open Sesame” came to Mario Gazali in a dream, but the restaurant’s impressive menu and vibe come from decades of experience.
BY LIZ ROSA
You don’t know unless you try it. It’s cliché, sure, but it’s also the entire premise of Open Sesame, a Lebanese restaurant in Des Moines’ East Village that’s spent nearly two decades convincing Iowans there’s more to eat than pork tenderloin.
Imagine going all your life never experiencing crumbly and warmly spiced falafel, fried with a crisp shell that gives way to a soft, herby center. It’s tucked into pita bread that is slightly charred from the griddle, still warm and pliable. Fresh cucumbers and tomatoes are tossed in a creamy tahini sauce to round out the dish. And if you don’t know that taste… I pity you.
For 17 years, this Mediterranean spot has quietly held its ground in Des Moines, and after one visit, it’s easy to see why regulars keep coming back.
Walking into Open Sesame feels like stepping into a space totally beyond Iowa. The lights are low and rich jewel-toned tapestries hang from the ceiling like the top of a tent billowing down from one central point. The room feels close and warm; there’s a hush that makes conversations feel intimate. It’s moody, and there is an unhurried aura that invites you to sit and chat.
The man behind this beautifully decorated restaurant is Mario Gazali. Drake neighborhood diners of the last 40 years might recall Gazali’s Mediterranean, which closed in 2024, or any number of other restaurant projects Gazali has undertaken in the past.
He learned to cook from his mother, an unofficial teacher he didn’t fully appreciate until later in life, he said. Gazali would pretend to be sick to stay home from school to sit in her kitchen, peeling potatoes and quietly absorbing her cooking techniques.
“It’s like her recipes were transferred to me,” said Gazali, who has six siblings. “[It] registered in my mind for some reason.”
Istanbul grill Cafe & Bakery
3281 100th St, Urbandale
Sunday-Monday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
His East Village restaurant was originally called “Alibaba,” until a dream gave Gazali a different vision for the business. He saw a slot machine aglow with neon lights and billowing gold dust, the words “Open Sesame” printed on it. He woke up at 3 a.m. and called his girlfriend on the spot to say he was changing the name.
Nix Slater-Scott / Little Village
Manti from Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery.
Sahithi Shankaiahgari / Little Village
piece of pita bread. To this day, newcomers walk in hesitant, and leave surprised.
“They say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know food could taste like this,’” Gazali said.
He recommends the Lebanese sampler to begin. It gives you the opportunity to try several dishes like hummus, baba ghanoush and grape leaves. For a main, Gazali says the shawarma rice plate is a generous portion and one of their best dishes, with juicy marinated chicken and fresh toppings. I’d suggest finishing your meal with baklava. You can’t leave without trying the buttery, flaky pastry oozing honey and a pistachio filling.
This fall, Open Sesame will introduce more traditional Lebanese dishes to the menu, including a rotating lunch option.
If you’re looking to get out of the burgers and pizza rotation, Open Sesame will impress you plate after plate, in a room built for lingering.
Open Sesame
313 E Locust St, Des Moines
Tuesday-Saturday (lunch), 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Tuesday-Thursday (dinner), 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m.
Closed Sunday & Monday
Turo-Turo
This pop-up brings the mouthwatering aromas of a Filipino carinderia to Des Moines streets.
BY DIANNE ROSALES SIASOCO
op. Pop. Pop.
In late 2025, ManilaBoy food pop-ups started springing up everywhere in Des Moines: Horizon Line Coffee, RAYGUN, Crème, the Art Terrarium. They even made an appearance at the Little Book for Indie Bookstore Day this April. ManilaBoy isn’t popping out of nowhere. Chef and owner Earvin Idio and his family have been serving Filipino comfort food with a modern twist at the Downtown
Idio feels right at home at the market. It reminds him of the mom-and-pop street food vendors, called carinderias, found throughout the Philippines. These are outdoor, makeshift kitchens serving up flavorful comfort food in a fast-paced, turo-turo (“point-point”) format: customers point out their cravings among the various chafing dishes and buffet warmers. ManilaBoy is bringing the same warm and casual vibes to Iowa streets one temporary food event—and tempting food—at a time. Take Idio’s creamy ube banana pudding, made from the purple yam ube and layered with vanilla wafer cookies and bananas.
Through his food creations, Idio is on a mission to tell a story about his favorite spots in Metro Manila, which he describes as the “melting pot” of the Philippines. He tools his menu to reflect the complexities of flavors, spices and cultural influences within Filipino cuisine—the accumulated product of Spanish colonization, Mexican imports, Japanese occupation in World War II and 48 years as an American colony, followed by another 46 years of hosting major U.S. military bases (hello, Spam!), not to mention the region’s proximity to China, Malaysia and Indonesia. It’s a lot of history in a couple of bites. Idio came to Iowa in 2004 at age 18 and has been going hard ever since, often working two jobs at a time. He didn’t have a plan after graduating high school, but he did know that he missed Filipino
food. He called his mom and learned how to make it for himself.
One thing led to another. Idio went to culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Minnesota, then worked many odd restaurant jobs, landing a gig at 801 Chophouse in Des Moines in 2013. This is where Idio met his mentor, Brian Dennis, who gave him a loan to start his pop-up business.
“I love the idea of a farmers market. I’ve always gone to them and wanted to join them,” Idio said. “I thought, ‘I want to do this. I will do this.’ So then I did.”
He bought the basic equipment and tent, then went to work. He and his then-girlfriend, now-wife Kristi debuted their first booth in Des Moines’ Downtown Farmers’ Market in 2018. He paid back his loan to Dennis on the first day.
They kept going. They had their first child in 2019. When the pandemic hit in 2020, they converted their Beaverdale neighborhood garage into an outdoor kitchen. As prices went up, they moved to Cedar Falls to be with family, then moved back to the Des Moines metro in 2025, whereupon they opened their second booth at the market.
Even with all the time away, “It was as if we had never left,” said Kristi. It seemed that their customers were ready for them, too. They sold out of food at their first 2026 farmers market by 10 a.m.
In July 2026, many of the ManilaBoy staples were there: a Filipino breakfast sandwich stacked with longganisa (sweet and garlicky sausage), a fried egg and a hashbrown. Lumpia (spring rolls), Tocilog (slow-roasted pork belly and fried egg), garlic turmeric rice and ube banana pudding were also up for grabs.
By now, Idio believes Des Moines is ready to diversify its palate, and Kristi agrees. “We’re right where we need to be,” she said. They’re partnering with community spaces that are “contributing something positive” and share their focus on inclusivity.
The Filipino breakfast sandwich from ManilaBoy. Courtesy of ManilaBoy
Falafel on pita with a side salad dressed
The next ManilaBoy pop-up is set for Aug. 29 at the Downtown Farmers Market.
Idio claims his brain runs “100 miles per hour,” often with plans for the future. First, he wants to get his family to the Philippines for Christmas 2027. Second, in due time, he dreams of having a brick-and-mortar restaurant to turn his “side hustle” into something more sustainable for his family.
“This thing is bigger than me and even my family now,” he said. “Now is the time to bring Filipino food to the big stage.”
ManilaBoy
Downtown Farmers’ Market, Des Moines, Saturday, Aug. 29
Follow @manilaboyandco on Instagram for more ManilaBoy pop-ups
Something to Taco ’Bout
Restaurant owner Alfonso Medina has turned a viral moment into an international movement to defend human decency.
BY SEtH COUgHLIN
Inside La Carreta Mexican Grill in Marshalltown is a bulletin board with letters from supporters all over the world. A sticker on a server stand reads, “Racism and outside food not allowed.”
The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day but Sunday, serving everything from huevos rancheros and a vegan al pastor fajita to Fried Birria Ravioli and a six-pound Godzilla Burrito, not to mention Mega Monster margaritas in a dozen flavors.
Trees and farmland surround their location right off Iowa Avenue/Highway 30, originally built as a Pizza Hut in 1968. Today, it’s styled with a beautiful combination of brick, stucco and traditional tile work, leading out to a spacious patio shaded by umbrellas, trees and papel picado. The smells of freshly made Mexican cuisine permeate the air around the dining area.
When the tacos arrive, they’re wrapped in two tortillas. Biting into the delectable hand-sized serving of fresh chorizo, diced lettuce and onion, the crunch of the vegetables combines perfectly with the savory spiced meat that leaves a slight tinge of heat on the palate.
A neon sign blazes with the restaurant’s slogan of six years: “No Love, No Tacos.”
Toxic Taps and Cancer: Toxic Taps and Cancer: Iowa’s Water Quality Crisis Io a’s Water Quality Crisis
Thursday, September 3 at 6:30 pm Iowa City Public Library 123 South Linn Street
IOWA HAS THE SECOND HIGHEST CANCER RATE IN THE NATION. This meeting looks at the public health consequences of nitrate and other industrial agriculture pollutants in Iowa’s drinking water.
FARMING AND CANCER: ONE MAN’S STORY
Dan Voss
5th Generation Farmer of Linn County; 2026 Iowa Master Farmer; Cancer Survivor
Audrey Tran Lam
Environmental Health Program Director, Center for Energy & Environmental Education, University of Northern Iowa
THE CRITICAL NEED FOR REAL-TIME NITRATE MONITORING
Dr. David Cwiertny Director, Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination, University of Iowa
IMPACTS OF NITRATE & OTHER POLLUTANTS ON PUBLIC HEALTH
Co-sponsored by Little Village
FREE! (Donations welcome)
In August 2020, as protests against racial violence, police brutality and the first Trump administration raged across the country, La Carreta owner Alfonso Medina took a small stand. He planted a yard sign in front of his business— one of those black signs with multicolored statements stacked under the header “We Believe,” including “Black lives matter,” “No human is illegal” and “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
His wife, Vanessa Perez, called him brave, but at the time Medina didn’t think he was wading into controversy. Sure enough, complaints about the sign rolled in, from social media to La Carreta’s own mail slot. One anonymous letter called the sign a “piece of garbage” and “politically correct propaganda” that “insults and disrespects Christianity and America.”
Marshalltown sits in Marshall County, Iowa, which Donald Trump won handily in the last three presidential elections. At the same time, a third of Marshalltown residents are Hispanic or Latino, according to U.S. Census estimates.
Medina, a second-generation immigrant, doesn’t align with any particular political party.
“I’m affiliated with human decency,” he told Little Village. “That’s what I want to be affiliated with me: human rights, respect for thy neighbor, respect for human life, all rights of all people from wherever they’re from, all ages, sexes, you name it, any religion. That’s my affiliation. My political party is human decency.”
La Carreta was opened by Medina’s father Lupe in October 2000. Medina, an Iowa State University graduate, never intended to take up the mantle. But several years after the restaurant closed, Medina decided to rent the space from his father and restore it in his own image in April 2018.
Under Medina’s ownership, La Carreta has adopted one of the most plant-based, diet-friendly menus of any Mexican restaurant in Iowa. Vegan versions of cheese, chorizo, chicken, steak, tofu, mayo, ceviche and aguachiles are available, opening the menu wide to meat- and dairy-free customers. He credits this to his wife. Perez is a nutrition supervisor in the Marshalltown Community School District, and introduced him to the plant-based lifestyle.
“Whenever we were dating, I was vegan, and as we got to know each other more, I would let him know about the lack of vegan options and how restricted sometimes it could be,” Perez recalled. “He just thought, like, ‘OK, what can we source to sell at the restaurant?’”
In the face of a conservative boycott over his “We Believe” sign, Medina doubled down. “If others have the right to be vocal, so do we,” he posted on Instagram. “We’re sorry your burrito had to get political, but it was the only way y’all would listen. … No love, no tacos.”
The post took off, with supporters from Marshalltown and well beyond applauding Medina’s message. Many requested “No Love, No Tacos” T-shirts. Medina went a step further, copyrighting the phrase and making merch—shirts, hats, hoodies, stickers, yard signs—to benefit a scholarship fund for Marshalltown Community College he started in 2015.
yard sign, buying a nearby billboard and splashing it with his new slogan. The design was simple: “NO LOVE, NO TACOS” in white text on a black background.
remains a MAGA hotbed, but Medina said he’s only seen his customer base grow since 2020.
“I don’t know what they say in their house about me, but here has become a very loveydovey, peace-and-love place because of ‘No Love, No Tacos,’” Medina said. “I think everybody knows better than to come here and start something because we really do have the mic. We’ve had the mic for a while now, so now we speak about other things too, sometimes, here and there. Not all the time, but whenever we think it’s right, we jump in.”
He paid to put another message on the billboard in June 2024, “Make Tacos, Not War.” Medina told the Marshalltown Times Republic, “I’m not taking a political stance but, again, standing up for human rights and human decency,” citing Russia’s war on Ukraine and Israel’s genocide in Gaza. He drew attention to World Central Kitchen, a humanitarian organization that assisted Marshalltown residents
La Carreta Mexican Grill owner Alfonso Medina. Seth Coughlin / Little Village
Tacos from La Carreta. Austin Chadderdon / Little Village
after the August 2020 derecho. Seven of its workers were killed in an IDF drone strike on a deconflicted zone in Gaza on April 1, 2024.
Medina’s messages are still frequently met with backlash. He recalled the day a veteran sitting at La Carreta’s bar complained that a sign Medina had put up reading “Hate has no home here” in a plethora of languages was offensive because “Arabic is a language of terrorists.” Medina said he handled this instance just as he has all the others—by explaining his position. The customer did not return.
Overall, speaking his mind has proven a worthwhile marketing strategy, fundraising platform and even tourism campaign for Marshalltown. The movement has taken some creative turns, including a partnership with local tattoo studio Ink Factory to offer free “No Love, No Tacos” tattoos over a two-day event. There are currently 57 people with the tattoo, all entitled to 20 percent off food at La Carreta for life (while it’s still standing and under the management of Medina, at least).
In 2025, La Carreta’s federal trademark on “No Love, No Tacos” became official. Raygun partnered with the restaurant on products with the slogan in February.
Medina lives his principles in other ways. He closes La Carreta on Election Day and Labor Day while still paying his employees. He and Perez helped pay off $5,000 in local school lunch debt. In November, La Carreta hosted a pop-up in Marshalltown’s House of Compassion, serving 300 free meals “in loving memory of Lupe Medina,” his father. That same month, Medina accepted the Iowa Restaurant Association’s award for 2025 Philanthropist of the Year.
During the second Trump administration, Medina advocated for the release of the Epstein files, became an Iowa Public Radio sponsor and denounced ICE raids, posting, “Our people are not criminals. They helped build this nation. We demand an end to family separation and the targeting of hardworking, essential people—our neighbors, classmates, coworkers, and loved ones.”
Likeminded folks around the world sport Medina’s motto, and drive hours out of their way to order a meal from “The Home of No Love No Tacos,” as their Iowa Avenue sign declares. But La Carreta has the same focus as the past six—or 26—years: spreading love and tacos. There are just a few more signs up about it.
La Carreta Mexican grill
308 Iowa Ave E, Marshalltown
Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Closed Sunday
A Marketplace of Ideas
Gyros take on many forms at this deli and fan-favorite Ames grocery store.
BY KIRStEN KRAKLIO
Ahmad Manci doesn’t believe in selfpromotion or “propaganda,” as he calls it. So for almost 40 years, international students and Ames locals alike have found their way to Manci’s Pammel Grocery and Deli largely by word of mouth, be it a recommendation from a friend or the Iowa State University Reddit forums.
Manci opened Pammel Grocery in 1987, a few months after he graduated from ISU, to serve the Indian, Pakistani, Turkish, Middle Eastern, African, Eastern European, South and Central American communities. When asked about the value of having a grocery store such as his in Ames, Manci is humble. He says what his family does (Manci’s wife and daughter are also a regular fixtures at Pammel) is no different than Hy-Vee or Fareway.
His customers disagree.
“This is the only place to get groceries from back home,” said Shobhit Singh, a senior at ISU, who visits Pammel about once a week for South Asian ingredients.
In addition to a variety of shelf-stable and frozen goods, Manci also offers seasonal garden-fresh produce. Homemade signs on the front door offer
a quick peek at restocks and produce delivery schedules. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, chances are Manci can quickly tell you when to expect the next order and when to return.
But the grocery is only half of what Pammel has to offer. Snake past several rows of stocked goods into the back of the store and you’ll find a modest kitchen and seating area for patrons to enjoy samosas, kabobs, kofta, hummus, falafel, chicken shawarma, a classic cheeseburger and more. Gyros are a favorite menu item, served as a sandwich, dinner, salad or burrito. And for the sweet tooth, several baklava options are available. Chilled beverages including a variety of juices and teas can be found by the check-out to accompany your lunch.
Beyond the deli and grocery items, Pammel offers something that can’t be bought or sold: community. Regulars are known by face and order. Conversations between the Manci family and customers take place at the check-out, in the aisles and by the kitchen. Catch Manci at a rare quiet moment and he may even sit with you to discuss the meaning of life over lunch.
The halal restaurant has garnered 700 reviews and 4.6 star rating on Google. Manci may not believe in advertising or self-promotion, but his community is happy to do so on his behalf.
Pammel grocery and Deli
113 Colorado Ave Ste 133, Ames
Deli open Tues-Sat, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Grocery store open Tues-Sun, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Bánh mì, mi amor
Leave the pretzels for the mall. This Annie’s is all about fresh loaves, savory flavors and lunchbreak-friendly service.
BY JORDAN SELLERgREN
Bánh mì became a street food staple in Vietnam in the 1950s, about a century after French imperialism brought the baguette to the country. The sandwich took off in the states in the 1980s and you can find them in several places around Iowa––Pho Real Kitchen and Bar, Zavy Kitchen, TNT Vietnamese Restaurant and Pho Viet Restaurant in the Des Moines metro; Pho & Tea in Ames; Viet Thai Star in Pella; Viet-Thai Taste in Newton; Yummy Bánh mì in Hiawatha; California Pho and Rozz-Tox in the Quad Cities; and Iowa Pho, Nodo and Annie’s Vietnamese Sandwiches Shop in the Iowa City area. (See the list on pg. 22.)
Annie Duong, a native of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, and her husband Travis Duong opened Annie’s last September because they wanted to provide the most authentically Vietnamese bánh mì
Hummus topped with meat, pickles and tomatoes from Pammel Deli in Ames.
Kirsten Kraklio / Little Village
Pammel Grocery and Deli in Ames. Kirsten Kraklio / Little Village
experience, using bread that’s baked in-house every day. The couple have lived in Iowa City for 15 years, and soon celebrate their first year in the restaurant business in a little spot facing Gilbert Street with oversized photos in the windows.
The menu is no-nonsense: sandwiches, egg rolls, spring rolls and a few drinks. Bánh mì start at $8 with a choice of fillings—Vietnamese ham, braised pork belly, Char Xiu pork, breaded fish or tofu—all served on fresh, cruchy bread with vegetables, cilantro, mayonnaise and sweet hoisin sauce (with vegan options available).
In a nonstop world teeming with choices that clutter our psyches day after day, a brief menu and a small storefront––just an open kitchen, a counter to place your order and three stools by the window––can be a real breath of fresh air.
My order: One #2 Char Siu Pork Sandwich (Bánh Mì Thịt Xá Xíu) with pâté (optional), served with cucumber, jalapeño, carrot, pickled radish, cilantro and sauce on the side. Flaky bread, crunchy vegetables, tasty proteins, a nice sauce and no extravagancies, wrapped in paper and out the door in three minutes flat, plus one Vietnamese Black Milk Coffee to go.
Annie’s Vietnamese Sandwiches Shop
221 S Gilbert St, Iowa City
Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Closed Sunday & Monday
Báhn mì from Annie’s Vietnamese Sandwiches Shop. Jordan Sellergren / Little Village
¡Que chimba!
The tight-knit family behind Iowa City’s only Colombian restaurant serves great food fast, but you’ll want to linger.
BY tIFFANI ZANOttI-gREEN
One of Iowa City’s newest restaurants is so great, they put it in the name. Que Chimba Colombian Street Food opened in the Old Capitol Town Center in March. Que Chimba is a colloquialism that translates to “That’s great” or “That’s awesome,” and the restaurant lives up to its name in more ways than one.
Que Chimba has two storefronts: a walk-up window on Clinton Street and a counter inside the mall. On the day I stopped in, the restaurant was staffed by owner Alejandra Garavito and her father Orlando. The restaurant is a family affair, with Alejandra and her husband, her parents, her siblings and their spouses all working together to run it.
Alejandra has lived in Iowa City for six years. She followed her parents, who made the move from Colombia to Iowa a decade ago. Running Que Chimba, Alejandra and Orlando exude the warmth and closeness of close family in their small asides. Both were eager to tell me that the colorful mural on the restaurant’s wall was painted by Alejandra’s cousin, a lawyer turned painter. The space is as warm as its owners. In addition to the mural, the walls are papered with greenery, and a mounted TV plays Spanish-language music videos. You place your order via a tablet at the entrance. You can see into the open kitchen from the counter where you pick up your food, and if time allows, chat with the person making your order. While Alejandra cooked, we talked about reggaeton artists we both love. She told me she watched her favorite movies in English to learn
the language, and how the family makes sure to regularly visit relatives still living in Colombia.
Que Chimba’s menu offers variety without being overwhelming, with options for both vegetarians and carnivores. This was my first time trying Colombian food, so I opted for a few different items. A carnivore myself, I ordered a beef arepa, chicken empanadas and beef patacón.
The arepa was an open-ended pocket made of corn and stuffed with shredded beef, cheese and sauce, not unlike a gordita or a pupusa in structure. The beef was moist and tender and the aji verde and salsa rosado on top lent a creamy saltiness. The empanadas were a crispy dumpling filled with flavorful shredded chicken and served with more aji for dipping. The patacon featured a fried plantain disc topped with shredded cheese and aji and salsa rosado.
The combination of crispiness and creaminess was present in every dish, and the resulting silky texture when you take a bite is as important to the food as the bright flavors. The servings are akin to small plates, allowing you to try a few things and still end up with leftovers. And importantly, the food is just as good the next day as it is fresh.
Que Chimba is a microcosm of Iowa City and the U.S. at their best. Delicious food and friendly service, yes. But also the realization of a family’s dreams, a product of their hard work and an example of the beauty that results when newcomers share what they love about their homelands with their community. It truly is great.
Que Chimba owner Alejandra Garavito and her father Orlando. Tiffani Zanotti-Green / Little Village
Que Chimba Colombian Street Food
Patacón from Que Chimba.
Tiffani Zanotti-Green / Little Village
Garden State
Take a tour of Iowa nonprofits making fertile land available to immigrants, refugees and underserved farmers.
BY EMMA McCLAtCHEY
Iowa has farmland in abundance, but astonishingly little of that land is used to grow food for humans—especially not food for Iowans. It’s too bad, because the state is full of folks with the skills and desire to nourish their community, and support their family in the process. Many of these would-be farmers are immigrants and refugees hailing from rural areas of Sudan, Burundi, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Syria, India, China, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Somalia and beyond.
Fortunately, Iowa nonprofits have found clever ways to connect these neighbors with a patch of topsoil, a few tools and a hungry public. Incubator farms from Davenport to West Des Moines go beyond the community garden model to provide free or low-cost leases on small plots of land, as well as access to the resources needed to cultivate it, and opportunities to sell their yield at local markets.
The leased land may be owned by the nonprofit, the local government or residents with yard space to spare. In most cases, farmers are turning unused patches of dirt into verdant sources of veggies, fruits and flowers.
tapestry Farms
Davenport nonprofit and urban farm system Tapestry Farms was founded in 2017 by Ann McGlynn, director of communication at St. Paul Lutheran Church, who grew up on a farm in Clinton County. McGlynn and fellow volunteers partnered with refugee families to cultivate gardens across a dozen locations in the Quad Cities.
The resulting produce is delivered to a network of local food pantries and subscribers of their Summer CSA. It’s also sold at the QC Farmers’ Market in Rock Island (Saturday, 8 a.m.-noon) and the Bettendorf Farmers’ Market (Monday and Thursday, 2:30-5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m.-noon).
You can sign up to receive a monthly flower bouquet from Tapestry Farms, or a baklava subscription, which buys you 48 servings of the Mediterranean pastry, “handmade in small batches by refugee neighbors using a traditional Arabic recipe.” Other Tapestry clients roast coffee and work on sewing projects.
Founder and executive director Ann Glynn won the World Food Prize Foundation’s Robert D. Ray
A vendor explains how to prepare the sour roselle leaves she’s selling at a Global Food Project Farmers Market hosted at Great Plains Action Society’s Resilience Hub in Iowa City on July 23. Kellan Doolittle / Little Village
Iowa SHARES Humanitarian Award in July 2025. In her acceptance letter, Glynn critiqued current state and federal policies towards refugees. “The resettlement program inspired by Gov. Ray, which has brought more than 3 million refugees to safety in the U.S., is indefinitely paused. Governmentfunded food programs—including SNAP and the incredible Local Food Purchasing Agreement that fed people with locally grown and nutrient-dense foods—are being slashed.”
She encouraged Iowans to reach out to their elected officials, befriend their immigrant and refugee neighbors, and plant a garden. “Give the
produce to someone facing nutrition insecurity,” Glynn said. “We are absolutely surrounded by food-growing potential.”
Another way Tapestry taps into that potential is GIFT Gardens (Growing IlIowa Food Together). Through the program, local gardeners pledge a portion of their summer harvests to pantries and hunger relief agencies. They ended their first season in fall 2025 with more than 80 volunteers donating 64,063 pounds of fresh produce.
global greens
Like Tapestry Farms, Global Greens’ first clients
hailed from the small East African country of Burundi, where more than 85 percent of people are farmers—and access to fertile land is increasingly limited due to population growth and the effects of climate change.
The program was launched in spring 2011 by refugees and staff with Lutheran Services in Iowa. Partnering with the City of Des Moines, private landowners and volunteers, LSI’s Global Greens connects former refugee families with small plots near their homes, and maintains an 8.5 acre incubator farm in West Des Moines. Staff and volunteers provide training and assistance, whether clients are beginner farmers or simply new to farming in Iowa.
As their gardens expand, growers can upgrade to larger plots. More than 20 families are currently Global Greens clients, and many make their living through the leased land.
The growers’ yields are sold at the Global Greens International Market (Saturdays, MayOct, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 1907 Carpenter Ave, Des Moines), which accepts SNAP/EBT. The program’s CSA has 263 shareholders as of early 2026.
“We grow vegetables that are common in Iowa and unique to our farmers’ home countries, offering the opportunity to eat global while staying local,” LSI Bilingual Community Associate said of Global Greens’ CSA, which boasts large portions of “chemical free produce” along with storage tips, recipes and treat samples, such as chocolate zucchini muffins.
the global Food Project
The Johnson County Historic Poor Farm in west Iowa City plays host to three incubator programs for the agriculturally inclined: the county’s Land Access Program, which leases plots to six small growers at a time; Grow: Johnson County, an initiative of Iowa Valley RC&D using six acres of the Poor Farm for farmer training and growing fresh produce for food pantries, school lunches and senior centers; and the Global Food Project, which “connects newly arrived and established residents through gardening” across 100 plots.
The Global Food Project also has low-cost leases with 12 established growers. Lessees can utilize a large shelter, greenhouse, tractor, cooler and wash area onsite. Members of the public can sponsor plots for $150 each.
Founded in 2016, the org was absorbed by the nonprofit IC Compassion in 2020.
The project’s clients supply an international farmers market held at the Historic Poor Farm (4811 Melrose Ave, Iowa City) on Saturdays, 3-5:30 p.m., which accepts SNAP/EBT and WIC.
This month and next, Global Food Project is also hosting a special series of markets in collaboration with Great Plains Action Society, an Indigenousled nonprofit focused on first foods. GPAS is in the process of cultivating its own urban farm at
CINDY CLARK
In Rotation
Incubator farms are a sandbox—if that sandbox was full of fertile soil and eager pollinators. Clients of the above orgs grow many fruits, veggies and flowers beloved by Iowans, including tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, microgreens, watermelon, peaches, sunflowers, onions, radishes, beets, zucchini, squash, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet peppers and hot peppers.
Other crops favored by international farmers may be brand new to the born-andraised Midwesterner. Before heading to an international market, brief yourself on 15 types of produce you’re likely to find.
African eggplant: Closely related to the eggplant, but typically round and white, this tropical fruit thrives in humidity. It’s crunchy, mildly bitter and dense in nutrients, as are its leaves. Solanum macrocarpon is used throughout West and Central Africa as a treatment for toothaches, throat pain, parasites, wounds and more, and is a staple of cuisines from Nigeria to Vietnam.
Armenian cucumber: Actually a melon, this snakey, heat-resistant fruit tastes like a cucumber, with an even crunchier texture. It has a different name in most every country: varunk in Armenia, kakadi in North India and tar in Arabic-speaking countries, to name a few.
Bitter melon: This warty, bittertasting fruit is typically cooked in the green or early-yellow phase, and is a staple of stir-fries and curries across Asia, and beyond.
are now a fixture of Southern U.S. cuisine and farmed in East Africa, Zimbabwe, Europe, Brazil, Kashmir and beyond.
Daikon: Also called mooli, this crisp white radish comes in all shapes and sizes, but is often long and stout. It’s native to East Asia and used in a variety of Asian dishes—shredded, pickled and even baked into cakes (e.g., China’s chai tow kway).
Epazote: This herb, a.k.a. wormseed, is native to the Americas, and has a singular flavor and aroma with notes of oregano, anise, fennel, citrus—even turpentine or mint. High in terpenes, epazote may serve as a natural pesticide in your garden. It’s used to season black beans, huitlacoche (corn smut), soups, tamales, teas and more.
Cilantro: The coriander plant (cilantro, in Spanish) is native to the Mediterranean Basin, but its fresh-tasting—for most people—leaves have become a staple in Peruvian, Mexican, Indian and South East Asian cuisines.
A relative of cabbage, kale and broccoli, collards boast thick, loose leaves 8 to 10 inches long. Their slightly bitter taste is optimal when harvested after the first frost. Grown in Ancient Greece, collards
The greens and berries of this non-toxic African nightshade are highly nutritious, if bitter before cooking. Also known by its Swahili name mboga buchungu, the plant is in the potato family and pairs well with tomatoes, onions and, you guessed it, potatoes.
Lenga lenga: are nutritious leafy weeds with dozens of varieties around the world, often referred to as pigweed. Lenga lenga is an amaranth species grown in Central and East Africa, typically cooked and served alongside meat, fish and rice, not unlike spinach or collards.
Matembele: These sweet potato leaves are packed with vitamins and minerals, and grow heartily in Central and East Africa. A Congolese staple, matembele is often stewed and served with fufu, rice and chicken.
also a good weed suppressant and phytoremediator, helping remove hazardous heavy metals from the soil.
Okra: A key thickener in Louisiana gumbo, okra is a gooey seed pod native to East Africa and rich in vitamins C and K. Fried okra is common throughout the U.S. South, Puerto Rico and Cuba, and the pods are used in traditional Dominican and Brazilian dishes.
Quelites: Any number of wild, edible greens that thrive alongside corn, squash, peppers, coffee and other crops are referred to in Mexico as quelites. This broad category can include coriander, epazote and pápalo, all great garnishes and cooking components.
Roselle: Also known as ngai ngai, Florida cranberry and Jamaica sorrel, this sour-leafed plant is native to Africa and grown around the world. Roselle leaves, or chin baung ywet, are one of Myanmar’s most popular vegetables, as common as spinach in soups and stirfries. The flowers impart a cranberry-like flavor and vibrant red color to Mexican agua fresca, as well as AfricanAmerican “red drink,” an evolution of West African hibiscus tea commonly toasted on Juneteenth.
Mexican husk tomatoes loomed large in Mayan and Aztec culture. They grow in all altitudes, tolerate a range of soils and can be harvested at various stages of ripeness. Picked earlier, the husk-wrapped fruits are more tart—ideal for salsa verde and green sauces. Picked later, they make
Mustard greens: The Brassica juncea plant has a bold, sharp flavor with a spicy twist. Its seeds are used to make brown mustard, while the leaves are common in African, Nepali, Punjabi, Taiwanese, Chinese and Japanese cooking, as well as African-American soul food. Mustard is
Emma McClatchey / Little Village
their Resilience Hub near downtown Iowa City. GPAS will join the Global Food Project’s market on Saturdays through Sept. 26, while Global Food Project will table at the GPAS Hub (810 Maiden Ln) on four upcoming Thursdays: Aug. 6 & 20 and Sept. 3 & 17, 5-7 p.m.
Equitable Land Access Farm Business Incubator
Feed Iowa First is currently accepting applications for the 2027 edition of their farm business incubator program. If accepted, applicants get access to a third of an acre on FIF’s well-supplied rural Marion farm for a mere $150 annual fee, with opportunities to expand to a full acre over the program’s three to five years. The goal: turn beginner farmers into established small business owners capable of running their own operation.
The program is part of Feed Iowa First’s 15year mission to address food insecurity in Linn County and distribute free, fresh produce. (Their Veggie Van comes in handy for the latter.) The nonprofit partners with Cedar Hills Community Church in Cedar Rapids to make 35 garden plots— and volunteers to help tend them—available to interested local gardeners. Many immigrant families choose to get their hands dirty.
One participant in this Community Agriculture program, Bertin Nduwayezu, grew sweet corn, beans and spinach while helping translate for Kirundi and Swahili speakers. In March, he was selected for the Farm Business Incubator program. Nduwayezu has added eggplant, bell peppers, onions and greens to his repertoire, and calls his new operation We the Farm Family.
Meanwhile, Black Earth Gardens owner Mari Hunt Wassink is looking for a permanent plot after incubating on a half acre of the FIF farm since 2021. She describes Black Earth Gardens as a “regenerative farm growing produce to increase justice in our community.” A Coe College grad, Wassink sells shares in a CSA that includes okra, collard greens, mustard greens, oats, hot peppers, winter rye and more, accepting SNAP/ EBT and the state’s Market Nutrition Program vouchers. She also operates a mobile market to meet senior citizens where they are. Wassink and her vision for Black Earth Gardens won NewBoCo’s EntreFest pitch competition and its $7,500 grand prize in 2025.
She and other Equitable Land Access Farm Business Incubator program participants will be celebrated at Global Graze, a Feed Iowa First fundraiser on Sept. 17 at the Olympic South Side Theater. Local chefs will use the produce grown in Marion to make dishes inspired by international street food. Sponsors include the Map Room, Saatvik Swaad, the Hip-Stir, Big Grove, Black Sheep Social Club and Rhubarb Botanicals.
Make Menudo at Home
Like a lot of immigrant moms, mine runs fast and loose with ingredients, cooking times and servings. Questions were asked, Spanish transcribed and lots of shit-talking about “other people’s” Menudo omitted to produce the following recipe. Think of it as a general template from which to build and iterate.
Menudo isn’t too complicated, it just requires a long cooking process and, according to some, can be kind of stinky during the first few hours of cooking. Crack open some windows and have at it—menudo is worth it!
Main ingredients
• 4 lb beef honeycomb tripe (vacuumsealed, never canned)
• 1 lb cut beef feet
• 50 oz canned hominy (cans can usually be found in 25 oz sizes. Get as many as you’d like)
• 2-3 Tbl dried oregano
For the broth:
• 8-7 whole dried guajillo chiles
• 2-3 Tbl garlic powder
• Salt to taste
Garnish to taste:
• White onions, finely diced
• Jalapeño
• Limes, quartered
Special cooking utensils needed
• Large fine mesh strainer
• As big a stock pot as you got
• Blender
First things first
• Put the tripe and beef feet in your stock pot and fill with water.
• Cook on high for 20 minutes then either cook on medium for three to four hours or low for eight hours. Either way, cook until the beef feet are soft.
• While the pot is cooking. You can prepare the puree for the broth.
• Put the guajillo chiles, garlic powder and salt in a blender, cover with water and blend.
After the allotted cooking time:
• Pour the puree through a large, fine mesh strainer into the pot.
• To add the dried oregano, rub it between your hands and drop into the pot.
• Add the hominy about 10 minutes before serving.
To serve
Menudo is a choose-your-own adventure when it comes to individual servings. When ready, ladle out the tripe, broth and hominy in a combination that makes sense. Some like a tripe-heavy bowl, others prefer lots of hominy. Find out what you like. Garnish with onion, jalapeño and/or lime juice to taste. Enjoy!
—Chuy Renteria
Menudo on the Menu
Call ahead to be certain the soup’s on!
EAStERN IOWA
Amigos Mexican Cuisine & Cantina, 1415 E San Marnan Dr, Waterloo; 319-232-6669, amigoscuisine.com
La Peña Mexican Restaurant, 2010 Indianola Ave, Des Moines; 515-343-4116, facebook.com/ LaPenaMexicanRestaurant
Menudo para el mundo
This “soup of the poor” is as satisfying as it is strange.
BY CHUY RENtERIA
On a recent Sunday morning visit to my parents in West Liberty, my mother, an immigrant from northern Mexico, asked me if I wanted some menudo. I was confused at her question, as there was no tell-tale evidence that she had been cooking the soup for the last eight or so hours. Absent were the aromatics that spread throughout the house, or the heat that comes from leaving a pot to simmer overnight.
Instead, she had her cell phone in hand, ready to call in an order. It was a gesture that, as a firstgeneration kid, was completely foreign to me. She might as well have been holding up a banana and asking if we wanted to fly up to the moon. But after the initial shock dissipated, I thought about the magical rejuvenating qualities of the dish. The saltiness and spice of the deep-red broth, the satisfying snap of bite into a spoonful of hominy and, yes, even the soft, rubbery bites of tripe that define and give the dish its infamy.
And I thought, let me taste this menudo my mom is willing to order out for.
We ordered two bowls of menudo from Puebla Mexican Restaurant, located on West Liberty’s main street since 2017. For full disclosure, I’ll mention that my mom’s sister, Irma De La Paz, runs Puebla with her husband. But if I could offer an argument against potential bias, I’d cite the competitiveness within most any big family with multiple kitchen-savvy siblings. No, if anything, it’s even more remarkable that my mom chose to order from her sister rather than make a pot herself.
Either way, our servings came in big takeout order cups, steaming hot. We poured them out into bowls and, though I may regret saying this the next time I sit down to eat with my mother, I’d be hard pressed to find any discernable difference between Puebla’s menudo and the menudo I grew up with. Present was the broth made from dried guajillo and ancho chiles and the multiple versions of tripe that come from different parts of an animal’s stomach chamber, smooth and honeycomb.
Accompanying our bowls were little makeshift packets of lime, diced onion and jalapeño, as you are meant to individually garnish your bowl to your liking. One thing that was missing were the kernels of hominy that I grew up with in our menudo. It turns out that corn treated in an alkaline solution isn’t on everyone’s menudo prerequisite list. We had some extra cans of the stuff from our local Mexican tienda, and added as needed.
Despite this small omission, our menudo was as delicious as any bowl of the stuff you could make. Replace me with the old dude from Ratatouille, eating a spoonful and portaling through memories of the soup from my childhood. Let’s talk about this quintessential Mexican dish.
Menudo is a many-hundreds-year-old soup that is, at once, a thing of legend and derision for its use of tripe, the intestinal lining of pigs or the stomach lining of a ruminant like a cow or sheep. The question of when tripe was first used and, in essence, when and where menudo was first made, is unknown. According Nuestra Stories, this is due to the fact that the dish “was never one specific recipe, nor did it come from one specific place. Known as una sopa del pobre, a soup of the poor, it is said that menudo was invented during the prerevolution era of Mexico as a way to ensure that no part of the animal was wasted.”
The menudo Wikipedia page heavily implies the soup is derived from Spanish cuisine. Other sources say indigenous groups in Mexico were already using tripe and the cooking techniques the dish requires.
The truth is probably that the menudo is a product of indigenous and colonial influences, shaped by people who had to make the most of the livestock on hand. Rather than discard the stomach lining and intestines, people across millennia have been partaking in the hours-long process of breaking down and flavoring the offal. With some heavy flavoring and accoutrement, the soup has been a staple in Mexican culinary traditions.
You see, menudo is a folk cure for la cruda, also known as the hangover state that afflicts many party-goers after a night of drinking. Since a lot of those nights fall on a Saturday, menudo became the go-to Sunday morning panacea for those poor, dehydrated souls that balled too hard the previous evening.
Which is not to say that it hasn’t had detractors, or permutations that would be easier for an unfamiliar palette to stomach. There is a somewhat unofficial debate that runs from family to family, region to region—do you do menudo or pozole? Pozole is something like a cousin of menudo, the key difference being that pozole is cooked with beef, resulting in a dish that’s something like a Mexican beef stew.
Here’s another thing about menudo that has less to do with historical significance and more with its place in modern culture. You see, menudo is a folk cure for la cruda, also known as the hangover state that afflicts many party-goers after a night of drinking. Since a lot of those nights fall on a Saturday, menudo became the go-to Sunday morning panacea for those poor, dehydrated souls that balled too hard the previous evening.
More than a mere soup, menudo is a Mexican soul food that takes your tastebuds on a trip back in time. It’s a dish you should try at least once in your life, whether you gather some courage and make a batch yourself, or do like we did and call up your local Mexican restaurant. Either way, menudo may just cure what ails ya.
JUDY COLLINS & BRUCE COCKBURN
AUG 26
GIN BLOSSOMS
AT HY-VEE AMPHITHEATER FRIDAY, SEPT 11
A tripe-forward bowl of menudo from Puebla Mexican Restaurant.
Chuy Renteria / Little Village
MARIA BAMFORD
Tough as a Coconut
Displaced and sickened by U.S. nuclear testing, Iowa’s largest concentration of Pacific Islanders came from the Marshall Islands to make their home on the Mississippi.
BY NICOLE YEAgER
On May 23, government officials from the Republic of the Marshall Islands traveled 6,000 miles to commemorate their country’s Constitution Day in Dubuque. The Iowa city has gathered to mark the Marshallese holiday since 2005.
“Today is more than a national celebration,” Isaac Zackhras, Vice Speaker of the Marshall Islands’ parliament told the crowd in Dubuque. “It is a reminder who we are, as the Marshallese people. A people of strength, resilience, faith and unity. Many of us are separated by ocean and distance.”
The Marshallese have a unique legal status in the United States that allows them to stay indefinitely, without a visa or citizenship. It’s a recompense, in
part, for the U.S. military bringing armageddon to the nation’s doorstep 80 years ago.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is built upon the remnants of long-dormant volcanos, made up of 29 atolls (ring-shaped island chains with massive lagoons inside) and five main islands in the great expanse of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines, just north of the equator and east of Micronesia. The entire land area of the republic is only 70 square miles, and is home to about 37,500 Marshallese.
People have lived on the archipelago for millennia, but they’ve been at the mercy of British,
American, German and Japanese colonial forces for nearly 250 years. The U.S. government took control of the Marshall Islands during WWII, and soon found a way to exploit them.
Two atolls, Bikini and Enewetak, were selected as nuclear test sites. Residents were forcibly relocated by the U.S. military, though many went willingly, trusting American assurances that the evacuation was temporary and the tests were “for the good of all humanity.”
From July 1, 1946 to Aug. 18, 1958, 67 nuclear weapons were detonated in and near the atolls’ lagoons, some of them more than 1,000 times stronger than those used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sea beds were cratered and radioactive debris rained down on the region. The infamous Castle Bravo
hydrogen bomb test over Bikini on March 1, 1954 caused radiation burns, hair loss and illness for Marshallese people living more than 100 miles away on the Rongelap, Ailinginae and Rongerik atolls. The long-term effects spread far further.
Whole island chains were rendered uninhabitable because of the testing. Soil, vegetation and animals became dangerously irradiated. Cancer rates soared. Miscarriages, stillbirths and devastating birth defects were common. All these hazards remain generations later. Meanwhile, rising sea levels caused by climate change threaten to destroy what little radiation mitigation has been done.
The islands are among the most vulnerable in the world to rising sea levels. Some are projected to be totally submerged by 2100. The government of the Marshall Islands began to sound the alarm of rising sea levels soon after joining the United Nations in 1991, and continues to advocate for swift action to address climate change. Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation, one of NOAA’s climate change research projects, estimated in a recent report that 25 to 45 percent of Marshall Islands residents are experiencing health issues stemming from climate stress.
Coconuts are central to Marshallese cuisine, from immature coconuts (ni) to mature coconuts (waini) to sprouting coconut seedlings (iu). Coconut trees produce a sweet, nutrient-dense sap (jokaro) that’s far healthier than sugar. But because many of their food sources, including coconut trees, were poisoned by the nuclear tests, the Marshallese must rely heavily on imported, processed foods, contributing to a higher-thanaverage rate of diabetes.
Enewetak people were able to return home in the ’80s and ’90s, but the Bikini, Rongelap, Ailinginae and Rongerik atolls remain unsafe for humans. Ebeye, an the Kwajalein Atoll, became a primary resettlement site. To this day, the 80-acre island is home to roughly 8,000 people, giving it one of the greatest population densities in the world. Many residents struggle with poverty. A June fire in Ebeye left more than 100 people homeless.
“Many work long hours to support loved ones both here and back home. Many continue to balance life between two worlds, while remaining committed to family, faith and communities.”
—MARSHALL ISLANDS VICE SPEAKER OF THE PARLIAMENT ISAAC ZACKHRAS
The devastation brought by U.S. nuclear weapons testing fueled Marshallese resolve to secure independence. Their first ratified constitution established the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) on May 23, 1979—the first Constitution Day.
Rejecting the offer to become a U.S. territory or commonwealth, RMI (along with Micronesia and Palau) signed a Compact of Free Association, or COFA, in 1986, which was renewed in 2003 and 2023. The U.S. agreed to provide a trust fund and grant assistance, making settlements available to residents affected by the nuclear tests, in exchange for a continued military presence. Many Marshallese, it should be noted, say they’ve been waiting years, even decades, for their claims to be processed. Resettlement payments to Bikinians and their ancestors ran dry in 2023; the first Trump administration stopped U.S. audits of the trust fund in 2017.
RMI cannot form its own military under the compact, but individuals can join the U.S. armed forces. The Marshallese people have one of the highest rates of enlistment of any group.
COFA also gives the Marshallese “lawful nonimmigrant status,” allowing them to live and work in the U.S. at will, without a visa or green card. Thousands have taken advantage of this
opportunity and moved stateside in the decades since, seeking jobs and healthcare. The 2020 census counted 47,300 Marshallese Americans.
Iowa has a history of being a leader in resettling refugees. When President Gerald Ford called for states to aid members of the Vietnamese Indigenous group Tai Dam, Iowa’s Republican Governor, Robert D. Ray, helped create what became the first Bureau of Refugee Services in the country. Subsequently, Bosnians, Sudanese and more displaced peoples found new homes in rural and urban Iowa communities.
The Midwest’s largest population of Marshallese is in the Dubuque area, the banks of the Mississippi serving as something of a substitute for RMI’s Pacific shores. The first Marshallese came to study at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in the 1970s. Before long, family members followed.
Most estimates put the Dubuque area’s Marshallese population around 1,400, though one local leader, Pastor Stan Samson, reckons it’s more than 2,000. Originally from Ebeye, he arrived in Iowa in 2002 and serves as the pastor at Dubuque’s Paradise Church, an Assemblies of God ministry with Marshallese-language sermons. Samson helps immigrants access English education and medical resources.
They are “shy people,” he said, “but very loving people too.” The Marshallese are extremely communal; no markets or trading posts existed until 19th-century colonizers brought them. After 200 years of visits from Protestant, Catholic and Latterday Saints missionaries, more than 96 percent of Marshallese are Christian. The Marshallese word iokwe simultaneously means “hello,” “goodbye,” “love” and, literally, “you are a rainbow.”
Advocacy has become a family affair for Samson. His daughter serves in the National Guard and works at the Crescent Community Health Center, which specializes in serving Marshallese patients. His daughter-in-law, Ayuoko Maun, is a multilingual advocate and outreach worker with Monsoon, a statewide nonprofit fighting gender-based violence in Asian American Pacific Islander communities.
In 1988, an Academy Award-nominated documentary, Radio Bikini, drew widespread attention to the nuclear testing that decimated Marshallese ancestral homes. As Dubuquers got to know the Marshallese and learned of their struggles—including high rates of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and, come 2020, COVID-19—they began to organize free or lowcost healthcare options for their islander neighbors.
If you call Crescent Community Health Center, their phone menu cycles through English, Spanish and Marshallese language options, also represented “in all signage, forms, and patient educational materials.” They employ community health workers who help patients navigate the U.S. healthcare and Medicaid system, as nearly 60 percent of their patients are Medicaid enrollees. The Dubuque Pacific Islander Health Project, operated through Crescent, provided care to 600 patients last year, with an ever-growing caseload.
In RMI and Dubuque, women lead many preservation and community-building efforts. While men are more likely to be landowners and policy-makers in the Marshall Islands, there is a strong matrilineal tradition in which women are the primary cultural custodians.
Like many Indigenous peoples, the Marshallese have been separated from their lands and food sources. The cost of losing natural vegetation and in some cases the knowledge of traditional practices, such as how to process fibrous or toxic raw plants into nutritious food, has created an imperative to preserve and uplift what remains.
Manit (“culture” or “custom” in English) Day was born in 1988, as more and more Marshallese people began to pack their bags for Hawaii, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Iowa and other states thousands of miles from RMI—and with thousands of times more square miles of living space. A Marshallese nonprofit, Kōrā em an Kōl, or KEAK, takes the lead on planning both Manit Day and Constitution Day in Dubuque.
On the last Friday in September, people across the diaspora gather and enjoy traditional Marshallese foods like grilled fish (such as bigeye tuna, yellowfin and barramundi, often cooked inside a banana leaf), chukuchuk (rice balls rolled in grated coconut), Makmōk (a starchy, stemless herb that grows on the islands), fried sweet potatoes and bananas, and coconut syrup.
You can find Marshallese dancing, coconut husking contests and artisans weaving the leaves of pandanus (a palm-like tree or shrub also called “screw palm”). Dubuque and Ottumwa, another city with a sizable Marshallese population, host and compete in men’s softball tournaments, each team named for a different RMI island or atoll.
A small business in Maquoketa works to keep Marshallese cultural foods within reach, for holidays and every day. DJ Mini Mart, run by a Pohnpeian woman named Patricia Alex, ensures
that people do not have to drive to Chicago to purchase the fish, rice and coconut snacks that help these Dubuquers feel connected to their Pacific homeland. Dubuque’s Multicultural Family Center provides a venue for the gatherings.
When RMI Vice Speaker Zackhras, Sen. Marie Davis Milne of Ebon Atoll and Assistant Attorney General Mrs. Tianaake Sunny Berro arrived at the Cedar Rapids airport for the Constitution Day celebration in May, the Marshallese community greeted them with song, food, dance and waving blue, orange and white flags.
Maitha Jolet, who emceed the event and leads KEAK along with Noreen Kang, spearheaded efforts to bring the government officials to Dubuque. RMI’s constitution is in the process of a fifth redrafting, and Jolet wanted to ensure his community’s voices were heard.
“Part of my job is to greet the people, and tell them about who we are,” Jolet said in an interview with Little Village from RMI’s capital city, Majuro, where more than half of the nation’s population of roughly 53,167 live. “Marshallese are really kind people. Marshallese people are really humble, respectful and they’re really good people.”
“They like the people living in Dubuque,” he added. “We don’t have any problem with the other culture. ... I think our neighbor is really good to us.”
Of course, life in America isn’t perfect for the Marshallese. There’s a language barrier, and Jolet noted that the minimum wage can make it hard to get by, especially when families back in RMI “really need help from us ... especially food.”
“Every time we have extra money, we send it to them,” he said. “We really look after each other. It’s part of our culture.”
On Constitution Day, Vice Speaker of the Parliament Zackhras acknowledged Marshallese Americans’ generosity.
“Many work long hours to support loved ones both here and back home. Many continue to balance life between two worlds, while remaining committed to family, faith and communities,” he said. “Your resilience and determination inspire all of us.”
“To our Marshallese community living abroad, especially here in Iowa: You remain an important part of our nation,” Zackhras continued. “Even though you may live far from home, your connection to the Marshall Islands remains strong. Your hard work, your sacrifice, your prayer and your continued love for our islands, continue to strengthen our people and our future. We are proud of the way the Marshallese community across the United States continue to preserve our culture and tradition.”
Manit Day Celebration Friday, Sept. 25, Jackson Park, Dubuque, Free
Dog Dealers
Don’t see you favorite spot on the list? Let us know: editor@littlevillagemag.com
The hot dog’s origins are shrouded in mystery, but we know who made modern, mass-produced franks possible: an Iowan.
BY PAUL BRENNAN
Alittle over 100 years ago, hot dogs were just cheap sausages stuffed into buns and sold for a few cents on street corners, at fairs and sporting events. By the 1970s, hot dogs, still cheap sausages stuffed into buns, were such an iconically American food that a leading car company invoked them to give its lumbering vehicles a patriotic sheen. The Chevy jingle, “We love baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolets,” was a major earworm.
How did that upgrade in status happen? Like a lot of things involving hot dogs, it’s not clear. Unanswered hot dog questions include when and where they first appeared, why they’re called “hot dogs” and how the hot dog got its bun. There are plenty of stories claiming to provide answers, but very little evidence to support those claims.
The earliest known appearance of the name in print is a passing reference in an 1884 article in an Evansville, Indiana newspaper. It’s obvious from the article that hot dogs were already a well-known, cheap street food sold by peddlers.
Despite being called frankfurters and wieners, hot dogs aren’t really either. A real frankfurter is a pork sausage first made in the German city of Frankfurt during the Middle Ages. Wiener, which is German for Viennese, refers to a sausage that became popular in Vienna (Wien) in the 18th century. Hot dogs have their origins in sausages immigrants brought to the United States in the 19th century, but what sets them apart is mechanization.
“The hot dog is an industrial food,” historian and hot dog expert Bruce Kraig wrote in his book, Hot Dogs: A Global History. “Small butcher shops make their own handcrafted sausages— usually aided by machinery of some sort—but the commercial product sold by billions across the world is made in large quantities by machinery in a virtual automated process.”
And that’s where Iowa enters the story.
The state doesn’t have its own famous hot dog variant like the Chicago dog or Detroit’s Coney. We can’t even claim the corndog, which was introduced at the Texas State Fair in 1942. But an Iowan did revolutionize how hot dogs are produced.
Ray Townsend was born in Des Moines in 1913. Growing up, he trained as a blacksmith,
working in his father’s shop. Townsend studied mechanical engineering at Iowa State, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1934. During World War II, he worked in a munitions plant, where he designed a machine to handle faulty bullets. In 1946, Ray opened Townsend Engineering, a factory in Des Moines manufacturing foodprocessing equipment, Townsend quickly had his first big success with an efficient mechanical hog skinner.
“The company eventually went on to become the world’s largest designer and manufacturer of skinning, stuffing and injection equipment for meat, poultry and seafood processors,” Meat + Poultry wrote when Townsend died in April 2011. “Townsend obtained more than 100 U.S. patents, plus more than 300 international patents, covering a spectrum of fields including co-extrusion, skinning, trimming, linking, meat harvesting and curing and marinating during his long and highly successful career.”
Among the many machines Townsend created, the Frank-A-Matic is probably the most famous. But to appreciate the FrankA-Matic, you have to know a little about how meat trimmings become hot dogs.
Hot dogs are made from a slurry-like meat mixture of “one or more kinds of raw skeletal muscle from livestock (like beef or pork) and may contain poultry meat,” all of which has been chopped and processed into “minute particles” to quote a description from the USDA. “Smoking and curing ingredients contribute to flavor, color and preservation of the product.”
Water, both in liquid form and as ice, is added to the “batter,” as the mixture is known, to make the end product “juicy.”
The batter is injected into the casing, formed into links and cooked. Originally hot dogs, like other sausages, had casing made of animal gut (pig or sheep) but in 1925, Chicagoan Edwin Freund invented a
Peak Iowa
cellulose casing for the batter, introducing the “skinless” hot dog to the world. Cellulose casings were standardized in size (animal gut varies) and cheaper, which is why skinless varieties are the overwhelming majority of mass-produced hot dogs. But humans can’t digest cellulose, so it had to be cut away before the factory could ship the finished product. Cellulose casing was eventually replaced with casing made of collagen, which also has to be cut away because it’s inedible. In the pre-Frank-A-Matic days, cutting the casing was done by hand.
Townsend’s machine automated and streamlined the process from the moment the batter filled the casing and even sheared the dogs skinless at the end. When it hit the market in 1962, the Frank-AMatic had competition. The Oscar Mayer company had introduced its own automated linker and processor, nicknamed “the wiener tunnel.” But the superior design and efficiency of Townsend’s machine quickly made the Frank-A-Matic the industry standard.
Before the Frank-A-Matic, workers at a meatprocessing plant were doing well if they produced 500 skinless franks in an hour. With the Frank-AMatic, plants were making over 30,000 per hour with fewer workers.
Ray Townsend’s inventions made him rich, and earned him many honors. He was also an innovative boss—in the early ’70s he introduced a four-day workweek at his factory—and he and his wife Cleda were philanthropists. After a long career leading Townsend Engineering, Ray turned the business over to his son Ted.
Ted grew up with the family business, but took a different path from his father. He went to the University of Iowa and earned a degree in finance. Like his parents, Ted was a philanthropist, and he became widely known for two Iowa-based projects.
In 2002, Ted helped launch the Great Ape Trust of Iowa, a research facility in Des Moines that housed a small colony of bonobos. After many problems, the facility was reconstituted as the Ape Cognition and Conservation Initiative, under new leadership.
Ted also spent years trying to create a giant indoor tropical rainforest in Coralville. Earthpark was supposed to be a 20-story terrarium with 4.5 acres of free-roaming monkeys and tropical birds, trees and plants, as well as some unspecified prairie-dwelling animals. Despite support from Sen. Chuck Grassley and enthusiasm from Coralville city leaders, Earthpark never broke ground.
In 2005, Townsend Engineering was sold to Stork Food Systems, a Dutch company. Two years later, it was acquired by Marel, an Iceland-based company. In 2015, Marel closed the Des Moines factory Ray Townsend opened in 1946, shifting production to Georgia. The company still makes versions of the Frank-A-Matic.
Guiding you home.
Drop Your Diet Cokes
Maria Bamford does her best impression of a Midwest Christian MLM lady ahead of a two-city return to Iowa.
BY LEE KEELER
Maria Bamford is a bit of a lightning bug. Not that she’s small in any way. She has flown through decades of the dark, between her own struggles with mental illness, the rigors of Hollywood and whatever perils modern life throws her way. How she flies is hilarious, but how she lands is divine.
As a writer, actor and stand-up comedian, Bamford has shared her effervescent takes on the world via Netflix specials, books on the New York bestseller list and tours that have taken her from sea to shining sea. Director Judd Apatow has called her “the funniest woman in the world.” The two of them premiered Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story at Sundance earlier this year. The doc is still making the rounds in the festival circuit before it is released to the rest of us.
In the meantime, the lightning bug will descend upon Hoyt Sherman Place on Aug. 21, and the Englert Theatre on Aug. 22. We sat down with Bamford over Zoom to talk pug life, suit jobs and specialized cat towers.
Little Village: How are you? How are the pugs? Uh, do you wanna see one? [Holds up pug to camera.]
Yes! Oh-ho man! Yaaap. That’s Muffin. She’s half chihuahua and she’s 6, so I can really lift her up. The other man that’s in the room, Mister Max, he’s about 16. He’s a little old for show business, he doesn’t want to be on camera anymore. He’s very handsome and he got a baseball scholarship to Vassar. That was very unusual.
Really playing, I’ll bet. He’s not the bat dog or anything. It turned out he had a love of poetry. Which has so much in common with sports. You don’t think about it until you really think about it.
You grew up in Duluth. Do you have any rituals when you’re back in the Midwest? There’s certain things in my hometown. You know, where they make a cranberry turkey sandwich that’s so good. Or Dunn Brothers coffee, but not at the one that’s at the Duluth Entertainment Center. It’s those things
that are ephemeral. You don’t know how long it’s going to last, but it’s something that’s beautiful.
That’s how I am about Taylor’s MaidRite. It’s better than regular Maid-Rite. It’s fun when it does make a difference who owns it, even if it’s a chain.
I only have sad franchise stories otherwise. Like, nobody is out there keeping the tradition alive of stealing the sandwich stamps from the Morningside Subway in Sioux City. That would be really interesting. If there are any hotshot Applebee’s out there, where it’s like, ho-lee shit, nobody knows about this, but they are actually adding fresh ingredients, farm to table, they’re finally dicing things over at this one Golden Corral in Ann Arbor.
Have you been back to Des Moines to see your mom’s side of the family? Everyone’s in a graveyard there. There’s a giant house where I think one of my great-grandparents had mental illness and was in the attic. That’s how they used to deal with mental illness in those days, “Put them in the attic.” Like, if you read about this time in history, you just go, “Oh, that’s how I’d be!” [Laughs]
Are you still working as a suicide hotline operator? I’m not doing it anymore because it was very heavy. It was hard to do that while on the road. It’s too much. It was very empowering to know that you can get a Peer Health Certificate in different states and get these jobs based on your experience. Let’s say you’ve had schizophrenia— you can get these jobs that are, say, 25, 30 bucks an hour for things like the suicide hotline. So if you’ve had those experiences, it’s very valuable as you can talk from a place of knowing what it’s like. It’s priceless.
the Englert theatre and Little Village present: Maria Bamford Friday, Aug. 21, 7:30 p.m., Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines Saturday, Aug. 22, 7:30 p.m., Englert Theatre, Iowa City
Photo via Maria Bamford, illustration by Kellan Doolittle / Little Village
You’ve done work for community centers, too. You filmed your last special at Public Displays of Altadena, which burned down in the Eaton Canyon Fires. Everyone’s experiencing climate change. I’m sure Iowa has been a part of that as well.
Oh, we had a crazy heat dome thing last month. Everyone’s being affected by it. And what you’re finding, in some areas like Altadena, is that it’s almost impossible to be able to afford being insured for it. So when PDA burned down, they were in trouble. This is of those times when outpouring of support mattered the most.
Given the intimacy of PDA, it seems like you’re now part of the tribe. Yeah, that’s the great thing about being from the Midwest: pitching in. Somebody’s gotta bring a potato salad. I know you’re not good at it, but somebody’s gotta do it. These are spots where people can actually come together.
There’s one in Iowa City called Public Space One. I have a friend who launched his tofu business, Old Capitol Food Company, out of their basement. I’m really grateful for spaces like that.
You once filed a restraining order against the president. Did it work? When does this all stop? Well, it comes down to storming the Bastille. What is gonna be the one thing that makes everybody drop their Diet Cokes and say, “This is so unacceptable that we’re gonna rise up and stop the machine”? Because that’s the American religion, work and capitalism. I think we can look to Minneapolis for that, on a larger level. They had really excellent nonviolent unity in stopping everything that they were doing.
You've spoken about how weird Christianity can be. There are now 10 Christian radio stations in Des Moines; it's the fastest-growing media genre in Iowa since the state went politically red. What would you do if you had to be on one of those stations to promote your work? [In a haunting Midwest auntie voice] I would play my favorite multilevel marketing company owner Amy Sleeverson,
from high school. The name is a mix of Swedish and Finnish and Norwegian. She has a company that started out in my garage. It’s called Lot’s Daughters, based on the biblical story of Lot! It’s a bit of a deep cut, [intense whisper] do you know it?
“I have a Christian sex toy that’s been going off the shelves and you can keep it in the living room, and no one will knoooow, ’cause it’s a cat tower. My husband makes ’em by the dozen, he’s so fast. And we test every one of them out.”
—MARIA BAMFORD AS HER CHARACTER AMY SLEEVERSON
The biblical story of Lot? Lot was told by God to leave Sodom and Gomorrah with his wife and his two young gals. And God said, “Don’t look back at Sodom and Gomorrah,” the city of sin. What ended up happening, you won’t even believe what ended up happening, Lee, you won’t even believe it. The two girls got their dad drunk and they raped him, to increase the tribes of Israel! Which is a lot like marketing! Um, I have a Christian sex toy that’s been going off the shelves and you can keep it in the living room, and no one will knoooow, ’cause it’s a cat tower. My husband makes ’em by the dozen, he’s so fast. And we test every one of them out.
Oh God. It’s so important. I’m also starting to make soaps. And I’m also marking tragedy charms! A lot of kids are into charm bracelets. And gosh, they love to remember all of the good times, and I think, “What about all the bad things that happened?” And I make my charms out of bronze, so they’ll last through Armageddon.
[Laughing] Why is bronze the metal that’s gonna make it through Armageddon? It is! That’s the one that will last. No matter what! It won’t burn, it won’t
deteriorate. It won’t melt! Get your wedding ring in bronze, gals.
What do you think of the state of comedy today, in terms of the growth of social media comedy? I think it’s wonderful, the accessibility. There’s no gatekeepers to keep people from meeting audiences. It gets us out of an established system. Capitalism leans into the white heteronormative nature of most clubs. Which is dumb, to not invite different communities into the clubs. It’s just dumb. There’s a podcast called Schiz & Giggles, and the host does it with a friend who actually has schizophrenia. And it’s like, yeah, man! I don’t wanna hear any more comics shit-talking about someone talking to themselves in the street. Have you been there? Have you talked to yourself!? Well, then shut the fuck up.
The Russo Brothers kicked off the show Arrested Development. Your character in the show, DaBrie Bardeaux, played Sue Storm from the Fantastic Four. The upcoming Avengers movies deal with the multiverse. Does this mean that you and Tobias Fünke as The Thing might appear in the new Avengers movies? I mean, these are the dreams of my ancestors. I don’t know who they are, because I don’t look at their 23andMe. No, I’m sorry, I know nothing about the world in which I was playing that character [Laughs]. I’m a bit of a jackass. You get the job and then go, “I’m just wearing a blue suit, right?”
Just another blue suit job. I’ve done suit jobs before. Star Trek traveling show. I was a Bajoran for the Deep Space Nine franchise. Toured the country in a tight brown uniform.
Really?! It was almost 30 years ago, but I can improv speak with people as if I’m from another planet.
So if Paramount had kept Starfleet Academy, would you have reprised your role as a Bajoran? If requested, I’ll do anything. I’ll clean houses. I’m not gonna do it well, but I will get most of the surfaces wiped down.
This event is presented by the Englert Theatre and Little Village.
AUDITORIUM 2027 HANCHER 2026
AUGUST
• GILLIAN WELCH & DAVID RAWLINGS
• SIERRA FERRELL – Free & Outdoors with special guest THE HAWKEYE DRUMLINE
SEPTEMBER
• RAY LAMONTAGNE with special guest THE WEATHER STATION
• TIG NOTARO
• PUNCH BROTHERS
• YASMIN WILLIAMS
INFINITE DREAM
• JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL
• MONICA BILL BARNES & COMPANY
• GELSEY BELL
• KASSA OVERALL
• AYANE & PAUL
• JULIANNA BARWICK & MARY LATTIMORE
• MIRANDA JULY
• MO AMER
• BRUCE HORNSBY & THE NOISEMAKERS
OCTOBER
• BRENTANO QUARTET
• JOSHUA REDMAN QUARTET
• SNARKY PUPPY
• ALONZO KING LINES BALLET
• TANK AND THE BANGAS with special guest ARIEL J.
• BRAXTON COOK
• ALEX TATARSKY
NOVEMBER
• OWLS
• DANCE GALA
• ETHAN SIMMONS-PATTERSON with special guest A.J. GRILL
DECEMBER
• STELLA COLE QUARTET
• CAMILA FERNÁNDEZ
• PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND
JANUARY
• BILLY HART QUARTET
• A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL
FEBRUARY
• KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY with MATTHIAS PINTSCHER (Music Director & Conductor) and INON BARNATAN (Piano)
• HAMILTON DE HOLANDA TRIO
• JESSE FACTOR
• SIX
FIFTY FOR THE FUTURE
• KRONOS QUARTET
• JACK QUARTET
• ELIXIR QUARTET
• ROOM 1078
• PARATAXIS QUARTET
• IOWA PERCUSSION / JEAN-FRANÇOIS CHARLES + WILL YAGER / DIMMA SAXOPHONE QUARTET
MARCH
• MARIACHI HERENCIA DE MÉXICO
• VERONA QUARTET
• SHUCKED
APRIL
STOP/TIME
Lineup to be announced
• CHANTICLEER with special guest the University of Iowa’s KANTOREI
• BALLET HISPÁNICO NEW YORK
• THE WIZ - Continues in May
MAY
• THE WIZ - Continued from April
• JOEL ROSS’ GOOD VIBES
• AUDRA MCDONALD
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
SIERRA FERRELL
FALL WELCOME CONCERT Part of ENGAGED HAWKEYES WEEK WITH SPECIAL GUEST THE HAWKEYE DRUMLINE
Friday, August 28
Hancher Auditorium Outdoors on the Hancher Green PRESENTED IN COLLABORATION WITH SCOPE PRODUCTIONS
6:30 p.m. Gathering begins with DJ Crimson Mask
8:00 p.m. Hawkeye Drumline
8:20 p.m. Sierra Ferrell
FoodFocused Events
DES MOINES
Sat, Aug 8, 6 p.m., Sweet Corn Festival, Downtown Adel Aug 13-23, Iowa State Fair, 3000 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines Sat, Aug 29, 3 p.m., Ingersoll Live, 2800 Block of Ingersoll Avenue, Des Moines Sat, Aug 29, 1 p.m., Iowa Wine and Cider Festival, Jasper Winery, Des Moines Fri-Sun, Aug 28-30, World Food and Music Festival, Western Gateway Park
Fri & Sat, Sept 25 & 26, Oktoberfest, The District at Prairie Trail, Ankeny Sat, Sept 26, Applefest, Living History Farms, Urbandale Sat & Sun, Sept 26 & 27, Latino Heritage Festival, Western Gateway Park, Des Moines
IOWA CITY/ CORALVILLE
Wed, Aug 5, 4-7 p.m., Coralville Farmers Market, Iowa River Landing
Saturdays through Sept. 26, 7:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Iowa City Farmers Market, Chauncey Swan Parking Ramp Wed, Aug 5, 6 p.m., Farm to Table Dinner, Walker Homestead thurs, Aug 20, 5 p.m., Farm to Street Dinner, N Linn Street, Northside Neighborhood Wed, Aug 26, 4 p.m., Taste of Iowa City, downtown Iowa City Sat, Sept 5, 11 a.m., Apfel Day Festival, Amana Sat, Sept. 19, 12 p.m., Iowa City Latino Fest 2025, Ped Mall Sat, Sept 26, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Northside Oktoberfest, Northside Neighborhood thurs-Sun, Oct 1-4, Oktoberfest in the Amana Colonies, Festhalle Barn, Amana
CEDAR RAPIDS
Saturdays through Sept. 19, 7:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers Market, 1st-5th St SE Tuesdays through Aug, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Food Truck Tuesdays, NewBo City Market Aug 7-9, St. Jude Sweet Corn Festival, 50 Edgewood Rd NW, Cedar Rapids
August
DES MOINES
Mon, Aug 3, 6:45 p.m., Geena Fontanella w/ Turning Jane and Riley Jane, xBk Live Mon, Aug 3, 7 p.m., The Cybertronic Spree, Wooly’s tues, Aug 4, 6 p.m., Bikini Trill w/ Some Friends, xBk Live tues, Aug 4, 7 p.m., Waxed Monkey, Locals
Sat, Aug 8, 10 a.m., Immigrant-owned Business Market, NewBo City Market thurs, Aug 20, 5 p.m., Trailside Tastings, Indian Creek Nature Center Sat, Aug 29, 9:30 p.m., Cedar Rapids Market After Dark, 501 1st St SE thurs, Sept 17, 5:30 p.m., Global Graze 2026: Fundraiser for Feed Iowa First, The Olympic Fri, Sept 18, 5:30 p.m., BrewNost, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library thurs, Oct 8, 5:30 p.m., 9th Annual Beers in the Barnyard, Old MacDonalds Farm at Bever Park
CEDAR FALLS/ WATERLOO
Saturdays through Oct, 8 a.m., Waterloo Urban Farmers Market, 460 Jefferson St, Waterloo Sat, Aug 8, 4 p.m., Cedar Valley Stem & Stein, Riverloop Expo Plaza, Waterloo Sat, Sept 5, 11 a.m., Waterloo’s 6th Annual Food Truck Festival, RiverLoop Expo Plaza Sun, Sept 13, 11 a.m., Checker’s Stone Soul Picnic, Overman Park, Cedar Falls
QUAD CITIES
Saturdays year-round, 8
a.m.-2 p.m., Freight House Farmers Market, Davenport Sundays year-round, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Freight House Farmers Market, Davenport Saturdays year-round, 8 a.m.-noon, QC Farmers Market, Festival Street, Rock Island Fridays through Oct, 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Mercado on Fifth, Moline Fridays through Oct 23, 5 p.m.-8 p.m., Food Truck Friday, LeClaire Sat, Aug 15, 3 p.m., Village of East Davenport Wine Walk, Davenport
DUBUQUE
Saturdays through Oct, 7 a.m. (8 a.m. in Oct.) through noon, Dubuque Farmers Market, City Hall Aug 8-9, DBQfest, Washington Park Sat, Aug 8, 5:30 p.m.8:30 p.m., 2nd Annual Garden Gala: A Convivium Fundraiser, Convivium Urban Farmstead Aug 13, Sept 10 & Oct 8, 5-8 p.m., Millwork Night Market, 7th9th & Jackson St Aug 14 & Sept 11, Food Festival Fridays, Washington Park Sat, Aug 29, 6 p.m., Farm-to-Table Experience, Convivium Urban Farmstead
A-LIst: MUSIC
tues, Aug 4, 7 p.m., Buckcherry, Evandale, Wooly’s Wed, Aug 5, 6:30 p.m., Bug Hunter, The Narcissist Cookbook, Jam Mechanics, xBk Live Wed, Aug 5, 7 p.m., Dying Wish, Contention, Dose, Source of Fire, Skinned Alive, Wooly’s thurs, Aug 6, 8:30 p.m., Annabelle Dinda, Wooly’s
Fri & Sat, Aug 7 & 8, 7 p.m., Jane Monheit, Noce Fri, Aug 7, 7 p.m., Pink Kodiak, Locals Fri, Aug 7, 7 p.m., Experimental/Noise showcase, xBk Annex Fri, Aug 7, 7 p.m., The Droptines w/ Cory Waller & The Wicked Things, xBk Live Sat, Aug 8, 6 p.m., Diamond Rio, Frank Ray, Val Air Ballroom
Sat, Aug 8, 6 p.m., Hardcore 4 Alzheimers, xBk Live Sat, Aug 8, 7 p.m., Hang Your Hate, Locals Sun, Aug 9, 4 p.m., Off Contact, Locals Mon, Aug 10, 7 p.m., Saeed’s Punk Nite: Blondie Nite, Maggie’s Rumble Room tues, Aug 11, 6 p.m., Raynes, xBk Live
MUSIC
thurs, Aug 13, 6 p.m., Six Feet Under w/ Fuming Mouth and Flesher, xBk Live thurs, Aug 13, 7 p.m., The Crane Wives w/ Brye, Wooly’s Fri, Aug 14, 7 p.m. Show Business w/ Max Wellman & Napoleon Douglas ft. Amelia & Logan Hilman, Noce Fri, Aug 14, 7 p.m., Fooz Fighters, Wooly’s Fri, Aug 14, 7 p.m., Weather Beacon Blue w/ Jamie Poulsen, xBk Live Sat, Aug 15, 7 p.m., Microwaved, Locals Sat, Aug 15, 7 p.m., The Palmer Squares w/ The Unique Vibrationz, xBk Live Mon, Aug 17, 6 p.m., Big Thief, Ben LaMar Gay, Val Air Ballroom tues, Aug 18, 6 p.m., Best of the Worst w/ The Uncollectables and Hookshot, xBk Live Wed, Aug 19, 7 p.m., Jesse Welles, Ratboys, Val Air Ballroom Wed, Aug 19, 7 p.m., American Vanity w/ Look @ Me and Sayler, xBk Live thurs, Aug 20, 6 p.m., Psychostick w/ Apathy Syndrome and Safe Space, xBk Live Fri, Aug 21, 7 p.m., Virgin Mary Piston Grip, Locals Fri, Aug 21, 7 p.m., Black Magic: Napoleon Douglas Sings Nat, Sammy & More, Noce Fri, Aug 21, 7 p.m., Umphrey’s McGee, Wooly’s Fri, Aug 21, 7 p.m., American Aquarium w/ Joelton Mayfield, xBk Live Fri, Aug 21, 8 p.m., Los Ángeles Azules, Val Air Ballroom Sat, Aug 22, 6 p.m., Jay Webb w/ Caitlynne Curtis, Wooly’s Sat, Aug 22, 7 p.m., Something to Talk About: A Night of Classic Country w/ Gina Gedler ft. Abbie Sawyer, Noce
Sat, Aug 22, 7 p.m., Jason Carter Band, xBk Live tues, Aug 25, 6 p.m., Me Like Bees w/ Fox Royale, xBk Live Wed, Aug 26, 7 p.m., G. Love & Special Sauce, Wooly’s thurs, Aug 27, 6 p.m., Traffic Death, Poly Mall Cops, Quade, Diezeleater, xBk Live thurs, Aug 27, 7 p.m., Juddy Collins w/ Bruce Cockburn, Hoyt Sherman Place thurs, Aug 27, 7 p.m., Death Rider, New Sins, Crooked Torus, Locals thurs, Aug 27, 7 p.m., Jason Boland & The Stragglers, Wooly’s Fri, Aug 28, 6 p.m., Paul Cauthen, Val Air Ballroom Fri, Aug 28, 7 p.m., In Sincerity, Locals Fri, Aug 28, 7 p.m., Broadway Baby: A Night of Showtunes w/ Lauren Vilmain & Her Jazz Orchestra, Noce Fri, Aug 28, 7 p.m., Rebel Queens w/ Jett Threatt, Wooly’s Fri, Aug 28, 7 p.m., Lani Full Band w/ The Theys and The Thems, xBk Live Fri, Aug 28, 7:30 p.m., Blackberry Smoke: 25th Anniversary Tour 2026, Hoyt Sherman Place Sat, Aug 29, 10 a.m., Yoga to Live Music, Noce Sat, Aug 29, 7 p.m., Other Brothers, Jody Ardnt, Locals Sat, Aug 29, 7 p.m., The Grand Marquis, Noce Sun, Aug 30, 6 p.m., Chad Gray, Devils Cut & Butcher Babies, Wooly’s Wed, Sep 2, 7 p.m., Jazz on the House w/ Jason Danielson & John Kizilarmut, Noce thurs, Sep 3, 6:30 p.m., Ugly Kid Joe, Platinum Moon, Soulcage, Wooly’s
Thurs, Sep 3, 7 p.m., Joel vs Joel, De Vant, Jazzy Joel, Locals thurs, Sep 3, 7 p.m., A Night at Noce w/ Max & Napoleon, Noce
IOWA CITY
Mon, Aug 3, 8 p.m., Jason Scott & The High Heat, Wildwood tues, Aug 4, 6 p.m., Fight From Within, Wildwood Wed, Aug 5, 7:30 p.m., Gillian Welch + David Rawlings, Hancher Wed, Aug 5, 8 p.m., Blacktop Mojo, Wildwood thurs, Aug 6, 7 p.m., Laminal Anamil, Night Night, PS1 Close House Fri, Aug 7, 6:30 p.m., Friday Night Concert: Silt Creek & Whiskey Fund, Ped Mall Stage Fri, Aug 7, 7 p.m., Mad Existence w/ Sinner Holica, Anti-Kingdom & Clark Colburn Band, Gabe’s Sat, Aug 8, 6 p.m., Northside Saturday Nights: Brian Johannesen, Iowa City Northside Sat, Aug 8, 7:30 p.m., Catfish Keith, The James Theater Sat, Aug 8, 8 p.m., Struggle Jennings w/ Loess Hills, Wildwood Wed, Aug 12, 7 p.m., Burlington Street Bluegrass Band, Wildwood thurs, Aug 13, 8 p.m., Jeffrey Nothing, Wildwood Fri, Aug 14, 6:30 p.m., Friday Night Concert: River Glen Band, Ped Mall Stage Fri, Aug 14, 7 p.m., Overtime & The Blue Collar Soldiers Band, Wildwood Sat, Aug 15, 6 p.m., Northside Saturday Nights: The Regular Joes, Iowa City Northside Sat, Aug 15, 8 p.m., 1947 w/ Mazu, Weald & Run Dog, Gabe’s
Sat, Aug 15, 8 p.m., Micky and the Motorcars, Wildwood Sun, Aug 16, 6 p.m., Stare into the Night, The Best of Friends, The Misgivings, PS1 Close House Sun, Aug 16, 7:30 p.m., Lettuce, The Englert Wed, Aug 19, 6 p.m., Psychostick w/ DBD, Wyvern & OverThrow, Wildwood thurs, Aug 20, 7 p.m., The Fall of Troy w/ Lobby Boxer, NonGrata & Soul Devour, Wildwood thurs, Aug 20, 7:30 p.m., Umphrey’s McGee, The Englert Fri, Aug 21, 6:30 p.m., Friday Night Concert: Jumbies, Ped Mall Stage Sat, Aug 22, 6 p.m., Northside Saturday Nights: Kevin Burt, Iowa City Northside Sat, Aug 22, 8 p.m., Ward Davis, Wildwood Sun, Aug 23, 6 p.m., Spitalfield w/ Danny Stevens of The Audition, Cultural You, Jump Breakpoint, Wildwood tues, Aug 25, Calder Allen, Wildwood Wed, Aug 26, 7 p.m., Judy Collins & Bruce Cockburn, The Englert Wed, Aug 26, 7 p.m., Burlington Street Bluegrass Band, Wildwood Wed, Aug 26, 8 p.m., Dead Rider w/ Sinner Frenz & Savage Little Suckers, Gabe’s thurs, Aug 27, 7 p.m., Cultus Black w/ Soulcage & Rapture, Wildwood Fri, Aug 28, 6:30 p.m., Friday Night Concert: The Beaker Brothers, Ped Mall Stage Fri, Aug 28, 8 p.m., Green Jello w/ Fishbait, Wildwood Fri, Aug 28, 8:30 p.m., Halfloves w/ Sun Centauri & Doc Bullfrog, Gabe’s
MUSIC
Sat, Aug 29, 6 p.m., Northside Saturday Nights: The Steve Grismore Trio, Iowa City Northside Sat, Sept 1, 7 p.m., Major Moment w/ Little Evil, Wildwood
CEDAR RAPIDS
Fri, Aug 7, 9 p.m., RnB Night, The Ideal Theater & Bar Fri & Sat, Aug 7 & 8, 7:30 p.m., Alicia and Precious – The Iris Girls, Opus Concert Café Fri & Sat, Aug 14 & 15, Iowa Metal Underground Fest, CSPS Hall
Fri & Sat, Aug 14 & 15, Shout Sisters, Opus Concert Café Sun, Aug 16, 7 p.m., Goldpine, CSPS Hall thurs, Aug 20, 7 p.m., Songwriter Sessions ft. Carol Montag, Kevin Gordon and David G Smith, CSPS Hall Sat, Aug 22, 7:30 & 10 p.m., Kitty Steadman, Opus Concert Café Sun, Aug 23, 7 p.m., Afro Dead, CSPS Hall Fri, Aug 28, 8 p.m., Brandon Santini, CSPS Hall Fri, Aug 28, 8 p.m., EDM Night, The Ideal Theater & Bar Sat, Aug 29, 5:30 & 7 p.m., Brucemorchestra: Patriotic Pops, Opus Concert Café Wed, Sep 2, 7 p.m., Blue Moon Marquee, The Ideal Theater & Bar
CEDAR FALLS/ WATERLOO
Fri, Aug 7, 8 p.m., Dark Bass Mob, The Loft, Waterloo Fri, Aug 7, 8 p.m., The Sounds of Many, Octopus Sat, Aug 8, 8 p.m., Astrobrat, Casual Fridays & Red Stallion, Octopus Sat, Aug 8, 9 p.m., Mind Right Presents, Link’d Up, The Loft, Waterloo thurs, Aug 13, 7 p.m., Dan Alten, The Loft, Waterloo
Sat, Aug 14, 7:30 p.m., On Hiatus Album Release Show, Project 10-44, January, Bad Rumor, The Loft, Waterloo Sat, Aug 14, 8 p.m., ½ Wit Moon & Doc Bullfrog, Octopus Sun, Aug 15, 8 p.m., Mojohand & Illinois John Fever, Octopus Mon, Aug 16, 6 p.m., Dave Bashaw Fundraiser, Octopus thurs, Aug 27, 7:30 p.m., Guss Royall, Blist Her, Mazu, MarisinCharge, The Loft, Waterloo Fri, Aug 28, 9 p.m., Party Plan, The Loft, Waterloo Fri, July 3, 8 p.m., EDM/Hip Hop Showcase, Octopus
QUAD CITIES
Mon, Aug 3, 6 p.m., Larry & Joe, Raccoon Motel, Davenport tues, Aug 4, 6 p.m., Official Claire w/ Folk Options, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Fri, Aug 7, 8 p.m., Amateur Selectors Series: A Little More Blue w/ Benjamin, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island Sat, Aug 8, 7 p.m., Goodbye June, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Sat, Aug 8, 8 p.m., Amateur Selectors Series: Heart of the Dancefloor w/ Higgy, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island Sun, Aug 9, 6 p.m., Rob Leines & The Filthy Heathens w/ Juliana Zachariou, Raccoon Motel, Davenport thurs-Sun, Aug 13-16, Alternating Currents Festival, Quad Cities thurs, Aug 13, 6 p.m., Prison w/ Glurge, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Fri, Aug 14, 7 p.m., Gordi w/ Julianna Joy, The Go Rounds, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Sat, Aug 15, 5 p.m., Lydia Loveless w/ Gordi, Julianna Joy, Carriers, Reilly Downes and the Acid Cowboys, Raccoon Motel, Davenport
MUSIC
Mon, Aug 17, 6 p.m., Goldpine w/ Zoe Cummins & Olivia Rudeen, Raccoon Motel, Davenport ues, Aug 18, 6 p.m., Stacy Antonel w/ Sophie Gault, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Fri, Aug 21, 7 p.m., Motherless w/ Embittered, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Fri, Aug 21, 7 p.m.,
Bussy Kween Power Trip, Recess, Shear Image, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island Wed, Aug 26, 6 p.m., The Band Loula, Raccoon Motel, Davenport Fri, Aug 28, 7 p.m., Michael Columbia, Rozz-Tox, Rock Island
Mon, Aug 31, 7 p.m., Tim McNary, Raccoon Motel, Davenport ues, Sep 1, 6 p.m., Hippie Death Cult, Raccoon Motel, Davenport
Sat-Sun, Aug 8-9, DBQfest, Washington Park Sat, Aug 8, 4:30 p.m., Allison Mahal, Washington Park, Dubuque
Sat, Aug 8, 8 p.m., The Talbott Brothers w/ Wolfskill & the Wild, Codfish Hollow, Maquoketa Sat, Aug 8, 7 p.m., Lame Witch, Ion Alexakis, The Goose, Dubuque Sat, Aug 8, 9:30 p.m., Joel Sires, Run Dog, The Lift, Dubuque Sun, Aug 9, 3 p.m., Sun Centauri, Washington Park, Dubuque
Fri, July 10, 8 p.m., Maggie Valley Band, The Lift
FILM
DES MOINES
Wed, Aug 5, 6 p.m., Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory 55th Anniversary, Fleur Cinema
Aug 6-8, The inaugural Iowa African Film Festival, Drake University tues, Aug 11, 7 p.m., Emma presented w/ Jane Austen Society of North America, Varsity Cinema Sun, Aug 16, 1 p.m., National Theatre Live: Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Varsity Cinema
IOWA CITY
Wed, Aug 5, 7 p.m., Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, FilmScene Wed, Aug 5, 10 p.m., Blue Summer, FilmScene
Sat & Sun, Aug 8 & 9, 1:30 p.m., CATVIDEOFEST 2026, FilmScene Sat, Aug 8, 4 p.m., The Prince and the Showgirl, FilmScene Sat, Aug 8, 8:15 p.m., Fantastic Mr. Fox, FilmScene in the Park Sun, Aug 9, 7 p.m., The Bulldogs, FilmScene tues, Aug 11, 7 p.m., Maddie’s Secret, FilmScene Wed, Aug 12, 7 p.m., The Prince and the Showgirl, FilmScene Wed, Aug 12, 10 p.m., Scarlet Warning 666, FilmScene Sat & Sun, Aug 15 & 16, 11 a.m., Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, FilmScene Sat, Aug 15, 4 p.m., The Seven Year Itch, FilmScene Sat, Aug 15, 9 p.m., DriveIn Movies at the Hangar: Zootopia 2, Iowa City Municipal Airport Sun, Aug 16, 8:05 p.m., No Country for Old Men, FilmScene
Wed, Aug 19, 7 p.m., The Seven Year Itch, FilmScene Wed, Aug 19, 10 p.m., Return to Sleepaway Camp, FilmScene
FILM
thurs, Aug 20, 3:30 p.m., Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, FilmScene thurs, Aug 20, 7 p.m., Remake (2025), FilmScene Sat, Aug 22, 12:30 p.m., Everybody to Kenmure Street, FilmScene Sat, Aug 22, 8 p.m., The Devil Wears Prada, FilmScene in the Park Sun, Aug 23, 12:30 p.m., Stories of Community Summer 2026, FilmScene Sun, Aug 23, 4 p.m., The Misfits (1961), FilmScene tues, Aug 25, 7 p.m., Lewerentz Divine Darkness, FilmScene
Wed, Aug 26, 6:30
p.m., Sherman’s March, FilmScene
Wed, Aug 26, 10
p.m., Shine on Sweet Starlet, FilmScene
thurs, Aug 27, 7 p.m., The Misfits (1961), FilmScene
Sat & Sun, Aug 29 & 30, 12:30 p.m., Winter Hymns, FilmScene
Sat, Aug 29, 6:30 p.m., International Screendance Festival 2026, FilmScene Sat, Aug 29, 10 p.m., Raising Arizona, FilmScene
Wed, Sep 2, 6:30 p.m., Your Attention Please, FilmScene
LIT & COMMUNITY
DES MOINES/ AMES
tues, Aug 4, 7 p.m., Meet the Author: Scott Reister, Beaverdale Books
Wed, Aug 5, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author: Susie Linn, Beaverdale Books Sat, Aug 8, 5:30 p.m., James Cleary Reading + Book Signing, Reading in Public Sun, Aug 9, 10:30 a.m., Storytime w/ Tina Cho, Reading in Public Mon, Aug 10, 6 p.m., WellRead + Well-Fed Club: August ‘26 Gathering, Reading in Public Wed, Aug 12, 4:30 p.m., Meet the Author: Melissa Koch, Beaverdale Books Mon, Aug 17, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author: Andrea Uptmor, Beaverdale Books
tues, Aug 18, 4 p.m., Meet the Author: Quinlan and Quentin Riser, Beaverdale Books
tues, Aug 18, 6 p.m., Back for Blood Release Party, Reading in Public Sun, Aug 23, 2 p.m., Meet the Author: Eliza Jabore, Beaverdale Books
Wed, Aug 26, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author: Rustin Larson, Beaverdale Books
Wed, Sep 2, 6:30 p.m., Meet the Author: Alanna Clutter, Beaverdale Books Thurs, Sep 3, 6:30 p.m., A Gathering of Writers, Beaverdale Books
IOWA CITY
Wed, Aug 26, 7 p.m., Author reading: Matthew Neill Null, Prairie Lights Sat, Aug 8, 10:30 a.m., Poetry Exchange, Porch Light Literary Arts Center Sat, Aug 8, 1 p.m., Queer Writers’ Check In, Porch Light Literary Arts Center tues, Aug 11, 5:30 p.m., Porchlight + PromptPress present: Happy Hour at the Green House, Green House thurs, Aug 13, 10 a.m., Writing Grief, Porch Light Literary Arts Center Mon, Aug 17, 10:30 a.m., Write Now: Community supported writing group, Porch Light Literary Arts Center Sat, Aug 29, 1 p.m., Long Project Check-in, Porch Light Literary Arts Center
QUAD CITIES
thurs, Aug 13, 6:30 p.m., HAG, The Last Picture House thurs, Aug 13, 8 p.m., WQPT Snapshots Presents: Forgotten Quad Cities, The Last Picture House Fri, Aug 14, 3 p.m., Alternating Currents Festival: Films at Last Picture House, The Last Picture House Sat, Aug 15, 11:30 a.m., Groundhog Gary: 6 More Weeks, The Last Picture House Sat, Aug 15, 12:30 p.m., HAG, The Last Picture House
Sat, Aug 29, 10:30 a.m., Poetry Exchange, Porch Light Literary Arts Center Fri, Sep 4, 7 p.m., Author reading: Giano Cromley, Prairie Lights
CEDAR RAPIDS
Sundays, 12 p.m., Sunday Bingo, NewBo City Market Wednesdays, 6 p.m., Wednesday Trivia Night, NewBo City Market thursdays, 5 p.m., Meet Me at the Market, NewBo City Market Fridays, 6 p.m., Rock the Block, NewBo City Market Sat, Aug 8, 10 a.m., Immigrant-owned business market, NewBo City Market Saturdays, Aug 15, 22 & 29, 10 a.m., Saturday vendor market, NewBo City Market
QUAD CITIES
Sat, Aug 8, 9 a.m., Quad Cities Queer Coffee, The Atlas Collective, Moline Fri, Aug 21, 9 a.m., Ask Anything: Mental Health Resources w/ Bloom Therapy, The Atlas Collective, Moline
Sat, Aug 15, 1:45 & 5:15 p.m., Alternating Currents Festival: Films at Last Picture House, The Last Picture House Sun, Aug 16, 12:15 p.m., Groundhog Gary: 6 More Weeks, The Last Picture House Sun, Aug 16, 6 p.m., Dead Media w/ writer/ director Joseph Scrimshaw, The Last Picture House Wed, Aug 19, 7:30 p.m., Quad Cities Latino Cinema Series: Stand and Deliver, The Last Picture House DUBUQUE
tues, Aug 4, 6 p.m., Author appearance: Melinda Wichmann, River Lights Sat, Aug 8, 5:30 p.m., 2nd Annual Garden Gala, Convivium Urban Farmstead thurs, Aug 13, 6 p.m., Slightly Creepy Book Group, River Lights thurs, Aug 13, 7 p.m., Dubuque Pride Book Club, River Lights Mon, Aug 17, 6 p.m., Cookbook Club Fandom Series, Convivium Urban Farmstead Wed, Aug 19, 7 p.m., Freadom Book Group, River Lights thurs, Aug 20, 6 p.m., Pesto Making Cooking Class, Convivium Urban Farmstead Sat, Aug 22, 10 a.m., Bee Tour, Convivium Urban Farmstead Mon, Aug 24, 5:30 p.m., Smut, Screams, and Plot Twists Book Group, River Lights Fri, Aug 28, 5:30 p.m., Adventure Awaits Book Group, River Lights Sat, Aug 29, 6 p.m., Farm to Table Experience, Convivium Urban Farmstead Wed, Sep 2, 12 p.m., Lunch & Learn: Understanding Food Insecurity, Convivium Urban Farmstead
PERFORMING ARTS AT IOWA
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF DANCE
HANCHER AUDITORIUM
PERFORMING ARTS PRODUCTION UNIT
We embrace a spirit of creativity that lives at the heart of everything we do–including our collective commitment to supporting the creation of new work.
Together, we are making the University of Iowa a destination for the performing arts.
ART & EXHIBITION
DES MOINES/ AMES
through Aug 30, Christine Rebet “Sound of Time”, Des Moines Art Center through Aug 30, “Artists Around a Table: Artmaking and Merrymaking, 1927-1952”, Des Moines Art Center through Oct 3, Summer Group Show, Moberg Gallery Opens Aug 5, The Friday Club group collective exhibit, Polk County Heritage Gallery Wed, Aug 5, 6:30 p.m., The Friday Club Opening Reception, Polk County Heritage Gallery Sat, Aug 15, 1 p.m., “Topographies: Mapping Being and Belonging” exhibition tour, Des Moines Art Center Sat, Aug 22, 1 p.m. , Museum Highlights Tour, Des Moines Art Center
Sat, Aug 29, 1 p.m., “Artists Around a Table: Artmaking and Merrymaking, 19271952” exhibition tour, Des Moines Art Center
IOWA CITY
Fri, Aug 7, 6 p.m., Art & Write Night, Stanley Museum of Art Sat, Aug 8, 11 a.m., Second Saturday All Ages Art: Felt Friends, PS1 Close House Fri, Aug 14, 1 p.m., Friday Crafternoons, Stanley Museum of Art Fri, Aug 21, 1 p.m., Friday Crafternoons, Stanley Museum of Art
CEDAR RAPIDS
Wed, Aug 5, 12:15 p.m., Art Bites: Ioway in America, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art Sat, Aug 22, 10 a.m., Art Mart, CSPS Hall Sat, Aug 22, 1 p.m., Some Assemblage Required , Cedar Rapids Museum of Art Wed, Sep 2, 12:15 p.m., Art Bites: Director’s Choice w/ Executive Director Sean Ulmer, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
QUAD CITIES
thurs, Aug 6, 6 p.m., Music & Makers Night: Celebrating All Wonder Women, Figge Art Museum thurs, Aug 13, 6 p.m., Music & Makers Night: What’s Hot with Glass, Figge Art Museum thurs, Aug 20, 6 p.m., Music & Makers Night: Discovering Abstract Art, Figge Art Museum thurs, Aug 27, 6 p.m., Music & Makers Night: Golden Age for Whom?, Figge Art Museum
DUBUQUE/ MAQUOKETA
Weds, Aug 12 & 19, 6 p.m., Try Wheat Pasting!, Bluff Strokes Art Center Fri, Aug 14, 1 p.m., Sidewalk Chalk Mural Workshop, Bluff Strokes Art Center Sat, Aug 15, 9 a.m., Sidewalk Chalk Mural Workshop, Bluff Strokes Art Center tues, Aug 18, 1 p.m., Figure Drawing, Bluff Strokes Art Center tues, Aug 18, 5 p.m., Try Printmaking Monotype Mambo, Bluff Strokes Art Center
THEATER & PERFORMANCE
DES MOINES/ AMES
Mon, Aug 3, 7:30 p.m.,
The Big Silly: Improv Comedy Jam, xBk Annex thurs, Aug 6, 7:30 p.m., ABBA-Mania, The Ingersoll Aug 13-16, The Penguin Project presents Finding Nemo Jr., Des Moines Playhouse Fri, Aug 21, 7:30 p.m., Maria Bamford, Hoyt
Sherman Place
Sat, Aug 22, 5:30 & 8:30 p.m., Menopausia con Barbara Torres, Temple Theater
tues, Aug 25, 5:30 p.m., Four Roses Bourbon & Culinary Experience, The Ingersoll
Opens Aug 26, I Write The Songs: A Tribute to Barry Manilow, The Ingersoll
Fri, Aug 28, 6:30 p.m., Broadway Singalong w/ Des Moines Performing Arts, Temple Theater Sat, Aug 29, 1 & 7:30 p.m., Are You Ready for It? A Taylor Swift Experience, The Ingersoll Sat, Aug 29, 7 p.m., Naughty Nerds Cabaret presents: Wrong Answers Only, xBk Live Opens Sept 2, Wicked, Des Moines Civic Center
IOWA CITY
Sat, Aug 8, 7 p.m., Lady Franklyn Improv w/ Emergency Broadway System, Willow Creek Theatre
Sat, Aug 15, 8 p.m., Bawdy Bawdy Ha Ha presents: Cirque Risque, The James Sat, Aug 15, 7 p.m., Cool Shoes + Pope Cactus Improv Show, Willow Creek Theatre
Sat, Aug 15, 8:30 p.m., Lady Franklyn Improv Show, Willow Creek Theatre Sat, Aug 22, 8 p.m., Chimera’s Smokeshow, The James Opens Aug 28, As You Like It by Crooked Path Theater, The James
CEDAR RAPIDS
through Aug 16, Dear Evan Hansen, Theatre
Cedar Rapids thurs Aug 27, 6:30 & 8:30
p.m., Final Thursdays Comedy, The Ideal Theater
CEDAR FALLS/ WATERLOO
Aug 7-23, Grease, Cedar Falls Community Theatre tues, Sep 1, 7 p.m., Cabaret Series: OpenMic Night, Cedar Falls Community Theatre Quad Cities through Sep 5, The Wizard of Oz, Circa ‘21, Rock Island thurs, Aug 13, 6 p.m., The Comedy of Susan Rice, Circa ‘21, Rock Island thurs, Aug 14, 8 p.m., Viva La Divas, The Speakeasy, Rock Island Fri, Aug 15, 8 p.m., Dark Desire Burlesque, The Speakeasy, Rock Island Sat, Aug 22, 8 p.m., Nightcaps Improvmania, The Speakeasy, Rock Island
DUBUQUE
Aug 14-30, Love…Or Best Offer, Bell Tower Theater
I’ve always been interested in having relationships with others but due to a myriad of mental health struggles (autism, severe depression and anxiety, among other things) I’ve never really “understood” how to connect with others or simply even put myself out there (other people are terrifying!). It’s a struggle to figure out what others are even thinking or how to approach them in a way that doesn’t leave me feeling completely drained and depressed afterwards. Is there a way to push past all this and form deeper connections with others, or am I doomed to never figure out the whole social thing?
—An ND Enby
Dear ND Enby, I’m gonna challenge your perspective here for a second. I sincerely hope that you are so blessed as to “never figure out the whole social thing.”
Not all of us are wired the same, and in my experience, that’s a very good thing indeed. When I’m in a group situation where communication styles are too much in sync, I begin to feel trapped, like I’m on a train going full speed with no conductor. Without a variety of perspectives and modes of thinking, no one challenges any faulty logic or lazy assumptions. There’s no growth and no revelation. In one-on-one conversations, although that sense of being simpatico is a heady rush at first, in the long run, you might as well be talking to yourself.
It can often seem like the neurotypical way of interacting socially is the “right” way. But as you’ve discovered, it’s mentally and emotionally exhausting for anyone who is neurodivergent. And the only people who reap any benefit from assimilation are the neurotypicals, because of
course it can make their day-to-day lives simpler in the short term. But ultimately, I contend that normalizing any single way of interacting is a detriment to all.
Worse still, for NDs, the NT way seldom leads to those deeper connections we all crave. If you master the intricate dance of social maneuvering that NTs have been steeped in their whole lives, you’re likely to feel like the bulk of your attention is always on the choreography, and not on the other person. It can feel a lot like surfing a wave instead of swimming in the ocean. If you’re determined, I’m sure you can accomplish it. But it’s unlikely to lead to full immersion into the lives of others.
But you didn’t write in just so I could have an excuse to rail against the inefficiency of social norms. What you need to know, ND Enby, is that you’re not alone. The way that NTs move through the world can make it seem like you are, because their social style explicitly erases stray marks and smooths rough edges. That’s how they feel safe. But there’s a wider world out there.
I contend that normalizing any single way of interacting is a detriment to all.
My advice? Stop trying to understand others, and try to better understand yourself. Push the limits of your anxieties and inch outside your comfort zone. A good therapist can help you safely face your fears. People are terrifying, but that in itself is not insurmountable. Sometimes, putting yourself out there is a matter of learning to enjoy your own company. Go alone to events that pique your interest, and practice being your whole self while you’re there. When you give up trying to restrict yourself based on other people’s standards of interaction, you’ll start to find the people who will like you for you, instead of for who you can present as. That’s when deeper connections can finally form.
questions anonymously at littlevillagemag.com/dearkiki or non-anonymously to dearkiki@littlevillagemag.com.
––xoxo, Kiki
Illustrations by Lani Krull / Little Village
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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): According to my investigations, there’s a place you need to go, but fear or timidity is holding you back. Where is it? Is it a physical location, a creative risk, a complicated conversation or a spiritual threshold? Visualize it. Who would you be if you appeared there in your full glory? What do you worry might happen if you do? What interesting future might never bloom if you don’t? I hope you formulate a feisty plan. To begin, write these words: “If I decide to go there anyway, acknowledging my fear but not being controlled by it, what first step will I take and what help will I seek?”
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LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Neurologists say that when you vividly imagine performing an action like shooting a basketball or playing piano, your brain activates many of the same networks it uses in real practice. In other words, mental rehearsal can measurably improve your actual performance. Many athletes use this trick. But here’s an interesting twist: Such visualizations work for emotional and social skills too. We can enhance our resilience and better regulate our moods if we practice doing so in the privacy of our imaginations. I bring this to your attention, Leo, because you’re in a period when your fantasy life has extrarobust practical power. I invite you to rehearse being who you want to be in the theater of your mind.
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PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Professional athletes sometimes talk about “winning ugly.” That’s when they achieve a victory even though they haven’t played their very best. I foresee you using that phrase for yourself soon, after you notch a less-thanpretty but undeniably real success. There’s another expression you might also exemplify, too: “ugly ripe.” Officially, it’s the name of luscious heirloom tomatoes whose lumpy, offbeat forms contrast with the smooth, bland specimens stacked in most supermarket bins. In the coming weeks, it will describe the nonstandard yet succulent flavor of your life.
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VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your assignment: Compose a vigorous prayer in which you ask life for something you fear you don’t deserve or are not supposed to want. What is the blessing, healing or freedom that feels “too much,” “too selfish,” “too late” or “too impossible” for you to yearn for? Name this prize and how you imagine it might allow you to give more, love more, or live more honestly. You could begin your appeal with these words: “Dear Great Mystery, I’m nervous about asking for this, but I will ask anyway,” and then let your heart speak without editing. Do this at least once every day for 10 days.
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In 1848, a Libra-born carpenter named James Marshall discovered a few glittering flakes of gold floating on the American River in California. His find ignited the Gold Rush, drawing hundreds of thousands of people westward. Alas, Marshall himself never became rich from the discovery, though many other people did. I’m hoping and predicting a different outcome when you locate treasure in the coming weeks, Libra. In this instance, you will share in the spoils.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries artist Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles, France, for 15 months in 1888 and 1889. It was the most prolific time of his career. His buoyant genius overflowed, pouring out over 200 paintings, including the lavish Sunflowers series. I suspect you will enjoy your own surge of splashy productivity in the coming months. It may not be as manically generative as van Gogh, though. I think your creativity will be rather relaxed and deeply healing. Start planning now for how you want to channel all this imaginative exuberance.
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The lyrebird can imitate almost any sound, including chainsaws, car alarms, camera shutters, and other birds’ songs. But they don’t just mimic sounds randomly. They compose elaborate performances, weaving a variety of imitations into complex acoustic tapestries. In a sense, they are remix artists. During the coming weeks, Scorpio, I hope you give yourself permission to resemble a lyrebird. Sample freely from everything you’ve absorbed. Weave your influences into new configurations. Express your imaginative concoctions of repurposed ideas and enchantments. The voice isn’t less yours because it borrows from other voices. Originality is in part about arrangement, not just source material.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I invite you to clear out every fixed idea your mind carries about where you are “supposed” to be. Once you have made that inner space wide and uncluttered, begin a fresh inquiry into the nature of your real home. Use questions like these to navigate: 1. What’s the first place you think of when you come across the word “sanctuary”? 2. Which environments reliably bring out your brightest, truest qualities? 3. Do you have what you would call power spots? If so, how do they make you feel in your body and psyche? 4. Which locations on Earth fascinate you, even if you have never visited them? 5. Could there be a future dwelling that offers a more peak-level experience of home than the familiar place where tradition now soothes you?
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Astronauts who have orbited Earth describe the “overview effect.” Viewing the entire globe from high above triggers rich epiphanies and cognitive shifts, providing a visceral sense of the planet’s fragility and unity. Borders dissolve. Conflicts seem absurd. I surmise you are ripe for a similar blessing, Sagittarius. You’ll be able to see your current dramas from expansive vantage points that make their true scale and significance obvious. Armed with these perspectives, you will naturally clarify your priorities and allow petty concerns to fade away.
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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You are the result of an ancestral crowd: two parents, four grandparents and eight great-grandparents. Without these 14 lives weaving together in the precise ways they did, your unique destiny would never have taken shape. Their choices and challenges helped sculpt your gifts and your rough edges, your cravings and your turnoffs. The coming weeks will be a ripe astrological moment to get more intimate with this lineage. As you delve into your family’s stories, you may uncover vital clues for refreshing your views on dilemmas that have dragged on for a while. Are you daring enough to let your sense of “where I come from” evolve—and, with it, your sense of what kind of future you want to create?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The brain doesn’t literally multitask. It rapidly shifts attention between tasks, creating the illusion of simultaneity. For many people, each interchange costs mental energy and reduces efficiency. But some brains can switch faster with a lower energy cost, making them better at sustained task-switching. I’m sure you can guess the identity of the zodiac’s number one task-switcher: you, of course! And the good news is that in the coming weeks, you will be even more adept than usual in wielding your superpower. One implication is that you will know when not to overdo it and when not to use it trivially. You will be a master of seamless, effective and meaningful transitions.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Astronomers know that many stars don’t travel alone. Binary stars orbit each other for eons, their mutual gravity shaping each partner’s destiny. I propose we make this your featured metaphor in the coming months. It will be a favorable time to de-emphasize the notion that strength and creative power require complete autonomy. I suspect that flexible, spirited interdependence will generate far better results than lonely self-sufficiency. Which alliances and relationships will expand your orbit rather than shrink it? Invest in them.
LANDYN ZANE Coming Attractions
In 1973, both David Bowie and Elton John debuted iconic looks along with new albums: Bowie the lightning-bolt face paint of the glam rock singer’s Aladdin Sane and John the rhinestoned jackets that would become his live-show signature after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Cedar Rapids native Landyn Zane references both costuming choices with electric blue lightning bolts and all-white suits, so it’s no surprise he’s inspired by that bygone era of pop superstars.
Without giving over too much to throwback aesthetics, the singer deftly toes the line between an assortment of ’80s-inspired dance beats and song structures, with a hyper-online DIY pop-star sensibility. There’s a new showman in town, or rather, Landyn Zane’s a “coming attraction.”
The artists upcoming EP Coming Attractions, arrives at a fascinating time for both the artist and the cultural landscape. The project lands between Zane’s yearlong stint chasing dreams in L.A. and his Top Pop Artist nomination at the Iowa Music Awards. It also documents the dizzying highs and lows of the early Gold Rush for social media virality. He’s taken these lessons to heart across the EP’s six tracks, singing of a “young rising star once born in the wrong place,” while still waxing poetic about “Cedar Rapids snow.”
Zane’s looking to become a traditional popstar—propelled by a sound combining a Cher dance hit with the indie-synth sound of The 1975—in a music landscape where male popstars and boy bands have all but evaporated, and maximalist hyperpop rules the record labels.
Coming Attractions makes a strong case for authentic, theatrical artistry against the algorithmic hit machine.
Each song on the EP has its own personality and film-inspired character, appearing across promo materials and in the music videos for the project. Zane wears a suit bespeckled with blue and white flowers for introspective pop ballads “Died on the Vine” and “Sleep in the Backyard.” Dancier tracks like “Talking to the Dead” and “How Much For Your Love?” see the singer in an American Psycho transparent raincoat and galaxy-themed Canadian tuxedo. Zane leans into a compelling narrative-concept EP approach, with care and an attention to detail that punches way above its weight.
Coming Attractions shows large-scale production chops, drenched in glittery beats and layered vocals.
Coming Attractions shows largescale production chops, drenched in glittery beats and layered vocals— clever packaging for lyrics of exasperation from day-to-day grinds. As befits any pop star, there are also hopes for sweeping romance. The track “Strange Love” provides a core synth-pop representation of what Zane hopes to capture in his already prolific 40-song catalog, with a bouncy chorus, off-the-cuff snarls and yelps baked into high-pitched builds and the alluring repetition of backing vocals, all wrapped up in crystal-clear production.
As with all good things, the songs must come to an end, and the sixsong collection, introduced with a retro movie theater-style set-up, ends with the sound of a film reel whirring to its completion. The credits might be rolling but the EP lingers with its danceability, its flair for both the dramatic and personal. As much as “your favorite Iowan pop star” leans into the visual branding of a curated pop persona, the lyrics gave ample glimpses of the artist under the blue paint.
—Elisabeth Oster
DEĀ EX MACHINĀ APO/THECARY
DEAEXMACHINA.BANDCAMP.COM
Nothing is more frustrating than a tired cliché, especially one that happens to be true. Take “the only constant is change,” which is made anew when refracted through the lens of a burgeoning artist. Torina Gedler, a Des Moines-based synth-pop musician playing under the moniker DEĀ EX MACHINĀ, provides that sense of renewal with an EP that is ambitious in both scope and theme.
Gedler is a proud member of the Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities group, and planned the release of their debut EP APO/THECARY for late July, to coincide with Disability Pride Month. It was announced as a concept project that follows a fictional main character DEĀ, who is capable of both transfiguration and witchcraft. The narrative sees her as spiritually awakened and burdened with saving her homeworld from environmental catastrophe. At the same time, the project “chronicles Gedler’s recovery and rise from internalized ableism toward self-actualization.”
Like the best concept projects, the narrative goals are a tall order to introduce and to resolve, especially in a five-song format. But with every playthrough, the project is best understood through the prism of “change is constant.”
Take, for example, “SURPLUS/ SCARCITY,” the first track. It’s an arrangement that shifts around almost tectonically, each thunderous percussion cue quaking the earth and bringing about something new. It begins with a classic piano-pop pattern and vocal, then suddenly a barreling drum sample does away with the piano entirely, introducing a close
harmony and wavering synth arpeggio. Little flourishes like this set and reset the soundstage constantly; you’ll hear pianos, synths, guitars and an apex of screaming vocals, all trading off at tastefully selected moments.
The song’s many evolutions are a microcosm of the EP as a whole. The second track, “G/B (GAME/ BOY),” conjures youthful “neenerneener” melodicism and chiptune 8-bit video game nostalgia, while the following track “UN/CERTAINTY” pairs plucking orchestral strings with a slightly jazzy guitar interlude and bittersweet lyrics that build with the song’s progression. There are even hints of a sweet brass chorale in its final breaths. Following that, “333/AM” features a looming synth bass that commands eerie chords and lyrics of transformation. Simply put, APO/THECARY is chameleonic. The vulnerable vocal delivery throughout—paired with this maximalist style of arranging— reminds me of an early-career Will Wiesenfeld (Baths), particularly his 2010 album Cerulean. Gedler also has parallels with Lana Del Rey, Allie X and AURORA, among others. Fans of Grammy-nominated artist Medusa will note that J. Fagotti is credited on APO/THECARY , handling the production, mixing and mastering ends of the release. It shows. The mixes deftly balance the varying sound designs, however unpredictable they seem.
“STAY/AWAKE,” the EP’s final track, features a chorus that is something of a moving target. It slightly changes its lyrical content upon every repetition, challenging the listener to reconsider its context. But what resonates most with me is the appearance of its first chorus couplet, announcing its melody and, arguably, the whole project’s thesis: “Now I’m awake / found patterns to break.”
DEĀ EX MACHINĀ’s APO/ THECARY will let you into a world filled with uncertainties, but you can rest assured that there are changes on the horizon.
—Skyler Gonzalez
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISTS THE WOMEN
September 17 – January 2
Drawn from the Christian Levett Collection and the FAMM (Female Artists of the Mougins Museum), France, Abstract Expressionists: The Women features nearly 50 paintings by 32 important women artists between 1936 and 1977.
The exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts.
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Experience world-class opera in a theatre that brings you within arm’s reach of the action onstage. Find out for yourself why audiences from around the world make Iowa their summer arts destination! For more information and to order tickets, visit dmmo.org/tickets or call (515) 209-3257
Left: Mercedes Matter, Untitled, 1936. Oil on canvas, 38 x 35 in.
Courtesy of Mark Borghi, the Levett Collection, and FAMM. Photo: Fraser Marr.
Before the Mango Ripens DZANC BOOKS
Before the Mango Ripens by Afabwaje Kurian is an aching and scathing reflection on colonialism, gender politics and the influence of Christianity’s spread amongst non-European cultures. Kurian, who received her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, has served as visiting faculty for both the fiction program and the International Writing Program. It’s no wonder that both departments tapped into her writing prowess, as Kurian’s novel is quietly precise, aiming every critique perfectly as she exposes the sins of the community she depicts.
The novel is centered on a fictional Nigerian village, Rabata, as the broader country navigates decolonization efforts and the ramifications of a civil war. It opens on members of the community gathering at church to hear the testimony of the preacher’s translator, who claims to have survived a religiously motivated murder attempt. This sets the stage for the complex dynamics that unfold—who believes the story, who serves as witness and how those populations are at odds.
Kurian is exemplary in taking her time. She allows the tension to simmer and marinate; the gradual build-up lends authenticity to the story. Its drama is grounded and never unnaturally heightened.
The women are the star of Kurian’s novel. Jummai is a housegirl for the white missionaries Gary and Katherine Parson; Tebeya is a talented
doctor who returns to Rabata after her training, wanting to give back to her home community. Despite their drastically different histories, they share an overarching struggle with the colonizing whiteness impacting the town.
Jummai benefits from the missionaries through work and income, but it is the influence of the missionaries that has made her into a less-desirable woman. She maintains her own desires and dreams, but those dreams exist under pressure from the white people who insist she should improve herself in colonially approved ways. Her dreams, and the lengths she will go to to achieve them, are amazingly and compellingly crafted.
Tebeya is my favorite character of the novel, occupying a difficult space at the intersection of colonialism and feminism. She is a female doctor, rare for the ’70s; her desire is for legacy, which does not necessarily translate to biological family, much to her mother’s disgruntlement. Tebeya is also the novel’s only character interested in true self-reflection. She questions her own motives and whether her actions are not deeply rooted in a sort of selfishness.
Before the Mango Ripens showcases male characters who are nothing but spectacle, a choice that I found delightful. In contrast to the intense ruminating of the female characters, the men’s internal reflections center on their own status of perceived victimhood. This leads them to behave in scornful ways, each action causing a heightened reaction.
This dichotomy between introspection and action does something unique to the novel as a whole: it quietly shows that the plot, while expertly woven and compelling, does not matter. It has been a long time since I have read a book that showcases the potency of characters as much as this one.
The novel’s conclusion is satisfying, but not curative. Kurian encapsulates the complex nature of colonization without falling into simplistic pitfalls; she articulates that progress and victory are different, and that, in their own ways, both are painful.
—K. Twaddle
The concepts of time, memory and perspective are elusive and finicky. In Sarah Minor’s Carousel, our speaker attempts to guide us through all manner of experiences that may lead us closer to an understanding.
Carousel, billed as “an essay on seeing,” is an ambitious and artful collection of vignettes that weave together scenes from art and cultural history, personal moments and universal experiences. The narrative revolves around the Bayeux Tapestry, a giant embroidered cloth dating back to the 11th century, that depicts the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings. The tapestry serves as Carousel’s central image, revisited throughout the book, anchoring the discussion of time and objectivity to this ancient document.
Interwoven with the tapestry— which is not our only recurring image—are scenes of lectures depicted over video chat and in the classroom, first-person stories of family members with age-related memory loss, discussions of different artists and their work (including René Magritte, Kara Walker and Joseph Dufour), hot air balloons, photography and more. Each of these vignettes asks the reader to re-develop their understanding of perspective and trust our speaker to steer.
Through science, art and history, Minor develops a panoramic view and trains us to resist misdirection.
When Minor points us toward complications in histories long considered settled, she asks us whose story is being told. “[I]n art, the title is the small, offered orifice, the velvet tongue extended,” she writes. “A title is a painting’s collar. The title hangs on the painting’s every word.”
Time and memory dilate in Minor’s hands as she attempts to pin down what creates perception. Across the top margin of each page is a dilating shape (which I initially thought had something to do with the review copy I received) which gradually shrinks and then grows with the book. I worry that this is a spoiler, since it took me some time for me to determine that it was an intentional illustration and not an illusion, but it’s too good to leave out.
Minor shares early allusions to the panorama, my favorite being Airopaidia, a book of hand-drawn landscapes by the aeronaut Thomas Baldwin which came with complex instructions asking readers to “open the book flat on a table, to roll up a piece of paper, press the tube to their eye, and then follow a dotted line across the page to witness a gaze ‘bounded by the circularity of vapor,’ as if they were peering through a hole in the floor of a basket skating through clouds,” Minor describes. “Baldwin’s color drawings rendered the earth as a set of concentric circles.”
Minor also explores decollation. “Decollation severs a figure from its context … It’s the artist’s opportunity to meet or dodge the gaze.” This explanation serves to underscore the book’s thematic core: we can only know what we perceive, and whatever context is attached to that will color our experiences. The things we see are filtered through lens, reflection, in relief, and in negative. Beyond the vignettes being educational and necessitating introspection, a huge draw of this book is Minor’s sweeping lyricism. As often as I stopped reading to absorb information, I paused to underline some gorgeous phrasing. Minor’s questions in Carousel , about what is measurable and who controls what, may be her own version of the Airopaidia
—Sarah Elgatian
SARAH MINOR Carousel
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
AFABWAJE KURIAN
20. Subtitle of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
22. It enlarges in low light
24. Language with castellano and ibérico varieties (if your ñ key is broken)
25. Just
26. Times when you really give a shit, briefly?
28. VIP section?
29. “Is there room for one more?”
32. Cornell University, but not Cornell College
34. Bad, in slang
35. Dunkin’ product that they claim is “coffee for a crowd,” but whose 96 ounces are barely enough for me
37. Rock, as gay apparel
40. Adobe standard
41. Stopped being a stickler for the rules, say
43. Altar end of a church
46. “Bicycle Day” celebrates a trip taken on this
47. Unit defined as 25.4 mm since 1959
48. Daughter of Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, on Blue’s Clues & You!
51. Approach with unfettered excitement, as a loved one you haven’t seen in a while
53. Actor who played the title character in 1933’s The Invisible Man
56. “People mostly use ___ to sound pretentious. You rarely hear ___ ___ ___” (xkcd quote about a Latin word)
58. “___ to Go!”
59. Author of a story that starts
on Aug. 4, 2026 (whose title is spelled out by the last words of this puzzle’s theme answers)
61. Ypsilanti-based sch. whose avian mascot is somehow not a 61-Across
62. Half of a Severance division
63. Pop up, as difficulties
64. Rand McNally reference
65. Send junk mail?
66. 66, et al.
DOWN
1. Ariana DeBose’s voice role in 2023’s Wish
2. Common stir-fry veggies
3. One of three directors of the 2025 documentary series
The American Revolution
4. Sink in the middle, like an old couch
5. Currency with King Rama X on it
6. Daisies that look like sunflowers
7. Roots of a mathematical function
8. Put down by showing off
9. Credit that should be in a larger font for the crossword constructor than the editor
10. MSG VIP on 7/3/2026, familiarly
11. Like nose-pinching scents
13. Resident of Aotearoa, colloquially
14. Sports org. for Coco Gauff and Madison Keys
17. Sports org. for Canucks and Canadiens
21. Undulating 23. Canadian province where Anne of Green Gables is set
25. Stage name of the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch
26. Freestyle vehicle at the X Games
27. Talks to a cat, perhaps
30. Compound from the same
source as THC
31. Exclamation in a classic Edward Ruscha painting
32. Particle in the Large Hadron Collider
33. One honored on 11/11
36. Martin’s role on The West Wing
37. “Keep going!”
38. “That goes without saying!”
39. Unspecified term in a sequence
40. Paddington in ___ (2024 sequel that did not feature Volodymyr Zelenskyy reprising his role in the Ukrainian dub)
42. ___ City (Vegas, slangily)
43. High school course where solutions might be your problem, for short
44. Salty dog : gin :: ___ : tequila
45. Had some trouble eating baby food, say
46. Organ also called the voice box
49. “About That ___ Elba Gold Documentary” (Folding Ideas video)
50. Jeff who’s drawn The Family Circus since his father Bil’s death in 2011
