Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Johnson County shoppers can do good with canned goods (and other groceries) when Shop for Shelter returns Saturday - Little Village

3 2

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 12h

If you're shopping at a Fareway or Hy-Vee in Johnson County on Saturday, look out for folks from DVIP/RVAP — they'll be collecting all sorts of donations for the people they serve.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11, staff, board members and volunteers from the Domestic Violence Intervention Program and Rape Victim Advocacy Program (DVIP & RVAP) will […]

Letter from a service member: The U.S. military is entering dangerous political territory - Little Village

1 3

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 1d

"Our country is at grave risk under a commander-in-chief and defense secretary who sow division within the ranks," writes an anonymous U.S. service member.

"If this continues, the military will not fall from outside attack; it will collapse from within, hollowed out by mistrust and division."

The following letter was submitted to Little Village by a service member who wishes to remain anonymous. Their identity has been verified by LV editors. As a service member with […]

'Collections are fragile,' but conservationists say they're being ignored as the State Historical Society moves out of Iowa City using prison labor - Little Village

3 8 20

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 2d

“It’s concerning seeing those wooden pallets left outside in the humidity, in the rain,” said librarian and council candidate Clara Reynen, referring to material waiting to be loaded into an Iowa Prison Industries truck.

Behind the Centennial Building in downtown Iowa City on Monday morning, workers began to load a truck with parts of the collections housed in the research facility and archives of […]

Refocus returns on Thursday! Here's a guide to 18 films on the festival lineup - Little Village

1 2

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 2d

Refocus Film Festival's lineup is full of enchanting performances, from Tessa Thompson in 'Hedda' to Marion Cotillard in 'The Ice Tower' to Annapurna Sriram in 'Fucktoys,' which she also directed. Then there's Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones in 'Train Dreams,' the opening night show at the Englert.

FilmScene’s Refocus Film Festival returns to Iowa City Oct. 9-12 with a full platter of cinematic goodness. We asked our resident film scribes Ariana Martinez and Benji McElroy to share […]

'We're on a knife's edge': Art Cullen chides Reynolds' meanness, Big Ag's death grip on Iowa land and livelihoods - Little Village

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 3d

Art Cullen is a realist about Iowa's shitty water, air, economy and culture wars. But he's also optimistic.

“Take a farm field that’s been burned up by chemicals, and if you leave it fallow for three years, all of sudden earthworms reappear,” he noted. “The native seeds will grow again.”

“When I was a kid in the 1960s, you could drive from Carroll to Storm Lake, and see cattle lining green hills the entire way,” Art Cullen said in a […]

Review: Des Moines Symphony’s debut concert featuring Viet Cuong was a goosebump-inducing start to an ambitious season - Little Village

1 6

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 3d

“Judging by how quickly the audience leapt to their feet for a standing ovation, I think it is safe to assume we will be hearing more of this rising composer’s brilliant works in the future," writes Meghan Klinkenborg.

Des Moines Symphony kicked off their 88th season with the aptly titled debut concert Triumph–Tchaikovsky 5 on Sept. 27 and 28. Their program featured a stunning composition by a rising […]

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 7d

Members of Ian Roberts’ legal team spoke at a town hall meeting in Des Moines last night. They plan to tackle the firearms charge first before working to resolve Roberts' immigration status.

"The government filed a complaint against him. It’s not an indictment," Alfredo Parrish pointed out.

DMPS sues consulting firm that vetted Ian Roberts; DOJ criminal complaint against Roberts unsealed - Little Village

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 7d

“The firm failed its duty to properly vet candidates,” DMPS Board Chair Jackie Norris said after announcing the lawsuit against JG Consulting.

“This is about accountability,” she continued. “Taxpayer dollars were used, and we are seeking accountability.”

The Des Moines School Board is suing the consulting firm that conducted its search for a superintendent in 2023, resulting in the hiring of Ian Roberts. The board made its […]

DMPS sues consulting firm that vetted Ian Roberts; DOJ criminal complaint against Roberts unsealed - Little Village

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 7d

Des Moines Public Schools, federal law enforcement and Ian Roberts' defense attorneys all provided updates today in the rapidly developing case.

The Des Moines School Board is suing the consulting firm that conducted its search for a superintendent in 2023, resulting in the hiring of Ian Roberts. The board made its […]

With elections in November, an Iowa City Council candidate forum is set for Monday night - Little Village

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 7d

Two at-large council seats (Bruce Teague and Megan Alter) and the District B seat (Shawn Harmsen) will be on Iowa City ballots in November. All three incumbents are facing challengers.

There's a ballot measure to consider as well.

Candidates for the Iowa City Council in November’s election will meet to discuss the issues at the League of Women Voters of Johnson County Candidate Forum on Monday night. The […]

Little Big Screen: ‘The Dark Knight’ and more blockbusters tattooed on George Kittle’s arms - Little Village

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 7d

A Hawkeye golden boy and the NFL's highest-paid tight end is currently out with a hamstring injury. Here are the movies George Kittle is probably watching during his recovery, as indicated by his ample arm ink.

There hasn’t been much Kittle to watch on Sundays since. A stupid hamstring sidelined him in the first half of the first game this season. But hey, Little Big Screen can still watch what must be a few...

Review: Alto and bass flutes converse at a masterful recital by Rose Bishop and Heather Neuenschwander - Little Village

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 8d

"This many world premieres in one show is remarkable," Kent Williams writes of Sunday's recital at The James Theater. "... Flutes have a liquid-singing quality. For Bishop and Neuenschwander, playing is like breathing, or singing."

Rose Bishop and Heather Neuenschwander, two classical flutists who recently released the duo album Unseen/Unheard, performed a release recital on Sept. 26 at the James Theater. The album, released on ...

DMPS was 'victim of deception,' says school board; former superintendent Ian Roberts transferred from Woodbury County Jail to DOJ custody - Little Village

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 8d

“Two things can be true at the same time—Dr. Roberts was an effective and well-respected leader and there are serious questions related to his citizenship and ability to legally perform his duties as superintendent," board Chair Jackie Norris said Monday.

Yesterday's statement was more terse.

On Wednesday evening, the Des Moines School Board issued a statement in which Chair Jackie Norris called the board “a victim of deception” by Ian Roberts, who the board hired as […]

Review: Ballet Des Moines kicks off the season with athleticism, Enya and a pianist that's part of the performance - Little Village

1 3

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 8d

Little Village has been publishing This Modern World since issue 001. 🫶 If you'd like a fancy bound version of the comics you've seen in LV the last five years, plus many more, artist Tom Tomorrow is taking orders this month!

Here's our issue 345 strip:

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 8d

Ballet Des Moines' season opener 'Forward' featured two world premieres and a returning favorite.

Ballet Des Moines opened their 25/26 season this past weekend with momentum via Forward, an evening of new and returning performances at Hoyt Sherman Place. Though officially dubbed the season opener,...

With state funding cut off, the Izaak Walton League is fundraising to keep an Iowa water quality monitoring program afloat - Little Village

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 9d

Funding for the Iowa Water Quality Information System was diverted by the state Legislature in 2023, and is poised to shut down if funding doesn’t come through by July 2026.

The Izaak Walton League of America’s Iowa division has started a grassroots campaign to raise funds for a water quality monitoring program, formerly funded by the state, at the University […]

At a cult compound in rural Iowa, death prayers and doomsday prep gave way to 'natural' health grifts and costly tests of faith - Little Village

1 2 1

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 9d

“The reward was not being shunned and excommunicated,” ex-member Charity Navalesi added. “The reward was today you are treated like a human and shown love and acceptance. Tomorrow, if you decide you don’t want to do that, you’re out and you are treated like shit.”

On Dec. 12, 1972, cult leader John Robert Stevens made a big announcement: he was a time traveler. “I had a real meeting with the Lord,” Stevens told his followers […]

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 9d

“We were always being asked for money and time and work and donations,” said ex-member Scott Barker.

They battled "the poverty mentality," not poverty.

“Forget about the Sermon on the Mount. Forget about the loaves and fishes. Why would going and feeding somebody be a way of redeeming your soul?”

Scott Barker’s parents, Doug and Laurie, pose with friends at the Shiloh compound in the 1980s. Laurie died in 2013 after choosing to treat her ovarian cancer with alternative treatments recommended by church leaders. — photo courtesy of Scott Barker

The Living Word Fellowship followers sing during a worship service. Most “Words” delivered by church leaders were recorded on video and/or audio, then sold to followers. — photo courtesy of Scott Barker

A camper vacuums the hallway with headphones on at Shiloh in the ’90s. — photo courtesy of Kesha Lozinski

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 9d

Gary and Marilyn Hargrave took up Stevens' torch, founding a farm in SE Iowa (maintained in part by child labor) and selling health supplements.

“Are you going to believe in medicine, or are you going to have faith? Which one is it? Because the only one that really works is faith," Gary preached.

A portrait of Gary and Marilyn Hargrave from the 1990s. — courtesy of Scott Barker

Marilyn Farms, a Living Word Fellowship business located adjacent to its Shiloh compound in Iowa, sold many “natural health” supplements to followers, who were encouraged to be skeptical of mainstream medicine. — photo courtesy of Scott Barker

A line of plastic vitamin supplement bottles with Marilyn Farms labels. The Living Word Fellowship’s farm adjacent to its Shiloh compound in Iowa sold many “natural health” products to followers, who were encouraged to be skeptical of mainstream medicine. — photo courtesy of Scott Barker

At a cult compound in rural Iowa, death prayers and doomsday prep gave way to 'natural' health grifts and costly tests of faith - Little Village

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 9d

“A doctor doesn’t heal anybody. He just exposes you to the process by which the body heals itself,” Iowa-born cult leader John Robert Stevens claimed. “Think of all the wicked people that need doctors."

He would die of ill health at the age of 63. But his "church" endured for another 35 years.

On Dec. 12, 1972, cult leader John Robert Stevens made a big announcement: he was a time traveler. “I had a real meeting with the Lord,” Stevens told his followers […]

Review: Sharon Van Etten confirms she's a witch leaning towards the light at Iowa City's Infinite Dream fest - Little Village

1 1 1

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 9d

“My song ‘Seventeen’ I didn’t realize until later … I was talking to every version of myself,” Sharon Van Etten told author Rachel Yoder in Iowa City. “When I perform that live, I try to make eye contact with as many people as possible."

LV reviewer Jessie Kraemer was one of those lucky people.

Sharon Van Etten wants to look into your eyes. I know because she looked in mine when she came to Iowa City to play the first show of her US tour earlier this month. Before she took the stage at the I...

Des Moines' new indie bookstores want to help Latino, LGBTQ readers 'see themselves on the shelf' - Little Village

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 10d

“I have always been an avid reader and lover of literature," said Luis Luján, owner of Nos Books. "What got me down this path was the book bannings and the culture wars spilling over from the first Trump presidency combined with COVID.”

Like a book, an independent bookstore can be a spiritual oasis in a chaotic world. It probably says something about our world, then, that three indie bookstores sprouted up in […]

3 2

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 10d

ON STANDS NOW: Little Village's October 2025 issue 🔥

📍 Find a copy: bit.ly/lvlocations
🌐 Read online: littlevillagemag.com/lv-october-2025
📬 Subscribe for home delivery: littlevillagemag.com/subscribe

Letter from Supervisor Rod Sullivan: The Johnson County jail needs room to grow - Little Village

Little Village @littlevillage.bsky.social · 11d

"I understand that there are people who want the jail to be smaller. But why? Based upon what factors?" writes Supervisor Rod Sullivan. "Does the public want to spend the money on a brand new facility and still have to pay to house prisoners out of county? I very much doubt it."

There have been several discussions as to what is the proper size for the new jail that is being proposed. I will share my thoughts in a moment. First, here […]