Center News

Sunset on the Farm returns to support IowaWatch’s mission

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Iowa City, Iowa – Corridor area residents are invited to enjoy great food, wine, music, and scenery at an annual fundraiser to support IowaWatch.org. Get tickets here. Sunset on the Farm will take place Thursday, September 23rd, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Walker Homestead just outside of Iowa City. 

This event will consist of unlimited pizza and salad, s’mores for dessert, access to a cash bar, a silent auction, and live music from the Mission Bluegrass Band. Tickets are $40 for adults and $20 for children over 5. 

IowaWatch.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides Iowa’s news outlets with top-quality in-depth reporting for free while training future journalists. Tickets and other donations at Sunset on the Farm go toward supporting Iowa-focused investigative journalism such as the recent “Small Town Solutions” project. This is the first Sunset on the Farm since September 2019.

gender

Asexuality in Iowa ‘still so unknown’

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Growing up Noelie Boardman felt like there was something different about her. “As I hit puberty, I noticed a lot of people around me were getting into relationships and talking about sex, especially in high school,” Boardman, a 2021 Simpson College graduate and now age 23, said. “That was just never a thing I cared about. It wasn’t something I was interested in.”

The 23-year-old recalled how one day as a high school junior she scrolled through Tumblr, a social media website. She stumbled upon a blog about asexuality.

energy

University of Iowa meets climate change goals — didn’t kick its garbage habit

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The University of Iowa met most sustainability goals it set a decade ago, but failed in a key area — garbage going to landfills. The University of Iowa released a report this spring on its progress towards its 2020 sustainability goals. Based on the original goals, the school met targets to:- Use less energy in 2020 than it did in 2010.- Get at least 40% of campus energy from renewable sources.- Drop per capita emissions from university travel by at least 10%. UI failed to divert 60% of campus waste away from the landfill by recycling, reusing and composting. The 2019 rate sits at 39%.

Iowa History

Iowans Respond to 1892 Russian Famine

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“Burlington must not be less charitable and humane than other cities of the state…” Burlington Hawkeye

“The people of Iowa have been blessed with abundant harvest, and the appeal should be generously responded to.” Iowa City Citizen

“Davenport has raised enough Russian relief money to buy two cars of corn. Let us make a better record in Dubuque,” Dubuque Times

Iowa History, a weekly column, appears at IowaWatch on Saturdays. Cheryl Mullenbach is the author of non-fiction books for young people. Her work has been recognized by International Literacy Association, American Library Association, National Council for Social Studies, and FDR Presidential Library and Museum. Visit her website at: www.cherylmullenbachink.com

Across the state newspapers encouraged readers to contribute to famine relief efforts for Russia in 1892.

Iowa History

Women Candidates Give A Close Race In Iowa’s 1922 Elections

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“Booze was not the issue at all, it was woman suffrage,” JR Kane, newly elected mayor of Charlotte, Iowa, claimed in explaining his win in a city election in 1922. Women had won the vote through the 19th amendment to the Constitution.

Iowa History

Typewriter Created by Iowan Receives Rave Reviews at 1893 Chicago World Fair

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Some called it the fastest and best typewriting machine in the world. It was destined to revolutionize the business world. What was this marvelous invention that everyone was talking about in 1893? It was a duplex typewriter invented and patented by Iowan Adolphus S. Dennis, a former teacher at the Commercial College in Iowa City. Iowa History, a weekly column, appears at IowaWatch on Saturdays.

Uncategorized

World War I: Iowa Woman Received Recognition For Service As Nurse

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“I shudder to think what the economic condition of the country and of all other countries involved will be when this awful war is over.”

Iowa History, a weekly column, appears at IowaWatch on Saturdays. Cheryl Mullenbach is the author of non-fiction books for young people. Her work has been recognized by International Literacy Association, American Library Association, National Council for Social Studies, and FDR Presidential Library and Museum. Visit her website at: www.cherylmullenbachink.com

Alice Beatle wrote to friends and family in Iowa from her post in Budapest, Hungary, in December 1914. And while Beatle expressed alarm about economic effects of war, her immediate concern was for treatment of the wounded soldiers under her care.

Iowa History

Female Mayor Cleans Up Iowa City in 1922

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“Woman Mayor Refuses to Sign Big Contract Before Investigating”

The headline in Albia’s Daily Times newspaper must have caught the attention of readers in 1922. A woman mayor? And one who was hesitant to spend thousands of dollars in taxpayers’ money? A curiosity, for sure. Iowa History, a weekly column, appears at IowaWatch on Saturdays.