Stories

Traditional music, arts, dance  and food from around the world was the order of the day during the Celebrating Cultural Diversity Festival at the University of Iowa in Iowa City on Sunday.

Several thousand visitors sampled traditional foods from an array of cultures, tried new dance steps and listened to musical performances. Families were in abundance [...]

(Editor’s Note: The following video and feature package is the result of collaboration between Iowa Independent fellows Adam Burke and Douglas Burns.)

DES MOINES – While Iowa State Sen. Jeff Angelo, R-Creston, was dating his now wife, the evangelical Christian conservative just had to come right out with it and tell his lady just how much [...]

A van rolls into the Quad Cities on the way to a gig in Omaha, Minneapolis or Chicago. After parking in downtown Rock Island, a few musicians get out, stretch their legs and amble up to a third-floor recording studio.

In the performance space, a drum kit is already in place. The band browses a collection [...]

Almost 50 people gathered at the University of Iowa on Friday to discuss the two things you’re not supposed to talk about in polite company: religion and politics.

Political science professor Cary Covington’s presentation on “God Talk on the Campaign Trail” outlined how he sees the pendulum of religious favor swinging back to Democratic presidential candidates, [...]

The Iowa Conservation Education Coalition welcomed former ICEC chair Richard Leopold to Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca near Solon, Iowa, for the ICEC winter conference this weekend. Leopold is the director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Before his keynote address at the conference on Friday night, he talked with the Iowa Independent about some state environmental issues, [...]

The Iowa Utilities Board heard testimony last week on a proposed Alliant Energy coal plant in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Among those testifying in support of the plant was Iowa Valley Community College District Chancellor Tim Wynes. He supports the building of the 650-megawatt facility because of “the economic development that will come with the plant,” which he [...]

[Commentary] I attended the Democratic caucuses last night in Iowa City and recorded the results. Our precinct was allotted 9 delegates and over 500 caucusers showed up in the cold. 

There were reports that some people even walked to their precinct caucus site.

At night. In the winter. To vote.

Can you imagine? As they say [...]

In Highlight Reel Part 1: Comparing Candidate Intros, we looked at some of the people who introduce the candidates.

In Highlight Reel Part 2: Comparing Candidate Endorsements, you can find more than a dozen candidate endorsements.

In this installment of the Highlight Reel, we’ll hear from the candidates talking about, well, other candidates. Sometimes candidates question each [...]

In the first installment of Iowa Independent’s video series Highlight Reel Part 1, we covered candidate introductions.

In this installment, we continue with supporters and the people surrounding the candidates. But these videos will be more like full-blown testimony and praise for the candidates.

These videos are interviews with the people who have decided on their candidates [...]

Most of the time, when a candidate is introduced before a stump speech, the introduction is a chance to hear from someone respected who has been brought in by the campaign to make an appeal.

Sometimes the warm-up speech is short and sweet, Hillary Clinton often had a local organizer read a few words, but sometimes [...]