Eastern Iowa

Shea Hembrey, who just completed an artist fellowship at the University of Iowa, creates “landscape paintings” using colorful soil supplements to plant trees and promote native bird conservation.

Libertarian nominee Nicholas Gluba is vying for Iowa's 1st District seat in Congress. The Libertarian Party of Iowa is a recognized party this year. The shift worker and former U.S. Marine is hoping voters will give a third party a shot.

China’s foreign ministry said police have arrested a 55-year-old man suspected of stabbing four instructors visiting from a small college in Iowa. IPR News spoke with one victim who’s recovering in a hospital in China.

This year, the University of Iowa says it will close the provider of sexual assault services in southeastern Iowa. A local provider has less than a year to fill the gap.

The Rape Victim Advocacy Program has provided support for survivors of sexual assault for more than 50 years. An IPR News investigation reveals how its abrupt closure came about and how that puts those services for 10% of the state’s population in jeopardy.

Looking back on a year since the Iowa Wesleyan University campus closed after 181 years.

The jury found that the state’s case against Tara McGovern wasn’t sufficient to convict them. But that doesn’t mean the acquittal challenges 2021’s increased penalties for protest-related crimes.

In a vote last night, debate was heated. But in the end, the elected officials could not convince the room of Johnson County Democrats to denounce the county attorney for pursuing charges against protesters who blocked traffic.

A community meal can bring people together. But as small towns shrink and institutions like churches contract, a meal can become vital to the life of a town. One church in northeast Iowa is changing the role it plays and the value it provides to the greater community.

When colleges close, they don’t disappear. Closures leave students in flux and facilities unattended. And in the case of Iowa Wesleyan University, a collection that needs a home. The University of Iowa has taken on the role of safeguarding the now-shuttered university's archival records.