Waterloo

In 2023, the Iowa Legislature overhauled our property tax system with overwhelming bipartisan support. Part of that overhaul changed the way that many Iowa libraries and museums are funded, and the consequences of that change are making themselves known. On this episode, we talk with Billie Bailey, the retired executive director of the Grout Museum District in Waterloo, and Cindy Wells, president of the Board of Trustees for the Waterloo Public Library. Over 90% of the affected libraries and museums are at risk of budget cuts before the end of the 5-year sunset period, according to a report compiled by Bailey and Wells. Then, when tractors replaced horse-drawn implements, it revolutionized agriculture, and competition among tractor makers was fierce. We talk with Peter Tubbs, producer of Tractor Wars and Tractor Wars II from Iowa PBS, which tells that story. (Iowa PBS is an underwriter of IPR.)

Renowned authors and hundreds of Iowans gathered in Waterloo over the weekend to show resistance to public school book bans. The event was organized by the 1619 Freedom School, a program cofounded by Nikole Hannah-Jones to boost children’s literacy in the community.

Waterloo’s Bosnian community has been gripped by its home country’s World Cup success, right up until the U.S. men's national team knocked Bosnia-Herzegovina from the tournament on Wednesday.

This summer, the Grout Museum District is preparing to demolish its former science center, the Bluedorn Science Imaginarium. The decision was made in the face of funding uncertainty stemming from property tax reform in Waterloo.

The beloved music duo came to Iowa from Brazil in 2006 and has been entertaining crowds with their energetic performances that blend pop covers with electric string instruments.

How did Iowa become the home to one of the largest publicly held Haitian art collections in the world?