Little Village magazine issue 287: Oct. 7 - Nov. 3, 2020

I O W A ’ S

O N L Y

ISSUE 287 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020

R E L I A B L E

A L W A Y S

N E W S

BU R W SAC I NED A TT RIF TC ICE HI HE ST AK FOR S IN NG E: VIR PER HO TU SON UR AL E

F R E E

FES VEN T TS

SHOCKING!

JONI ERNST’S

“BALLSY”

DEALS SENATOR CAUGHT SELLING

IOWA HOG GONADS TO RE C TALL GREYS AT IOWA/ INSIDIEPE !

NEBRASKA BORDER PG. 15

PIGEON MURDERED!

BY BAT TEENS ON GRASSLEY FARM

DA DDY CHUCK

B L A M E S B IR D ,

B A ILS OUT B A B IE S

THE ENGLERT THEATRE inspiring art in uncertain times

While our doors may be closed, we’re still working hard to create quality programming that highlights the talent of our community. In the past three months we’ve uploaded over 30 videos to our Youtube channel, including a youth acting camp, a virtual concert series, and more.

Watch and subscribe at

Youtube.com/TheEnglertTheatre Acting Out Prep School | Mission Creek Underground | Best Show Ever Nuggets of Wisdom with Sharon & Jonny | Best of the Englert

Pictured: 2 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287 Jessica Egli - Acting Out Instructor

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PRESENTED BY THE ENGLERT

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A weekly podcast discussing trends in the art world, showcasing Iowa-based musicians, and highlighting Expected final dimensions the page: through members of the Iowa City-areaof community their words 8.25”w and reflections x 10.25”hon local culture.

englert.org/bestshowever

Presented by Englert Wavelength & Little Village

Dawson Davenport Writer

Stacey Walker

Heavy Color

Danez Smith

Musicians

Citizen

Writer

Beatrice Thomas

Black Belt Eagle Scout Musician

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4 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287

Artist

October 30 & 31

Tameka Cage Conley Writer

Stacey Walker by Sofia Mehaffey, Heavy Color courtesy of the band, Beatrice Thomas by Zak Neumann

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VOL. 29 ISSUE 287 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 ALWAYS FREE LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM PUBLISHER MATTHEW STEELE DIGITAL DIRECTOR DREW BULMAN ART DIRECTOR JORDAN SELLERGREN MANAGING EDITOR EMMA MCCLATCHEY ARTS EDITOR GENEVIEVE TRAINOR NEWS DIRECTOR PAUL BRENNAN VISUAL REPORTER­ JASON SMITH STAFF WRITER/EDITOR IZABELA ZALUSKA ENGAGEMENT EDITOR CELINE ROBINS FOOD & DRINK DIRECTOR FRANKIE SCHNECKLOTH STAFF WRITER ANJALI HUYNH DISTRIBUTION BRIAN JOHANNESSEN, DAI GWILLIAM, NORBERT SARSFIELD, NICOLE ELDRIDGE ADVERTISING ADS@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM LISTINGS CALENDAR@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM

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Welcome to the New Age

Invisible Band

A Full and Empty Place

Supervisor Stacey Walker on being called radioactive and what’s coming next.

Heavy Color discuss how to collaborate, not appropriate, with indigenous musicians.

Out of necessity, Beatrice Thomas has found a way to embrace pandemic changes.

IZABELA ZALUSKA

KEMBREW MCLEOD

DANIEL BOSCALJON

6 - Interactions 10 - Brock About Town 12 - Cortado 14 - Joni Ernst 15 - Recipe 20 - Bread & Butter

22 - Community 26 - Prairie Pop 30 - A-List 34 - Events Calendar 45 - Ad Index

47 - Dear Kiki 49 - Astrology 51 - Local Albums 53 - Local Books 55 - Crossword

CONTRIBUTORS DANIEL BOSCALJON, AUDREY BROCK, ALEX CHOQUEMAMANI, MADDY FUSCO, JAY GOODVIN, CHERYL GRAHAM, DARCIE HUTZELL, EUGENE KIM, MIKE KUHLENBECK, JOHN MARTINEK, KEMBREW MCLEOD, SOFIA MEHAFFEY, ZAK NEUMANN, JOSHUA PARDIE, TREY REIS, CANDACE SMITH, KATHERINE SNYDER, TOM TOMORROW, SAM LOCKE WARD SUBMISSIONS EDITOR@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM DISTRIBUTION REQUESTS DISTRO@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM CREATIVE SERVICES CREATIVE@LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM CONTACT (319) 855-1474, 623 S DUBUQUE ST, IOWA CITY, IA 52240

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Little Village is an independent, community-supported news and culture publication based in Iowa City. Through journalism, essays and events, we work to improve our community in the Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids area according to a few core values: environmental sustainability, affordability and access, economic and labor justice, racial justice, gender equity, quality healthcare, quality education and critical culture.

Letters to the editor(s) are always welcome. We reserve the right to fact check and edit for length and clarity. Please send letters, comments or corrections to editor@littlevillagemag.com. Little Village is always free; all contents are the licensed work of the contributor and of the publication.

If you would like to reprint or collaborate on new content, reach us at lv@littlevillagemag.com. To browse back issues, visit us at 623 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, or online at issuu.com/littlevillage.

I O W A ’ S

O N L Y

ISSUE 287 Oct. 7–NOv. 3, 2020

R E L I A B L E

A L W A Y S

N E W S

F R E E

BU R

SAC WI NED A TT RIF TC IC HI HE S FOR ES IN NG TAKE: VIR -PER HO TU SON UR AL FES EVEN T TS

SHOCKING!

JONI ERNST’S

“BALLSY”DEALS SENATOR CAUGHT SELLING

IOWA HOG GONADS TO TALL GREYS AT IOWA/ INRSEIDCIPEE !

NEBRASKA BORDER PG. 15

PIGEON MURDERED!

BY BAT TEENS ON GRASSLEY FARM

DADDY CHUCK BLAMES BIRD,

BAILS OUT BABIES

Jordan Sellergren

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INTERACTIONS LV encourages community members, including candidates for office, to submit letters to Editor@LittleVillageMag.com. To be considered for print publication, letters should be under 500 words. Preference is given to letters that have not been published elsewhere.

UI President Bruce Harreld announces his retirement (Oct. 1) Bruce sucked on multiple levels from the moment he was illegally appointed.

Totally irresponsible and incompetent.

The University of Iowa deserves better.

—Donald P.S. Good riddance to bad rubbish. —Tiffani G. Ya know, don’t the door hit ya... and all that rot… —Patti B.F.

But this has to be it. Right? The only way to prevent quarantine in school exposures is masks but this is NOT a mask mandate. —Ben S. Linn County renames park to honor memory of Meskwaki artist and women’s rights advocate (Sept. 29) A good change and Wanatee just sounds better too. —Jacqueline B.M. The right thing to do. —Joyce G.

Gov. Reynolds relaxes COVID-19 quarantine guidelines for schools (Sept. 29)

Des Moines-area group stages ‘Back the Blue’ march in Iowa City (Sept. 27)

I mean. I knew she hadn’t hit bottom yet.

We welcome all types of demonstrations

F U T I L E W R A T H

S A M LO C K E WA R D

HAVE AN OPINION? Better write about it!

Send letters to:

Editor@LittleVillageMag.com in Iowa City. Thank you for keeping it peaceful. —David F. “‘There is no race problem in this country,’ a representative of the BLEXIT Foundation said. ‘What we have is a culture problem in this country. I would go as far as to say, it is sin problem in this country—but that’s, you know, people aren’t readyto have that conservation.’” The heck does that mean? —Ben S. Worship MY specific god, or else.

—Justin H. So the powerful and numerous silent majority in Iowa City had to bring in more of the silent majority from the state and out of state to turn out 75 people. Wow. At least there are only a few Iowa Citians who are racist enough to do this publicly.

—Courtney MB People need to stop equating the professions of law enforcement with those of

Don't wait to rake.

Leaf collection begins Mon., Oct. 19.

Find out when the leaf vacuum visits your neighborhood: icgov.org/leafvacuum

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race. No one is born “blue” unless they are deprived of oxygen in some manner.

—Donald P.S. Letter to the editor: Congrats, Republicans, Big 10 football is back (Sept. 26) Back at a cost. —Connie F. Football is back yet people are still bitching. Enjoy the season everyone and Go Hawks! —Chris D. White supremacist propaganda disguised as a health warning distributed in Coralville (Sept. 23) I just love it—they have no truth to back up their bigotry so they spread lies and expect decent people to believe them.

—Ronda K. If anyone’s not aware just from reading

/LittleVillage READER POLL: How are you voting in the 2020 general election?

By mail 46% In person and early

44%

In person on election day 10%

about the ongoing flyering campaign, the original leader of the group [National Alliance] who died in 2002 (William Pierce) was the author (calling himself “Andrew Macdonald”) of The Turner Diaries, which helped inspire the Oklahoma City bombing and remains one of the most infamous and influential propaganda tomes of the white nationalist

S T R E S S F R A C T U R E S

JOHN

MARTINEK

How to find us these days ...

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In April, when this whole pandemic situation was still relatively fresh, you could talk yourself off the ledge just by thinking, “This is OK. It’s all OK. We’re going to stay inside and wear our masks and before we know it, this whole thing will be over. By Christmas, it’ll all be a distant memory.” In July, that started to feel less likely, but surely, you thought, things should be more or less back to normal by Halloween. Well, it looks like that’s not going to happen, and if you, like me, are a basic bitch, that’s probably very distressing for you. Well, fear not! For I have devised some ways to have seasonally appropriate fun in a pandemic-appropriate way.

I used to be a big horror movie buff, but for some reason, they just don’t do it for me anymore. Zombie flicks hit a little too close to home, and I’d rather be haunted by a ghost than the unshakeable fear that the palpable dark cloud of hopelessness and ennui hanging over my head will follow me for the rest of my life. So instead, I’m just never not watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s definitely Halloween-y, and I’ve seen it so many times that I always know what’s going to happen next, unlike every other thing that happens in my life.

Participating in cuffing season may be entirely out of the question, but that doesn’t mean you can’t quench your burning thirst for the touch of another human being. If you live alone, or your roommate isn’t much of a snuggler, try putting on all your sweaters (OMG sweater weather!) to mimic the sensation of being pressed up against someone with a functioning metabolism all night, then fall asleep on your own arm. It’s just like spooning!

If you have kids, you already know that it’s hard to let them have their fun while staying safe and healthy. Trick-or-treating, an intrinsically social activity, will be especially difficult and probably sort of lame, but it’s your duty to try to make it work. Dress your daughter as Marie Antoinette (with a six-foot hoop skirt) and your son as a ninja (with his entire face covered). Or the other way around, if you’re trying to subvert gender norms. If you’re wary about opening the door to trick-or-treaters, pelt them with Almond Joys from the upstairs windows. When teenagers show up to egg your house, join in. Why not? You’ve got nothing else to do tonight anyway.

B L U E S

M A D DY F U S C O & T R E Y R E I S

INTERACTIONS terrorist movement worldwide.

—Samuel F.W. Grassley says ‘the American people’s will’ is clear and Trump can fill SCOTUS vacancy before election; Ernst agrees (Sept. 21) If we’re going to invoke “the American people’s will,” let’s talk about the outcome of the 2016 popular vote. —Grainne M. Wait a minute! The majority of Americans voted for Hillary and an election is six weeks from now with Biden in the lead. — Mary G. Finally politicians willing to do the job they are paid for and they still get criticized. —Al D. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa): “A lifetime appointment that could dramatically impact individual freedoms and change the direction of the court for at least a generation is too important to get bogged down in politics. The American people shouldn’t be denied a voice.” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa): “We will see what the people say this fall and our next president, regardless of party, will be making that nomination.”

Ugly little liars. —Paul M. Grassley is deluded, and has lost the integrity I believe he once had. On the other hand, I didn’t expect anything else from Ernst.

—Joan G. Update on the article “’Q for a Cause” from issue 286: Thanks to an outpouring of support on social media, Willie Rays Q Shack has been awarded $25,000 as part of Discover’s Eat it Forward sweepstakes, an initiative recognizing Blackowned businesses during the pandemic. “This award will help us to continue to grow and have the ability to serve more people!” Willie Fairley posted on Facebook.

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Jordan Sellergren / Little Village

La jukebox del Fox Head POR ALEX CHOQUEMAMANI

F

ue en la revista Dossier de Santiago de Chile (2015) en donde por primera vez escuché sobre la existencia del bar Fox Head de Iowa City. El autor del artículo era el escritor boliviano Maximiliano Barrientos, quien hace unos años vivió y estudió en esta ciudad.

Luego de leer su texto―una mezcla de crónica y diario―me dio curiosidad conocer aquel recinto. ¿Realmente lo frecuentaban escritores? ¿Existirá aún esa rocola (jukebox) en la que por un dólar puedes poner cuatro canciones?

A inicios de diciembre del 2018 me mudé a Iowa City. Visitar el Fox Head estaba en mi lista de cosas que quería hacer en mi nueva residencia, pero no tenía prisa, pues antes quería conocer la zona y recorrerla un poco (por ejemplo: saber cómo funciona el sistema de transporte público y visitar su Biblioteca Pública).

El día que decidí ir al Fox Head, al final terminé conociendo otro bar, el George’s Buffet, que está ubicado antes que el primero, en particular si uno viene por la calle Dubuque Norte y luego dobla para la calle Market. El George’s me resultó un lugar muy agradable porque tiene un ambiente social amigable en el que es difícil que uno se sienta extraño o extranjero, por lo que terminé visitándolo con cierta frecuencia. Así fue como me olvidé del Fox Head por un par de semanas.

Cuando reanudé mi búsqueda ya estábamos en pleno invierno y el frío lo sentía en los huesos y en el piso resbaladizo de las veredas cubiertas de hielo. «Ahhh, David’s Fox Head!», me respondió un joven que terminaba de fumar su pucho de cigarro en las afueras de una iglesia, y a quien le pregunté en mi inglés básico: «Where is the Fox?».

El Fox Head es un bar de un solo piso, de color rojo con bordes blancos, que tiene una pequeña escalera que te permite ingresar al local y en cuya puerta de entrada hay una advertencia que dice: «Solo se permite el ingreso a personas mayores de 21 años». Adentro se respira un olor extraño. No es un olor de ambientador artificial en spray. Tampoco de jabón de limpieza. Es más bien un olor compuesto por muchas cosas: el humo de tabaco impregnado en las mesas de madera y en las paredes (claro está, cuando estaba permitido hacerlo), y de la cerveza o el trago derramado 12 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287

que alcanzó a caer al suelo y que luego un diligente mesero lo limpió, aunque igual quedó una huella invisible. No exagero si digo que todas estas cosas en sí no son un olor sino más bien es una voz que se resiste a desaparecer en el tiempo, y que hace de este bar un lugar que―a pesar de su antigüedad (tiene más de 80 años)―ha sabido mantenerse indemne ante esa modernidad líquida, acelerada y plástica, muy característica de sociedades como la estadounidense.

El público que acude al Fox Head es diverso. Es cierto que muchas personas vinculadas a la literatura lo visitan, pero también es cierto que es frecuentado por vecinos de Iowa City (jubilados, oficinistas, trabajadores independientes). Aquí en el Fox Head, por intermedio de un amigo peruano (Sebastián Lores), conocí a Elisa Ferrer, y a otros escritores del programa de escritura creativa en español de la Universidad de Iowa. Al poco tiempo que Elisa dejó Iowa y retornó a España, todos nos enteraríamos de su triunfo literario: la obtención del Premio Tusquets de Novela (2019), uno de los premios más prestigiosos en idioma español. Recuerdo que sus amigos y amigas celebraron este logro literario en uno de los bares favoritos de ella: el Fox Head.

También en este lugar pude conocer a un hombre jubilado de nombre Ralph, quien todos los años huye del invierno de Iowa y viaja a España por la temporada. En una ocasión, luego de una conversación, me regaló un libro.

Este era un libro para niños de pocas páginas sobre cómo contar los números en idioma inglés y español, el autor del libro era el mismo Ralph. Según él lo que le motivó publicar este libro fue enseñar a sus nietos algo de español a través de los números.

Como se puede ver el Fox Head es un bar en el que perfectamente conviven los amantes de las letras, los números, la música y la mesa de billar, siempre y cuando los libros, las canciones y las bolas de billar estén acompañados de una cerveza helada o un buen trago.

Además de la mesa, el Fox tiene una jukebox con varios géneros musicales, como rock,

jazz, pop, folk, country, new wave y latina.

Allí pude escuchar dos álbumes, el Loaded (The Velvet Underground) y Giant Steps (John Coltrane). Sin embargo, en noviembre del año pasado la jukebox dejó de funcionar por un problema técnico. Pasaron un par de semanas y seguía «No disponible». Recuerdo haberle preguntado al bartender por este asunto y me respondió que no podían repararlo porque no encontraban una persona que pudiera hacerlo dada la antigüedad de la máquina, la cual funciona con Cds, y lo que abunda hoy en el mercado son las jukeboxes digitales.

Al mes siguiente, por fin, alguien pudo arreglarla y la jukebox volvió otra vez a hacer girar esos Cds. Pero en marzo de este año la música dejó de sonar por el surgimiento de la pandemia del COVID-19 y la consecuente orden de cierre de bares y restaurantes dispuesta por la gobernadora del estado de Iowa, Kim Reynolds. Sin embargo, a finales de mayo, autorizó la reapertura de estos negocios bajo estrictas medidas sanitarias (distanciamiento social, uso de máscaras, 50% de aforo); entonces la música volvió a sonar en el Fox, pero no duró mucho. El 27 de agosto―intempestivamente―la gobernadora volvió otra vez a ordenar el cierre solo de los bares en ocho condados de Iowa (uno de ellos el de Johnson), dado que estos espacios de entretenimiento estaban siendo abarrotados por estudiantes de la Universidad de Iowa, y la mayoría de ellos no cumplía las medidas de cuidado y prevención ante el coronavirus. ¿Pero esto ocurría en el Fox Head? Al menos a mí no me consta que a este recinto (y también en el George’s Buffet) los universitarios concurrieran ansiosos de discutir asuntos literarios o de conversar cualquier tema cotidiano de la vida. Allí más bien lo único que abundaba era la cortesía de un bartender, la colección de relojes antiguos que están al costado de la caja registradora y los 100 Cds de música que componen la jukebox, que espero algún día puedan sonar otra vez en este bar de paredes rojas de Iowa City.

––W. Alex Choquemamani

COMMUNITY

The Impotence of Being Ernst Sen. Joni Ernst’s election was historic. But after six years in Washington, she may leave office best known for a nutty campaign ad.

BY PAUL BRENNAN

S

Katherine Snyder / Little Village. Tiny pig by Eugene Kim / Flickr

ix years ago, a little-known state senator introduced herself to Iowans statewide with the words, “I’m Joni Ernst. I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm.”

The “Make ’em Squeal” ad helped plant an image of Ernst in the public’s mind as a plain-speaking farm girl who wanted to bring Iowa common sense to Washington D.C. Various versions of the phrase “make ’em squeal” have served as Ernst’s mantra ever since.

Todd Harris, a D.C.-based political strategist, told a reporter in 2014 the ad worked because Ernst was “so authentic in it.”

Authentic was an interesting word for Harris to use, since the ad was his idea, not Ernst’s.

“C

astrating hogs is one of those jobs nobody wants to do, but it has to be done, and it’s disgusting,” Ernst writes in her memoir, Daughter of the Heartland.

Ernst was only 10 years old when Dick Culver took his two daughters, Joni and Julie, into the barn on the family farm to introduce them to a new chore.

After castrating a pig to show them the right technique, he handed the scalpel to Joni.

Castrating pigs became another part of farm

14 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287

life for young Joni Culver.

“It was a family affair involving Dad, Mom, Julie, and me.”

Following standard practice, the testicles weren’t wasted. “Smaller or damaged” ones were tossed to the pigs to eat. The family

cooked the rest.

“We had a bucket and we’d save the decent-sized testicles for frying,” Ernst recalled.

She says she never liked “mountain oysters,” calling them “dense and chewy.”

According to Daughter of the Heartland,

LittleVillageMag.com/Support

LV RECIPE

Iowa Pork Fries Learn to peel, slice, pound and fry your way to testicular delight.

BY CHEF JOSHUA PARDIE

“W

e were working on a stump speech and asked about how she grew up,” Todd Harris told the Guardian in 2014. “She mentioned this and that, castrating hogs, and this and that, like it was no big thing.”

To Harris it was.

In her memoir, Ernst calls Harris “a veteran Republican strategist” hired “to help me hone my message.” That hardly does Harris justice.

By the time he joined Ernst’s campaign, Harris already had a national reputation as a political strategist and had worked for a number of top-tier Republicans, including John McCain, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jeb Bush. He was particularly in-demand following the 2010 elections, in which Harris guided then-former member of the Florida House of Representatives Marco Rubio to a victory in his U.S. Senate race.

Harris is from San Francisco, so pig castration wasn’t part of an unpleasant adolescent memory for him. It was a novelty. “‘That’s incredible,’ Todd said, and went home that night to search for a YouTube video of pig castration,” Ernst recalls in her book.

In both Ernst’s and Harris’s recounting of the story, it was Harris who came up with the idea of using pig castration in the commercial that defined Ernst’s Senate campaign. Both make it clear Ernst was reluctant, and Harris had to talk her into it.

“The campaign didn’t have a lot of money so we knew we had to take some risks,” Harris told the Guardian. “We wanted to test the line so she used it as a one-liner in a debate. It worked. It really killed. So we knew it was funny.”

Harris’s 2014 description of the campaign suggests Ernst really was the sort of “scrappy

Joshua Pardie / Little Village

which was published in May, learning to castrate pigs isn’t one of Ernst’s happier memories of growing up on a farm in southwestern Iowa.

“I’ll never forget the slimy feel of the testicles as I reached in and yanked them out,” Ernst writes. “And most of all, I’ll never forget the squeals.”

In case that allusion was too subtle for anyone, Ernst adds immediately, “I’d later use this experience in my run for the Senate. It was the core message of my 2014 Make ’em Squeal campaign.”

N

o matter what you call it (pork fries, cowboy caviar, Rocky Mountain oysters, prairie oysters), or how you prepare it (broiled, smoked, fried, accompanied with a variety of

sauce options), at the end of the day, you’re eating a testicle.

Rocky Mountain oysters were one of the first “exotic” foods I tried. I was 14 and on my first trip to Colorado. It set me down a road of fearless eating and new experiences in taste and textures that eventually led to my becoming a chef.

Here is my play on the classic Montana tenderloin made with pig testicles. A basic pork fry recipe as well as two other recipes combine to complete a full dish: Iowa pork fries over lemon soubise topped with a pear and tarragon chutney.

Pork Fries

Soubise

* 1 tsp salt

* 2 lbs of pork testicles,

* 1 whole white onion

* 2 tbsp brown sugar

peeled and sliced 1/4” thick

(roasted unpeeled for 20-25

* 1/4 cup of white wine

* 1 cup cornmeal

minutes at 450 degrees

* Juice of one lemon

* 1 cup of all-purpose flour

or until soft all the way

* 2 tbsp chopped tarragon

* 3 tsp salt

through)

* 1 1/2 tsp white pepper

* 1/4 tsp salt

Dice pear, shallot and garlic.

* 1/2 tsp of cayenne

* 1/8 tsp white pepper

On medium-high heat, melt

* 2 eggs

* Juice of 1 lemon

the butter on the stove and

* 3 tbsp mustard (I prefer

* 2 tbsp butter

add diced ingredients as well as crushed red pepper.

Colman’s) Peel roasted onion and

Saute until golden brown

place in blender or food

and aromatic. Add salt and

Soak sliced testicles in cold

processor. Add salt and

brown sugar. Deglaze with

water for 15 minutes. While

lemon juice. Blend until

wine and lemon juice. Turn

slices are soaking, whisk

smooth. Add butter and

down heat and simmer until

together all dry ingredients

blend until a slightly

all liquid has reduced down.

and, in a separate container,

thicker consistency but still

Let cool and fold in your

the eggs and mustard.

pourable. (Note: Roasting

chopped tarragon.

Slowly start heating oil

the onions peel on gives the

to 325 degrees. Pat slices

soubise a bright color.)

* 4 cups of frying oil

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COMMUNITY underdog” Ernst portrayed herself as. This wasn’t accurate.

By the time the infamous ad debuted, Ernst already had the backing of the Koch brothers’ funding network.

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oni Ernst declared her candidacy in July 2013, standing on the steps of the courthouse in Montgomery County, where she grew up and where she started her political career nine years earlier when she was elected auditor. In August 2013, Ernst was at an exclusive resort in New Mexico as a special guest at a meeting of the fundraising network assembled by Charles and David Koch.

That Ernst had some backing from the Koch brother was known in a general way during the 2014 campaign. But it wasn’t until Politico published an in-depth story in November 2015—“How the Kochs launched Joni Ernst”—that the extent of “the secretive role played by the Kochs’ donors and operatives in boosting Ernst” became public knowledge.

According to Politico, “In the Ernst race, the Koch support included hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of television ads funded by undisclosed donors and tens of thousands of dollars in direct campaign contributions.”

Ernst was invited to the August 2013 meeting because as a state senator, she had “been watched closely by allies of the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, who saw in her an advocate for their brand of free-market, libertarian-infused conservatism.”

Ernst told journalist Ken Vogel she didn’t know how she came to the attention of the Koch brothers and their network. Daughter of the Heartland is no help either when it comes to Ernst’s relationship with the Kochs; there’s only one reference to the brothers in the book.

It comes when Ernst is describing her first debate with Rep. Bruce Braley, the 2014 Democratic candidate for Senate.

“He thought he could spew the usual boilerplate about right-wing tools of the one percent, but I didn’t let him get away with it. When he would up with an assault on the Koch brothers’ funders, I came right back at him. ‘Congressman Braley, you’re not running against those other people, you’re running against me.’”

That’s as close as Ernst gets to acknowledging the support of the Kochs in her book.

T

he National Rifle Association isn’t mentioned at all in Ernst’s memoir. That seems unfair considering how much money the NRA has put on Ernst.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, through both independent expenditures and direct contributions, the NRA spent $3.1 million on Ernst’s behalf in the 2014 election.

The money has continued to flow since Ernst has been in office.

She’s one of the top 10 recipients of NRA funding in the U.S.Senate.

icpl.org/looking-forward This event is open to the public.

I 16 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287

t’s not clear from Daughter of the Heartland why Joni Ernst decided to run for the U.S. Senate. According to Ernst, other

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people started encouraging her to do it as soon as Sen. Tom Harkin announced in January 2013 that he wouldn’t seek reelection. But she resisted the idea at first. “[W]hat was really stopping me was the belief that this opportunity belonged to Kim Reynolds, if she wanted it,” Ernst writes. “I knew she was considering a run.”

But Reynolds, then lieutenant governor under Gov. Terry Branstad, eventually told Ernst she wasn’t interested in the Senate seat. Ernst says Reynolds then encouraged her to run.

In the “Make ’em Squeal” ad, Ernst listed three things she would do if elected: “cut wasteful spending, repeal Obamacare and balance the budget.”

Two of those things—repealing Obamacare and balancing the budget—didn’t happen, and Ernst’s record on the third is meager.

When asked for an example of how she has cut “wasteful spending,” Ernst usually points to a bill she called “The Squeal Act.” Introduced in October 2017, it repeals a $3,000 tax credit given to members of Congress to help with cost of living, as they divide their time between Washington D.C. and their home states.

That savings amounts to an infinitesimally small fraction of 1 percent of the federal budget deficit, which has grown rapidly during the Trump years, thanks to policies Ernst supported. In fiscal year 2014, the federal budget deficit was $483 billion. For FY 2020, it’s projected to be $3.7 trillion.

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Ernst had every opportunity to create a memorable first term.

She was the first woman Iowans ever elected to federal office, and Republicans began to promote her as one of the party’s new stars as soon as she arrived in Washington.

Ernst was sworn in on Jan. 3, 2015. Seventeen days later, she was on national television, delivering the official Republican Party response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address.

Ernst’s performance did little to elevate her national profile, but her star within the Republican Party continued to rise.

In 2018, she was elected vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, becoming the first woman to hold a leadership role in the conference since 2009. (And yes, the Senate Republican Conference calls her “vice chairman.”) That same year, Ernst and Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee became the first Republican women ever selected to serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

So what has Ernst done with all this power? The short answer is she’s done whatever Chuck Grassley’s done.

Ernst has voted in lockstep with Sen. Grassley since she arrived in Washington. And both have been loyal supporters of Donald Trump, voting with him on every major issue and approving all his nominees for federal office, including a record-setting number of judicial nominees rated “not qualified” by the American Bar Association.

Despite that voting record, Ernst claims in her memoir that she asserts her independence when it is important to do so.

“I speak out when leadership is necessary, even when that means bucking my party and the Trump administration,” Ernst writes. “I opposed the administration’s all-out ban on transgender people serving

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in the military because I felt that as long as you were able to serve and wanted to serve, you should be allowed to serve.”

Ernst did publicly state she disagreed with the policy. But she didn’t back her words with actions, even though as a senator, she had ample opportunity and the power needed to pressure the Trump administration to reverse its policy.

Following Grassley’s lead, voting the party line and loyally supporting Trump may impress Ernst’s Republican colleagues in the Senate, but it isn’t helping her with voters, according to the latest Iowa Poll.

The poll published by the Des Moines Register last month reported that 56 percent of respondents believe Ernst hasn’t done enough to help Iowa. That poll, like the Iowa Poll conducted in June, found Ernst to be trailing her Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield.

But Ernst’s biggest problem isn’t that Iowans don’t think she’s done enough, according to the poll. It’s that Iowa’s first woman senator doesn’t have the support of Iowa women.

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xit polls in 2014 showed Ernst lost the women’s vote by 7 percentage points.

According to the Iowa Poll, women favor Greenfield over Ernst by 20 percentage points. It’s a grim sign for Ernst, since women cast more votes in Iowa than men do.

That doesn’t mean Ernst will lose; Iowans typically reelect incumbents. But things have changed since 2014.

While Braley ran a bad campaign, Greenfield has proven to be a capable candidate. She’s a solidly centrist liberal, in the mold of Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne, both of whom defeated Republican incumbents in 2018 to become the first women Iowa sent to the U.S. House of Representatives.

2014 was a midterm election, with a relatively low turnout. This year, Trump is on the ballot. 2020 may be a wave election, and the tide is running in the Democrats’ direction.

“Politics had never been much on my radar growing up,” Ernst writes in her memoir. And in the end, it may not be her politics, but the fact she “grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm” that people remember most about Joni Ernst.

Paul Brennan is news director for Little Village.

18 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287

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getting involved in the Iowa Democratic Senate race by endorsing Theresa Greenfield just three days after she announced her candidacy; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer went so far as to say “we don’t need The Black liberation movement in Iowa has a fierce advocate in local politics. a primary” to nominate a challenger to Joni

BY IZABELA ZALUSKA Ernst. Walker, a supporter of the more progressive candidate Kimberly Graham, called month out from the 2020 Witching is,” Walker said. “Instead, it will be one more out the DSCC, saying they’d engineered “a story out of many that deserve to be told.”

Hour festival, presenter Stacey primary contest that was already heavily Among the topics Walker wants to discuss Walker isn’t exactly sure what he skewed in favor of one candidate.” are dog whistle politics, white privilege and will say to attendees. But that’s Walker often uses his social media acwhy addressing racism is difficult. not for lack of something to say. counts on Twitter and Facebook to draw at“You have the president of the United “As a Black man, as an elected official, tention to these various issues and criticisms.

States, quite frankly, stoking the fire saying as a person who has been involved in racial “Some days it feels like the heat is turned there are good people on both sides of this justice politics for my entire life, I know that up because I am so visible,” Walker said. “I debate. You have all of these things workI have a lot to say,” Walker told Little Village. think people are placing me in a position as a ing against the intellectual arguments of the “I know that my perspective will be just one leader in this Black liberation movement here Black liberation movement,” Walker said. “I of many different perspectives about what’s in the state—a position I don’t take lightly, want to talk about that and talk about why happening, and I really, really want to get I’m humbled by it—but you know, there’s something that should be easy—addressing into what I think is next and where we ought some, there’s some negativity that comes racism should be easy. I think most reasonto head with this movement not just here in with that.” able people would say, yeah, racism is bad.

Iowa, but where we should be headed as a “It’s difficult but I feel grounded. I feel But that is why it’s hard. You have all these national—now international—movement.” very supported by friends The Linn County Supervisor is one of and loved ones, and I feel the headliners for this year’s Witching Hour supported knowing that I festival, which is being held virtually from “I HAVE NO PROBLEM CHALLENGING am another foot soldier in Oct. 30 to Oct. 31 due to the COVID-19 PEOPLE WHEN I THINK THEY’RE WRONG this long struggle that expandemic. The festival, which is presented by AND WHEN I THINK THEIR BELIEF isted well before I got here the Englert Theatre and Little Village, is dedand will exist well after icated to exploring the unknown and presentSYSTEM IS GOING TO HARM VULNERABLE I’m gone, and it’s an honor ing work from individuals who are pushing PEOPLE, PEOPLE OF COLOR.” to know that.” boundaries.

Walker plans to close Writer Danez Smith, artist Beatrice out his Witching Hour Thomas and musician Black Belt Eagle Scout presentation by addressing the questions of forces working against them, distorting the are among some of the other presenters who “Where are we headed?” and “What’s next argument in the work.” will engage audiences during the two-day for the movement?”

As an elected official of color in Linn event.

Predicting what’s next is tricky, he added, County, Walker isn’t immune to racism.

“It’s incredibly interesting, and it has because part of being a politician is “making Walker said he’s become a target because this quality about it that really allows the sure people can hold on to hope as we naviof how public and outspoken he is about his imagination to sort of take off and take you gate these tricky times”—but he also knows opinions and his willingness to call out other to weird, interesting, stimulating places,” the road ahead is going to be difficult. politicians, even if they’re in his own party.

Walker said of Witching Hour.

“I know the work is not going to be fin“I have no problem challenging people Despite not knowing exactly where his preished probably in my lifetime. I’m a relawhen I think they’re wrong and when I think sentation will go, Walker has ideas on how he tively young guy in the movement, but that’s their belief system is going to harm vulnerawants to tell the story of Black liberation. He how it’s always been, since the first people ble people, people of color,” Walker said. envisions a presentation set to music, photos of color arrived on the slave ships to the New Walker previously told Little Village that and videos, with him being the narrator.

World, although there were people of color he would get calls from state leaders and Walker said he’s drawing inspiration from who were already here. Every generation political consultants telling him he was “bethe end of the Malcom X film that pairs since we’ve had to pick up where the other coming radioactive” because of his public Ossie Davis’ eulogy for the civil rights icon generation left off, and we’re still in it. We’re comments about race, criticism of other with various clips and photos. Another video still in it, and I’m hopeful that we’re gonna Democrats and support of Bernie Sanders.

Walker is looking at is will.i.am’s “Yes We get to a better place, but it’s gonna take time.”

(Walker was Sanders’ Iowa campaign coCan” that features different artists singing On the local level, the Cedar Rapids City chair.) parts of Barack Obama’s concession speech Council is continuing to move forward with Like Sanders, Walker hasn’t been afraid to in the New Hampshire presidential primary the seven demands presented to the city by criticize the Democratic Party establishment. in 2008. the grassroots group Advocates for Social Last year, Walker voiced his frustration with “This is not a definitive story nor will it be Justice, which Walker has been involved with the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee able to encompass all that Black liberation

The Heat is On

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since the beginning.

The council unanimously backed the group’s seven demands for reform in June. The main focus has been on establishing an independent citizens review board. Council is scheduled to receive updates on how that process is going at the two October meetings.

During the council’s Sept. 22 meeting, councilmembers received an update on three demands that city staff did more research on, including decriminalizing minor marijuana crimes and other low-level offenses.

Police Chief Wayne Jerman and councilmembers expressed their support for lessening the charge of marijuana possession from a serious misdemeanor to a simple misdemeanor.

The change would “eliminate taking the individual into custody and permit that the subject be issued a citation instead,” Jerman said during the meeting, adding that the authority to make this change lies with the Iowa Legislature.

“The city is committed to working with our legislators, as directed by the City Council, to encourage legislation which is consistent with the views of our community,” Jerman said.

Iowa has some of the worst racial disparities for marijuana arrests in the country, an ACLU report found earlier this year. A Black person in Iowa is 7.26 times more likely to be arrested than someone who is white.

That disparity is even larger in Linn County, where someone who is Black is 9.65 times more likely to be arrested.

The fact that the city council is even discussing decriminalization, Walker said, is something he wouldn’t have thought would happen, which speaks to the power of grassroots organizing.

“At the end of the day, nothing is real until it happens, and so I’d like to think that their word means something. I think right now, the movement here in Cedar Rapids is just at a position where we are encouraged, but we’re waiting.

We’re waiting to see if they pull the trigger on a lot of this stuff.”

Being an elected official himself, Walker said he knows how slowly government works, which is why it’s a victory that conversations about racial justice are being held.

“People like me and most others involved in the racial justice movement want sweeping change, and it can’t come soon enough—that’s our standard, that’s our mission, but we’ll take these little victories as they come,” Walker said.

Izabela Zaluska is a staff writer at Little Village.

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 25

CULTURE

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Prairie Pop

Color Balance

Heavy Color’s work with Congolese musicians for 2018’s River Passage transformed their worldview.

BY KEMBREW MCLEOD

H

eavy Color, a beat-driven psychedelic music duo founded by Ben Cohen and Sam Woldenberg, makes “world music” by way of Toledo, Ohio. These composer-producers are very careful to distance themselves from that problematic term—world music often treats music made by people outside of a European or American context as exotic culture ripe for plundering.

There’s a long history of Western musicians mining ethnographic recordings and sampling them within popular music, the first prominent example being the self-titled 1992 multi-platinum album by Deep Forest.

This French duo sourced material from field recordings of music from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere, but all of the profits flowed to the white European musicians and their corporate record label, a classic example of cultural appropriation.

“If you look at the way creative rights of traditional music have been assigned,” Cohen said via email, “the ownership of music deemed indigenous defaults to the person it was recorded by, in effect treating entire cultures’ music in the same way we treated the exploration and eventual occupation of this continent.”

Cohen has always been inspired by sample-based music, and Heavy Color started out as an outlet to release futurist instrumental hip hop and electronic music. He met his longtime musical partner Woldenberg during first period on their first day of high school in Toledo, and these two white kids clicked immediately.

“We used to skip study hall to talk about our future band,” he said. “We have been collaborating in different bands ever since— going on 20 years of making weird music together.”

They’ve both lived in different places throughout the country since graduating, from Hawaii to New York City, but for them there is something special about the Midwest.

Living in Toledo gives them the time and space to manifest their creative projects,

Witching Hour Festival Oct. 30-31 witchinghourfestival.com Courtesy of Heavy Color

Cohen observed, and the city’s cultural institutions are accessible to the local creative community in ways that would be more challenging in major metropolitan areas.

“The music and cultural scenes that we identify with are uniquely tied to the Great Lakes,” he said. “There is a holistic intersec-

sampling music from various archival sources, though they had the benefit of starting from a more historically informed and socially conscious understanding of social power dynamics than, say, Deep Forest.

“Still, I wouldn’t say that we totally did avoid those pitfalls,” Cohen noted. “I think that being conscious of appropriation requires a lifetime commitment to learning and “I THINK THAT BEING CONSCIOUS OF updating your understanding.”

With this in mind, they APPROPRIATION REQUIRES A LIFETIME recorded their 2018 album COMMITMENT TO LEARNING AND River Passage in a deeply UPDATING YOUR UNDERSTANDING.” collaborative fashion with musicians from Eastern Congo. They were approached

by Seth Bernard, founder of tion of environmental activism, social justice Earthwork Music and artistic director for the and organic community relationships at the Musical Ambassadorship program at On the foundation for many of the circles we run in.” Ground, a Michigan nonprofit that seeks to A record collector for years, Cohen’s sonic create sustainable relationships in farming explorations have helped him connect the communities around the world. dots between a wide range of music. Heavy Heavy Color worked with poet and educaColor’s first album, 2014’s Arise Ye Spiritual tor Akili Jackson as they spent time in variMachine, drew on the hip-hop tradition of ous villages along Lake Kivu and in Bukavu,

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CULTURE listening and sharing with local musicians at Ndaro Culture arts center, who participated in making River Passage. At the same time, Cohen and Woldenberg helped these musicians record their own music in an attempt to balance the labor politics of this cultural exchange.

“I think the trip was incredibly sobering,” Cohen said. “Eastern Congo is a heavy place that is recovering from a century of violence and trauma that stems directly from the colonization and occupation from European and Western powers.”

One pivotal event occurred during a welcoming party in the first village they visited.

Locals sang songs that were meant to thank them for coming, and afterwards the community members gathered in a church on a hill. As Cohen stood outside listening to the compelling rhythms, his first thought was to record the amazing music he was hearing.

When he asked permission to go inside, he was told more or less: No, this place is not for you. It’s for the community.

28 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287

LittleVillageMag.com/Support

“That moment was an important lesson in consent, and it framed how we approached the making of the album,” Cohen said.

“We tried to rely heavily on the music that we made in collaboration with Thomas [Lusango] at Ndaro, via email and hard-drive exchanges over the course of two years and after multiple translations. We only used samples of music from villages that had been made either in collaboration, or for us as welcoming music at our arrival to different communities.”

Proceeds from the album’s profits are shared to support Ndaro Culture and the various villages Heavy Color visited via On the Ground Global, an NGO that has ongoing relationships with these communities via sustainable coffee. While working on River Passage, Heavy Color developed material that would become Soft Light, an upcoming album they hope to release roughly by the first snowfall of 2020. (They also composed the music for Invisible Hand, a recent documentary produced by actor and

environmentalist Mark Ruffalo.)

“It was a creative time for us,” Woldenberg said. “... Soft Light was a bit of a step away from Arise Ye Spiritual Machine because we were essentially creating our own samples with live instruments. There’s more drum sets, and some songs feature our vocals, which is unique to Soft Light.”

“After everything we have learned in trying to make River Passage as equitable and collaborative as possible,” Cohen said, “I don’t know that I would feel comfortable making Arise Ye Spiritual Machine in the same way now as we did then. I think that record really inspired us to seek a more direct and active way of interacting with music from different cultures that felt reciprocal and living, rather than archival or curatorial.”

Kembrew McLeod is still reveling in his dance-off victory against University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld, who chose to quit his job rather than face Roboprofessor’s mad skills.

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CULTURE

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A-List

‘Go to the Work’ Beatrice Thomas discusses the siren call of creativity that cuts through the murk of our current moment.

BY DANIEL BOSCALJON

O

ver the past five years, Witching Hour has become an innovator within festival cultures. While many festivals are stops on a circuit of touring bands that parade spectacles for passive participants, Witching Hour, like the Englert’s Mission Creek Festival, has created a different tonality, celebrating the arts as an expression of community. But its core value—seeking the unknown—allows the Englert’s collaboration with Little Village to offer a kind of festival that goes beyond the arts.

Witching Hour has become increasingly well-regarded for bringing in speakers with creative approaches to educational, environmental and socioeconomic issues, explored through the lenses of science, yoga, meditation and spirituality. Speakers and artists in

“ART IS NOT PERFECTION, PARTICULARLY IN THIS MOMENT. I HAD A MOMENT WHEN I WANTED TO CURL UP AND DIE—BUT NO. I HAVE TO DO MY JOB. I’M AN ARTIST.” the Witching Hour line-up are multidimensional: Musicians can speak about the science of the stars, and astronomers can talk about the beauty of science.

Their commitment to the unknown also frees the festival’s curators to be forward-looking—to highlight up-and-coming artists, music on the fringes, thinkers exploring the marginal. This was best represented last year by Beatrice Thomas, who spoke about creating art during the apocalypse and provided a well-attended workshop after.

Thomas is the star and creator of Black Benetar’s Black Magic Cabaret, the principal 30 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287

Witching Hour Festival Oct. 30-31 witchinghourfestival.com Candace Smith / via the artist’s website houseofbea.com

of Authentic Arts media, a cultural strategist, multi-disciplinary artist and creative producer. Their values-driven approach to amplifying and centering voices marginalized in other domains has given Thomas’s work increased prominence across the country.

Thomas returns for the 2020 (all-virtual) Witching Hour Festival with a presentation working-titled “Meditations from the Apocalypse.” They’re taking a “mixtape” approach to the multimedia presentation, creating a digital collage from voiceovers, .gifs and performances.

“I’m in a place that’s simultaneously full

and empty,” they told me in a recent interview, describing something familiar to many during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of the combination of disruptions to the world—mail and media, environment and economy—Thomas realized that any plans made months ago were irrelevant, and became more responsive to the present moment.

“This mixtape is really about what I want to carry into the future. It’s the little things that have been inspiring me over the last year, all of the things that I want to work on,” Thomas said.

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CULTURE

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In the best of times, artists have to face the pressure exerted by the blank page or silent room, fecund spaces that appear empty yet overflow with possibilities. In times of crisis, artists—especially those whose art speaks to ongoing issues of social justice—can feel overwhelmed by the urgent need to address contemporary events and the suffering of those within their communities. But there can also be an initiating force that inspires an outward movement.

“Art is not perfection, particularly in this moment,” Thomas said. “I had a moment when I wanted to curl up and die—but no. I have to do my job. I’m an artist. Once you claim that, you have a responsibility to honor it. You go to the studio. You go to the work.”

Thomas was explicitly appreciative of Witching Hour as an event that summoned them to move beyond their comfort zone and produce questions from within.

“My practice has been about lifting people one workshop/activation at a time. The stakes are now about, ‘Who am I when I’m not doing this project, not lifting anyone up?’

Witching Hour has me grappling with the fact that in order to move forward on my path as an artist I have to let some meaningful things go—especially the initial notion that you can save everyone. I’m ready to let it go.”

The shifting times have forced Thomas to engage in a different way, to question artistic practice and create a different kind of content.

“It’s like putting down something you’re very familiar with and know how to carry, but understanding that it won’t get you where you want to go. It isn’t the right tool for the job. … Right now coming back to Iowa and Witching Hour, there’s no choice but to turn inward and find a different strategy than being just an open resource. I mourn that loss. ... If I want to positively touch the lives of one billion people, I have to be fluid and embrace change.”

In framing their presentation, Thomas built on their reflections on the term “apocalypse,” which etymologically has less to do with the doom of the world than with reckonings that lead to knowledge—its synonyms are terms like “revelation,” “pulling off the veil,” “disclosure.” It is a time of the crumbling away of things that have hidden reality, exposing what lies beneath the surface.

“People doing values-based stuff are still working. In moments of conflict and change, things get clearer,” they said. “There will be a tidal wave, but this is a point where things are drawn back and you can see all the shit on the

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seafloor—and get distance from the seafloor. It is clear whose values are in alignment with us.”

Tidal boundaries are fluid. Allies and new communities are emerging in new landscapes throughout our current challenges, revealed by the tidal surges of power. It makes sense, then, that Thomas has begun to focus their work increasingly in the “flyover” states.

Thomas said they’ve become increasingly sensitive to location.

“I met with someone in Utah in a giant room the size of the theater—and it worked really well. Even though we were not out socializing with community, it still felt important to be there,” Thomas said. “I’m interested in the states and diverse communities living in the middle of the country. The coasts don’t need my work. There are multiple opportunities to engage in work or activities. Queer and BIPOC communities on the coasts have more choices than other, less accessible geographies. I want to connect with queer, BIPOC and allied communities where dynamics are more complex—and where access to provocative thoughts, ideas and work presents an exciting opportunity to connect locally and engage in dialogue. I want my artistic presence to serve as a bridge between queer, BIPOC and allied communities across geographies.”

The notion of landscape informs their work with community and activism, especially given the cultural context of 21st-century U.S. politics, which is starting to reveal alternatives to the “white gaze trickle down” common in the good-ol’-boys network of entitlement. Spaces like the Englert, once safely open again, can extend invitations for other ways to perform, create and embrace community.

Nonetheless, Witching Hour has opened up a space for Thomas that summons them to embody their inner artist in a different way.

“The goal is to do the best work possible.

Entitlement is about the self vs. confidence— knowing you have the ability to achieve the best thing. Entitlement is singular, and confidence can be utilized in a variety of ways—it is not about what others give you, but more what you can give.”

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Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 33

EDITORS’ PICKS

CALENDAR OCT. 7–NOV. 3, 2020 Planning an event? Submit event info to calendar@littlevillagemag.com. Include event name, date, time, venue, street address, admission price and a brief description (no all-caps, exclamation points or advertising verbiage, please). To find more events, visit littlevillagemag.com/ calendar. Please check venue listing in case details have changed.

NOTE! We are listing only ONLINE and OUTDOOR events in this calendar at the moment.

“Locations” listed for online events reference the presenting institution. Please visit our online calendar for links, or check the organizations’ websites and Facebook pages.

Wed., Oct. 7

Walking the Wire, Riverside Theatre (riversidetheatre. org), new content drops each day through Oct. 31 Virtual 1 Million Cups Iowa City: (TBD), 1 Million Cups Iowa City (@1MillionCupsIC), 9 a.m., Free Immigrant Foodways: Slovak Halušky with Cream Cheese and Bacon and with Sauerkraut, National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library (ncsml. org), 6 p.m., $20-115 (registration required) ICBF: 2020 One Community, One Book—A Place for Us, Iowa City Book Festival (@ iowacitybookfestival), 7 p.m., Free Critical Conversations, The Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success (@theacademysps), 7 p.m., Free The Tanner-bury Tales: Short Plays of Brian Tanner, Night Two, Our Virtual Stage (@Our-VirtualStage-103214031478421), 7 p.m., Free Internet Watch Party: ‘BUNNI,’ Late Shift at the Grindhouse (@ICgrindhouse), 10 p.m., Free

Thu., Oct. 8 Iowa History 101: Buxton, Iowa: The Black Utopia, State Historical Society of Iowa (@ IowaHistory), 12 p.m., Free (registration required)

EDITORS’ PICKS Mark-Making ~ The Interplay of Eye and Ear

Kevin Morby plays ‘Oh My God,’ Mission Creek

Sat., Oct. 10

in Poetry (four-week class), Iowa City Poetry

Festival (noonchorus.com/englert-morby), 8 p.m.,

Saturdays at the Stanley: Artists, Travelers and

(iowacitypoetry.com), 6 p.m., $100/series (tuition

$15-60

Immigrants, Stanley Museum of Art (stanleymusem.

assistance available)

Fri., Oct. 9

uiowa.edu), 2 p.m., Free

Opening Night: Theatre Cedar Rapids Presents

ICBF: Kampman, Posten, Quintana

‘St. Nicholas,’ Peggy Boyle Whitworth Amphitheater

and Dillman, Iowa City Book Festival (@

at Brucemore, Cedar Rapids, 7 p.m., $25-100, runs

iowacitybookfestival), 2 p.m., Free

through Oct. 17 Hauntings of the Midwest, Coralville Public Library 2nd Thursday Series: Songs of Isolation and

(@coralvillepubliclibrary), 2 p.m., Free

Connection, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre (youtube.

ICBF: Ice Cube Press Authors, Iowa City Book

com/cedarrapidsopera), 7 p.m., Free

Festival (@iowacitybookfestival), 4 p.m., Free Ross Gay & Aimee Nezhukumatathil: Writers @ Grinnell, Prairie Lights Bookstore (prairielights.com/

Coralville Drive-in Theatre: ‘The Karate Kid,’

live), 7 p.m., Free

Coralville Public Library, 7 p.m., Free

Eric Deggans and Venise Berry: Race and the

ICBF: Jill McCorkle and Ron Rash, Iowa City

Media, UI Lecture Series (lectures.uiowa.edu/live), 7

Book Festival (@iowacitybookfestival), 7 p.m., Free

Drive In Dive In: The Big Picture—Stanley Museum of Art, Levitt Center for University Advancement Parking Lot, Iowa City, 7 p.m., Free

Out the Box Weekly Reading Series: ‘No Child...,’ Riverside Theatre w/ PURE Theatre

‘Reunion,’ Mirrorbox Theatre w/ Riverside Theatre (@

(riversidetheatre.org), 7:30 p.m., $10-25 (Free for

MirrorboxTheatre), 8 p.m., Free (registration required)

members), available through Oct. 18

36 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287

Sun., Oct. 11 ICBF: Erika Billerbeck, Iowa City Book Festival (@

p.m., Free

iowacitybookfestival), 2 p.m., Free

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Obermann Around the Table: Listening to

Immigrant Foodways: Czech Vegetable Salads

Iowa Dance Festival 2020: On the STAGE

the Past, Sharing Thoughts on the Present,

(Šopský Salad, Zelný salát (cabbage salad)),

Virtual Performances, Iowa Dance Festival

Imagining a More Just Future, Obermann Center

National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library

(iowadancefestival.org), 7 p.m., Free

(obermann.uiowa.edu), 4 p.m., Free

(ncsml.org), 6 p.m., $20-115 (registration required)

ICBF: Charles Connerly, Iowa City Book Festival (@

Critical Conversations, The Academy for Scholastic

Scottoline in Conversation for ICPL, Tuesday

iowacitybookfestival), 4 p.m., Free

and Personal Success (@theacademysps), 7 p.m., Free

Agency and Iowa City Public Library (icpl.org), 7 p.m.,

Mon., Oct. 12

Iowa Bibliophiles: Pulp America—The Mass

ICBF: Paul Engle Prize Award Ceremony—

Market Paperback as Cultural Artifact,

Book Release: Flowing Water Falling Flowers

Dr. Eve L. Ewing, Iowa City Book Festival (@

University of Iowa Special Collections & University

by Xixuan Collins, Midwest Writing Center (@

iowacitybookfestival), 7 p.m., Free

Archives (@uispeccoll), 7 p.m., Free

MidwestWritingCenter), 7 p.m., Free

Tue., Oct. 13

Internet Watch Party: ‘The Undertaker and His

Kevin Morby plays ‘Sundowner,’ Mission Creek

jessica Care moore: Writers @ Grinnell, Prairie

Pals,’ Late Shift at the Grindhouse (@ICgrindhouse),

Festival (noonchorus.com/englert-morby), 8 p.m.,

Lights Bookstore (prairielights.com/live), 7 p.m., Free

10 p.m., Free

$15-60

Wed., Oct. 14

Thu., Oct. 15

No Touching Sessions 19 // Blake and Jim +

Virtual 1 Million Cups Iowa City: Mammita’s, 1

Mark-Making ~ The Interplay of Eye and Ear

TBA, Threshold Apprehension Sound (@Threshold.

Million Cups Iowa City (@1MillionCupsIC), 9 a.m., Free

in Poetry (four-week class), Iowa City Poetry

Apprehension.Sound, thresholdappsound.com), 8

(iowacitypoetry.com), 6 p.m., $100/series (tuition

p.m., Free

assistance available)

Fri., Oct. 16

Looking Forward: Maureen Corrigan and Lisa

Garden Guru, Backyard Abundance (@ BackyardAbundance), 4:30 p.m., Free

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EDITORS’ PICKS smART talks: Elizabeth Powell, UI MFA graduate in printmaking, Stanley Museum of Art (stanleymusem.uiowa.edu), 11 a.m., Free Iowa Dance Festival 2020: Online Master Class—Contemporary with Hannah Weeks, Iowa Dance Festival (iowadancefestival.org), 5 p.m., Free Cider Stroll, Czech Village/New Bohemia Main Street District, Cedar Rapids, 5 p.m., Free (21+) Coralville Center for the Performing Arts Presents Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre’s ‘SHENANIGANS: Animals in Charge!,’ Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Parking Lot, 6:30 p.m., Freewill Donation (reservations required) Iowa Dance Festival 2020: On the SCREEN Online, Iowa Dance Festival (iowadancefestival.org), 7 p.m., Free ICBF: Hope Edelman, Iowa City Book Festival (@ iowacitybookfestival), 7 p.m., Free Kiese Laymon, “Power and Bodies of Art,” Creative Matters Lecture Series (@ uicreativematters), 7 p.m., Free (registration required)

Cheryl Graham

‘Grounded,’ Riverside Theatre

(riversidetheatre.org), 7:30 p.m., $10-15 (Free for members), available through Oct. 25 Out the Box Weekly Reading Series: ‘Night Launch,’ Mirrorbox Theatre (@MirrorboxTheatre), 8 p.m., Free (registration required)

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EDITORS’ PICKS

PRESENTED BY FILMSCENE

CALENDAR.LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM

Sat., Oct. 17

Tue., Oct. 20

Mark-Making ~ The Interplay of Eye and Ear

Iowa Dance Festival 2020: Online Master

The Forgotten Story of Czech Jewish Teens,

in Poetry (four-week class), Iowa City Poetry

Class—Hip Hop with Lovar Davis Kidd, Iowa

National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library

(iowacitypoetry.com), 6 p.m., $100/series (tuition

Dance Festival (iowadancefestival.org), 10 a.m., Free

(ncsml.org), 12 p.m., Free (registration required)

assistance available)

Iowa Dance Festival 2020: Online Master

Wed., Oct. 21

No Touching Sessions 20 // (TBD), Threshold

Class—Ballet with Eloy Barragan, Iowa Dance

Virtual 1 Million Cups Iowa City: Authentic

Apprehension Sound (@Threshold.Apprehension.Sound,

Festival (iowadancefestival.org), 1 p.m., Free

Insights, 1 Million Cups Iowa City (@1MillionCupsIC),

thresholdappsound.com), 8 p.m., Free

9 a.m., Free

Fri., Oct. 23

Online , Iowa Dance Festival, Iowa City Municipal

Critical Conversations, The Academy for Scholastic

TCR Anywhere: Amy Friedl Stoner In Concert,

Airport, 6:30 p.m., Free

and Personal Success (@theacademysps), 7 p.m., Free

Theatre Cedar Rapids (theatrecr.org), 7:30 p.m., $25

Sun., Oct. 18

Internet Watch Party: ‘Triggered,’ Late Shift at

‘Art,’ City Circle Theatre Company and Coralville Center

October Art in the Afternoon: Austin Caskie,

the Grindhouse (@ICgrindhouse), 10 p.m., Free

for the Performing Arts (coralvillearts.org), 7:30 p.m.,

Artifactory (artifactory.artsiowacity.org), 1 p.m., Free

Thu., Oct. 22

$12-17

Iowa Dance Festival 2020: On the STREET

(registration required)

Iowa History 101: Glendale Cemetery,

Out the Box Weekly Reading Series:

Garden Guru, Backyard Abundance (@

Des Moines, State Historical Society of Iowa (@

‘(R-Montana),’ Mirrorbox Theatre (@

BackyardAbundance), 3 p.m., Free

IowaHistory), 12 p.m., Free (registration required)

MirrorboxTheatre), 8 p.m., Free (registration required)

Susan Aizenberg in conversation with Denise

Sat., Oct. 24

Brady and Guy Duncan, Prairie Lights Bookstore

Online RPGs, Corridor Games on Demand (@

(prairielights.com/live), 7 p.m., Free

CorridorGoD), 1 p.m., Free

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PRESENTED BY FILMSCENE

Stanley Creates: “Fluidity”-inspired paper

Garden Guru, Backyard Abundance (@

Fri., Oct. 30

marbling, Stanley Museum of Art (stanleymusem.

BackyardAbundance), 4:30 p.m., Free

Witching Hour Festival, Witching Hour Festival

uiowa.edu), 2 p.m., Free

(witchinghourfestival.com) Critical Conversations, The Academy for Scholastic

TCR Anywhere: Amy Friedl Stoner In Concert,

and Personal Success (@theacademysps), 7 p.m., Free Internet Watch Party: ‘Ginger Snaps,’ Late Shift

Pay-what-you-can

‘Art,’ City Circle Theatre Company and Coralville

at the Grindhouse (@ICgrindhouse), 10 p.m., Free

Center for the Performing Arts (coralvillearts.org), 7:30

Thu., Oct. 29

Out the Box Weekly Reading Series, Mirrorbox

Sun., Oct. 25

Mark-Making ~ The Interplay of Eye and Ear

required)

in Poetry (four-week class), Iowa City Poetry

‘Art,’ City Circle Theatre Company and Coralville

(iowacitypoetry.com), 6 p.m., $100/series (tuition

Sat., Oct. 31

Center for the Performing Arts (coralvillearts.org), 2

assistance available)

Witching Hour Festival, Witching Hour Festival

p.m., $12-17

Theatre (@MirrorboxTheatre), 8 p.m., Free (registration

p.m., $12-17

(witchinghourfestival.com) No Touching

Tue., Oct. 27

Sessions 21 // Karen

Magical Writers Night ft. Laura Johnson,

Meat—Halloween

Sun., Nov. 1 Garden Guru, Backyard Abundance

Kae Apothecary (@kaeapothecary), 7 p.m., Free

Special, Threshold

(@BackyardAbundance), 3 p.m., Free

(registration required)

Apprehension

Wed., Oct. 28

Sound (@Threshold.

Tue., Nov. 3

Apprehension.Sound,

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Virtual 1 Million Cups Iowa City: Drainbot, 1

thresholdappsound.

Million Cups Iowa City (@1MillionCupsIC), 9 a.m., Free

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DEAR KIKI

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My girlfriend and I are 60+ years old. We are both concerned about getting the COVID virus. We have separate homes and practice social distancing when we spend time together. My question has to do with sex. We do not kiss, massage, have intercourse, oral sex or manual sex at all now. I think we could safely use our hands to manually give each other orgasms. She thinks this could not be done safely. Help, I think

207 NORTH LINN STREET, IOWA CITY 319.338.1332 • WILLOWANDSTOCK.COM

Various experts from the Mayo Clinic to the American Sexual Health Association and many others have noted that there is no evidence that the novel coronavirus can spread through semen or vaginal fluids. However, all of their sex recommendations begin with the fact that it’s safe to pleasure yourself, but anything beyond that is just mitigating— not eliminating—risk.

COVID best practices are changing constantly as new information comes to light.

Remember that the reason we’re all in this (ahem) position is because this COMING TOGETHER AGAIN AFTER A LONG is a novel virus.

PERIOD APART CAN BE CATACLYSMIC— Research is ongoESPECIALLY WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT ing. (So even if you can’t be comfortTHE CAUSE OF THE DELAY IS A DEEP ed by my words, CONCERN FOR ONE ANOTHER’S WELL-BEING. please don’t despair.) But the key recommendations that have persisted are: wear a mask, wash with masks and hand sanitizer we could your hands and monitor your symptoms. enjoy it safely. It has been four months of If you decide to move forward with your abstinence and thinking of possibly a year explorations of safer sex, please do so with or longer seems too long. Are there safe opthose three points in mind. tions to give each other orgasms?

I’m truly sorry that I can’t give you a Thanks, Sexual Distancing more positive response, Distancing. Please make sure that you’re taking care of your ear Distancing, relationship in other ways while you abI’m so glad that you are keepstain. Now may be a good time to explore ing safety at the forefront of couples counseling, for example (remember your considerations! That can that, like physical health, visiting doctors be a challenge, especially as the COVID-19 for mental or relational health can—and pandemic drags on for more than half a year. should!—be preventative, not just after Impatience can rear its ugly head, but the damage is done). Explore non-sexual types beautiful thing is that waiting can be a powof intimacy. Love actively, and you’ll surerful aphrodisiac. Coming together again vive this season of lack of activity. after a long period apart can be cataclysmic—especially with the knowledge that the xoxo, Kiki cause of the delay is a deep concern for one another’s well-being.

The key to a loving relationship at any time, but especially in COVID-times, is carefully assessing risk together in all things. If one of you is completely comfortable and the other is not, then the encounter will not be mutually pleasurable, and it may strain the relationship worse than abstainQuestions about love and sex in the Iowa ing. If your other risk factors are minimal, City-Cedar Rapids area can be submitted it’s worth considering simply widening to dearkiki@littlevillagemag.com, or your “COVID bubble” (the people who you anonymously at littlevillagemag.com/ interact with as normal) to include one andearkiki. Questions may be edited for other—but again, it’s a decision to be made clarity and length, and may appear either together, taking into account your individual in print or online at littlevillagemag.com. work, family and health situations.

D

KIKI WANTS QUESTIONS!

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 47

IOWA CITY DOWNTOWN

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Huge Magic singles inventory plus we buy/trade MtG cards. Weekly drafts, FNM, league play, and frequent tourneys.

Now buying/selling/trading video games & toys! Bring in your Nintendo Gameboy, NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Sega, WiiU, Xbox 360, PS1-2-3, & other used games, consoles, action figures, and toys for cash or trade credit!

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ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNEY

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran author Ursula K. Le Guin said that we don’t just naturally know how to create our destinies.

It takes research and hard work. “All of us have to learn how to invent our lives, make them up, imagine them,” she wrote.

“We need to be taught these skills; we need guides to show us how. If we don’t, our lives get made up for us by other people.”

I bring this to your attention, Libra, because the coming weeks will be an excellent time to upgrade and refine your mastery of these essential powers. What can you do to enhance your capacity to invent your life? Which teachers and information sources might be helpful?

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “A person’s best ally is someone who takes care of herself,” says actress Susan Clark.

I heartily agree. The people with whom you can cultivate the most resilient bonds and most interesting synergy are those who have a high degree of self-sufficiency—those who take rigorous responsibility for themselves and treat themselves with tender compassion. In the coming weeks, Aries, I think it’s especially important for you to emphasize relationships with allies who fit that description. Bonus!

Their exemplary self-care will influence you to vigorously attend to your own self-care.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In 1984, hip hop group Run-DMC was the first to achieve a gold record in their genre, meaning they sold more than 500,000 albums. Their next album sold over a million. They were pioneers. In 1986, legendary producer Rick Rubin encouraged them to do a remake of “Walk This Way,” a song by the hard rock band Aerosomith. The members of Run-DMC didn’t want to do it; they felt the tune was in a genre too unlike their own. But Rubin eventually convinced them, and the cross-pollination was phenomenally successful.

The Run-DMC-meets-Aerosmith collaboration launched a new genre that sold very well. The song was later voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In this spirit, and in accordance with current cosmic rhythms, I urge you to try a bold hybrid or two yourself, Scorpio: blends of elements or influences that may seem a bit improbable. They could ultimately yield big dividends.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): According to my reading of the astrological potentials, the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to take a vacation in reverse. What’s that?

It’s when you devote yourself to renewing and reinvigorating your relationship with the work you love. You intensify your excitement for the vocation or job or long-term quest that teaches you important life lessons. You apply yourself with sublime enthusiasm to honing the discipline you need to fulfill the assignments you came to earth to accomplish.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You Sagittarians periodically go through phases when you specialize in stirring up fresh intuitions. I mean, you’re always one of the zodiac’s Intuition Champions, but during these special times, your flow becomes an overflow. You have a knack for seeking and finding visions of the interesting future; you get excited by possibilities that are on the frontiers of your confidence. From what I can tell, your life in recent weeks has been bringing you these delights—and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Take maximum advantage. Aggressively gather in the gifts being offered by your inner teacher.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Calling on my expert knowledge of healing language and imaginative psychology, I have formulated a mantra for you to use in the next six weeks. I suggest you say it five times after you wake up, and again at mid-day, and before dinner, and before sleep. It should help keep you intimately aligned with the dynamic groove that the cosmos will be conspiring to provide for you. For best results, picture yourself as glowing inside with the qualities named in the mantra. Here it is: StrongBrightFree ClearBoldBrisk DeepNimbleKind AdroitSteadyWarm.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles features displays that extol the musicians who’ve won Grammy Awards over the years. A few years ago, a distinctly unfamous musician named Paz Dylan made professional-looking fake posters touting his own magnificent accomplishments, and managed to sneakily hang them on the museum walls. They remained there for a month before anyone noticed.

I’m going to encourage you to engage in similar gamesmanship in the coming weeks, Aquarius. It’ll be a favorable time to use ingenuity and unconventional approaches to boost your confidence and enhance your reputation.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Relationships never stop being a work in progress,” writes author Nora Roberts. That’s bad news and good news. It’s bad news because even for the most loving bond, you must tirelessly persist in the challenging task of reinventing the ways the two of you fit together. It’s good news because few activities can make you more emotionally intelligent and soulfully wise than continually reinventing the ways the two of you fit together. I bring these thoughts to your attention because the coming weeks will be a fertile time for such daunting and rewarding work.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “If you are not having fun you are doing something wrong,” said comedian Groucho Marx.

He was exaggerating so as to drive home his humorous point, but his idea contains some truth—and will be especially applicable to you in the immediate future.

According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you have a temporary exemption from feeling frantically dour and unpleasantly dutiful. As crazy as the world is right now, you have a cosmic mandate to enjoy more playtime and amusement than usual. The rest of us are depending on you to provide us with doses of casual cheer.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark,” writes Cancerian author Rebecca Solnit, adding, “That’s where the most important things come from.” I think this is good advice for you in the coming weeks. What exactly does it mean? How and why should you do what she advises? My first suggestion is to reframe your conception of the unknown and the dark. Imagine them as the source of everything new; as the place from which the future comes; as the origin of creative changes. Then instruct your imagination to be adventurous as it explores brewing possibilities in the dark and the unknown.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “If something comes to life in others because of you, then you have made an approach to immortality,” wrote author Norman Cousins. Whether or not you believe the “immortality” part of his formulation, I’m sure you understand how fabulous it is when you help activate beauty and vitality in someone. You may even feel that inspiring people to unleash their dormant potential is one of the most noble pleasures possible. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Leo, because I suspect that you now have exceptional power to perform services like these for your allies, friends, and loved ones. I dare you to make it one of your top priorities.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “The messiah will come when we don’t need him any more,” said author Franz Kafka.

In that spirit, and in alignment with current astrological omens, I will tell you that the precise help you wish you could attract into your life will show up as soon as you make initial efforts to provide that help to yourself. Here are some additional nuances: The gift or blessing you think you need most will be offered to you by fate once you begin giving that gift or blessing to yourself. A rescuer will arrive not too long after you take steps to rescue yourself. You’ll finally figure out how to make practical use of a key lesson as you’re teaching that lesson to someone you care for.

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 49

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LOCAL ALBUMS

William Elliott Whitmore I’m With You WILLIAMELLIOTTWHITMORE.COM

W

illiam Elliott Whitmore has been described as a folk punk country banjo soul singer, and his new album I’m With You (out Oct. 17 on Bloodshot Records) is a fine example of all of those things. The album, Whitmore’s eighth, and his newest collection of original work since 2015’s Radium Death, manages to combine Merle Haggard and Mike Watt pretty seamlessly. I took my young son on a drive recently, put this on the VW’s stereo and proceeded to get lost along the roads of Washington County.

It opens with “Put it To Use,” a real showcase of both the writing talent Whitmore is known for and that signature voice, combining to tell the listener that time and talent aren’t to be wasted. The song is a good piece of advice with a hard driving banjo, and immediately I found myself singing along through the second chorus.

Whitmore’s gravel and grit bring out scenes of a workday done, a parent and an adult child having a discussion on a porch— the whole album is a conversation between Whitmore and someone from his past or present. As a girl from a farm family, this hits. The idea of time plays through the bulk of the album, in both obvious and more nuanced ways. It’s not surprising that this record is a collection of stories.

Whitmore’s a dad now, and an Iowa boy, so the passing of time, stories and memories are things

Submit albums for review: Little Village, 623 S Dubuque St., IC, IA 52240

close to his heart.

The current single, “My Mind Can Be Cruel to Me,” is a raucous song that brought to mind the sounds of ’70s outlaw; upon its finish, I immediately played it again. I like everything about this song; I am a big fan of the pedal steel guitar.

Whitmore is equally at home in the Americana music halls and the dive bar honky-tonks I grew up in. This album, like his others, really does a lot with simple songwriting and great hooks.

“History” is another real standout on the album, and the pedal steel again gives that faraway feel to expertly bring you to a standstill. This record does that, time and time again: stops you, makes you listen, makes you feel like these songs are fleeting and precious, that you should really listen. If time is ephemera, this song in particular keeps the record grounded.

Matthew Grimm Dumpster-Fire Days GRIMMREALITY.NET

I

don’t know about you, but I’ve been holding a lot inside the last several months. I spent most of June crying every day, but I can’t remember the last time I cried since. I’ve been angry and numb and unwilling to hope. Unwilling to feel.

Dumpster-Fire Days, the new album from former Iowa Citian (now Madison, Wisconsinbased) Matthew Grimm, cracked something THE IDEA OF TIME PLAYS THROUGH open in me.

THE BULK OF THE ALBUM, IN BOTH From the OBVIOUS AND MORE NUANCED WAYS. opening track, I Like all great country records, was bawling and laughing and this album has that one song reeling from the incredible relief with a line that just grabs you. of feeling heard.

“Save Ourselves” isn’t just a Grimm has written a wry, love song, it’s a commentary on funny, poetic, inspiring, antifasthe state of the world, and the cist protest album for 2020 and line in the song, delivered in that beyond. He’s turned his tradesad, plain way is “I can’t believe mark incisiveness on the people it went to hell so fast.” 2020 has and the times around us, and he brought me to that place many pulls no punches in the truth he times, but Whitmore did it the spits. His language is unfiltered most beautifully. I’d love to be (NSFW, much of it) and spun alone in the Deadwood when brilliantly, like someone wove this song comes on the jukebox.

Arlo Guthrie and Fiona Apple The album finishes with the into the same intricate tapestry. one thing that remains: “Black He dropped the closer, Iowa Dirt.” It’s a real burner of “Whirlwind,” just before the a song, and a reminder that the 2018 midterm election (along land ties us together, births us with a “get out the vote” vid), and ultimately buries us. This and its hopeful call to action was my son’s favorite on the feels almost naive two years album, and a perfect ending to a later. But the rest of the album near perfect record. (mixed and mastered by Iowa —Darcie Hutzell City’s John Svec) steps to

it—scrappier, more cynical and desperate, but with a clear goal of wresting that optimism back.

Track three, “Aspire,” is a gorgeous folk rambler that turns hope on its head, with deconstructed cliches and hilarious twists that end up comforting in their reliance on realism.

“If you’re gonna light a candle instead of cursing darkness maybe go ahead and burn some stuff down,” he sings, and closes the chorus with “we’ll talk in the morning,” a gesture of solidarity that makes you feel like you can accomplish anything.

But it’s track four that grabs you by the throat and pulls you out of your chair to shake your fist in the air and become a better person. “Be Saffiyah Khan” is a tribute to the star of a viral photo, a young British activist who stared down a leader of the English Defence League. The song, in all its bouncy, cowpunk glory, is the best kind of inspirational rallying cry. The chorus calls us, among other things, to “be what bad men fear”—I can’t imagine a better exhortation.

“Be true, be brash, be a mensch, be antifash / Be heard, be undaunted, be what bad men fear, be Saffiyah Khan.”

This record is beautiful.

“Stay the Fuck Home, Becky” skewers anti-maskers; “Nazis Agree With You” erases distinctions between those who claim the term and those who simply embody it; and the powerful “March,” with its fantastic harmonies, gives us “O brothers and sisters, it falls to us to right their wrongs / And we’re not here to ask.”

If you feel crazy, or alone, or unheard, or gaslit, or just despondent: listen to DumpsterFire Days. It’s the best self-care you’ll give yourself all year.

And for the love of all the gods, listen to it before you vote.

—Genevieve Trainor

LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV287 Oct. 7–Nov. 3, 2020 51

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LOCAL BOOKS

Megan Bannister Iowa Supper Clubs THE HISTORY PRESS

O

ne never knows when the inspiration for an unforgettable road trip might happen. But you will most likely experience many of those unignorable “let’s go right now” moments that will get you to hit the road while you read Iowa Supper Clubs, released in August from The History Press. Megan Bannister adds the historical flavor to these iconic Midwest restaurants with her debut book—and the mighty portion of nostalgia that’s served up from this classic dining concept is very much the featured special page after page.

The Cedar Rapids area is blessed with The Lighthouse Inn and the Ced-Rel, but as you will learn from Bannister’s writings, there were once many more supper clubs all over Iowa, including within the Eastern Iowa area. Even though times have changed, the ones that have remained are keeping the tradition alive.

One of the most useful sections of Iowa Supper Clubs is the appendix where Bannister details some very useful tips for enjoying your experience at your first and several future visits.

She defines highballs, grasshoppers, pink squirrels and many of the other cocktails you saw in those grainy home videos from decades ago, as well as classic cuts of steak and the fresh relish trays that you’ll wish were at every meal.

Throughout the book,

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Bannister’s enticing photographs illustrate many more classic supper club creations, such as the all-American favorite onion rings, legendary barbecue ribs, seafood nights and some local twists that you can only find at these Iowa institutions.

Bannister makes you crave the open road as much as you’ll crave the food she describes.

Reading Iowa Supper Clubs, you begin to dream about a trip to the Dubuque area just so you can say you’ve eaten at Iowa’s oldest restaurant in Balltown. Or you’ll want to trek to Mason City for Greek spaghetti. Never craved braunschweiger? You just might when you get into the meat of this book—and I can tell you that I’ve taken a break from my routine for sillier reasons!

EACH SUPPER CLUB, WHETHER IT’S BYGONE OR STILL OPERATING, HAS ITS OWN STORY.

Bannister doesn’t hold back on the historical element of the book. Each supper club, whether it’s bygone or still operating, has its own story, and she blends in tales from the locals that will make you want to mix a Manhattan and wonder why you haven’t sought out each and every one of these clubs yet. You now have an excellent motivation to do so with this new book as your historical guide. Just be careful—you may not want to say, “Jesse James sent me.” Or maybe you should! Pick up your own copy of Iowa Supper Clubs to see where that line might work out for you.

As for me, I could really go for a hunk of prime rib and a side of pickled herring right now.

—Jay Goodvin

Mitch Nicholson Abandoned Iowa: Vacant Heartland AMERICA THROUGH TIME

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he origins of Abandoned Iowa can be traced back to the fall of 2010, when author Mitch Nicholson was still an English undergraduate student at a small private college in Marion County. Academic pressures combined with a hot, stuffy dorm room and the claustrophobic setting of a small campus nearly proved to be unbearable and Nicholson “needed an escape,” as he writes in the book’s introduction.

Opting not to return right away to the “sauna of a dorm” when classes were done for the day, Nicholson often jumped in his car, drove to a nearby gas station to buy some cheap cigars, and hit the road with his iPod within reach and the air conditioner cranked up to full blast.

“As I was not native to the region,” Nicholson writes, “I found myself spending a lot of time simply driving around for no other reason than to find out what the county had to offer.”

It wasn’t long before he started noticing abandoned structures during his excursions. Describing them as “resoundingly quiet, still and nonjudgmental,” Nicholson says, “Their aesthetic appealed to my anxiety-filled conscious.”

Nicholson had the idea to document these locations, registering the username “Abandoned Iowa” on a blogging service that same year. After moving back to his hometown and graduating

with a bachelor’s degree in 2013, “the urge to seek out abandoned structures persisted.” To this day, the photo-journalist project is still being kept alive on social media— and it resulted in the engrossing book Abandoned Iowa: Vacant Heartland.

Nicholson’s photographs of decrepit bridges, forsaken farmhouses, deserted mom-and-pop stores, empty churches and orphaned schools in small towns across the Hawkeye State are haunting and inspire a sense of awe. Captured with somber beauty, these images have the potential to steer readers into eerie emotional territories, as they did for me, even evoking a sense of nostalgia or loss for places I’d never heard of, let alone visited.

It can be easy to forget that these images depict tangible structures that once served fairly mundane purposes in the everyday lives of Iowans in these communities and visitors who happened to come across them—many of whom are now gone without a trace. As a pandemic and economic hardship spread throughout the state, more sites once familiar to us will endure the same fate.

“My role is to capture, document and present the structures as they are—regardless of their future,” Nicholson says.

The images are accompanied by text providing details about the structures, their locations and the historical context that led up to their inglorious demise.

Unsentimental and objectively captioned, the information contained herein provides fascinating dimensions to this gallery of forgotten monuments of Iowa life.

Nicholson has visited over 200 abandoned structures, “each with a background and history as rich as Iowan topsoil,” finding that there are consistencies and patterns that emerge: “Everything on Earth,” he writes, “including the planet itself was once cosmic dust. And to dust, it desires to return.”

—Mike Kuhlenbeck

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B Y M A R T H A K I M E S A N D N A T E C A R D I N LittleVillageMag.com

The American Values Club Crossword is edited by Ben Tausig.

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14

16

27

7

Seinfeld episode 22. Member of a Great Basin indigenous tribe 23. Overly literal literary maid who “dusts the furniture” by covering it in dirt 27. Appears 30. Cards for entering bars, briefly 31. Cash cache 32. Reddit Q&As 33. Managed care gp.

34. Verify 37. Actress Tyler of Ad Astra 38. Online compendium of

momentous mishaps 40. By way of 41. Charlie’s Angels actress Kristen 43. Giggle over text 44. History 45. Alexa’s cousin 46. Accessory for drag queen Shangela that recently set a Guinness World Record for length 47. Places where Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan have spent quite a lot of time 48. Widespread news

censorship 52. “___ the fields we go, laughing all the way” 53. Courts, old-fashionedly 54. Wicked witch who sings “Popular” 58. Tempting emanation from a bakery (fine, just one rugelach) 60. Movement to end wealth-based pretrial detention ... and a hint to this puzzle’s theme 63. Chilly 64. Any Supremes song 65. Toddler’s demand to be

carried, perhaps 66. Makeout ___ (possible result of a right swipe on Tinder) 67. Bring an end to 68. Endurance

29. Uses a bug or a wire, say 33. Premier makers of sweet, delicious Gummibärchen 34. Hide, as a Klingon vessel 35. Game in which controlling Australia tends to be quite important 36. Gym needs, for some 38. Remote 39. Bitcoin farmhands or woke philatelists, voting-wise 42. Super Mario Galaxy console 44. Sad 46. Dark, dense volcanic rock 47. Ja ___, of music and also the Fyre Festival 48. Myrtle’s mournful murmurs, in Harry Potter 49. Creepy, like Myrtle’s mournful murmurs 50. “La Bamba” rock band Los ___ 51. Fiona, for one 55. “Not a chance!”

56. Just what the doctor ordered?

57. Energizes, with “up” 59. Key Speed stat (50, as it happens) 61. Two of the most important words one woman can say to another 62. “They say my ___ gloss is poppin’ ...” (Lil Mama lyric)

DOWN 1. Autostraddle.com and them.us, for two 2. Thick-bodied fish 3. Like la vida de Ricky Martin (aunque estos días probablemente esté en casa como el resto del mundo) 4. Certain yoga retreat sites 5. Prefix that apparently means electricity (not three) in the name of a popular snack biscuit 6. Heavenly body 7. Octopuses have three of them leaving their hearts 8. Term of abuse in a 1980s high school movie 9. ___ tai 10. Namesake of the Late Show With Stephen Colbert theater 11. Growing Up ___ (old reality show) 12. Perplexed 14. Burn soother 15. Moving effortlessly across the dance floor, like Ginger Rogers 17. Venus de Milo’s lack 21. Adapt to make LV286 ANSWERS more useful A N T E UMA S S C A VOR T POR T A PO T T Y A PO L A R 24. Word after B R I D EGROOM S A L I N E age, speed or time S T R A I N R A CCOON S A L N A N EGO H A S N T 25. Immunity I V E H A D I T ROGE N granter on L OGO E SOB E SO O L A F Survivor I C E E S P L A T E D I MO 26. Creepy holiday C A N D O R R U T S E L E N A ODD B I C A R B MOD EM panopticon toy NOS H GAMB I NO COS I O R A R E G E R S HW I N ___ on the Shelf A B A S H T N S I A N N AG 27. Do the Right S E S T I N A H A T T I E Thing pizzeria C A N I N E B A RHOP P I NG OC E L O T I MME R S E D I N 28. Broadcast T HR E S H

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