People will come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. Or maybe just to work on their curve ball. Field of Dreams' new owners are pretty sure if they build it, people will come. more ›

A documentary playing at the National Museum of Mexican Art Wednesday looks at one of the low water marks of the recent battle for immigration reform. more ›

We heard over the weekend that Kanye West's Fatburger in Orland Park closed. Our mourning began in earnest, as we wondered what we would do to quench our musician-driven fast food restaurant yearnings without him. Then, a shining star emerged on the horizon to make everything ok - Flavor Flav to the rescue! This weekend, the musician and reality TV star opened Flav's Fried Chicken in Clinton, IA. Unbeknownst to us (and this may change our opinion of Flav) he has a culinary degree and restaurant experience, and plans to actually work at the new restaurant. As our regular readers know, we only approve of celebrity-chef driven restaurants if the chefs are actually cooking, so maybe this one will pass our test. more ›

A punch thrown by Chicago Police officer Michael Mette almost five years ago is still haunting him, despite his conviction being overturned in 2008. Mette was visiting his brother in Dubuque, Iowa, in October of 2005 when he got into an altercation with 20-year-old Jake Gothard. Mette punched Gothard in the face, resulting in a broken nose, cheek and jaw. Despite Mette's insistence that the punch was in self-defense, he was convicted of assault and sentenced to five years in prison. In an interview with Windy Citizen, Mette blamed his conviction on "the corruption inside a Dubuque courthouse." more ›

While we still wait to see if Northwestern ever manages to schedule that game at Wrigley, we at least know of another college football tilt that'll take place in Chicago. It was announced today that the Iowa Hawkeyes will battle the NIU Huskies at Soldier Field to open the 2012 season. The teams faced off at Soldier Field in 2007 with Iowa coming away 16-3 winners. It could be a big fall for football at Soldier Field as Notre Dame has previously declared their intentions to play a game that year at the stadium as well. more ›

A Chicago man was arrested over the weekend in Iowa for, among other things, driving his car at over 120 mph. Police say they initially got Ronnelle Thurman to pull over for driving recklessly down I-380 but then he took off at nearly 120 mph. Thurman's flux capacitor apparently didn't kick into gear because he finally crashed the car and yet still allegedly tried to hit a deputy with his banged up vehicle. more ›

Now that the games have been played and we're left with a mildly satisfactory BCS Championship game - well, if you ignore the three other unbeaten teams, that is - what about our local teams? Lots of Chicago-based Hawkeyes fans are excited for Iowa's trip to the Orange Bowl where they'll take on Georgia Tech. And we already know Notre Dame, though they qualified at 6-6, elected not to go to a bowl due to the current coaching vacancy. Meanwhile, some other area teams are pumped to be going bowling. more ›

A father filed a lawsuit today after his son fell seven stories to his death down an elevator shaft in an Ames, Iowa apartment building. Ronald Pawlak filed the suit in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging the elevator wasn't "properly inspected or maintained," according to a Chicago Breaking News report. The suit "seeks damages from the elevator company and building management for wrongful death as well as funeral and burial expenses," the report said. more ›

Mike Gebert took a road trip to Iowa recently to film some behind-the-scenes footage at La Quercia in Norwalk, IA. La Quercia owners Herb and Kathy Eckhouse make some of the best dry-cured artisan salumi available, particularly prosciutto and guanciale. Jeffrey Steingarten called La Quercia's prosciutto "the best American or imported prosciutto [he's] ever tasted," while Bon Appetit once named La Quercia "Food Artisans of the Year." more ›

After the recent decision to allow gay marriage in Iowa, there's been cause for optimism amongst supporters in Illinois. Whispers grew a little louder on Monday when Gov. Quinn, speaking at Harper College in Palatine, indicated that a civil union law may not be far away for Illinois. Said Quinn: "I think that's probably where the legislature is headed in the state." With a civil union bill currently in the General Assembly, it's a distinct possibility. However, there are indications that a law allowing gay marriage isn't in the state's near-future. The Times and Democrat - a paper based out of South Carloina, of all places - addressed the issue this week. more ›

It's been a strange tale for Chicago Police officer Michael Mette. In October 2005, while visiting his brother in Dubuque, Iowa, Mette - who was off-duty at the time - got into a fight with 20-year-old Jake Gothard and punched him, breaking Gothard's nose, cheek and jaw. In 2007, Mette was convicted of assault and sentenced to five years. In September, Mette asked for a dismissal of his charge from the Iowa’s Court of Appeals; a ruling could be issued as early as tomorrow. Some of Mette's more high-ranking supporters include Mayor Richard Daley, Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine, Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis. Recently, Brenna Ehrlich of Windy Citizen exchanged correspondence with Mette and asked him about the fight, his trial, and his current incarceration. Of his sentence, Mette says:

I am in prison right now because of the corruption inside a Dubuque courthouse. Just read the Judge’s ruling and then Iowa’s code 704.3. How can anyone, let alone a Judge, tell someone, “I understand that you were attacked by this person, but you had no right to defend yourself.” This case has never made much sense to me. Why have laws set in place if we are not wiling to abide by them? And if we cannot trust those who govern to uphold these laws then should we not put someone else in office?

The Iowa attorney general's office filed child labor charges against the owners and operators of Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meat producer. "The complaint alleges more than 9,000 violations of Iowa's child labor law at the plant in Postville, saying the violations involved 32 children under age 18, including seven who were younger than 16," according to the AP. [AP]
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A young Chicago man, Antonio D. Johnson, was arrested in Iowa early Thursday morning for disorderly conduct and public intoxication. It was a cut-and-dry arrest until the patrol car ride to the police station. It seems Antonio had several small bags of marijuana on him that the police hadn't found during a pat down, so he did what any other sensible person arrested for public intoxication would do: he tried to hide the weed in the cop car. Johnson tore a hole in the seat and stuffed 12 bags into the hole. FAIL. Officers found an unlucky 13th bag in his jacket pocket and tacked on possession of a controlled substance, drug tax stamp violation, criminal mischief and attempting to conceal evidence to his charges. more ›

Today in dumb criminals: Moline's Jason Slagel, who took five hostages in a motel Iowa...and then sent two on a beer run. Slagel apparently got in an argument in a Fort Madison motel room and pulled a knife. "Police say Slagel eventually got thirsty and sent two hostages out for beer," and they called the police. [AP]
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. The 20-year-old, originally from Glenview, is a student at Drake University. From the Des Moines Register: more ›

Patty Solis Doyle, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager and sister of 25th Ward Alderman Danny Solis, stepped down Sunday after a string of primary losses to Barack Obama. She will be replaced by Maggie Williams, who had been working in an informal top role on the campaign since Obama won Iowa. Solis Doyle cited the extraordinary length of the campaign, and the toll that it was taking on her and her family. Shortly after Solis Doyle sent an email to campaign staff announcing her departure, Clinton issued a statement that read, in part, "this already has been the longest presidential campaign in history and one that has required enormous sacrifices of everyone and our families. I look forward to her continued advice in the months ahead." more ›

John McCain won big in last night's Republican primaries, winning nine states and pushing his delegate count up to 559--not enough to win the nomination, but big enough to secure his standing as the front runner. Mike Huckabee got a boost last night as well, winning a string of upsets in the Southern states, enough to justify his continued candidacy. Mitt Romney, however, has bigger problems, winning only a handful of states, and with Huckabee still in, he won't get the one-on-one race he so desperately wanted. more ›

The United States isn't the only country that is having federal elections this year. In March a by-election will be held in Toronto's Toronto Centre Riding. And our sister site, Torontoist has been posting a semi-regular column by their Environment Editor, Chris Tindal, who is running for parliament as the Green Party candidate. more ›

We always imagined it'd be pretty hard to get into too much trouble in a place like Boise. The Bulls' second-round draft pick JamesOn Curry, currently playing for the Iowa Energy in the NBA's developmental league, however, managed to find enough to be arrested in the Idaho town early Thursday morning and to be charged with urinating in public and resisting arrest. more ›

For Michigan Democrats, the choices in today's primary are pretty stark. Late last year, Michigan Senator Carl Levin supported moving Michigan's primary up to January 15 in an attempt to make the state more relevant in this year's race. That move backfired, however, when the Democratic National Committee punished the state party by stripping it of all its delegates at the convention. Party rules mandate that Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina hold the first primaries. more ›

In what could quite possibly be the nail biter of the season, Hillary Clinton pulled it out last night, winning the New Hampshire Democratic primary by a two to three point lead over Iowa front-runner Barack Obama. While most of the media was writing Hillary's political obituary, she was winning New Hampshire. With the Nevada caucuses next, and the black vote potentially split between the Clintons and Barack Obama, South Carolina may be back in play. In fact, Clinton's win last night showed one of Obama's key weaknesses: his reliance on independent and new voters. Female and older voters seemed to gravitate towards Clinton last night, with 45 percent of female Democratic voters chose Clinton. Voters over the age of 40 also picked Clinton, with nearly 70 percent going for Hillary over Obama. more ›

Thanks in part to huge voter turnout partially driven by bonafide grassroots excitement, Barack Obama cruised to victory in Iowa, and is expected to do well again today in New Hampshire. Yet the Siskel Film Center has quietly cancelled screenings of the new documentary Senator Obama Goes To Africa, which were scheduled for later this month. Why? We just told you why. more ›

Mayor Daley might not do irony well, but Mitt Romney knows how to do momentum. more ›

We had a nice spit take while drinking our morning coffee and reading the front-page headline of the Sun-Times. The headline accompanying Fran Spielman's story about His Elective Majesty's advice to Senator Barack Obama in the wake of his win in the Iowa Caucuses was to "always be the underdog." more ›

Last night marked the official beginning of the 2008 presidential season. The close of the Iowa Democratic caucuses saw Barack Obama with 37 percent, John Edwards with 30 percent, and Hillary Clinton in third place with 29 percent of the votes, with 99 percent of Iowa precincts reporting. On the Republican side Mike Huckabee was the big winner. more ›

After running around the state for months (and in some cases, years) the big day for presidential wannabes has finally come: The Iowa Caucuses. This presidential ritual comes around every four years, and while most of the nation watches, a Midwestern state makes the first pick for the presidential nomination. more ›

at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom. Because who wants to shake hands in a cold Iowa parking lot when you can kick it at the Hyatt in Chicago? more ›

Oprah is everywhere this week. She took her first campaign trip with Obama to Iowa where over 18,000 people came to hear Oprama speak. Oprah said, “Despite all the talk and speculation and the hype. I understand the difference between a book club and a free refrigerator -- that was a nice refrigerator." Okay good, we’re really happy Oprah explained herself because we weren’t sure if that was a nice refrigerator or not. Now we... more ›

What's the Speed Limit? more ›

Oprah has been doing everything in her colossal and terrifyingly formidable power to see that Obama is elected, but now she's taking it up a notch by going on the campaign trail with him. While she won't be offering everyone in Iowa a new car, she will be stopping there in the first week of December, as well as in South Carolina and New Hampshire. Tickets for each of the four stops (two in Iowa,... more ›