Soil Compilation

Music
Interview: Jano Rix of The Wood Brothers

I sat down with multi-instrumentalists Jano Rix before his gig with The Wood Brothers at The Englert Theatre on November 12th. Taking a beat to touch on what shaped him artistically, his favorite illustrators, and the impact dancing has had in his adult life, Jano let us into how he makes a chaotic world feel focused and comfortable.

The late 1970s into the early 1980s was a whirlwind for Iowa Hawkeye athletics. Iowa Wrestling was in the midst of becoming one of the greatest sports dynasties of the 20th century, Hayden Fry had begun raising Iowa football from the ashes of irrelevancy, and a spunky, young coach from Long Beach State had just taken over Iowa men’s basketball. Lute Olson grew up in the rural countryside of North Dakota where he became a star high school guard in basketball and eventually would play out his college days at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. Following his playing days, Olson spent … Continued

Keep reading...

Iowa athletics hasn’t seen a decision of this magnitude in 35 years. Not since the winter of 1985 to be exact when star quarterback Chuck Long announced he would return to Iowa to help the Hawkeyes get a shot at a national championship and a Heisman Trophy. Instead of the gridiron, this decision came on the hardwood, and the subject of the decision was Luka Garza. His decision? It’s time to ramp up for the winter of 2020-21 as the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year. The consensus 1st-team All-American is returning to Iowa City for his senior season. … Continued

Keep reading...

Is there going to be a college football season at all in the 2020 calendar year due to the COVID-19 pandemic? In my short answer: yes, there absolutely should be. The time on the calendar that sports fans begin to set their sights on the upcoming college football season has been the debate that has been raging hot since the 4th of July holiday. However, we can’t deny the reality of our current situation. National cases are on the climb, over 130,000 Americans have died from the virus and the closest vaccine is likely on hold until this upcoming winter. … Continued

Keep reading...

When people will look back on the history of Iowa football, June 15th, 2020 probably won’t resonate with them right away. But, make no mistake, today has been a historic day for the Iowa program. Mid-Monday morning, it was announced by the athletic department that longtime strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle and the University of Iowa had reached a “separation agreement” and that Doyle was no longer with the program. Part of the agreement above included a severance payment of $1.1 million and continued health insurance over the next 15 months as Doyle was still under contract at the … Continued

Keep reading...

Since 1979, there’s been little change on what the exterior of Iowa football has looked like. A tough, smart, physical football team that wore you down and did all the little things right, on and off the field. On the interior, the changes made over the past week is more than many fans would ever think to see in a 40-year time span. Between morale, expression and unity, Iowa football is in a very different place than it was on Thursday, June 4th. At Friday’s press conference outside the Hansen Football Complex, the word “change” was used again and again … Continued

Keep reading...

Growing up in the state of Iowa and a follower of the Iowa football program, never in my wildest imaginations would we be sitting here today having the conversation that has run rampant across the state on this Saturday. The Iowa football program has alleged issues with racial disparities. Maybe that’s me being a naive, 21-year old kid. Maybe it’s because I believed that all faculty of the University of Iowa champion themselves on equality (Which almost all absolutely do so). Maybe it’s because as a child and a teenager, the Iowa football program was seen as the gold standard … Continued

Keep reading...

The atmosphere in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday was one I had not been in ever and one I hadn’t seen in a long time. A sellout crowd 15,056 rocked Iowa City for 2 hours as Iowa extracted revenge on Penn State by a final of 77-68. Iowa rebounded from their 78-70 loss to Michigan State on Tuesday night in a big way. It also helped to have CJ Fredrick back in the lineup for the first time since Iowa played at Indiana back on February 13th. “I felt good, a little tired at the start of the game, but I … Continued

Keep reading...