Soil Compilation

Music
KRUI Interview: Derek Sanders of Mayday Parade

I spoke with Derek Sanders, frontman of Mayday Parade after their gig at Vibrant Music Hall in Waukee, Iowa. A conversation spanning much more than the 20 years of the band, he told me about his latest trilogy release and all the way back to his very first autograph he signed.

Music
Interview: Andrew McMahon

I had the chance to sit down with Andrew McMahon while at When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas. We spoke about his historic gig at Red Rocks this summer, playing at Notre Dame Stadium, and how incredible of a movie “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” is.

News
Democrats Tour Campus to Connect with Youth Voters, KRUI Talks with Clara Reynen

This month, Johnson County Democrats are conducting “listening tours” to connect with students at the University of Iowa, consisting of various extracurricular and undergraduate-based organizations and events. The listening tour works as an open forum for students to describe their needs, goals, and priorities when it comes to both elected officials and the Democratic Party. 

Sports
The “Duck” Hunt for Playoffs Falls Short

In a rain-soaked showdown at Kinnick Stadium, Iowa’s playoff hopes slipped away as Oregon edged the Hawkeyes 18-16 on a last-second field goal. Despite a thrilling 93-yard touchdown drive led by Mark Gronowski, the Ducks’ steady ground game and clutch kicking sealed Iowa’s heartbreak.

  The 2018 National Championship game was at a tipping point at halftime, Georgia sat on a hard-fought 13-0 lead over Alabama. The Crimson Tide offense was struggling with Jalen Hurts under center. The Alabama offense had only mustered under 100 yards of total offense the entire first half, as Georgia more than doubled that total. Saban made the gutsy move to place true freshman Tua Tagovailoa under center for the second half, much to the question of those across the country. It turned out to be the move that cemented Saban in the Mount Rushmore of college football coaches. … Continued

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IOWA CITY, IA- Coming off a disappointing 7-5 season, the Hawkeyes have been well-represented in the college football awards thanks to the superb play of Josey Jewell and Josh Jackson. While the 2017 season proved to be disheartening–a home loss to Purdue, a last-second loss to the #2 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, and a lack of offense against Northwestern and Michigan State–the Hawks were able to prove they had strong caliber players on the defensive side. Linebacker Josey Jewell began the success for the Hawkeyes, bringing home the infamous Lott Impact Player Trophy. This trophy represents a player that … Continued

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IOWA CITY, Ia. – Coming off a disappointing collapse in a road defeat to Virginia Tech in the ACC–Big Ten Challenge, the Iowa Hawkeyes were looking to establish themselves as Big Ten conference play opened against Penn State on Saturday. Iowa had 18 turnovers in a 77–73 loss in which the Nittany Lions never trailed Saturday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tyler Cook led the Hawkeyes with 23 points, and energized the crowd with several monstrous dunks, but it was not enough to stop Penn State’s outside shooting attack. Penn State had zero bench points, relying entirely on the starting guard … Continued

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Bowl season.   With only one weekend remaining in the College Football season, most teams have their eyes on the postseason. At 7-5, Iowa will likely be on unfamiliar grounds this year; meaning no Insight or Outback bowl. Out of the three bowls that seem to have interest in the Hawks, only one has ever featured an Iowa team… and that dates back to 1991.   It’s worth noting that out of the eight Big Ten teams eligible for bowl season, Iowa has the second worst record out of the bunch. However, … Continued

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Countless Upsets Stir Limitless Playoff Combinations One month ago, the College Football world told itself that the 4-team playoff would be filled with ease once again. At the time, the SEC, ACC, Big 10, and Big 12 conferences each presumed to be represented by their champion. Only the Big 12 conference’s presumed representative is the same as prior with the top of the rankings left to chaos. Oklahoma continues to hum past the remainder of the Big 12. The following list withhold the schools who were in the top 6 a month ago and still are today: Alabama. That’s it. … Continued

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After what has been a pretty impressive season for the Minnesota Vikings, there are a lot of positives to take away from this team. The run game is finally a dependable aspect of their offense, thanks to the upgraded offensive line. The Vikings offense, which ranked 28th last season, is now a top 10 offense in the NFL. Lot of props should and will go to the offensive line, but some should also go to their diamond in the rough QB, Case Keenum.   Case and Point The Vikings acquired Case Keenum in March of 2017, mostly for the role … Continued

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IOWA CITY – Playing one of the 10 hardest schedules in all of college football would wear on most teams. It’s a grind, week in and week out. Lots of teams aren’t built for it, especially young teams with still-developing stars. Iowa showed us first hand how hard football can be. The Hawkeyes looked lethargic for the second straight week as they dropped their home finale to the Purdue Boilermakers 24-15. “Told our team you win as a team, you lose as a team, and certainly tonight that’s the case,” said head coach Kirk Ferentz. “We lost as a football … Continued

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IOWA CITY – Young, Tenacious, and Ready to Dance. When describing the 2017 Iowa Basketball team, these concepts first come to mind. Each of the previous renditions of the squad in recent years made promises which were not kept. Past teams lead by players Peter Jok, Jarrod Uthoff, and Aaron White set bars high with little result to show. However, the Hawkeye program does have results of the rise, which began in 2010. The first year of the Fran McCaffery Era. Under McCaffery, the Hawkeyes returned to March Madness in 2013 and would continue to dance until the 2016 season. … Continued

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The Lowdown:   As Bears fans everywhere know: rebuilding is a long, torturous process that has had us ready to punt our TVs out the window ever since Jay Cutler joined us in watching the Packers advance to the Super Bowl in 2011. But hey, it could always be worse… the Jets were also playing in the conference championship that season, at least we’re not them. That being said, things are cautiously optimistic for Bears fans right now… even with the injury to Zach Miller. Most people believe the Bears are still years away from true contention, but why listen? … Continued

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The NBA season has started and it’s quite an interesting one at that. Many fans were starting to speculate how stale the league was getting, with the never-ending Finals rivalry between the Warriors and the Cavs. Another concern prior to this season was if or if not the future of the league was in good hands. With standout young guys in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Ben Simmons, I think it is safe to say that the future of the league looks pretty bright. Into the Darkness You know what doesn’t look too bright in the season, though? As the … Continued

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