Soil Compilation

Sports
Trapped in the Box

The Hawkeyes fell three points short in Ames, trapped in the same box they’ve always played in. Cautious routes and a passing game that refuses to breathe. Even glimpses of promise, like Gronowski’s 22-yard completion, couldn’t break them free from their rectangle of comfort.

Sports
Iowa Falls to Iowa State 16-13 in Annual CyHawk Series Matchup

The Hawkeyes came up just short in Ames, falling 16-13 to No. 16 Iowa State in a rivalry game that slipped away in the final minutes. Despite a strong defensive showing and improved play from QB Mark Gronowski, Iowa’s offense couldn’t find enough answers as the Cyclones snapped the Hawkeyes’ six-game win streak at Jack Trice Stadium.

Music
Iowa City Songwriters Festival Preview

The Englert Theatre will host the inaugural Iowa City Songwriters Festival, headlined by Jeff Tweedy and Joy Oladokun, this weekend from September 4-6. Sprawling across many of Iowa City’s favorite venues, this town wide event is bound to be memorable.

Online Content
Hinterland 2025 Recap

From August 1-3, Hinterland Festival returned to the fields of St Charles, Iowa, as a resounding success. After a sweltering-hot 2024, Hinterland rebounded and restored fanbase trust for many years to come.

Sports
The Grayt Team: Grayson Chapeau’s Story

At just 15 years old, Grayson Chapeau has spent nearly his entire life in a fight he never chose, against an inoperable brain tumor. But in the stands of a summer-league baseball team, he’s become something more: a symbol of joy, resilience, and a small town’s beating heart.

Mistake Levels There are mistakes – misguided or wrong judgement. Writing this piece at night was not the problem. Drinking coffee that keeps one up past 3 AM? That was misguided judgement. Then there are dumb mistakes. An example here is when NASA burned a $125 Million Mars orbiter vehicle thanks to not converting thrust calculations from English units to the metric system. True story, that happened. We’ve come a long way as a species. That was a dumb mistake for the world’s brightest minds to make. Finally, there are dumb, avoidable mistakes. These are when we not only had … Continued

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By Miles Klotz Unless you’re an absolute die-hard fan of baseball, you probably haven’t heard the name Matt Chapman. After all, it would seem unlikely that a third baseman with a .762 OPS and .231 batting average on the last place Oakland Athletics would deserve any serious recognition. But Chapman is already establishing himself as one of baseball brightest young defensive players, and a cornerstone for a rebuilding A’s franchise to build around. Before I dive into the statistical reasons for why Chapman is already a better defensive third baseman than show-stoppers like Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado and Anthony Rendon, here … Continued

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When it comes to college life, it seems that everyone has some sort of pearl of wisdom to offer about what things are going to be like. When you’re a freshman you hear things like “you meet the best friends of your life” or “college is the best years of your life”. I don’t know about anyone else, but no one told me this stuff takes time. So I gathered a few of the things that I think these people left out about growing up, moving out, and what it’s like being in college. One thing that everyone looks forward … Continued

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When facing a team as offensively talented as the Seton Hall Pirates, defenses must bring their A-game. Iowa did not in their 91-83 loss at Carver Hawkeye Arena on Thursday night, giving up too many easy buckets, especially in the second half. “I would like to have seen us play better defense, collectively,” head coach Fran McCaffery said of his team’s performance. “For the duration, but certainly in the second half, you can’t give them 66 percent (shooting)… and the truth of the matter is we had a pretty experienced team out there. Everyone wants to talk about youth. That was … Continued

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – We’re eight weeks into the Iowa Hawkeyes (5-3, 3-2) football season. Two of their three losses were upsets. They no longer control their own destiny to the Big Ten Championship game, entering the season as the favorite out of the Big Ten West division. However, this season still has an opportunity for it to not go into the books as a failure.   If the Hawkeyes want to turn their season around, it starts in head coach Kirk Ferentz’s favorite month: November. Ferentz, who’s 8-4 all-time against Penn State, prides himself on his teams playing their … Continued

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Everybody has been talking about it. Pussy Riot. That’s right–say it. Pussy. The first night of Witching Hour held probably the most prominent event, a lively discussion between Jessica Hopper, Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina, MediaZona collaborator Sasha Bogino, and Pussy Riot supporter and friend Alexander Cheparukhin. The discussion started with a small part of a 2 hour documentary about Pussy Riot and how they connect with the long history of protest art. It also shows their ideological drift towards feminism, and how they became a female-only group. The film was called Act & Punishment, and the 13 minute clip … Continued

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