r/IowaCity

And do NOT say Casey’s!!!

Looks like Mr. Barkalow's lawyer fees are going up again.

TLDR; This city is more capitalistic than any other city in the state. We have the highest rent in the state, and Zohran has proven that our mayor is incompetent and unable to stand up to clear issues. Iowa City and the University have proven time and time again that they prioritize profit over people. They have a responsibility to improve the community’s quality of life too, not just their own.

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I’m sure many of you have seen plenty of hateful comments about how socialism and black people are ruining Iowa City because of one isolated drunken incident. Aside from the obvious racism and bots coming from these despicable people, I find it pretty frustrating that we’re getting painted as a progressive, socialist place when, in reality, half of the city is conservative and hateful and the other half are center-left liberals who don’t stand on anything.

It’s upsetting as a resident of IC because it’s always felt like it’s one of the more predatory areas of the state when it comes to housing and businesses. There’s NO city oversight on any of the few people running the apartments and bars downtown, and especially none on housing developers. It’s a little too obvious that these people pay the city (and county) council members off and are allowed to do whatever they want. I think it’s important to be clear that this is objectively not a socialist city in the slightest, and this is likely being done to manipulate voters into thinking we’re “too far left” when really we should just be taking care of our people based on their needs and what could improve quality of life, regardless of what manmade agenda it falls under.

These bar owners are the guys bringing in and allowing dangerous things to happen all over downtown, and they don’t do anything about it because they profit from it. It’s not rocket science, and it’s not a grander conspiracy than conservatives taking advantage of poor people like they always do. I’m not sure why it’s an own to say that the socialists here are why a random shooting happened. It’s completely ignorant to how different the goals of socialism (collective ownership) and the goals of the city ($$$) are. If you’re going to blame anyone but the gunmen, you should be blaming the city and the bars, not some boogeyman economic system that you’ve purposely been propagandized against since the Cold War & beyond.

It’s the city and county’s job (especially Oliver Weilen) to do something about this and to be asking the proper questions about under-the-table payments to politicians, widespread underage drinking for profit, and multiple confirmed drug rings within bars downtown. Irresponsibly dealing to the students is a whole other rabbit hole/issue that conservatives love to place blame on the other side for.

There’s no required security at “clubs” aside from a few coked our frat guys at the door…but money they make from 17-20 year olds downtown and at the University is way too profitable to do anything about that. Which is where a city normally steps in, no? How are these vile people instantly blaming an entire group of people for a problem that rich folk and city council members/the mayor could solve in a week if they cared enough about people over profit.

Why aren’t Summit, Brothers, El Rays & ReUnion rapey-looking bouncers checking for GUNS instead of sitting there being dicks to anyone who isn’t a 16-19 year old girl? Why are they suddenly making women carry clear purses? Why not metal detectors like any other downtown venue that charges an (outrageous) $10-20 to get in and listen to a shitty DJ play country EDM? I’ve had more guns flashed at me downtown INSIDE OF THE BARS than I ever have in my many years of being in and around Chicago, St. Louis, and Minneapolis. If the University faculty and politicians are looking for a change, *why not start with prioritizing people over profit?*

Ask yourself… if they can reform taxes & rent while tackling poor living conditions and public transportation in NYC as soon as a new mayor comes around then why can’t we? I’ve rarely seen this city do anything actually “socialist” and especially not “communist” so it’s pretty frustrating seeing so many far-right morons act like this city is something it’s not. Socialism would benefit everyone BUT those soulless goons running the housing and bars. Cannot believe how poorly people interpret things like this. Have some empathy and stop using a one-off incident as an indictment against an entire race.

So they can tear it down and turn the Burlington/Muscatine mess into a roundabout

That is all

I was wondering if the arm lever is up past midnight do you still have to scan and pay your ticket?

I got a referral to obgyn from my PCP at the UIHC but the wait is like 5 months. Emma Goldman doesn’t offer the one I need.

Is there anywhere to get in faster for an IUD or a way to get in quick at the university?

They charged me, and then the app said I was out of their delivery area.

I called the restaurant. They stopped the order as Chomp had not. I called Chomp. Was told "it's just a bug in the app."

They got my money. I got nothing. They promised reimbursement, but from word of mouth, they have a bad track record.

Hungry people beware.

My HOA has to pay for LRS (formerly Johnson County Refuse) to pick up our trash and recycling weekly because Coralville only picks up trash for single family homes and duplexes. We live in a small condo (3 units all with their own addresses and front doors. I am SO annoyed that Coralville is this stingy about their services b/c there is a ton of high density housing--could you not pick up trash for places that have individual addresses! I get not doing apartment buildings and big condos).

LRS bought out Johnson County Refuse, I think it was last year, and we didn't have any problems. They came every week and picked up our trash and recycling. Now, within the past 2 months, they've missed our recycling pickup regularly. I've called every week and keep getting told by LRS customer support (based in Illinois) that they have no contact with the garages in Iowa and all they can do is send them emails to remind them to come pick up our recycling. They said recycling is a courtesy and included with our trash, but not offered as a stand alone service. That's fine, but don't give us bins, promise us pickups and say it's "included" in our trash service and then not do it.

I'm wondering if anyone else living in one of the many condos, apartment complexes, etc. in Coralville is having similar problems. I've escalated it to LRS management and they won't even call me back, they're wanting to deal with it all over email, yet they never respond. They won't give me the number for the Iowa garages so I can talk to an actual garage manager and find out why they're skipping our recycling pickup all of the sudden.

I've looked into other services (WM and Republic Services) and they won't service my address.

LRS has a monopoly on trash services for places that the city won't service. I don't know how to handle this. I know we can take our recycling ourselves, but the older folks in my condo can't do that. I also know we can just throw away our recycling, but I don't think that should be the only solution. Anyone else in this boat or know anything about LRS/Johnson County Refuse and why their garages are unable to maintain this service that they did fine with for years up until recently? I'm assuming just like most buy outs it's b/c they've cut staff, just typical enshitification of services, but maybe there's something else I don't know about going on.

Any advice is appreciated. I'm in charge of the HOA for myself and 2 other units and I'm getting tired of calling every week.

Thanks!

Does anyone have a solid vet recommendation in the area for my cats to get a wellness check?

hi guys, uiowa student here. for context, i have been involved in two prior shootings, one being a gang related shooting at a mall, the other being a mass shooting in a public park. how the fuck do i cope with seeing racist shitbags turn a situation that gave me ptsd into an issue of race? i have commented multiple times on news outlets' instagram and facebook posts BEGGING them to either moderate their comments or turn them off entirely and each time i am met with trolls. i block them obviously but the feeling isn't strong enough to make me calm down. i'm so angry at everyone and i can't get rid of this feeling. it pisses me off so much that people are genuinely this unintelligent and i can't change their minds. what am i supposed to do about this?

Guys guys guys, Yolanda's meat-on-a-stick stand is gonna be open Wednesdays until 1pm in the lot across from old Mercy Hospital through May...! I think there's other food trucks there too but this is the only one unofficially endorsed by the Bobby Blue Bland Band (say *that* three times fast). This has been a public service announcement.