Base and Superstructure

Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Category: Iowa (Page 2 of 17)

This is a map of all 50 states of the United States with traditional Big 10 college towns and their states highlighted in blue (Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania) or green (Nebraska).

Iowa City vs. Bloomington

May 18, 2026 / / 0 Comments

After last week’s post on the changes in Iowa City, I wanted to compare Iowa City to another college town. And since I used to live in Bloomington, Indiana, that’s my choice!

When I moved to Iowa City (from Bloomington) in August 2007, I saw Iowa City as a bit of a step down. Bloomington felt like a slightly larger city with a slightly larger university in a slightly larger state. I thought I would spend a few years in Iowa City before moving on to a larger city.

On top of this, I saw Bloomington through rose-colored lenses. Hailing from the middle of nowhere in rural southern Indiana, Bloomington stood out to me as an oasis in a barren wasteland. Surely Iowa City couldn’t match any of that.

But 20 years later, I’ve reconsidered my views on all of this. Maybe Bloomington isn’t quite the place I saw as an 18 year old. And perhaps Iowa City can more than hold its own.

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This is a photo of an Iowa corn field with a barn in the background.

Iowa After (Almost) 20 Years

May 4, 2026 / / 0 Comments

I moved to the purple state of Iowa in 2007. It had a Democratic governor and an ideologically diverse state legislature and political discourse. And it soon became the launching pad for the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, our first black president.

Iowa was never perfect. My politics always sat well to the left of anyone who held office in 2007. But having moved here from Indiana, I found it a breath of fresh air. Compared to Indiana’s four decade long decline into hard conservatism, Iowa practically felt like California.

It doesn’t feel like California now. Looking back two decades later, I have to ask: what happened?

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An artistic silhouette of a city hall building with city hall written on the front and a flag on top.

Can Local Government Lead Us?

April 6, 2026 / / 0 Comments

In 2025, we uncovered reasons for optimism about the potential for local government to drive leftist political change. Zohran Mamdani’s election in NYC, in particular, brought together a promising electoral coalition: leftists, young people, working class people across racial lines, the economically and politically disaffected, and progressives of all racial groups.

We even saw a local version in Iowa City. Electorally, Oliver Weilein won a city council special election, becoming likely the furthest left candidate ever elected to city office anywhere in the state of Iowa. But it’s not just about Weilein’s election. We also see potential in moves toward social democracy in our policy discussions. From fare free transit to permanent supportive housing, public debate shifted to approaches friendlier to leftist goals.

It did so against the backdrop of far right advance at the state and federal levels.

These are good things. But there’s a tension in that, or so I’ll argue. I want to balance the good with a note of caution. The shifts in local government remain partial, incomplete, and subject to sharp limits. While affirming the optimism many of us rightly feel, I’ll say a word in this post about those limits.

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A banner for the Louisville Tenants Union, established 2022, with two hands pressed together holding apartment keys.

An Activist Legacy?

February 23, 2026 /

When I turned 40, I wrote a post contemplating retirement from activism and activist work. More than anything else, I identified 40 as a crossroads. It’s a point where a person should step back and reconsider what they’re doing, especially in a college town with so many people in their 20s.

Nearing my 43rd birthday, I’m ready to check back in on the topic. I’ve definitely changed how I do activist work in the past few years. But even more so, I’ve thought about the legacy I might want to leave.

Let’s talk legacy.

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A photo of a man holding a magnifying glass in front of his right eye, while looking at a ballot closely.

Why the ‘Left’ Lost the City Council Election

November 6, 2025 /

So, we held another city council election in Iowa City. As usual, we can pull a few lessons from the results.

But first, let’s talk about the big picture. Three incumbents ran for office – Megan Alter and Bruce Teague in the At-Large race and Shawn Harmsen in District B – and they all won. Who’d they defeat? Newman Abuissa and Clara Reynen in the former race and Amy Hospodarsky in the latter.

At first glance, it feels mundane. The voters gave a new term to three popular incumbents. Big deal.

But to many Iowa Citians, the race held interest for its impact on the factions the six supposedly represent. Progressive and activist circles took this as a loss, with most backing Abuissa, Hospodarsky, and Reynen. And those who oppose them chalked it up as a win, because they backed Alter, Harmsen, and Teague. Even though more than a few of them would’ve opposed Alter, Harmsen, and Teague in the not so distant past.

As it goes.

However, I find this all very misguided. I’ll say a word about why the three challengers lost. But in the process of getting there, I’ll need to deal with all this folderol about ‘factions.’

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