Local Editor, Iowa City
PatchEmail: stephen.schmidt@patch.com
Facebook.com/IowaCityPatch
Twitter.com/IowaCityPatch
Phone:
Iowa City (319) 210-7862.
Bio: Stephen was born in Cedar Falls in 1982, but has lived the majority of his life in nearby Solon, IA. A graduate of the University of Iowa, Stephen has covered the Iowa City area for the past four years on a freelance basis for Little Village, the North Liberty Leader and Iowapolitics.com and as a staff writer for the Daily Iowan and the Gazette.
At Patch, we believe in transparency. To that end, I am answering the following questions about my politics and religious beliefs.
Politics
The best summation of my political beliefs is that I am more interested in ideas than ideology. The concept that any one person or political party has all of the good ideas or solutions to our problems has never made much sense to me.
With this in mind, I try the best that I can to stay open minded in any political conversation or when engaging in a political topic.
If I was forced to place myself on the political spectrum between Liberal Left and Conservative Right, I would have to say I am situated in the middle of both, with one foot slightly in the Left column. There are ideas at the extremes of both ideologies that I agree with, and other ideas I disagree with, but overall I am interested in the most practical solutions to the problems we face.
Are you registered with a certain party?
I'm a registered Democrat.
Religion
I'm not religious, especially not in a traditional organized sense. I do however feel that there is a sense of the spiritual in how we treat each other, and in how we appreciate and choose to live our daily lives.
Although I am not a part of an organized religion, I feel that religion can play an important role for some people in their lives, and understanding their religion is often the key to better understanding them as people.
Local Hot-Button Issues
Iowa City is a growing college town and the University of Iowa is a growing university, and in many cases both are growing directly into each other. Both city and university are going through the process of dealing with this growth, trying to make the changes required to meet the challenges ahead, without leaving the identity of Iowa City behind.
Whether you are talking about the 21-year-old ordinance, the change in culture downtown or the crowded school district, the conflict occurs because there is a disagreement over what exactly that Iowa City identity was in the past and what it should be in the future.
After a protracted argument, an Iowa City woman allegedly began swinging a knife at her boyfriend as he hid in the bathroom of the residence.
All are invited to the Iowa City Senior Center on Saturday, April 20 from 8 AM - 12 PM to receive free health screenings from a variety of health care providers.
The following operating while intoxicated information was provided by the Iowa City Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.
The man called to inform the woman he had stolen her money, Playstation and sewing machine. This call turned out to be of great help in his eventual arrest.
ALSO: Harlem Globetrotter Day declared in Iowa, video of the City High Dr. Who prank, West High boys track team looks to repeat, and a whole new crime for screwing with the police.
The first in several Storified installments of the shows, plus a link to the schedule for today.
The following arrest information was provided by the Iowa City Police Blotter. It does not indicate a conviction.
Lost and Found for Cedar Rapids and Marion, Expired Meat Wanted for some reason, and will you take a chance on Craigslist Mushrooms?
Also: UPS driver, auto sales, customer service manager, Hertz sales representative, copywriter, creative video editor.
Also: Terry Branstad is headed to China, a Linn-Mar player is being courted by a NCAA Tournament Cinderella, and Midwestern Economic Indicators are looking bullish.
Happy Mission Creek week! We'll get you set with all of the information you need to enjoy the week. Also, the word is to Tweet and Instagram with #missioncreek.
ALSO: Communities around Iowa City getting safer, binge drinking going down, and estimates for the Johnson County Secondary Roads building place the fire damages above $1 million.
Summer will be here before you know it, and with it will come Iowa City's Annual Summer of the Arts.
No sudden snow showers, thunderstorms, or even many clouds in the forecast for most of this week. Just a little cold (for spring) but warmer by the end of the week, which will bring some rain and fog along with it.
No sudden snow showers, thunderstorms, or even many clouds in the forecast for most of this week. Just a little cold (for spring) but warmer by the end of the week, which will bring some rain and fog along with it.
The following information was provided by the Iowa City Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.
Each week we feature a new animal on Iowa City Patch that needs a new home. This week, we mix our holidays by featuring a bunny named Cupid.
Info on animals that have been lost, reported missing, seen loose, or been found in the last week and a half.
The following information was provided by the Iowa City Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.
Movie reviews and movie times for theaters in the Marion and Cedar Rapids area. Let Patch help you decide what you're going to see this weekend. Movies to choose from include "The Croods", "Olympus Has Fallen" and more.