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.
Here are some Super Bowl facts we bet you didn't know, Sunday's game time and where to watch the game in Iowa City.
Ayana Mathis, an Iowa Writers' Workshop alumna, was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey about her book The Twelve Tribes of Hattie. The interview will air on Super Soul Sunday at 10 a.m. Sunday on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Last year I went to social media to see what everyone listed as their favorite Valentine's Day dinner destinations in Iowa City. Here's the list again, let's see if we can add some more.
This will be an ongoing post covering new tax rules, local locations where taxes can be done, and advice from local experts on how to maximize your refund.
Last year, VITA volunteers completed 924 returns and helped taxpayers receive nearly $1.4 million in refunds.
This will be the first in a weekly series of me trying to get to know the Marion community better.
Here's some additional facts about Sunday's big game we bet you didn't know, and some more useful information including kickoff time and where to watch the game in Iowa City.
The following is the complete Iowa City Police Daily Activity Log for January 31, 2013.
Check out this week's Top 5 Redbox rentals and make your viewing list for Iowa City.
San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens face off in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday. The 49ers fan base is reaching across the country, and that includes most of Iowa according to an analysis by Facebook.
Katie Simpson, a California mother, noted trans fat as ingredients in commonly sold pizzas, and says the frozen pies have PHVO, a food additive banned worldwide.
The complete Iowa City Police Daily Activity log for January 30, 2013.
The following information was provided by the Iowa City Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.
A bad week for buses. A good week for sleeping in.
The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities warns of dangerous windchill temperatures in the low 20s and 30s below zero Friday morning, with a windchill advisory until noon.
A bad week for buses. A good week for sleeping in.
The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities warns of dangerous windchill temperatures in the low 20s and 30s below zero tomorrow, with a windchill advisory until noon.
The reporting victim, a Cedar Rapids man, complained of welts and breaking of the skin.
A list of obituaries posted onto Iowa City Patch this January, in celebration of their lives.
Hospital Ramp 2—the parking garage located directly in front of the hospital—is now being demolished as part of the health care campus master plan, which includes the new UI Children’s Hospital.
