IOWA CITY — The City Council in Iowa City may be ready to serve up a 21-only ordinance to its popular bar scene.

At the end of a work session Monday night, Mayor Matt Hayek said he wanted the council to consider a so-called 21-only ordinance, which would only allow people 21 and older in bars at night. Currently, those 19 and older can be in Iowa City bars.

“It’s time to do this,” he said.

In a brief discussion, six council members expressed interest in it — Hayek, Susan Mims, Terry Dickens, Ross Wilburn, Mike Wright and Connie Champion.

An ordinance will be ready for the council’s work session March 22 and ready the following night for the first of three readings needed to pass it.

It’s a major, and surprising, development in this college town, which is struggled for years with underage- and binge-drinking problems.

The council declined to vote on a 21-only proposal in 2007 and instead sent the matter to voters. who easily defeated it with the support of college students. Some council members have grown frustrated with what they see as a lack of cooperation from bar owners since then.

That includes Champion, who in the past has been a swing vote against a 21-only law.

“I’ve given those bars 12 years,” she said, a reference to her time on the council.

Council member Regenia Bailey said she has concerns that a 21-only law would encourage more house parties in neighborhoods, which is a common argument of those against changing the current law.

The 2007 vote caused a huge community debate that lasted months. This time, the matter could be settled this spring.

If the council approves an ordinance, a citizen-led referendum could send the matter back to the public for a vote.

– GREGG HENNIGAN, THE GAZETTE

Iowa City made the February 2010 issue Men’s Journal — the one featuring Mel Gibson on the cover — by being named the “Healthiest Town in the United States,” based on a set of criteria established by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the chief medical correspondent for CNN.

Dr. Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, traveled the world in search of dietary and eating habits, lifestyles, exercise, and personal practices that contribute to a long life for his Mind & Body article, “The Completely Doable Guide to Living to 100.” His article offers information on the healthiest diets on earth, the importance of regular exercise and workouts, and how to “quiet your mind” to increase mental focus, reduce stress, and ultimately, live longer.

But Dr. Gupta also acknowledged the relationship between where a person lives and how that impacts longevity. In a one-column sidebar piece titled, “Move,” he listed six factors people should consider when choosing where to live. His advice on what to look for:

1. LOCAL FARMS.

Live in an area close to farms so that you have access to locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables from a farmers’ market.

2. SHORT COMMUTES.

Choose an area with short commutes. People with long commutes tend to suffer more sleep disorders and other health problems.

3. SIDEWALKS.

Live in a walkable neighborhood. It helps reduce the risk of being obese or overweight.

4. LOW POLLUTION.

People who live in an area with reduced pollution live five months longer than those who don’t, Dr. Gupta reports from a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

5. GREEN SPACES.

Choose to live near green spaces, because those who do experience less depression, anxiety, and other health problems than those who don’t.

6. GOOD WEATHER.

A study in Environmental Health reports that gray days can trigger seasonal affective disorder and slow brain function — so good weather is important to good health.

Good weather? In the dead of winter, even those of us who love it here find it hard to give points for that, but when Dr. Gupta ran his set of criteria through a computer system at Bestplaces.net, he came up with a list of the “Five Healthiest Towns in the U.S.” Coming in first place was Iowa City, followed by Boulder, Colorado; Logan, Utah; Northampton, Massachusetts; and Charlottesville, Virginia.

Maybe putting up with Iowa winters isn’t such a big deal after all.

Jack Craig, 24, Iowa City
Manager/bartender @ Mickey’s Irish Pub

How long have you been a bartender?
2 years.

How did you get into bartending?
I needed a job. I go to The University of Iowa, so it was convenient to work someplace downtown.

What’s the best thing about your job?
Probably the people. Having fun with the people I work with. And getting paid.

What’s the crowd like at Mickey’s?
It’s a lot of groups of friends. People come because of word-of-mouth.

What’s the worst thing about your job?
Probably having to deal with really drunk people. After the last football game there was an former basketball player who’s 7-foot-2-inches, and he got in fight with someone and I had to try to break that up, which wasn’t very easy when I was standing there staring straight up at him.

What’s the best night to work?
Friday. It’s the busiest.

What’s your favorite drink to pour?
Captain Planet. It’s our famous shot here. It’s a sweet drink that has a lot of flavors combined, like Captain Planet, you know, “By your powers combined — I am Captain Planet!”

What’s the best pickup line you’ve overheard while working?
How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice.

Why is Mickey’s a good place to come for New Year’s Eve?
We’ll have some pretty decent specials. We usually do. And this is a bar where you can easily access a drink, but there’s still has a busy, busy crowd. Also, we don’t charge a cover, so that’s pretty good for downtown Iowa City.
— ANNE

Brett Smith, 24, Iowa City
Executive Chef @ Linn Street Cafe

You write a food blog at http://chefbrettsmith.com. Why did you start blogging, and what do you like most about it?
I started my blog two days before I officially took over the kitchen at Linn Street. It began as an ongoing portfolio for my family to keep track of my progress, but it soon developed into something a lot more. I wanted young people to see what was going on in the restaurant. I wanted to share my passion for food with everyone. I post nightly specials, new menus, special events, etc. I will soon be posting recipes, as well as new ideas and general insight into the world of cooking.

How would you describe your culinary style?
To be honest, I don’t really have a particular style. What I cook depends on my mood and what I have in the cooler. I like to think seasonally and will try to maximize the flavors of whatever ingredients are at their peak. I challenge myself to draw inspiration from all over the world, creating dishes that don’t necessarily fit into a category.

What’s your favorite ingredient?
I have a love affair with the pig. I love the bacon I make from new bellies I get in every month from local Berkshire hogs. If I couldn’t have bacon, I would have no reason to live. Aside from bacon, there are a million other things you can do with the meat from a pig. My second favorite ingredient is the pork cheek. Don’t get me started.

What do you cook at home?
My favorite snack is a toasted peanut butter sandwich made with my Mother’s Day-old banana bread, thinly sliced ripe bananas and a couple of slices of apple wood smoked bacon. It is the ultimate combination of sweet and savory.

Name one thing people can do to improve their cooking.
The absolute most important thing you can do, whether you are a professional cook or an at-home enthusiast, is how to use salt. Your food will not taste good without the presence of salt — period. The best possible example would be with those gorgeous tomatoes you get at the Farmers Market. Take a slice of that nice heirloom tomato you purchased from your local farmer and eat it. Good, right? Now sprinkle just a touch of kosher salt, or, better yet, coarse sea salt, and see what happens. Most of the time, the difference between a good dish and a great dish is how well it has been salted.

Are you planning any specials for New Year’s Eve at Linn Street Café?
On New Year’s Eve we do a set five-course menu. It will start with an amuse-bouche, followed by an appetizer course, soup/salad course, entree and then a dessert course. The menu will be available on the restaurant’s Web site (www.linnstreetcafe.com) under the special event heading as soon as possible.
— ANNE

The next time you are flipping aimlessly through the channels, complaining there is nothing to watch, do something about it. Make your own show.

How? It’s Public Access Television, baby.

For those of you having flashbacks of the infamous skits made popular by comedians Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, yes, they’re that kind of TV station. Not only do local comedians entertain viewers, but the station’s doors are open to anyone with a message to share.

That’s what PATV is all about, say those involved with the station. Their tagline says it all. They’re “Your Neighborhood Network.”

Take, for example, the 2006 tornado in Iowa City.

Stunned residents wandered the debris-covered streets of Iowa City. Half of the city was without power; no one knew what was going on. A tornado had ravaged the city’s downtown neighborhoods; only two television stations were able to provide their community with the emergency coverage it needed.

PATV channel 18, 13 at the University of Iowa, was one of them.

Fortunate enough to maintain power, they switched gears from regularly scheduled programming and served as a communication portal for city and emergency services.

“We had all sorts of emergency services calling in and using us as a way to get info out about where to go if someone was injured, where shelters were, when the power would be back on, were there more tornadoes heading this way,” said Executive Director, Josh Goding.

Free from the demands of corporate sponsors, PATV had the flexibility

to serve its community on a moments notice, staying on air until 3 a.m. to provide its viewers with critical emergency information; and justifying the existence of a channel that’s worth is often questioned.

“That really earned us a lot of points, being able to provide that coverage,” Goding says.

PATV’s contribution to the Iowa City and Coralville area is not limited to emergency coverage; the channel embodies First Amendment rights, say those involved with the station.

It’s a freedom they think is worth fighting for. And fight they did. PATVs contract was up for renewal and on September 29 the Iowa City Council voted unanimously to extend PATVs contract. And so the story goes that the little station that could, did.

PATV will be around for at least three more years to provide local programming, media education

and technology access. But the

little station isn’t so little anymore. It turned 20 years old in October.

“I think it is one of the last true portals of free speech, especially on TV,” said Goding. “All of our content is as the producers created it. It’s uncensored and it’s not subject to any kind of political oversight or commercial intention.”

Emily Ashenfelter, a programmer at PATV, said this level of access to the media is a necessity, not a luxury.

“The old idea about, I may not agree with what you’re saying, but I will fight for you to have your right to express your opinion… When someone is not enjoying a program that’s on the air, you know, just think about the value of free speech.”

Or better yet, produce your own program and air your opinion.

The staff at PATV will teach you how and let you use their equipment.

After attending a free guidelines workshop, held the first Sunday of every month, anyone in the viewing area can submit their own video to be aired to approximately 18,000 households. Programs are posted on the channel’s Web site, as well as YouTube, Ustream and blip.tv, expanding the potential audience beyond the local cable system. As long as audio and visual signals are clear and the submission does not violate federal obscenity laws, it will make it to air.

Coralville and Iowa City residents can become members for a one-time fee of $40, non-residents pay $75, and seniors and students ages 14-17 are free. Members can use PATV’s equipment and facilities, and receive a free skills workshop to learn production, camera and editing techniques. Workshops are $40 by appointment, but you can volunteer at the station to work off your fee.

Learning how to use the equipment makes you a more critical media consumer, says Ashenfelter.

“It influences the way you look at it — why did they choose that angle, what is the message they’re trying to send?”

— KELSEY

The talent: Landen Boyer (guitar/vocals), Alex Wiese (bass), and Brandon Haynes (drums)

The sound: Pop Rock

The gigs: Friday (12/4), The Picador, doors open at 6 p.m.

The rest of the story: www.myspace.com/backdropband

As I interviewed two-thirds of the Iowa City-based pop-trio BackDrop, one thing became readily apparent.

These guys have great hair.

Fortunately for their budding musical careers, there’s loads of talent hidden behind their long locks and buoyant bangs. Despite their relative youth (let’s just say not all members of the band can drink in the bars they play in), BackDrop adeptly plays pure and pleasurably polished pop.

Landen Boyer, Alex Wiese and Brandon Haynes are the kind of story that (almost) never actually works out. Coming out of their high school band and choir, the three then-teens took turns playing in garage bands with one another, mostly teaching themselves their instruments along the way.

Then, about two years ago, the three did something high school garage bands rarely do when they move on to college. They kept playing and, last summer, “got serious,” according to Alex.

Since then they’ve landed playing gigs in surrounding towns across the Midwest, all self-booked, largely populated by an extensive Internet campaign.

“After a semester on tour we realized it was all about putting your best foot forward, but most people are going to find you through the Internet,” Alex says.

Fans can follow each of band members on Twitter. Their MySpace page has been professionally designed and developed. The group has shot a number of videos housed online and every track from their first EP is available on iTunes.

That EP, produced by Midwestern musical superhero Chuck Macak of Electrowerks Music Productions, is radio-friendly, catchy, and reminiscent of an energetic style of youthful pop-rock only recently since passed.

Their best song, “Halfway There,” for example, would have been at home on the soundtrack to American Pie. Boyer’s voice is radio-ready, and the lyrics are teen-friendly. “Wish You Were Mine” is the sort of pop-rock ballad that would be perfect over the ending credits of a teen-centered romantic comedy.

The most surprising thing for this
band-on-the-rise has been the fans.
“They’re the kids that I didn’t grow up hanging out with, but now like hanging out with,” Alex says. “They’re fun loving. Really supportive. If you need a place
to stay after a show, you‘ve got
10 kids offering.”

On Friday, they won’t need any place to stay. The guys will headline a hometown show at the Picador a show.

And what can fans can expect for the hometown crowd?

“A good time,” says Landen, with a smile.
— BLAKE

Scott Hage, 41, Iowa City
Bartender @ Dublin Underground

How did you get into bartending?
It was a good way to pay for school, but not very good for grades. I don’t think I ever got more than three or four hours of sleep a night. I was young though. I could handle it.

What’s the best part of your job?
There’s a lot of things. If I had to narrow it down, it’s kind of like going out, but getting paid to do it instead of spending money. You can be social and not blow $100 a night on cocktails.

So have you gotten to be friends with a lot of your regulars?
Oh yeah. And I’ve been in town for quite a while. I’ve probably worked in five or six bars in Iowa City alone.

What’s the worst part of your job?
Telling people their limits, cutting people off, because they never agree with the bartender. In the morning they probably think it was a good decision, but you never hear the thank yous for that.

What’s your favorite drink?
I’m kind of an old-fashioned cocktail guy. When I work in big cities I tend to gravitate toward cocktail bars. I learned a lot in the big city, and like to bring that back to Iowa City.

Do you think cocktails have gotten more popular lately?
Over the past ten years, yeah. Back when I was in school, people just drank beer and whiskey Cokes, but now you’ve got a million flavored vodkas and liquors, and you just have more things to mix than ever before.

Describe your typical crowd.
There’s a lot of what we call “kids’ bars” in our neighborhood. We’re the more mellow pub, where everybody behaves themselves.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a bartender?
I’m a photographer as well as a bartender. Sometimes I’ll take two or three months off and do a project. I do magazine work, book art, pretty much anything. That’s what keeps me sane, that’s why I can work five nights a week as a bartender.
— ANNE

This exhibition marks the first time trans-identified artists have the opportunity to showcase their work in the same space in Iowa City. Photography, sculpture, and other mixed-media work will be on display at The UI Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Resource Center (LGBTRC), starting with the opening reception on Friday November 13th.

“Transcending the Wall” is a symbolic title that captures the idea that trans-identified artists have multiple walls to transcend – from academic ivory towers to interpersonal and structural barriers. Finding a space to explore trans identities is a daunting task that can be engaged through artistic endeavors. All of the artists in this exhibition self identify as transgendered, and are proud to showcase work for the general Iowa City community and The University of Iowa campus.

The UI LGBTRC will host the opening reception on Friday November 13th from 6:30 to 9pm. Beverages, snacks, fun, and conversations can be enjoyed at the opening. The exhibit will be on display from November 13th through December 4th. The LGBTRC is located at 125 Grand Ave Court Iowa City, IA on The University of Iowa campus. Parking is available directly behind the center.

It’s OK, you can admit it – we’ve all busted an MTV-worthy move in the privacy of our living room or gotten down while doing the dishes. But when it comes to dancing in the presence of, well, other people, it’s tempting just to flash back to that tragic junior high social and pull up a chair.

Fear not, though: The Corridor’s dance scene has enough going on to have you up off the sofa and down with your bad self in no time. And no matter what makes you want to move – salsa, belly dancing, foxtrot, tango, swing or hip-hop – there’s somewhere you can go and someone who wants to teach you.

Consider it your own little dance revolution.

SUSIE MURRAY, DANCE NEW YORK, MARION

Before “Dancing with the Stars,” most of us put ballroom lessons in the same box as shuffleboard and pitted prunes – something best left to Grandma. Then came the “DWTS” phenomenon and people started thinking: wait a minute, ballroom dancing is hot. And while we might not all have the body of Karina Smirnoff or the fancy footwork of Maksim Chmerkovskiy, there’s no reason not to give it a go, says Dance New York co-owner Susie Murray.

“Take the leap – what’s the worst thing that could happen?” she jokes. Murray – a competition pro with a number of titles under her rhinestone-studded belt – didn’t start in ballroom herself, instead coming to dance as a career after working as an interior designer. And when her husband and studio co-owner Derrick saw her take the leap, he followed too.

 “Derrick didn’t have a dance background,” Murray says. “But when I became a teacher, he started taking lessons and coming to parties, and it went from there. You can start from scratch – everything’s teachable.” Today, the Murrays compete and perform across the country, including an appearance at Friday’s American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Gala, a “Dancing with the Stars”-style event taking place at the Marriott Hotel in Coralville.

The Murrays’ students range in skill from absolute beginners to competition veterans and vary in age from pre-teen to – well, let’s just say that dancing keeps people young. And whether young or old, single or in pairs, everyone’s welcome on the floor. Says Murray: “It’s a very social thing. Most people make a lot of friends dancing – everyone is extremely friendly in the dance community.”

If that’s not enough, there are also the health benefits of ballroom to consider– mental as well as physical. “Most people don’t realize how much of an effect dancing has on their entire life,” Murray says. “It gives people confidence. I’ve had students say they should pay for the therapy as well as the lessons!”

GLORIA ZMOLEK, CEDAR RAPIDS

Remember the movie “Dance With Me”? If that got your pulse going, salsa may be the thing to try. And with a burgeoning scene in the Corridor, you can strut your stuff at a nightclub or in a more formal setting – whatever strikes your fancy.

Gloria Zmolek, an art teacher at Linn-Mar High School, started dancing salsa almost a decade ago and never looked back: “It’s the only New Year’s resolution that I’ve ever kept,” she says. “I didn’t even know what salsa was, but one thing led to another and I got very addicted!”

These days, Zmolek and her daughter Laurel Zmolek-Smith are doyennes of the Corridor dance community. Go to almost any salsa event and you’ll find them there, dancing with students who’ve started out in their Saturday afternoon classes at CSPS/Legion Arts in Cedar Rapids. Over the years, Zmolek says, she’s seen the salsa scene grow from a tiny band of devotees to a large, thriving group. “There’s a really healthy community between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids,” she says. “We started with just one place a week, and now we have three, sometimes four.”

Even better, Zmolek says, is that salsa brings together people from across the globe. “It’s a very diverse population for Iowa,” she explains. “At our last lesson we had students from Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, India…“ And no matter where you’re from, we all have one thing in common: Everybody likes to party. One of the things that makes salsa a favorite for Zmolek, she says, is the excuse it gives you to go out and have a good time.

“We’re in a society where people don’t get dressed up any more,” she explains. “When you dance, you can dress however you want to, put on makeup or whatever you want – you don’t ever feel out of place, you just feel like ‘Hey! I look hot!’”

MARK McCUSKER AND NORA GARDA, ACEXPERIMENT/INTERDANCE, IOWA CITY

If there’s one message Mark McCusker and Nora Garda – founders of ACExperiment and InterDance in Iowa City – are shouting loud and clear, it’s this: Just get off your backside and dance.

“We don’t believe that anyone has two left feet,” Garda says. “People just need to try.” And if that means taking a formal class or simply showing up to boogie, it’s all valid. “We teach the rules, but you don’t have to obey them,” McCusker says. With that in mind, he and Garda host a variety of events, from Tuesday night open dance sessions at Old Brick in Iowa City to the full-scale annual Iowa Dance Fest. It’s an alternative, they say, to the regimented classes we may have been shuttled through as kids – as well as the bar scene we might get a little tired of as grown-ups.

“People like to go out, and if you don’t go to the bars, you don’t know where to go,” Garda says. Instead, she suggests, find a drop-in class or a special event to sample. Where to start your search? Consider what you already enjoy.

“One way to choose a dance style is just to ask yourself ‘What do I want to wear?’” McCusker says. “High heels, jeans, tights? Say you like to dress hip-hop. Simple. Join a hip-hop class like MOvMNT in Cedar Rapids.”

 But be careful, Garda cautions – once you find your feet, you might get a bit swept off them, too. “Sometimes I feel a little guilty when I go to work and say ‘I’m so tired, I danced for four hours last night,’” she says.

“I feel a little spoiled.”

– Jessica Schilling

 WHERE TO GO

Ballroom:
- Dance New York, http://www.dnyia.com
- Cedar Valley Dance Club, http://wheedance.home.mchsi.com
- Ponderosa Ballroom, http://ponderosaballroom.com

Hip-hop:
- MOvMNT Dance Company, http://www.movmntdancecompany.org

Salsa:
- Baile Latino, http://www.crsalsa.org/
- Cedar Rapids/Marion salsa Facebook group, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49875894847

Swing:
- University of Iowa Swing Dance Club, http://www.uiowa.edu/~uiswing
- Hawkeye Swing Festival, http://www.hawkeyeswingfestival.com

Tango:
- Iowa City Tango Club, http://www.tangoiowa.org

Arabic dance:
- Kahraman Dance Studio, http://www.kahramandance.org

General dancing:
- Swing Out Iowa, http://www.swingoutiowa.com
- ACExperiment, http://ace-xperiment.blogspot.com
- InterDance, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115603942949
- Arts a la Carte, http://www.artsalacarteic.org
- Cultural Corridor, http://www.culturalcorridor.org

Get ready to rumba

So you think you can dance? You may think again after seeing the ballroom pros in action.

Champions of the Dance will be spinning onto the Englert Theatre stage in downtown Iowa City at
8 p.m. Friday.

You’ll see the fancy footwork of dancers featured in ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” the BBC’s “Strictly Come Dancing” and “The American Ballroom Challenge.”

Among those luminaries are Andrey Motyl and Inna Brayer from “Dancing with the Stars”; national champions Hugo Villanueva and Jessica McMorrow; German youth champions Thanh Tran and Zoya Altmark; and theater arts champions David and Natalie Wakefield.

They’ll be whirling, twirling, dipping and flipping to the waltz, fox trot, Charleston, quickstep and jive, as well as the passionate Latin rhythms of the cha-cha, rumba, mambo and more.

Audience members will no doubt be as breathless as the stars afterward.

Tickets are $35 and $30 at the Englert Box Office, 221 E. Washington St., (319) 688-2653 and www.iowatix.com

For more information, go to www.englert.org

For a video preview, go to www.championsofthedance.com Your head will be spinning as fast as their feet.

— Diana Nollen, The Gazette

Burning up the dance floor

Not quite ready to don the dancing shoes yourself? Watch other brave souls take a turn for a good cause at “Dancing for the Stars” Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.

The event benefits the Russell and Ann Gerdin American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Iowa City, which provides non-medical lodging for out-of-town cancer patients and their families who travel to Iowa City for cancer treatment. Organizers hope to raise $40,000.

Based on the TV show, “Dancing with the Stars,” the gala will feature 12 Eastern Iowa celebrities coupled with expert dancers will demonstrate ballroom dancing to the lively music of the Rod Pierson Big Band featuring Craig Boche.
The dancing gala features a reception, dinner, a live auction, dancing and special speakers. Local dancers representing various organizations, educational institutions, government and business include Bruce Aune, Dr. John Buatti, Catherine Champion, Elizabeth Chrischilles, Steven Grace, John Grier, Patricia Heiden, Sharman Hunter, Michael Lensing, Katherine Moyers, Lane Plugge and Joyce Summerwill.

The gala also will feature a reception, dinner, a live auction and featured speakers. Tickets are $100 each or $1,000 for a table of 10.

For more information, go online to www.hopelodgegala.com or call 1 (888) 266-2071, ext. 7104.

IOWA CITY — Prairie Lights Books customers may soon be asking which goes down better with a suspense thriller: a full-bodied red or a dry white?

The bookstore beloved by literary types for its frequent readings and friendly service opened the area’s first in-store wine bar Monday. Prairie Lights co-owner Jan Weissmiller expects the wine bar to address a void in the city’s social venues even as it boosts the bottom line of the scrappy independent bookstore.

Near-campus bars that once provided fertile ground for conversation have largely been taken over by big-screen TV’s blaring commercials and play-by-plays, Weissmiller said.

“We’ve had a lot of people say, ‘It would be nice to have a quiet place to have a glass of wine and conversation,’” she said.

The Java House on the second floor of the bookstore at 15 S. Dubuque St. was converted into a wine bar that seats about 55.

The wine bar will be open 3 to 9 p.m. It will serve six reds, six whites and a handful of bottled craft beers. The coffee bar will be relocated to a different space on the same floor as the bookstore.

Lynn Walding, Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division administrator, said Iowa has only one other bookstore licensed to sell wine. Mollie Loughlin’s Book Vine in Cherokee features regular wine tastings with its book club meetings.

Walding expects to see more bookstores selling wine.

“To me it sounds like a natural pairing — books and cabernet,” Walding said.

Prairie Lights has a connection to the wine industry through co-owner Jane Mead, an author who owns homes in Iowa City and California’s Napa Valley. She sells grapes from her vineyard to the Caymus Vineyards in Rutherford in the Napa Valley, and some of those wines will be stocked at Prairie Lights.

Prairie Lights employee Andrew Osterhaus has been overseeing the wine bar’s development. He said the wine bar will feature an assortment of wines from the private labels of master vintners and, in some cases, from smaller wineries that produce great wines that aren’t as well known.

“We have an amazing list,” Osterhaus said.

Weissmiller hopes that the wine and beer offerings will be an added attraction during the store’s readings and book discussions.

Renovations for the wine bar included installing new dark wood flooring and a tall bar. The wine bar also will serve olives, cheeses, breads and spreads.

Prairie Lights’ former coffeehouse space is already an established spot on Iowa City’s literary map. For many years before its bookstore incarnation, it housed a literary society that held book readings with many famous authors.