The Daily Iowan WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020 THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COMMUNITY SINCE 1868 DAILYIOWAN.COM 50¢ INSIDE 80 hours THE WEEKEND IN ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020 University unions vote 1B to bargain Following a 2017 change in Iowa law, university unions in the state are gearing up for their first recertification election, causing frustration. A night at the Villisca BY ELEANOR HILDEBRANDT Ax Murder [email protected] House On June 9, 1912, the Moore family and two friends BY MADISON LOTENSCHTEIN were murdered in their beds. The killer, who AND BROOKLYN DRAISEY slaughtered them with an ax, was never found. [email protected] Today ghost hunters, curious people, and in this When Elizabeth Handschy decided she wanted to Listening to the whispers of disembodied case, journalists, spend the night at the house to voices was not something I planned on falling see whether or not it's haunted. asleep to. The voices, reminiscent of parseltongue from the Harry Potter book series, caused me to Their open my eyes and examine the 19th century-esque main reason for spending the living room where the rest of The Daily Iowan team night? To see if the house is truly haunted, of Haunting. slept. course. Leaning on an old-fashioned black iron When he first came to earn a Ph.D. in anthropology, she knew it wouldn't No one was talking. No one was moving. I shiv- stove earlier that afternoon, Houser told the DI the house, Houser said he was ered, knowing full well that whoever, or whatever that in his 15 years working at the house, he has super into UFO conspiracies, but was talking, was not a being of this world — but stayed the night over 400 times. Visitors not only thought the idea of ghosts was “stu- that’s what student journalists like me, Madison bring their own beliefs and camera/paranormal pid.” That was until he heard footsteps while he Lotenschtein, get for spending the night at the gear, they also sometimes bring toys for the “ghost was alone in the house. While cleaning one day, Villisca Ax Murder House. A group made up of children” to play with. the guide heard someone walk upstairs and shut a photo myself, Projects Editor Brooklyn Draisey, Visuals These gifts can be seen scattered across the dresser door. Thinking someone had broken in, he wouldn’t turn out, he said. When the be easy. But she never expected that continuing her Director Katie Goodale, TV Director Bailey Cichon wooden floors of the children’s bedrooms, most walked up the stairs to confront what he believed photo developed, he noticed a shadow behind and Documentary Director Jake Maish stayed the of which consist of glassy-eyed dolls with broken to be a trespasser. him. night in the house to learn about its history and see plastic smiles, bouncy balls, and toy sports cars. “So, I go up to kick this guy out — nobody’s up “Then I got to looking at the shadow and its if we could spot some ghosts. Houser added that the three-bedroom house had there,” he said. “[I] talk to my buddies afterwards shoulders kind of went straight down and mine On June 9, 1912, Josiah Moore, his wife Sarah, been remodeled to look as it did when the Moores and they’re all saying ‘Oh, houses make noise.’ kind of went out,” Houser said. “So that kind of in- and their children, Herman, Mary Katherine, Ar- lived here, complete with old fashioned furniture, Like, I’m fully aware of what a footstep is at this stantly made me think of the shadow and I’m not education would be in jeopardy every other year. thur, Paul and two of Mary Kathrine’s friends, Ina including the beds, which the DI team chose not to point in my life, I’m not a complete idiot. So that’s about that business at all.” and Lena Stillinger, slept in the same house but sleep in. what kinda got me started staying the night.” It was still daylight, Houser had left, and the DI never woke up. All eight people were murdered Walking into the house felt like a moment The tour guide has also witnessed objects mov- crew was capturing footage and taking notes of the by a mysterious killer with an ax. Since then, the frozen in time, as though someone had locked ing, chairs rocking, and has even heard full conver- two upstairs bedrooms and the attic, where the kill- family’s tragic story has caught the intrigue and up every memory, word, and action inside it and sations upstairs — when no one else was inside the er supposedly hid out until the family and friends curiosity of people across the state of Iowa and the thrown away the key. According to Houser, the house — but has never seen a ghost. One time, a were asleep. The team headed down the steep U.S. Tour guide Johnny Houser said paranormal murderer placed sheets over each mirror in the photography student took Houser’s photo with a steps, with myself heading down the last. Right In 2017, the Iowa Legislature passed a law investigators and the public have all been keen on house. To manufacture the same look from June 9, civil war-era camera in the attic. The photographer spending the night in the house. 1912, the mirrors were covered with white sheets. believed that the lighting was too dark and that the SEE VILLISCA, 3B DESIGN BY KATE DOOLITTLE ON THE WEB ON THE AIR EVENTS CALENDAR that changed how unions attain collective bar- GET UPDATES ABOUT LOCAL ARTS & TUNE IN TO KRUI 89.7 FM AT 5 P.M. ON THURSDAYS WANT YOUR EVENT TO BE PRINTED IN THE DAILY IOWAN AND INCLUDED IN ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS ON TWITTER TO HEAR ABOUT THIS WEEKEND IN ARTS & OUR ONLINE CALENDAR? TO SUBMIT A LISTING, VISIT DAILYIOWAN.COM/ @DAILYIOWANARTS. ENTERTAINMENT PAGES/CALENDARSUBMIT gaining power. Instead of being able to negoti- 80 Hours: A spooky ate indefinitely, unions must hold a recertifica- endeavor tion vote every time a contract is renegotiated. To remain certified, more than 50 percent of Daily Iowan staffers spent an the union must vote yes. Any member who choos- evening the Villisca Ax Murder es not to vote, turns into an automatic ‘no’ vote. House to see whether or not it With recertification votes occurring every time is haunted. In 1912, eight people a union renegotiates contracts, union members were murdered in the house in might forget when the elections happen. Union siz- Villisca, Iowa. es also change drastically, requiring more time and work to contact every union member. Because the vote needs to be the majority of the union members’ voting yes rather than only the majority of the people 5A who voted — like in a typical election — the vote de- mands the responses of more people to be successful. Because of differences in contract negotiations for various occupations and employers, there is Tate Hildyard/The Daily Iowan SEE UNION, 3 University of Iowa graduate student Drew Etienne poses for a portrait in downtown Iowa City on Aug. 19. EPI: First-time voters UI eye share the importance of voting Temp nurses fill The 2020 Election is just two experts see weeks away and several new vot- ers are sharing their thoughts and concerns about voting for the first time. shortages at UIHC uptick of As the nursing shortage in the U.S. continues, the University of Iowa 7A Hospitals and Clinics is hiring temporary nurses to fill gaps. patients with eye strain University health experts say that they have seen more Two Hawkeye golfers patients with eye strain friends on and off the because of an increase of green screen time as a result of Alex Schaake and Benton Wein- COVID-19. berg both came to Iowa back in 2016 with high hopes, as they BY SABINE MARTIN began their collegiate golf career [email protected] with the Hawkeyes. Starting to- gether as freshmen to redshirted University of Iowa freshman Darci Hen- seniors this season, the two golf- kens cannot get to sleep. ers became fast friends their five With all online courses, Henkens said years on the course. she’s on her computer six to seven hours each day. Even with the added precaution of blue light glasses, Henkens said she does not sleep as much as she used to. “Now, I can't go to sleep until like five or six in the morning,” she said. “The sun was rising before I went to sleep.” Katie Goodale/The Daily Iowan UI Clinical Assistant Professor of Oph- A nurse uses the walkway from the WCTC to the hospital during football media day in Kinnick Stadium on Oct. 8 thalmology Khadija Shahid said she has recently seen more patients who work from home because of COVID-19. BY ELEANOR HILDEBRANDT es has impacted UIHC, which has resulted in “Students, as well as workers, have no- [email protected] temporary nurses being hired in the past few ticed more eye fatigue and eye strain from years. all of the increased screen time,” she said. As the need for nurses continues to in- In an email to The Daily Iowan, UIHC Pub- “A lot of your downtime, since you can't Iowa City to consider crease, the University of Iowa Hospitals and lic Relations Manager Laura Shoemaker said leave the house, is Netflix, so that is even eliminating fares for Clinics is using outside help to fill the gaps.