Dane’s Drive-in: Dairy Queen style ice cream joint behind Casey's on Hwy 6 out by old Menards. Hard to find, but worth the trip!
Farmer’s Market: Located at the Washington Street Chauncey Swan Parking Garage. 5:30-7:30pm (W) and 7:30-11:30 (Sat) Music & cheap, yummy fresh produce. Begins in May & goes until late October.
The Hamburg Inn: Located 214 N. Linn Street since 1948 in Iowa City. Good breakfast and burgers! Fun historical atmosphere!
Heyn’s: Tasty ice cream on the east side of town (811 S. 1st Avenue)!
It’s Brother’s Bar and Grill: Wing Ding Wednesday’s. 10 cent wings (with student ID)! Regular price-.45 cents located downtown 'Ped Mall'.
Perkins Restaurant: Bottomless pot of coffee for those willing to study with a little background conversation (1 hour study limit though). Open 24 hours.
Stringtown Grocery Store: Located right before Kalona, IA on Hwy. 1. Amish run, great/cheap bulk items. Fun scenic drive! While you’re there, stop and buy some cheese at the neighboring cheese factory.
Taco John’s: Taco Tuesday’s get a taco for only 69 cents on the Coralville Strip.
The Vine Tavern and Eatery: Located on the Coralville Strip. Monday nights-5.99 Plain Ol'Jo & 6.99 Monte Cristo (Dine in only); Tuesday 5.29/doz wings; Wednesday 6.99 Gyros & 2.00 Tacos; Thursday 6.99 French Dip; Friday 7.49 Fish & Chips
Airliner Pizza: 1/2 price pizzas on Tuesdays!
Sign up for daily discounts at GROUPON: Check your email, Facebook or Twitter feeds for daily deals on cool local businesses.
Entertainment
Sign Up for 5.00 movie passes on Wednesdays/Thursdays at the local Marcus Theatres. It's a weekly newsletter that also sends concession coupons too! Sign up today!
Music Lovers: Keep an eye on http://www.uiowa.edu/artsiowa/ . It contains lists of Hancher events and lots of freebies. Things such as the University Symphony concerts and tons of faculty and student recitals that are free!
Iowa City Jazz Festival: Free, world-class jazz! Bring a lawn chair and plenty of water! Food Vendors available. Held in July.
Hawkeye Chess Club. Wedge/Cappanna 7-11pm Tuesdays & Thursdays - Contact: Steve Young (319) 351- 2097; email: steverayy@hotmail.com. Also contact Mehdad Pedram at mehrdad-pedram@uiowa.edu . They are always looking for new people.
West Branch’s Hooverfest: Free. Good entertainment and music! Held in August.
Bijou Theater: This year, the Bijou at the IMU is free to students with their student ID. Otherwise, it is $5 (compared to other places, that is CHEAP!).
Prairie Lights Bookstore: They have book readings and discussion groups. Check out their website for a listing of upcoming dates/times: http://www.prairielights.com/
Chait Galleries: Every other month (not consistently)there is a gallery walk around the some of the businesses and art/jewelry galleries downtown. It usually last about 3 hours on the First Friday of the month. They have hor d'oeuvres and beverages at each stop. And the viewing is free. If you become friends with the Chait Gallery on Facebook they send out notices about them.
Summer of the Arts: FREE, FAMILY-FRIENDLY, FUN events that people have come to enjoy over the past 25+ years.
Skay Automotive: Good deal - oil change is only $22.00! Call 351-2832.
Check out these sites for bargain airfare: Keep in mind that prices will differ greatly if you fly from airports in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Moline or Chicago.
The new Megabus goes from Iowa City to Chicago with very few stops and if you get your tickets early they can cost in the single digits of dollars. It also goes from Iowa City to Des Moines.
For the Athlete or Outdoorsman
Finkbine Golf Course is on Melrose Avenue in Iowa City (west of Kinnick Stadium). Student rates M-F 22.00; Weekends 29.00; Twilight 18.00; Student Passes 800.00/year (free range is free for first month w/pass)
Outdoor rentals/camping/etc from the UI Rec Services. There is a raptor center at Lake McBride (north of North Liberty) that is open to visitors.
Frisbee golf: At Sugar Bottom or Turkey Creek. Buy a Frisbee disc from a sport’s shop for $6-8 and start playing. No fees or appointments needed to use the courses. Small investment, tons of fun!
Iowa Women’s Basketball: UI student season ticket: Free admission, present UI Student ID at entrance.
Swimming: The pool in the fieldhouse charges only $2.00 for those wanting to swim laps or just go for a leisurely swim. Not really for kids, the most shallow point is about 4.5 feet.
Lost Island Water Park: Not for the faint of heart. Located in Waterloo, IA. Dozens of water slides, there is a kid section too.
***NEW CAMPUS RECREATION WELLNESS CENTER*** - THIS COSTS YOU NOTHING!!! It's paid as part of your tuition fees....open early, stays open late night! All you need is your student ID to gain access to this remarkable place! Located just across the river on Burlington and Madison Streets. There is a leisure pool and lots of lap lanes. The bouldering wall is always open during the gym hours and anyone can try it. The climbing wall has a one-time use climb for $3 if you want to try it out. It's only $20 to get certified to belay yourself and if you have equipment, you climb for free after that ($10 rental of equipment otherwise). All the aerobic fitness classes are free with admission and they have early and late start times. Yoga classes have a fee to them ($7 on time, $33 Five Times, $63 Ten Times and $112 Twenty Times). Are you there yet? :0)
Theater, Arts, and Museums
University of Iowa’s Art Museum: See all the beautiful art work and sculptures for FREE! (Currently closed due to flooding.)
University of Iowa’s Museum of Natural History: Lots of cool stuff! Among many things interesting moth-eaten stuffed animals in a building that’s straight out of Indiana Jones.
Herbert Hoover Museum: Located in West Branch. Free! The wild prairie is incredibly beautiful. There are many wildflowers, great butterfly chasing and bird watching.
The Kalona Historical Museum Tour: Only $7 for an interesting time!
Shopping: Buying AND Selling clothes
Second Act: Located off Boyrum St near the HyVee off of Hwy 1. It’s a great place to buy and sell clothing. This is a consignment store so you can make money on all those clothes you don’t wear anymore. For everything you sell, you get about % of the price tag amount. Then you can use that money to buy some “new to you” clothes.
Savvy boutique: Located off of Gilbert St near Varsity cleaners (320 E. Benton Street). This is another consignment store, but buys and sells only women’s clothes. A similar policy to Second Act, you receive % of the price tag amount.
Stuff etc: 2 locations, across from Super Wal-Mart in Coralville and near K-mart (Pepperwood lane). These are consignment stores in which you can sell your clothes (must be in season) and receive % of the price tag amount.
Uptown Bill’s Small Mall: Consignment stores, coffee shop, free entertainment. Located at 401 S Gilbert St.
Goodwill: You can buy or donate pretty much everything here. Tax credit is available for donations. 2 locations at 1835 Boyrum St near HyVee and Coralville near Super Wal-Mart.
Houseworks: Consignment store for household items. Located on the corner of Gilbert St. and Steven’s Dr. (1800 Stevens Drive)
Crowded Closet: The Crowded Closet is a Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) thrift shop located at 1213 Gilbert Court & assists many needy people in our own and other countries. Offers gently used clothing for the entire family, housewares, furniture, books, records, fabric, much miscellaneous, and many one of a kind items at reasonable prices.
Artifacts: Clothing and household items. Located on the corner of Market and Linn Street in Iowa City.(331 E. Market Street, by Mercy Hospital)
Amazon Student: Amazon Student is a free membership program created especially for college students. Amazon Student members receive benefits such as one full year of FREE Two-Day Shipping with Amazon Prime, and e-mail alerts for discounts and promotions.
S.T.A.T (Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow)
Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow (S.T.A.T.) is a student organization supported by the UI Alumni Association that provides students ways to get involved through Homecoming, free-food events, and career programming. S.T.A.T. members are introduced to a wide variety of ways to meet new people and make the most of their campus experience.
Sign up for S.T.A.T., online today, or sign-up at a S.T.A.T. table on campus through the first week months of the school year.