Ukrainian refugees made a home in Iowa, but their future is uncertain

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, millions of Ukrainians were displaced, searching for a safe place to live and work. Augustana College professor Angela Boelens saw this need and opened her home in DeWitt to Ukrainians, with more families hoping to follow. With an outpouring support from the DeWitt community, Boelens founded the nonprofit organization IA NICE — Iowa Newcomer Integration Community and Exchange — which has helped relocate over 70 Ukrainians to Iowa. However, changes from the Trump Administration have impacted their ability to work, including a pending end to their Temporary Protected Status. On this episode, we talk with Boelens about what IA NICE is doing to help, and hear from two of the Ukrainians they are assisting. Then, a four-movement work commissioned to mark the University of Northern Iowa's 150th anniversary premiered on Oct. 8. We talk with professor emerita Rebecca Burkhardt who composed the work and her collaborator Rachel Morgan, poet and associate professor at UNI.