Photo Gallery: Photos of the month for the second half of January 2026

The Gazette photo staff’s top photos for the second half of January 2026

Vice President for Education at Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa Nate Klein (second from left) talks with Iowa City Liberty High School junior Colin Finch (center) during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Iowa City Community School District’s new Junior Achievement Dream Accelerator in Iowa City, Iowa on Thursday, January 15, 2026. The exhibit allows students to explore the opportunities awaiting them as workers in a market economy. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Oregon’s Astera Tuhina (0) defends Iowa Hawkeyes guard Kylie Feuerbach (4) during a Big Ten conference women’s basketball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Oregon Ducks at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Lead brewer Peter Hoffman checks on a tank of boiling wort during the brewing process at Wonderbread in Waterloo, Iowa on Friday, January 16, 2026. Wort is the the sweet liquid extracted from the malt during the brewing process. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Iowa Hawkeyes center Ava Heiden (5) reaches out to block Michigan State Spartans guard Rashunda Jones (1) as she goes for a layup in the first quarter of the game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on Sunday, January 18, 2026. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Taylor McCabe (2) and Michigan State Spartans guard Jalyn Brown (23) both dive to get control of the loose ball in the first quarter of the game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on Sunday, January 18, 2026. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Chloe Sanders (right) shoots in on teammate Aly Erickson as they spar during practice at Vinton-Shellsburg High School in Vinton, Iowa, on Monday, January 19, 2026. Chloe recently got her 150th pin and 200th win. She is the first girl in Iowa to reach 200 wins. She leads the Viking girls team. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Tim Costello connects suction cup to a teat as he milks one of the cows for the farm’s raw milk and milk products at the ABC Acres, 6657 Mt. Vernon Road SE, in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. Costello uses a refurbished 1960s-era electric milking machine. The farm produces farm fresh eggs, raw milk, cheese, butter and canned goods as well as raising cattle for beef. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Tavion Banks (6) and Rutgers forward Bryce Dortch (4) fight for the ball during a game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Co-owner Sean Smith works with Ella Isaacson, 8, on where to try and hit the ball on a swing during a lesson at Encourage Golf in Anamosa, Iowa on Wednesday, January 21, 2026. Encourage Golf was founded by former Iowa High School state golf champions, Brian Neville and Sean Smith, and is an inclusive golf program that helps teach school-aged children and beginner adults about the game of golf.(Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Gwen Orr walks her six-month-old dog Jazz in the New Bohemia District as snow falls in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday, January 21, 2026. Orr adopted Jazz in September 2025. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

West Delaware’s Lucas Peters wrestles Independence’s Landon Allen at 113 pounds during a dual meet between Independence and West Delaware in Independence, Iowa on Thursday, January 22, 2026. Peters won by tech fall 18-1. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Journey Houston (8) dives to get control of the ball against Ohio State Buckeyes guard Kennedy Cambridge (3) in the third quarter of the game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on Sunday, January 25, 2026. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Johnson STEAM Academy fourth grade teacher Brittney Steinkamp (second from right) tears up after hearing Pierce Elementary School student Julius Mitchell speak in support of keeping the school open during public comment at the Cedar Rapids Community School District board meeting at the Educational Leadership and Support Center, 2500 Edgewood Rd NW, in northwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Monday, January 26, 2026. The district needs to trim more than $10 million to ensure long-term financial stability. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Donnielle Wanatee of the Meskwaki Settlement yells out a chant alongside other protesters during a protest against President Donald Trump’s visit to the Horizon Events Center in Clive, Iowa on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. Hundreds of protesters gathered with signs scrutinizing ICE presence, the Epstein Files and Greenland. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

A young girl adjusts her hat while attending the President Donald Trump speaking event at the Horizon Events Center in Clive, Iowa on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. Trump focused his speech about his improvements to the economy like tax cuts, improved housing rates and refinancing and insurance rates. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Tavion Banks (6) dunks the ball during a game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the University of Southern California Trojans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz (14) and USC’s Jerry Easter II (8) fight for the ball during a game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the University of Southern California Trojans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

A Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency employee uses a skid loader to move cardboard boxes into a compactor at the Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency in Marion, Iowa on Thursday, January 29, 2026. Marion, Cedar Rapids and Linn County are planning to work together to establish a new governance structure for the Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Mount Vernon’s Maci Stoner wrestles Wilton’s Cleo Roberts at 190 pounds during a girls wrestling regional qualifier in Wyoming, Iowa on Friday, January 30, 2026. Stoner won by decision 14-8. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Wilton wrestlers and coaches (far left: head coach Dakota Hargrave-LaMaack, second from left assistant coach Shane Boorn) react after Wilton’s Melany Fitzer pinned North Tama’s Alaney Sienknecht in a 155 pound quarterfinal during a girls wrestling regional qualifier in Wyoming, Iowa on Friday, January 30, 2026. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Cedar Rapids Washington junior Harumi Alfaro cheers for a passing motorist as she leads fellow students in chants and slogans during an ICE Out demonstration at the corner of Forest Dr. SE and Cottage Grove Avenue SE in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Friday, January 30, 2026. About 200 students walked out of class to protest the ICE actions in Minneapolis and other cities in the nation. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)