Good news for tailgaters and other bipedal public drinkers: the Magic Bus, earlier denied a permit to operate by Iowa City, has been granted a temporary permit to operate starting this weekend. It's not in nearly as prime a location as before: 747 West Benton Street, across from the Roosevelt Elementary tailgate, but its existence is still a net positive for the tailgating scene in general.
Yes, it's about a mile away from Kinnick, but the vast majority of people who walk to Kinnick and tailgates walk a lot more than a mile.
As we've said before, allowing the Magic Bus or any other large-scale tailgate party to operate is well within the city's best interests; the more tailgate options that are available to people on foot, the fewer cars the city needs to get in and out of town. The gridlock on gamedays is just horrific as it is, and clearly the fewer intoxicated drivers on the road, the better. Iowa City is a very pedestrian-friendly town, and granting even a temporary permit to the Magic Bus would be a correct step in that direction.