When Dennis Hunger was named CEO of Washington County Hospitals and Clinics in August 2011, he was thrilled to be returning to his Iowa roots.

Enter the common fruit fly as the proxy to better understand hearing loss in humans. The study by the University of Iowa looks at how loud noises damage the ear, by affecting the molecular underpinnings. Results published in the online Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A new season of Inside Iowa kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 1, with an episode that has something for everyone, from flooding and football to a success story from the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

Running now through Labor Day, the Old Threshers Reunion in Mount Pleasant is a refreshing step back in time.

Carson Thomas, 14, kicks off the fifth year of the Kid Captain program, a collaboration between UI Children's Hospital and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The signs that football season is inching closer and closer in Iowa City are appearing everywhere. One staple for die-hard University of Iowa football fans is the first Johnson County I-Club breakfast, held every Friday morning before home games at the Sheraton hotel.

Chris Baker, alumnus of the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication, will read from his new book, "Others Had It Worse: Sour Dock, Moonshine, and Hard Times in Davis County, Iowa," at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City.

The University of Iowa School of Music will present a jam session by jazz faculty members from 8 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, at George’s, 312 E. Market St. in downtown Iowa City. The performance, part of a monthly series, is free and open to the public.

Eric Linsker of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Alexandria Peary of Londonderry, N.H., have been named 2013 recipients of the prestigious Iowa Poetry Prize. Linsker's collection, "La Far," and Peary's collection, "Control Bird Alt Delete," will both be published in March 2014 by the University of Iowa Press.

The University of Iowa Lifetime Enrichment Adult Program is offering a variety of courses to adult learners this fall.

University of Iowa Health Care emergency medicine experts warn that the current high temperatures can pose serious health risks and urge people to be on the lookout for signs of heat-related illness in themselves and others.

Geoffrey G. O’Brien, graduate of the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, will read from "People on Sunday" at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the UI Writing University website.