On Dec. 12, 2022, the City of Iowa City agreed to a temporary injunction with the owners of H-Bar as part of ongoing efforts to address public safety issues at the establishment. The temporary injunction will cover operations at H-Bar until a permanent resolution can be reached.

Under the temporary injunction, H-Bar will:

• Close at 2 a.m. No customers may be present after that time.
• Allow Iowa City police officers to enter H-Bar at anytime H-bar is open to the public to perform community caretaking functions.

A copy of the temporary injunction can be found here. No other information is available at this time.

Original press release from Oct. 28:

Following the fatal Oct. 23, 2022, shooting outside of the H-Bar, 220 S. Van Buren St., the City of Iowa City is pursuing additional measures to protect the community from the ongoing serious criminal activity occurring at and around the business since its opening earlier this year. On Friday, Oct. 28, the City filed paperwork in Johnson County District Court seeking a nuisance abatement order. The nuisance abatement filing requests the Court to require the H-Bar to be closed between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily.

Between 2016 and 2021, Iowa City police responded to a total of 23 calls for service at 220 S. Van Buren St. From Jan. 1, 2022 through Oct. 26, there have been 173 calls for service, an approximately 4,400 percent increase over the previous six years. Those calls include:

• The fatal shooting of Waymond Thomas, 36, of Iowa City, on Oct. 23.
• A shooting on Aug. 7 that left a young woman with multiple gunshot wounds.
• A fight on June 19 where a firearm was recovered from an individual barred from carrying guns.
• A large fight on April 10.

The Iowa City Police Department has routinely increased patrols around H-Bar this year, often requiring officers to work in an overtime capacity. The City has also unsuccessfully sought to address ongoing public safety issues with the property owners.

The Oct. 23 homicide and the Aug. 7 shooting both remain under investigation. No other information is available at this time.

A copy of the nuisance abatement petition can be found here. A hearing on the matter will be scheduled on a later date.