Blood, bullets and attacks at local churches have many getting serious about safety. Violence against people of faith is nothing new. At some point during the first century, probably around 30 AD, Roman authorities crucified the very first Christian, a man named Jesus of Nazareth. The execution’s finer points — such as the number of nails used — are less historically [...]
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50 seasons of Triple-A baseball This season marks a milestone in Iowa baseball history. The Iowa Cubs home opener on Thursday, April 5 celebrates 50 seasons of Triple-A baseball in Des Moines. The team started as the Iowa Oaks in 1969, then became an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs in 1981, and one year later was christened as the Iowa Cubs. Central Iowa fans have been rooting [...]
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Iowa’s Culinary Trendsetters Our fourth annual CHOICE awards The idea for the CHOICE awards originated 15 years ago and was inspired by Japan’s Living National Treasures. That program honors “preservers of important intangible cultural properties.” In the years after World War II, anxiety arose in Japan that their unique cultural traditions — noh, kabuki, origami, [...]
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Political fight will have implications for two of the more vital figures in Iowa’s economy — the price of corn and soybeans. Some of the nation’s top renewable-fuels and corn and soybean advocates, backed by hundreds of farmers and ag businesspeople, rallied outside of Nevada, Iowa, one recent Saturday afternoon to protect the Renewable Fuel [...]
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Big robots fighting even bigger monsters — what’s not to like? If you thought the globe-spanning conflict between otherworldly monsters of mass destruction and the human-piloted super-machines built to vanquish them was the last of it, get ready for the all-out assault on humanity in “Pacific Rim Uprising.” It’s been 10 years since Slacker Pentecost [...]
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Some are a bit confusing Change is constant, in physics or the restaurant business. As with all paradoxes, there is no rule to find one’s way to success in such chaos. Here are some examples of recent change locally. The space previously known as Bang, Bang Mongolian BBQ and Draught House 50 on Mills Civic [...]
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Successful first season for former neighborhood buddies after forming a curling team By day, Mike Farrell is a commercial banker and a family man. But each Friday night during the winter season, he heads to the Metro Ice Sports Facility and throws stones with some former neighbors. That’s right, Farrell is now a curling player. [...]
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When you’re in a crisis, people bring you food. Grease the bottom of your pans. Combine all the dry ingredients including the cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Have you noticed that whenever you’re feeling just a little too smart, too strong, too handsome, too successful, too whatever, the bottom drops out! [...]
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Second City returns to eager Des Moines fans When it comes to improv comedy and the greatest chain of memorable comedians developed through one program, Second City plays second fiddle to nobody. The collective wit and charisma are music to the ears of most anyone who savors the sweet sounds of masterfully delivered comedy, from [...]
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Two of his children and a colleague recall Register editorial writer, the “intellectual leader of state,” who died March 11 at age 93 Gil Cranberg may have been the smartest person ever to enter the Register and Tribune building. And — luckily for Iowans — he stayed for 33 years. In the first 26 years, he [...]
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Conquering the globe Christopher Ford — a.k.a. Christopher Ford — is a familiar face in the pages of CITYVIEW. Once a musician living in Des Moines, Ford now resides outside of Denver and has made strides in his career since leaving Iowa last summer. In 2015, Ryan Adams tweeted and Instagrammed his praise of Ford’s upcoming album “I’m Giving Up On [...]
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Mushroom bats, sawdust baseballs, Spiderman masks and a passion for America’s game During the summer of 1968, Mark Mahoney fell victim to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. The Iowa kid from Oelwein entered that day’s doubleheader ready to cheer for the Cincinnati Reds and The Big Red Machine loaded with stars such as Pete [...]
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Two men and a brewery Fenders Brewing co-owners Jason Madison and Steve Crann say their origin story is “the classic” tale of home brewers who met and started a business together. The two men met through their church, St. Luke’s in Ankeny. The two co-owners — and the company’s only employees — celebrated the grand opening of their brick-and-mortar brewery on [...]
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20 years is nothing Meet Roger Barrett from Grand Forks, North Dakota. I met Roger on my way back from Minneapolis where I was working a gig for CNN. Most people who know me are very much aware that I do not have a car (by choice; I am a motorcycle guy only). I was [...]
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Ever-evolving While Ryan Stier does wear glasses, the title of his solo project is not a nod to the extra vision they provide. The name goes deeper than that and instead references Stier expanding his mind. “I feel like I’ve spent a lot of my life trapped in my own view of the world. I [...]
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University of Northern Iowa professor Gary Kelley is probably Iowa’s best known and most successful artist. The UNI grad has received awards from the New York Society of Illustrators including the Hamilton King Award in 1992, National Booksellers Association, Print Magazine, New York Art Directors Show, Los Angeles Society of Illustrators, Bologna (Italy) Book Fair, [...]
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No other person has served in the Legislature as long as Wally Horn has. There was noteworthy news coming out of the Iowa Legislature recently. This may surprise you, but I am not referring to the headlines about Bill Dix, the Iowa Senate’s majority leader, although that news certainly created a buzz from border to [...]
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