Live theater, outdoor adventures, tunes, art… This is your go-to source for entertainment in central Iowa. Autumn winds will soon be whipping. Falling temperatures and televised football games often mean central Iowans will spend more time indoors. But the end of summer doesn’t mean the end of the road for quality entertainment. Des Moines’ greater metro area offers [...]
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Where is the love for Des Moines’ insurance industry? The Equitable Building defined the Des Moines skyline for decades. Now it’s done by The Principal Financial Group’s 801 Grand and the EMC building. All three were built by insurance companies. On paper, the insurance industry looks like the professed dreams of our civic and state leaders. [...]
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Immigrants from across the world call Iowa home. They come from all walks of life and from all corners of the globe. Aksana Barodka first saw the United States in 1994 as part of a summer exchange program that brought a group of teens from Belarus to New Hampton. Lalnghak Sanga wanted to escape a poor, [...]
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After six-and-a-half years of proceedings — and $987,849.80 in billings to taxpayers — George LaMarca is withdrawing as the state’s lawyer in the never-ending discrimination and defamation and retaliation lawsuit filed against former Governor Terry Branstad and five members of his administration by former Workers Compensation Commissioner Chris Godfrey. The defendants include current Governor Kim [...]
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A universal basic income is best response as capitalism turns on ‘normal people,’ Democratic candidate for president says. Andrew Yang is seeking to shake the very foundation of how Iowans see themselves, how they measure their lives with an expected sense of fairness in day-to-day commerce, a belief that hard work will be rewarded, that [...]
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If you’re interested in seeing R-rated puppets, you’re better off revisiting “Team America.” Sometimes a movie comes along that you really want to see succeed. Such was the case for “The Happytime Murders.” With a trailer that featured no shortage of profanity, the hilarious Melissa McCarthy, and a rather unique use for silly string, it [...]
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Who doesn’t love dumplings? A friend who spends time in France each year was baffled about the popularity of Subway with the Gallic people. A lover of French breads and cheeses, she began asking “Why?” The answers were consistent. French restaurants and delis are too prescribed. A croque monsieur invariably includes the same boiled ham, [...]
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A helpful hand for nearly four decades “There is no more shushing at the library,” informs Tina Brooks. The long-time library clerk then pauses, ponders and decides to improve her statement. “There is a lot less shushing,” she says. “We are respectful of the people who are working, so occasionally we do ask people to be quieter, especially with cell [...]
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“My motto is to buy from people you know and as close to home as you can get.” — Lisa Bean Nearly 45 years ago, the Iowa City Coop was on the second floor of an old building on Gilbert Street. A sanctuary of organic foods and small producers. Back in those days, membership was [...]
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A beguilingly misleading title It’s challenging to find new themes when it comes to creating a Broadway musical. “Fun Home” achieves that status, delivering a breathtaking experience based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling graphic novel, brilliantly adapted by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori. Winner of five 2015 Tony Awards, this new musical made a national tour [...]
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Distraction appears to be a main focus so far in the race for Iowa governor. Election Day is two months away. The decision Iowans make on Nov. 6 will be an important factor in where our state is headed. But instead of having a full and frank debate over important issues and ideas that will [...]
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Snake enthusiast moves to U.S. to raise reptiles. A Jim Stafford song from the 1970s, “I Don’t Like Spiders and Snakes,” ran through my head as I drove to my next CITYVIEW assignment — an interview with a snake owner. Could I set aside my intense fear and loathing of snakes for a byline and [...]
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Band mixes up music based on the crowd. Los Lobos admits to playing music that’s all over the map. From rock, Tex-Mex, country, R&B, traditional Spanish and folk music, Los Lobos prefers genre blending — adapting to the crowd’s musical preferences. And it works. More than 40 years later, the band continues to entertain its [...]
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Tie-dye-clad guitarist funks up Des Moines. Richard Lloyd, clad in a purple tie-dye outfit, picks up his yellow Prince-inspired guitar and climbed off the stage at the outdoor Clive Festival. His facial expression mimics the highs and twang of his Jimi Hendrix guitar solo, as if he’s an extension of his guitar. He flips his [...]
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Among the originators of digital printmaking and still pushing the limits of the genre Karen Strohbeen and Bill Luchsinger are two of the Midwest’s most successful living artists. They have been creating delightful stuff for almost 50 years, and plenty of people here have been collecting it for much of that time. They were among the originators of digital printmaking, [...]
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South Des Moines Sculpture Park Art Festival is Sept. 15 The outhouse doesn’t work, at least not as originally designed. Instead, the worn and weathered wooden box hides the smoke machine. The smoke machine attaches to an underground piping system running to a 30-foot-tall unidentified flying object. The faux UFO is an egg-shaped spacecraft, and [...]
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Just not yet in Iowa In the season two “South Park” episode “Prehistoric Ice Man,” a guy named Larry is found frozen in ice and thawed, wherein they find he was frozen for three years. The locals react as if this ice man is truly prehistoric due to his dress and pop culture references being [...]
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