Cityview | Central Iowa's Independent Weekly

TV Weather Wars

Debate rages on which local news station has the “most accurate forecast”

Throughout the test of time, the world has been witness to famous battles. Soldiers and warriors have become infamous and immortal because of the great victories they have achieved. The blood and flesh sacrificed between the Spartans and Persians, the Union Army and the Confederates or the lives lost at the Battle of Normandy are just small examples of individuals putting their lives on the line for the good of humanity.

While victors have left their mark and changed the course of history, there is yet another battle brewing — one of a different kind that comes to onlookers and available at most any time of the day. Terms like “siege,” “gunship” and “battalion” have been replaced with “echo,” “precipitation” and “Doppler” to describe the phenomenon of “TV Weather Wars.” When it comes to predicting weather, TV stations like KCCI Channel 8, WHO Channel 13 and WOI Channel 5 have their viewers’ best interests in mind, but which local station has the “most accurate forecast?” That depends on who you ask....Read More>>

Melanie Johnson, the Krauses v. the Mosses, and a math test

Melanie Johnson got screwed. That’s the consensus of people who work with her, who have worked with her and who have dealt with her during the 26 years that she has been a lawyer for the Department of Economic Development and its predecessors. They are astounded that she was fired the other day as part of the fallout from the film-tax-credit scandal in the state.

“Melanie is absolutely clean on this whole thing, and any role she had was after the fact when her agency people were seeking her legal advice for the agency,” says a lawyer who was shocked by the firing and called around to see what he could find out. “She’s the moral compass of the department.” After she was brought into the matter, she sent or was sent some e-mails — in no way incriminating or out-of-line — so her name and the e-mails were mentioned in a Des Moines Register story. ...Read More>>

Copland finds time to ‘Black Out the Blue’ while touring

When it comes to matters of the heart, whether it is her love life or her musical career, Roxi Copland knows how to black out the blue as the title of her new EP suggests.

Gone are the days of looking for love, as Copland prepares to marry her boyfriend of two years on July 3 at a ceremony in the East Village. And the 27-year-old Grinnell College graduate, having spent the last four years developing a band, a sound and an audience, has become one of Des Moines’ hardest working artists, performing more than 600 shows during the last three years.

With that said, “Black Out the Blue,” the second independent EP released in two years by the jazz and R&B singer-pianist, is as much a celebration of Copland’s personal triumphs as it is an indication of her professional successes as she prepares for a three-week Midwestern tour. ...Read More>>

Sbrocco looks back to the future

Andrew Meek is the bellwether of Des Moines’ restaurant renaissance. This city’s prestige grew in direct relationship with the introduction of good regional products in its best cafés. Meek advocated more of those than anyone else. At Sage, he was among the first to use Niman Pork, La Quercia prosciutto, Northern Prairie chevre and Sheeder Farms poultry — the founding quartet of central Iowa’s artisan food revival. He introduced Des Moines to Malloy Game Birds, Grass Run Farm’s beef, Nueske’s cured meats and Christopher Elbo chocolates. Meek designed entire dinners to feature Templeton Rye whiskey and Sunstead Farms tomatoes. After closing Sage last year, he could have easily skated on his reputation. Recent visits to Sbrocco suggest he’s still pushing the envelope.

Sbrocco looks like a good fit for Meek. This wine bar is the most sophisticated venture of Full Court Press, a local company that invigorated downtown with a half dozen distinctive, independent restaurants. Riedel stemware, vintage jazz and a good, affordable wine list draw sippers and diners to an historic Court Avenue building remodeled with salvaged heirlooms and funky style. Copper ceiling tiles have been welded into bar tops, Deco banquettes escaped the Embassy Club and stained glass windows found refuge from several churches. Two things from the pre-Meek era might be missed. A cheese station made way for more tables and homemade breads disappeared altogether. There was no bread service at all. ..Read More>>”