Cityview | Central Iowa's Independent Weekly

Legend to legal

New rules allow Iowa distillery to sell on site

Templeton Rye Spirits president Scott Bush says the future of this southern Carroll County town can be seen in Lynchburg, Tenn.

While TR Spirits (the legal distiller of the famous and once-bootlegged booze from this area of Iowa) is more of a niche product and Jack Daniels — famously produced in Lynchburg — is something of a Goliath in the booze business, Bush thinks Templeton can become a destination.

The draw: a rich mix of history and agriculture. And new rules ushered in by the Iowa Legislature just weeks ago.

“We’d like to help turn Templeton into a Lynchburg where the whole town is involved,” Bush said, adding that in terms of product, TR Spirits looks to Woodford Reserve, a premium bourbon from the Kentucky county of the same name, for inspiration as well...Read More>>

Friends in Adel, Zaun’s hire, and casino stalking

Here’s proving that politics can truly be political — and downright weird — at any level. At our neighbors to the west, Lori Belgarde has been a deputy to Dallas County Recorder Cindy Hol for the past 10 years. Hol, the current and 20-year Democrat Recorder, is Belgarde’s boss. They are also, Skinny hears, very good friends. Skinny’s in-the-know Dallas County correspondent says Belgarde switched parties to run as a Republican so the GOP would not field a candidate. Belgarde’s name is all over Hol’s disclosures we received from four years ago, yet she has not publicly mentioned why she switched parties or is pitting herself against her boss, leaving some to wonder if the only reason both she and Hol are running is to keep their jobs in what could be a big year for Republicans. Then no matter who is elected, they both stay employed. No, this isn’t Cook County, Chicago. It’s Dallas County, Adel. …

“I’ve got some good news to share with you,” Chet Culver told key Democrats in a series of phone calls over the weekend. The “good news?” He had fired another campaign manager. This time, Abby Curran was thrown under the bus to make room for Donn Stanley, an assistant attorney general and seasoned Democratic operative. Stanley has worked for Tom Harkin and worked for Culver when he was Secretary of State. As for Curran, who was in the job for just a few months, she’s heading, jobless, for Washington. “She’s been a great leader for us. Her professionalism, dedication and work ethic has been deeply appreciated,” Culver said in a statement. Well, shallowly appreciated, perhaps...Read More>>

Moss stops chasing ghosts, starts to rock

Though it might surprise some blues traditionalists who revere him for his stylistic link to the past, the old proverb “A rolling stone gathers no moss” applies to Chicago singer-guitarist Nick Moss.

After releasing seven critically acclaimed, traditional Chicago blues albums that garnered 16 Blues Music Award nominations, 40-year-old Moss showed that he had the stones to roll in a new direction with his eighth album, “Privileged.” Released last month on Moss’ Blue Bella Records, “Privileged” features less traditional blues [“Georgia Redsnake” and Howlin’ Wolf’s “Louise”] and more blues-rock [“Born Leader,” “Privileged at Birth,” “Tear ‘Em Down,” Cream’s “Politician” and Stephen Stills’ “For What It’s Worth”].

Café di Scala sinks its roots

The opening of Café di Scala in 2005 marked a return of focus in Des Moines’ food scene to its Italian roots. Since then national accolades have piled up for Scala and for two other Italian restaurants that opened a year before and a year afterwards — Centro and Lucca respectively.

Together with Mezzodi’s, they introduced a new dynamic within Italian — Des Moines cuisine. All are respected local traditions, but have also pushed Old World recipes and fresh, local ingredients. Before those places opened, Italian-American restaurants here had evolved, becoming more American and less Italian as their customer base widened...Read More>>”