Cityview | Central Iowa's Independent Weekly

Republican Showdown

Terry Branstad may win the GOP gubernatorial nomination, but two others won’t go down without a fight.

Veteran Iowa State University political science professor Steffen Schmidt paused after the question, but only briefly.
Is the Iowa GOP gubernatorial primary a lock for former Gov. Terry Branstad with scenarios for his lesser-known rivals simply the yarns spun by columnists and pundits for debates with each other, fodder for political junkies without any real nourishment for the actual election?
“Yes, we’re talking to ourselves,” says Schmidt, who sees Branstad as the clear favorite.
Iowa political blogs may light up with cases for the other two candidates, Sioux City business consultant Bob Vander Plaats and State Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll. But in the end Branstad has the firepower, and his challengers have come to a political gun fight with knives, and not very sharp at ones at that, goes Schmidt’s line of reasoning....Read More>>

Is Register’s all-state academic team biased? Clinton flies in, but Culver skips pal’s funeral

Recent editions of The Des Moines Register’s Academic All State team have left Asians complaining that criteria are stacked against them in ways that redefine academics. This year’s team will increase their frustration and confuse all students about what constitutes a great academic career. Ames High’s Harvard-bound Lawrence Chiou did not make the 15-person “top achievers” team despite a 2380 SAT, an internship to Harvard Medical School, making it to the finals of the National Spelling Bee, and participating in Science Olympiad. Nor did Iowa City West’s Kui Tang, also with a 2380 SAT and participation in the Lincoln Douglas debates, Mu Alpha Theta and the Federal Reserve Challenge. They were beaten out by, among others, two white girls who scored 25 and 28 on the ACT and collectively listed Iowa Pork Princess and State Fair Queen as their top activities, followed by 4-H Council, softball, touring Europe, and being an all-state large group speech performer. Another white kid made it with only a 21 ACT and nothing more than choir and Big Brothers on his resume. They’re all great kids, no doubt, but the omission of the outstanding Asian students will do nothing to stop the rumors that the Register’s honor team is racist. .......Read More>>

CAMP Fest showcases a variety of local bands, music styles

ighteen bands, five stages, one building. If you’re a fan of local live music — jam bands, hard rock, pop, reggae, jazz, blues and country — you might want to pitch your tent at the first annual Court Avenue Music Production (CAMP) Fest to be held Saturday, May 22 at the Court Center building where People’s Court, Heroes, Sinners & Saints and the Liars Club will host bands from 4 to 10:30 p.m.
“A lot of festivals have come and gone on Court Avenue, and it seems like they’ve always been formed around a regional or national act,” said one of the event’s co-founders, Chris Ranallo, who plays with the Des Moines rock band Decoy. “So we came up with the idea of making it a true local music festival.”
Ranallo, Micah Wagner (Decoy’s guitarist), Rodney Bell and Ted Hawley, whose company CMP Productions is organizing the event, first started discussing ways to showcase a variety of local talent about six months ago. ...Read More>>

New sushi bars in Ankeny and Dogtown

When social scientists write about cities and their suburbs, they employ Darwinian metaphors like “cultural survival,” “adaptation” and “evolutionary synthesis.” Lacking the dramatic contrasts that intrigue Darwinians, Des Moines and its suburbs rarely make it into such studies. When it comes to restaurants though, our city and suburbs differ utterly. The average suburban café here has lots more seats, offers much bigger menus, and occupies far more real estate (parking) than its city cousin. It’s also more likely to be associated with a large industrial restaurant group that spends more money on television advertising. The metro’s two newest sushi restaurants fit these patterns. ...Read More>>”