Posted August 20, 2013in Rap Sheet
Posted August 16, 2013in Iowa Watchdog
White House trolls conservatives, gives Planned Parenthood money for Obamacare outreach
At this point, the White House might just be trolling conservatives. With Obamacare set to launch in less than three months and Republicans in Congress furiously searching for ways to stop the law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that three Planned Parenthood affiliates across the
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Posted August 16, 2013in Iowa Watchdog
Iowa puts restrictions on welfare dollar use; enforcement measures unclear
DES MOINES – Leaders of the Iowa Department of Human Services will prohibit welfare recipients from using their benefits at strip clubs and casinos and other locations, though they have no way to enforce the new rules. Officials have drafted proposed rules for how they plan to comply with a
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Posted August 14, 2013in Food Dude
Papa Lacona has quirky take on tradition
No family has contributed more to the central Iowa food scene than Teresa Lacona’s. Her sons founded Noah’s Ark and Mama Lacona’s. The next generation added Bambino’s. Lucca, Gusto and Hot Shots are gifts from the fourth generation. Papa Lacona’s, which opened last month, is the latest, and the quirkiest,
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Posted August 14, 2013in Your View
The Des Moines Register fiasco
Let’s see, subscriptions to The Des Moines Register have risen from $16 to $29 a month during the past year, allegedly to pay for the newest technology that I rather doubt is used by many of its “readers,” the overwhelming majority of whom I suspect are seniors not “hip” to
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Posted August 14, 2013in Belly Up To...
Spicing things up at Jalapeno Pete’s
By the time you read this, you may have already gotten your fill on the topic of the Iowa State Fair. But the opportunity to belly up to a bar at the fair — a place like Jalapeno Pete’s, for example — only comes once year, so bear with me.
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Posted August 14, 2013in Civic Skinny
Eric Branstad’s medical plan. Bob Donley’s big payday.
Eric Branstad, the governor’s son, and his wife apparently have their own inexpensive medical-care plan. It’s called the “Why Bother to Pay?” plan. In January of this year, Associated Anesthesiologists P.C. sued Adrianne and Eric Branstad in Polk County district court for an unpaid account balance of $345.20. A process
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Posted August 14, 2013in Political Mercury
King: Primary source for drug-muling comment dead
In the aftermath of a controversial comment about immigration and drug smuggling, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, has said he built his words largely on the observations of border-patrol officials with whom he talked in the Southwest. “It was pretty close to the descriptions that I have been given by
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Posted August 14, 2013in Your Money
Paid for by taxpayers in… West Des Moines
Amount: $10,265.54 To: Acco Limited Corp. For: Purchase of chemicals and testing equipment for Valley View Aquatics and Holiday Pool through the Parks and Rec. Department. Amount: $151.50 To: Action Accents For: Purchase of two red bikinis ($47.25 each) and two pairs of swim trunks ($28.50 each) for lifeguards
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Posted August 14, 2013in Art News
Crack houses and a ghost dance
Moberg Gallery’s current group show includes four artists of considerable demographic range, from octogenarian Sandra Perlow to 20-somethings Jordan Weber and Stephanie Brunia, with Lynn Basa in the middle. Perlow, a Chicago artist making her Des Moines debut, is a Philip Guston disciple who turns abstraction into a nearly cartoonish
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