Posted November 27, 2013in Food Dude
Robert Anderson, the guiding force behind the Iowa Culinary Institute since 1974, once told me that, of all the students who passed through that academy, George Formaro was the one he felt most likely to succeed. “George was always thinking about food.” In the last dozen years, Formaro opened South
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Posted November 27, 2013in Joe's Neighborhood
The decorated tree, the sleigh that flies, the landing on the roof with a bag of toys, the chimney just wide enough and, of course, “On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen.” Stir that all together, and you get Christmas. Right? Ah, yes, and Santa. Don’t forget Santa. This picture is
Read More →Amount: $31,491.88 To: Anderson Erickson Dairy Co. For: Purchase of dairy products such as milk and cheese and other things like lemonade for the jail. Amount: $5,010.22 To: Cassidy Technologies (Minnesota) For: Purchase of two cameras at $55 each, two lock boxes at $125 each, a $110 camera lens,
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Posted November 27, 2013in Locker Room
Acclaimed comedian and actor Robin Williams once raved over the origin of golf, explaining: “Ya whack a ball into a gopher hole, and you put the hole hundreds of yards away.” In the sport of horse-racing, Jerry Seinfeld once quipped, from the animal’s point of view: “That was the longest
Read More →The Des Moines Music Coalition (DMMC) has announced the festival dates for next year’s 80/35 Music Festival. The event is traditionally held the same weekend as the Fourth of July, and this year is no different, with Friday, July 4 and Saturday, July 5 being tabbed. Also worth noting, however,
Read More →In the elementary schools of Ames and Gilbert, the kids got quite a treat last week. They enjoyed a mini-musical, a selection from “Free to Be… You and Me,” the latest production of Ames Community Theater (ACT). Yet according to the director, Lynn Lloyd, the adults involved were the real
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Posted November 27, 2013in Cover Story
From the broad perspective of human history, the idea that women are spiritually challenged seems absurd. Most of the great ancient religions ascribed spirituality to the female principle and materiality to the male. If ancient Greeks wanted to smite their enemy with thunderbolts, they beseeched Zeus. To bring a plague
Read More →The final run of “Treme” (Sunday, 8 p.m., HBO) begins with Barack Obama’s election in 2008. We see a clip of Obama alluding to Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” in his acceptance speech, and that song becomes a leitmotif in the episode. The New Orleans neighborhood of Treme
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Posted November 27, 2013in Duffy
A lesson and legacy left behind
Omega Ranch sits in Dallas County alongside County Road F-90, not more than a half-hour drive from downtown Des Moines. Acreages may dot the surrounding landscape, but Omega Ranch is still rural Iowa. Indeed, a red-and-white metal sign nailed to a post near the homestead’s back door warns: Redneck Parking
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