Posted December 05, 2018in Your Neighbors
Drake Neighborhood Community Garden offers a place to grow, learn and share at no charge. Those who know Eddie Robinson well say that he is multilingual — speaking English, Spanish and French — and a world-class pool player, mountain climber, master gardener and a breeder of unique types of hot
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Posted December 05, 2018in Joe's Neighborhood
Pastry is the world’s language. “I try to show flaws because flaws are human.” Tom Sachs, press release 2008, concerning the Miffy Fountain. Henriette Priester is helping me learn Dutch during my stay in the Netherlands. Not such a big deal, one would think. I figured that with the right
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Posted December 05, 2018in Center Stage
Delicious cultural consumption opportunities While America’s marketing machine ramps up into full force not days or weeks but months before the holiday gift-giving season, regional theatres will offer wonderful escapes for us to consider. Live performances are sprinkled on the calendar like candy confectionary on sugar cookies, giving us delicious
Read More →November was a weird and scary month for Iowa. U.S. farm debt climbed, sitting just 8 percent below the peak in 1980 when adjusted for inflation. The strength of farmland values has been key in helping farmers through the recent economic downturn. Land values fell 63 percent in the 1980s
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Posted December 05, 2018in Tech Talk
Smart speakers are a cold — not cool — gift Christmas gifts can be tricky. For the most creative, romantic or codependent amongst us, the “thoughtful” gift is probably the gold standard — a trinket that symbolizes or commemorates an important event or experience that you share with someone. Second best is the expensive gift,
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Posted December 05, 2018in Couch Surfing
And a Waffle House mug Ryan and his daughter Meghan traveled up from Springfield, Missouri, to stay with me on their way to Duluth, Minnesota. They were on their way to visit his brother before they headed back down to Madison to spend Thanksgiving with his folks. I don’t get
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Posted December 05, 2018in Art News
Today they represent 60 artists and work with 100 others from all over the world. The first time I visited Moberg Gallery, then known as Moberg Studio, I had my West Highland Terrier with me, I peeked in the door and said I would put my dog in the car
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Posted December 05, 2018in Belly Up To...
Neighborhood hangout in the heart of West Des Moines Tucked in a strip mall in a quiet West Des Moines neighborhood, Scotty’s Pub & Grub beckons suburbanites to travel or bike a few miles for tasty bar food and drinks. The pub is just off EP True Parkway and located
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Posted December 05, 2018in Collections & Hobbies
Toastmasters is Chad Hauge’s hobby. “My speech was, ‘I’m nobody special,’ ” says Chad Hauge. Years ago, as a Christmas gift, one of Hauge’s seven daughters gave him a book full of empty pages. The gift came with a challenge: “Write your own story.” “I’m not disabled,” Hauge remembers thinking.
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Posted December 05, 2018in Stray Thoughts
Iowa is out of step with other states when it comes to the right to vote in our elections. We Iowans like to think of ourselves as the true occupants of middle America, the geographic and societal equivalent of Baby Bear’s porridge. We are not as conservative as some sections
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