For the first time, VA begins proactively contacting more than 200,000 newly separated Veterans each year Transitioning from military to civilian life can come with many challenges. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recognizes how difficult your first year of transition can be and wants to help you navigate these
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Posted February 25, 2020in Stray Thoughts
If you are looking for something in government that can be quite messy, even under the best of circumstances, look no further than the power that allows presidents to issue pardons. I’m not a member of the Donald Trump Fan Club, as my friends and readers can deduce. But President
Read More →The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin making repairs to a scour in the stilling basin of the Saylorville Lake outlet channel starting Monday, March 2nd. To ensure safety for those working and recreating in the area, fencing will be installed and visitors are asked to stay out of
Read More →Upcoming Visit to Des Moines and Dubuque: March 6-15 Des Moines, IA ~ Iowa’s leading cultural advocacy network The Culture Buzz is proud to announce that it has named international award-winning author, artist, educator, and advocate John Schlimm as its first Visiting Cultural Exchange Ambassador and Cultural Catalyst for Iowa.
Read More →Make plans now to attend the Annual Spring Arts & Crafts Show on March 6-8 at the Varied Industries Building on the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. This is Iowa’s largest show, with over 300 talented exhibitors from 7 states presenting and selling the Midwest’s finest handcrafts. The
Read More →Quotes of the Week “Art invites us to know beauty and to solicit it, summon it, from even the most tragic of circumstances.” -Toni Morrison (1931-2019) born Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison, known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor. Featured Cultural Offering MOONSHINE IN
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Posted February 18, 2020in Stray Thoughts
Members of the Iowa Legislature are in the midst of tying themselves into knots over the issue of equality, and that’s unfortunate. The knot-tying involves what these lawmakers call “religious freedom.” That has a patriotic ring to it. Who would disagree? Our constitutional right to freedom of religion sets the
Read More →Quotes of the Week “Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters.” -Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman.
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Posted February 11, 2020in Stray Thoughts
Forgive me, but I think some government officials forget they work for the people of Iowa, or maybe they just don’t want the public asking too many questions, especially if those questions could be embarrassing. Regrettably, I come to this conclusion because every week or two I hear about another
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Posted February 05, 2020in Feature 1
Local people, places and events hit the target in our 2020 Best Of Des Moines readers’ poll. The Best Of Des Moines Awards act as all great democracies should. There is no unelected oligarchy pulling strings and artificially orchestrating wrong-headed outcomes. Instead, the choice belongs to you, the many, the
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