From Iowa’s cultural epicenter, MainFrame Studios at 900 Keosauqua Way in Des Moines, comes your Listener-supported Community Voice, the Award-Winning independent radio station, KFMG-LP 98.9 FM (streaming simultaneously at www.kfmg.org), bringing you music, literature & cultural content. – John Busbee for The Culture Buzz The Culture Buzz Archive Library –
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Posted December 06, 2023in Feature 1
Publisher’s note: Forty-four years ago, when Michael Gartner was editor of The Des Moines Register, he walked over to the desk of writer Bob Hullihan and said, “How about writing me a Christmas classic for the holidays?” Hullihan said, “Sure.” And he did. It ran in the Register and years
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Posted December 06, 2023in Feature 2
Even with record-high temperatures in 2023, a trend that is expected to continue, do not underestimate Iowa’s ability to accumulate enough snow to last into the spring season. The snow will eventually fall, and the lakes will eventually freeze, turning your favorite parks and hills into ice skating, sledding, skiing
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Posted December 06, 2023in Business Feature
Weekdays are typically quiet at A Quality Pawn and Jewelry at 1135 Army Post Road in Des Moines. The owner, Adrian Welch, says she only sees up to five customers on any day of the week. But she knows all her customers and wants the best for them. On a
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Posted December 06, 2023in Civic Skinny
DART recently released information on how much Des Moines and the surrounding communities contribute to the public transportation service. They say a 40% cut to their services is looming if additional funding is not received. Des Moines has contributed $9.8 million this year, but under the new funding formula needs
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Posted December 06, 2023in Political Mercury
Six-year-old Hayes Hofmeister of rural Cedar Rapids, a Springville, Iowa, farm kid, can’t stop talking about Josh Turek — “that guy in the wheelchair” — the one who plays basketball and has Paralympics gold medals. The one who inspired him at Camp Sunnyside. Born with Spina Bifida, Hayes, a bright-eyed kindergartener,
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Posted December 06, 2023in Film Review
“The Killer” is a cinematic puzzle, a blend of genres that struggles to find its footing, oscillating between the mundane realms of a tepid thriller and the barren landscape of humorless satire. In the hands of a celebrated director like David Fincher, one anticipates an intricate tapestry of storytelling, yet
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Posted December 06, 2023in Food Dude
Oak Park opened in October generating more buzz than any restaurant since 801 Steak & Chop House opened in 1991. Much about the recent debut was remarkable. The restaurant was the first hospitality industry venture for Kathy Fehrman, a retired investments manager. It arose quickly amid an Ingersoll Avenue reconstruction
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Posted December 06, 2023in Des Moines Forgotten
In the late 1980s, my parents would take me to the Village of East Davenport to walk around and look at window decorations. The Village of East Davenport had its own version of the East Village Promenade that we know of here in Des Moines. The shops would be open
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Posted December 06, 2023in Joe's Neighborhood
The tightly sealed cardboard box from the attic is an accumulation of orphaned items too dear to trash. There’s a first communion missal, a holy water font to hang on my wall, a kindergarten report card from St. Thomas Aquinas (with nine graded categories, one being the “Ability to talk
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