Posted October 02, 2024in Des Moines Forgotten
Haunted house season is here. I remember being a kid and going to some questionable attractions when I lived in the Quad Cities. There was an old water and power company building near the bridge and dam that connected Rock Island and Milan on the Illinois side. It was the
Read More →
Posted October 02, 2024in Joe's Neighborhood
It’s 3 a.m. I’ve tossed and turned since going to bed four hours earlier. The sheets are twisted around my feet and tying me to the bed in some obscure knot I failed to learn for my Webelos badge in Cub Scouts 60 years ago. And now I don’t know
Read More →
Posted October 02, 2024in Center Stage
Iowa Stage Theatre Company (ISTC) will produce Jen Silverman’s play, “Witch,” this month. This bit of news holds a wealth of appeal, as ISTC will produce this compelling play dedicated to its new seasonal thematic concept format with 2024 dedicated to “inspire, enlighten and entertain” around a common theme —
Read More →“Megalopolis” R | 138 minutes Director/Writer: Francis Ford Coppola Stars: Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel “Megalopolis” takes place in an alternate universe setting called New Rome City and is centered on a war of ideas between Mayor Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) and Cesar (Adam Driver), the chair of the Design
Read More →
Posted October 02, 2024in Your Neighbors
Roughly 3 million dogs are in shelters across the U.S. One Des Moines resident is using her cello-playing abilities to soothe, relax and spread the word that she says music can have on animals. Cheryl Wallace once owned a jewelry business on Ingersoll Avenue. As time went on, she transitioned
Read More →I was in the fourth grade when my teacher, Mrs. Lensch, noticed how a group of us boys were quite interested in Halloween monsters. She suggested we put on a Halloween play for the class. So we did. Each of us played the role of one of the classic monsters
Read More →‘Blood Over Bright Haven’ Intent versus impact. Does it matter if the result causes harm? Somehow, both compulsively readable and deeply philosophical, I was completely consumed by this book to the point that I left ice cream melting on the counter while I read. Sciona is a member of the
Read More →
Posted October 02, 2024in Cars in the City
“Come race with us,” they said. “We’ll show you what it’s like to experience a thrilling ride.” Three of the men I recently interviewed for Iowa Living magazines articles on racing sports all offered me a ride-along in their race cars. Would I be interested? In earlier columns, I wrote
Read More →
Posted October 02, 2024in Iowa Artist
Paola James’ studio at Mainframe Studios includes an array of jewelry from around the globe, including her handmade jewelry and items from other artisans. James opened up her studio, Piedras Haseya, in 2023. Piedras means “stones,” and Haseya is a female Navajo name meaning “she rises up.” James chose the
Read More →
Remembering Chuck Betts, a nice man
“When someone asks how you’re doing, they don’t really want to know,” Chuck Betts mentioned over coffee a few weeks before he died at age 93 on Sept. 1. “They don’t want to know any depressing details.” “So I just say, ‘I’m doing fine,’ ” he said. He was, and he wasn’t. He
Read More →