Posted February 04, 2026in Political Mercury
Early into the first speech I heard her give, Stephanie Steiner said she had a child at age 15. It’s defining in many ways for Steiner, an Iowa Democratic congressional candidate who would go on to have six more kids, battle her way through a truant and self-described wayward childhood
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Posted February 04, 2026in Film Review
In the shadowy glow of Joe Carnahan’s “The Rip,” the most dangerous criminals are not the cartel operatives lurking off-screen but the badges meant to protect and serve. This Netflix thriller, “inspired by true events” within the Miami Police Department, is a masterfully constructed pressure cooker of paranoia, a film
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Posted February 04, 2026in Food Dude
Small-town cafés are so precious to nostalgia addicts that it is difficult to find much of anything negative written about them, even on the many social media platforms that attract the meanest critics. The reality is that most of small-town cafés are average at best, employing all the kitchen short
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Posted February 04, 2026in Des Moines Forgotten
Several times a year, I make the trek on Interstate 80 across the state of Iowa to the Quad Cities to visit family. My nieces and nephew are getting older. My sister and I have finally cultivated a relationship in our adult life. My dad is nearly 70, and, at
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Posted February 04, 2026in Joe's Neighborhood
“BE KIND!” OK, OK, I heard you the first time. And I do want to be kind, but I’m in a rush and I don’t want to be taken advantage of and shouldn’t I first be kind to myself? All arguments I have made over the years to justify NOT
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Posted February 04, 2026in Center Stage
We’re past the January scarcity of performing arts opportunities, finally pushing into a February filled with a variety of alluring options. From a classic murder mystery to a sassy re-interpretation princess musical to Pooh and Oliver. Add an internet-based twist on Jane Austen and the national touring hit, “Kimberly Akimbo,”
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Posted February 04, 2026in People & Pets
Ashlee Crawford’s two passions are her four-legged friends. Her dog, Layla, is a 4-year-old black labrador. She rescued her from a breeder who got out of the breeding business. “When I saw her, she was the only female. I liked her personality,” she recalls. Crawford’s love of the labrador breed
Read More →A reader recently asked how many years we have been conducting our Best of Des Moines readers’ poll. Good question. I bought CITYVIEW in 2004, and we have organized the poll for more than two decades now. I received some archives of past issues dating back to 1993 as part
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Posted February 04, 2026in Lunch With...
Jamie Farrington is a chef/mortgage broker who is opening The Rabbit Room in Johnston Feb. 9. To our minds, only a deep Romantic would open a wine bar devoted to the works of The Inklings, an early 20th century gang of Oxford professors who met regularly in the back room
Read More →3721 INDIANOLA AVE., DES MOINES SALE DATE: 2025-08-19 SALE PRICE: $2,747,000 SELLER: ELSIE RAE HOLDINGS LLC BUYER: IOWA SHELLY ROSE LLC ACRES: 1.571 SQUARE FEET: 33,768 704 13TH ST., WEST DES MOINES SALE DATE: 2025-08-19 SALE PRICE: $5,800,000 SELLER: SWIFT PROPERTIES LLC BUYER: WDM MEADOWS LLC ACRES: 2.815 SQUARE FEET:
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