Posted September 02, 2026in Civic Skinny
The University of Northern Iowa recently announced it will be selling the naming rights to its well-known UNI-Dome through Learfield. The facility, an impressive one for a university of UNI’s size, opened in 1976 for $7.5 million. It’s well-known across the state for hosting the IHSAA state football championships. Outside
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Posted September 02, 2026in Political Mercury
Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn, the only Libertarian Party candidate ever elected in a partisan contest in Iowa, intends to use the Constitution to break the Democrat-Republican stranglehold on the nation’s government in his race for the U.S. Senate, he said in a wide-ranging, hour-long interview in Jefferson. Laehn, who says
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Posted September 02, 2026in Film Review
Netflix’s “Facing El Chapo” (original title “La Captura”) makes an unusual bet: Instead of building its story around Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, it turns the spotlight on two ordinary federal officers who stumble into the biggest arrest of their careers. Director Chava Cartas opens with Officer Arturo Carmona (Alfonso Herrera),
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Posted September 02, 2026in Food Dude
Each August, old friends call while in town for the Iowa State Fair. They want advice about where to eat when they are not eating at the fair. This year, I was asked about KPOT more often than any other restaurant. I don’t visit all-you-can-eat (AYCE) buffets as much as
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Posted September 02, 2026in Des Moines Forgotten
September is here. School is back in session. The Iowa State Fair is over, which is Iowa’s official way of announcing that summer has packed its bags. It is also my birthday month. On Sept. 11, I will turn 41. I have lived in Des Moines since 2007. I moved
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Posted September 02, 2026in Joe's Neighborhood
My mom always enjoyed a good funeral. Up until she was nearly 98, she traveled many miles to attend the funeral of someone’s mother or father, or aunt or uncle. Did she know them? Maybe — perhaps by the slimmest of threads — the mother of a friend of a
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Posted September 02, 2026in Center Stage
One of America’s best community theatres, the Des Moines Community Playhouse, does stellar work in what it produces. Comedies, dramas, musicals –– all developed through a professional production team and the invaluable contributions of thousands of volunteer hours for each show. With a rich tradition that blends a strong book
Read More →The autumn season in central Iowa has a way of making us want to get out of the house. Maybe it’s the cooler temperatures, the changing leaves or simply the realization that winter is waiting around the corner. Whatever the reason, autumn is a terrific time to see, hear and
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Posted September 02, 2026in Lunch With...
Shannon Earhardt is sports reporter/anchor at KCCI TV 8. Last year she became the first woman ever named “sportscaster of the year” in Iowa by National Sports Media Association. Earhardt impressed us four years ago immediately after arriving in Des Moines directly from University of Oklahoma (OU) journalism school after
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Posted September 02, 2026in Collections & Hobbies
Did you know that Iowa has one of the highest rates of golf courses per capita? The roughly 400 courses within its borders mean there are 12.46 golf courses per 100,000 people in the Hawkeye state. Nearly 20 golf courses exist around the Des Moines metro alone. One of the
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