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Iowa’s beauty, intermingled destinies, a sex party and cottage cheese containers

6/4/2025

You have heard it many times. A picture is worth a thousand words. The actual origin of the adage is spotty, but the saying clearly gained prominence in America in the early 20th century. Frederick R. Barnard published a column titled “One look is worth a thousand words” in Printer’s Ink magazine in 1921. He claimed the saying has Japanese origins. Printers Ink would later publish the phrase as: “Chinese proverb. One picture is worth ten thousand words.” Regardless, pictures clearly have incredible meanings, and that is quite apparent on the cover of this month’s issue and in the feature story that shares the work of local photographers who captured the splendor of Iowa in their submissions to the Keep Iowa Beautiful photography contest. …

If you live in central Iowa — and assuming you eat — then you can’t miss the Italian connection. As a fan of Italian food, I appreciate it and enjoy it. My Irish ancestors were not known for great food. But the Italians? Mamma mia! With the advancement of the Italian American Cultural Center of Iowa, which Jim Duncan says will be “a bona fide cultural gem and tourist attraction” that is “preserving the story of intermingled destinies of Italians and Iowa,” we decided to dive into the historical context and show our appreciation for Des Moines’ Italian roots. …

Several years ago, we published a piece in CITYVIEW called, “Des Moines’ Sexiest People.” It was a local play on People magazine’s effort, and we had fun with it by naming local men and women who we deemed as “sexy.” Some of the people chosen truly loved the publicity. Others played it down. That became quite apparent when we invited the winners to an event held in their name. Local spokesman Mike Pace, who Kristian Day writes about in this month’s Des Moines Forgotten column, was one of those named as Des Moines’ Sexiest. When we invited Pace to the event, his simple response was, “I am sorry that I won’t be able to attend your sex party.” You gotta love Mike Pace. …

If you have had a parent die — and if you haven’t, you obviously will — then you have likely had the chore and privilege of sorting through the collection of items your mom or dad left behind in this world. After this experience, the popular phrase “You can’t take it with you” takes on new meaning. In his Joe’s Neighborhood column this month, Joe Weeg shares a humorous take on the treasures of newspapers, mail, books, toys, clothes, pictures, notes, jars, medicine bottles, letters, furniture and cottage cheese containers his mother left. …

You will find all this and much more in this month’s edition of CITYVIEW.