November 02, 2022 by Beckham Miller
in Political Mercury
Admiral Mike Franken, the most senior retired military officer to seek office in Iowa, has barnstormed the state for months, hitting his native rural western Iowa on repeat with a message and Navy bearing that will cleave enough Republican votes in this decidedly red region of the Hawkeye State to
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November 02, 2022 by Beckham Miller
in Film Review
“Black Adam” opens with a burst of exposition and backstory so cumbersome that it might as well be self-parody. (“Before Rome, before Babylon, before the pyramids …”) Amid the mumbo jumbo about dark magic, the crown of Sabbaq, and the six demons of the underworld (or whatever) there is a
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November 02, 2022 by Beckham Miller
in Food Dude
It’s hard as ever to open a new restaurant these days with labor shortages, high-interest loans, and customers stressed by inflation. Yet people keep doing it, and doing it well. In this month of thanksgivings, we salute daring new places that made the local food scene much better. There is
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November 02, 2022 by Beckham Miller
in Des Moines Forgotten
I’m busy. I know a lot of folks from generations before me don’t understand this. Take your normal seven or eight hours in a workday and turn those into 12 to 14 hours per day. Now remove your Friday nights because you are exhausted. Your weekends are now your “get
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November 02, 2022 by Beckham Miller
in Joe's Neighborhood
“It’s somewhere in here,” says my friend as she turns her car into the small cemetery, “but I’m not sure where.” No one is around. The smell of aspen trees is tangy and sharp. The surrounding mountains deceptively invite an easy afternoon walk. The clouds roll in and roll out.
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November 02, 2022 by Beckham Miller
in Center Stage
November ushers in a two-month holiday season flood of performing arts opportunities for the cultural adventurer, beginning with Des Moines Performing Arts now operating at capacity with all of its stellar programming, from the Willis Broadway Series (“Come From Away”) to its Temple shows, as well as a wealth of
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November 02, 2022 by Beckham Miller
in Art News
In October, British green anarchists attacked Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” with cans of tomato soup. Others glued themselves to Van Gogh’s “Peach Trees in Blossom.” Their motivation? “Fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup.” Art seems safe from such
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November 02, 2022 by Beckham Miller
in Walks of Life
They say that “teaching is a work of heart.” Even with widespread school staff shortages across the nation, there are those who continue onward. Whether during bus rides, sports practices or class time, these central Iowans are nurturing and investing in students — and our future. Cody Nelson WINTERSET In high
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November 02, 2022 by Beckham Miller
in Book Review
‘Kaikeyi’ Retellings of epic tales have become a genre of their own, and I am here for it. In this sparkling, sad, brilliant debut novel, Vaishnavi Patel takes on the ancient Hindu story, The Ramayana, and all its magical twists and cosmic turns, and builds a unique, powerful take on
Read More →How do campaign contribution limits work? For federal elections, the maximum donation from an individual to a candidate is $2,900 per election. Those numbers reset for the primary and general elections, as well as any runoff elections, so an individual could donate more than $2,900 for an entire campaign. Sometimes,
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