The Covid-19 pandemic persists. Be safe. Be considerate. Be compassionate. Strongly consider getting your vaccinations. Continue to be creative. Find ways to celebrate your thankfulness safely with family, friends and others. – John Busbee for The Culture Buzz, 2014 Iowa Governor’s Award for Partnership & Collaboration in the Arts Quote of
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June 07, 2021 by Beckham Miller
in Stray Thoughts
Too often these days, Americans and our government seem to be incapable of agreeing on what the best course of action is, regardless of the issue. This is especially true when we are talking about immigration and immigrants. Case in point: Zalmay Niazy of Iowa Falls. Before you jump to the
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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller
in Feature 1
Here comes the fun, again… Central Iowa’s summer agenda offers loads of live music, on-stage action, art, film, outdoor endeavors and events. Ready? Set. Seize the sunshine! Good mornin’… sunshine! Adventure abounds in the greater Des Moines metro during the upcoming summer months. The following pages are jam-packed with opportunities
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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller
in Business Feature
More than 66,000 job openings are listed through Workforce Development. As businesses start to reach the “light at the end of the tunnel” and fully reopen as COVID-19 wanes and restrictions ease, owners face a major hurdle — hiring the staff they need to “get back to normal.” Pandemic-related unemployment
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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller
in Civic Skinny
Reporter Jim Flansburg’s mind and notebooks were filled with the odd fact, the strong suspicion, the half-story that he never could develop into a piece that would stand alone in The Register. Yet the stuff was usually interesting — it made great newsroom and barroom speculation and debate in those
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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller
in Film Review
What’s the deal with those robot zombies? Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” displays, and sustains, the filmmaker’s signature brand of punch-drunk verve — at least, in certain stretches. An unforgettable zombie tiger, a strange sort of undead king/queen dynamic that shapes the action, a fun sequence involving using zombies
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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller
in Food Dude
Gursha Ethiopian Grill and Baja Cocina supply the newest examples of the metro’s growing diversity. The cuisine of Des Moines continues to become more exotic. Two of the world’s greatest peninsulas, nearly half a planet away from each other, supply the newest examples of the metro’s growing diversity. Between them,
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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller
in Des Moines Forgotten
The origins may be a bit hazy, but the memories are clear. I have been a patron of the Roosevelt Barbershop for nearly 10 years, and I expect to be for years to come. Next to Pope’s off Ingersoll, this may be one of the oldest barbering spots in the
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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller
in Joe's Neighborhood
The end of one time and the beginning of another. The goldfinches land on the feeder, quickly eat, then dart away. Dine and dash. They don’t hang around with the other birds for small talk and local gossip. But they have been long forecasting the change from winter to summer,
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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller
in Center Stage
There are sunnier days ahead for the live arts scene. The performing arts landscape has been like an Iowa springtime. Patrons impatiently endure an extended winter of desolation, waiting and waiting. A crocus of a show pops through the snow as one company finds a way to present live theatre.
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