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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller in Collections & Hobbies

No cheat days! 

Local wonder woman wows at bodybuilding competition.  The backstage atmosphere before a bodybuilding competition is unlike almost any other.  “You go in the competitor entrance, and you see all these beautifully sculpted bodies pumping up and getting ready to get on stage,” says Renee Schneider. It takes gumption, grit, determination

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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller in Your View

Your View

 

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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller in Sound Circuit

Country Cam in Concert

Big Country Bash returns in July. When country musician Camaron Ochs (known as Cam) returns to touring this summer, it might have a historic feel. “It’s going to be an emotional, transformative event,” she says. “This year will be something I’ll never forget. I’ll tell my grandkids how we got on

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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller in People & Pets

Puppy Patrol

Teri Nizzi Helt helps with mom-dog deliveries. For the past two years, more than 200 puppies have lived at Teri Nizzi Helt’s home. Not all at once, of course, but if it meant saving a dog’s life, she just might do it. Teri is the Puppy Patrol coordinator and foster

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June 02, 2021 by Beckham Miller in Art News

From architect to artist

Latest show at DMAC is “Manos” (hands), a study of forearms and cupped hands made after José Clemente Orozco’s own left hand was amputated after an accident with fireworks. The latest show at the Des Moines Art Center is “Manos” (hands), which is also the name of a lithograph in the

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June 01, 2021 by Beckham Miller in The Culture Buzz

Greetings, Cultural Catalysts:

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 01, 2021 by Beckham Miller in Stray Thoughts

Americans deserve answers, not more politics

Plenty of stray thoughts have been swirling through my noggin lately. Thoughts like: What would Americans and members of Congress think today if the federal government decided against creating the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John Kennedy? What would we think today if the House and Senate

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May 25, 2021 by Beckham Miller in The Culture Buzz

Greetings, Cultural Catalysts:

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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May 25, 2021 by Beckham Miller in Stray Thoughts

Lawmakers dropped the ball in not fixing recount law

The chambers of the Iowa Senate and the Iowa House of Representatives are silent after a busy 2021 session.   Lawmakers teed up bills that addressed a wide assortment of problems, real or imagined.   They decided against an increase in tax revenues for the three state universities. They took

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May 24, 2021 by Beckham Miller in Political Mercury

Muhlbauer running for Grassley’s Senate seat

Manilla Democrat plans to spotlight farming, education, infrastructure and health care. Former Crawford County Supervisor Dave Muhlbauer, a Manilla farmer and cattleman with deep family roots in rural Iowa politics, this morning announced his bid for U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley’s seat. Muhlbauer, who describes himself as an “old-school farming-labor Democrat,” is

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