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July 02, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Film Review

Go on a cosmic misadventure with Pixar’s ‘Elio’

Blast off for a vibrant, heartwarming adventure that proves original storytelling still has a place in today’s entertainment landscape. While it may not reach the emotional heights of Pixar’s very [...]

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July 02, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Food Dude

Is soul food the new BBQ?

Soul food is having a moment in Des Moines. Two new brick and mortar cafés devoted entirely to this African-American style of southern roots cooking are up and running. Every [...]

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July 02, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Des Moines Forgotten

80/35 Musical Festival

This is my first July in Des Moines without the 80/35 Musical Festival (excluding the two pandemic years). I know it was not just one factor that ended this nearly [...]

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July 02, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Joe's Neighborhood

Gardening as self-defense

“Fill the bathtub with water,” my wife yells in a high crescendo while gesturing with her hands as if she is has me by the ears and is trying to [...]

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July 02, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Center Stage

Great shows offered in June

The Des Moines Playhouse has developed a strong tradition of a summer musical, adding a roster of collegiate talent home for the summer to their shows. Their summer musical tradition [...]

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July 02, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Cars in the City

Honda Shadow — a good choice for beginners

Summertime in Iowa means spending time outside, soaking up the sunshine and experiencing the great outdoors. For some, cranking open the windows on their vehicles or opening the sunroof on [...]

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July 02, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Your Neighbors

Lester reflects on 20-plus years at Mentor Iowa

The mission statement for Mentor Iowa, an organization founded in 1974, is to provide trained volunteer mentors to at-risk children in need of a positive adult role model. They do [...]

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July 02, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in People & Pets

Little Bit and Caydence

Two of Sarah Ohms’ pets seemed to appear randomly, right at the moment when she wasn’t looking to adopt a pet. Caydence, a redbone coonhound, came into her life seven [...]

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July 02, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Film Previews

Film Previews

“Sovereign” R | 100 minutes Director/Writer: Christian Swegal Stars: Nick Offerman, Jacob Tremblay, Dennis Quaid Inspired by true events, “Sovereign” is a tense and provocative true crime thriller about a [...]

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July 02, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Sound Notes

Sound Advice

Ready for some action at Wells Fargo Arena? Correction: make that Casey’s Center. As of July 1, Casey’s Center is the official name of the arena formerly known as Wells [...]

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