January 05, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Stray Thoughts
It was Christmas Eve. The gifts were laid beneath the Christmas tree at the home of Merlin and Nelda Powers in Urbandale. But the family’s holiday celebration ended abruptly that day in 1968 when the Powerses’ 10-year-old daughter Pamela disappeared from the YMCA in downtown Des Moines while the family
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December 31, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Stray Thoughts
Days removed from the winter solstice, when Iowa’s nights are the longest, we have another example of the absence of sunshine in Iowa government. And this example shows why the Legislature has much to do about openness and accountability when it convenes on January 12. A court decision last week
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December 31, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 1
Each winter, the desire to shut the doors, close the blinds and stay hunkered down while the wind, snow and cold weather creep in grows stronger. We would say we don’t blame you, but we do. When winter comes, instead of staying under the blanket with a warm cup of
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December 31, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 2
We reached out to the staff of Iowa Architect, the official magazine of The American Institute of Architects, Iowa Chapter, and requested permission to reprint portions of their cover story, Respite: Places That Restore Our Resilience, from their summer 2025 edition. In it, they featured projects by Iowa architects that
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December 31, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Business Feature
Launching a small business is often fueled by passion and a vision, but nothing replaces the legal foundations that keep a business protected and positioned to grow. Whether for a solo consultant, a tech startup founder or a brick-and-mortar shop owner, the legal to-do list is longer and more consequential
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December 31, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Civic Skinny
The Iowa Department of Revenue released its fiscal year 2025 report, which includes the alcohol revenue numbers. Each year, the department details which spirits, from beer to wine, and which brands, from local to national, were the most popular in Iowa. All in all, total sales were $434,938,128 and total
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December 31, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Political Mercury
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld and his orbiting panelists relentlessly mocked the weight of a Dunlap, Iowa, Democrat, a rural middle- and high-school band teacher and candidate for the Iowa Legislature, in a viral three-minute national broadcast recently. The barbs aimed at Dunlap City Councilman Benjamin Schauer, who is running in Iowa
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December 31, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Film Review
The perfect whodunit doesn’t exist. Or, does it? Writer and director Rian Johnson challenges that age-old question with his latest film, “Wake Up Dead Man,” and gives audiences a clever, unconvoluted caper that is as intellectually satisfying as it is wildly entertaining and proves the “Knives Out” series is far
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December 31, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Food Dude
Noah’s Ark has been selling pizza since World War II. It is certainly the oldest restaurant in Iowa to sell them continuously and, arguably, the first to offer them. “After serving in the army, Noah (Lacona) got a government contract to feed soldiers passing through Des Moines. To get it,
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December 31, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Des Moines Forgotten
The past 12 months were wild ones, and this didn’t fully sink in until a reader approached me at the dungeon synth show I promoted at the Locals bar here in Des Moines. He was a former Des Moines Register reporter and shared with me that he attended Mini-X theater
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