September 15, 2020 by Brent Antisdel
in Stray Thoughts
Twenty years ago, when the death of 2-year-old Shelby Duis outraged Iowans, I was confident the Spirit Lake tragedy would soon bring change to our state. I probably was naive. In 2016, when Natalie Finn, 16, was found near death in a middle-class neighborhood in West Des Moines, I was
Read More →Des Moines, Iowa – To combat the ferocious winter temperatures this holiday season, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® is partnering with Winter Warmth Drive to collect winter wear for Des Moines area children and families in need. 72,500 families in the Des Moines metro live at or below poverty level.
Read More →The Covid-19 pandemic persists. Be safe. Be considerate. Be compassionate. – John Busbee for The Culture Buzz Quote of the Week “Good leadership requires you to surround yourself with people of diverse perspectives who can disagree with you without fear of retaliation.” – Richard Byrd (1888-1957) American naval officer and explorer
Read More →
September 08, 2020 by Brent Antisdel
in Stray Thoughts
There was a milestone of note recently, and it is a shame there was not a big public celebration. Twenty years ago, Gov. Tom Vilsack and the Iowa Legislature had the foresight to create a program that has brought important changes to communities large and small across Iowa. The program
Read More →
September 02, 2020 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 1
Which Iowa high school sports powerhouse can lay claim to being called the most dominant dynasty of all time? What is the most feared program in Hawkeye-state history? Which team was the best, flat-out, of any sport when measured against every generation? Objective stats have a way of taking on
Read More →
September 02, 2020 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 2
Humankind and its animal compatriots have maintained an adversarial dependency on each other for thousands of years, since long before planting and harvesting were discovered. Survival depended upon hunting and gathering for both sides. Prehistoric humans hunted in packs before the discovery of weapons that could put down a saber-toothed
Read More →
September 02, 2020 by Brent Antisdel
in Business Feature
Scott Smoldt was golfing with someone from his club when they started talking about their professions. The man, a business broker, asked Smoldt whether he’d ever considered selling his business, Smoldt Moving & Storage. Smoldt, who purchased the family-owned business in 2002 when his dad retired, told the man he
Read More →
September 02, 2020 by Brent Antisdel
in Civic Skinny
In 2019, Des Moines police officers responded to 202,000 calls. Twice, officers fired their guns in the line of duty. Each time, the officers were fired upon first. So why does the police department need to spend $99,029.76 for 396,000 rounds of ammunition for the next 12 months? What does
Read More →
September 02, 2020 by Brent Antisdel
in Political Mercury
One of my great misfortunes is that I never got to know my grandfather, the late publisher of the Carroll Times Herald, James W. Wilson. Either he died too soon, or I was born too late. I was 7, and Grandpa Wilson was 77 when he passed in 1977. Nothing
Read More →
September 02, 2020 by Brent Antisdel
in Film Review
On the streets of New Orleans, word begins to spread about a mysterious new drug that unlocks superpowers unique to each user for five minutes (per pill). The catch: You don’t know what will happen until you take it. While some develop bulletproof skin, invisibility and super strength, others might
Read More →
