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November 13, 2019 by Brent Antisdel in Stray Thoughts

Our legacy is more than our bank accounts

I was in Dubuque last week to toast a friend who was retiring after a long and distinguished career. There was a big community reception that was attended by scores [...]

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November 08, 2019 by Brent Antisdel in Guest Commentary

Are community papers akin to a circus?

There’s times when producing a community paper can seem like being in a circus. One moment you are the acrobat balancing your way across a high wire and the next [...]

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November 06, 2019 by Brent Antisdel in Feature 1

Best-selling menu items

Learn about Des Moines diners’ favorite dishes at the chains and the indies. Literature and painting have chronicled the foods that delighted and enchanted people of other centuries. What foods [...]

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November 06, 2019 by Brent Antisdel in Feature 2

Iowa’s best basketball… bar none

Men with elite athletic ability invade Wells Fargo Arena, as the Iowa Wolves begin NBA G League action. More than a half million students lace up basketball sneakers each winter [...]

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November 06, 2019 by Brent Antisdel in Feature 3

Restaurant ambiance

What is it, and which ones have it? Restaurant critics used to employ the word ambiance, or ambience, as a factor in their ratings. That’s not as common as it [...]

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November 06, 2019 by Brent Antisdel in Civic Skinny

Drake, schools plan new stadium on Forest. A judge calls Branstad’s lawyer a liar. The night they raided the old Cargill Hotel.

UPDATE: On Nov. 13, Drake and the Des Moines School District announced plans to build a $19.5 million stadium just east of the Knapp Center. The 4,000-seat stadium would be [...]

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November 06, 2019 by Brent Antisdel in Political Mercury

An accidental nickname

And 7 other political takeaways 1. Retired Adm. Michael Franken of Sioux City, a native of the Sioux Center area of Iowa and a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, said [...]

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November 06, 2019 by Brent Antisdel in Film Review

Nothing is what it seems

“The Lighthouse” is a hypnotic and hallucinatory tale. “How long have we been on this rock? Five weeks? Two days? Help me to recollect.” Nothing is what it seems at [...]

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November 06, 2019 by Brent Antisdel in Food Dude

Motley School Tavern

Serving common dishes uncommonly well Motley School Tavern does not take itself too seriously. Its name plays on Shakespeare’s motley fool, and the stock market analysis company of that name [...]

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November 06, 2019 by Brent Antisdel in Your Neighbors

Skeletor!

Local pro wrestling referee offers insight from inside the ring. “What’s it like being a referee in a sport with absolutely no rules?” Comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s question seems like a [...]

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