August 05, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 2
Each August, CITYVIEW asks its readers to find the ultimate food of a specific category. This year, we are seeking the supreme Italian dish of greater Des Moines. Since we have searched several times for the ultimate pizza, we are not including those amongst this year’s choices. Italian cuisine is
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August 05, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Business Feature
When it’s time for small businesses in the Des Moines area to upgrade their technology, what should they do with their old electronics? The answer is not to throw them away. Electronics do not belong in landfills, and the sensitive data stored on the hardware should never end up in
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August 05, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Civic Skinny
Each year, we publish several of the coaching contracts at our state’s publicly funded universities: Iowa State University, University of Iowa, and University of Northern Iowa. There is widespread reporting on some of the larger contracts like those of T.J. Otzelberger at Iowa State and Kirk Ferentz at Iowa, receive
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August 05, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Political Mercury
In an inviting and richly reported new book populated with larger-than-life figures cut from the fabric of everyday life in early 1900s central Iowa, the city of Des Moines emerges as the most riveting character. David and Rose Donovan’s “The Nastiest Saloon in Iowa: Murder, Prostitution, and Corruption in the Heartland” reveals
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August 05, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Film Review
Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” places audiences alongside Odysseus and his exhausted crew from its opening moments. You do not simply watch their voyage — you feel it. Every hard-earned victory comes with another loss. Every clever escape demands another sacrifice. When Odysseus begins questioning the cost of every decision he
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August 05, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Food Dude
Des Moines is a brutal place for its icons. Claes Oldenburg’s brilliant “Crusoe Umbrella” should be our proudest civic monument. Instead, we have abused it with everything from satellite antennas to graffiti and disrepair. Closed, century-old schools sit without purpose. Anderson Erickson’s 2,700-pound cows, Annie and Eric, have been vandalized
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August 05, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Des Moines Forgotten
Iowa State Fair time is here once again. Over the years, I have written about strange stories from Iowa’s celebrated event. In 2017, I became completely obsessed with the infamous neighborhood parking lots of the Iowa State Fair — the front lawns of the residents who live in the Fairgrounds
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August 05, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Joe's Neighborhood
“I don’t believe in gnomes,” my granddaughter says. I nod sagely — not being a believer in gnomes myself. “But I do believe in fairies,” she says seriously. And there we have it. Magic. From the mouth of a child. As an adult, that magic bucket gets pretty depleted. There
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August 05, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Center Stage
Each year, a bounty of local theatres in the Greater Des Moines area produces dozens of shows. Celebrating these performances beginning in 2015, The Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Arts Awards has become a pinnacle event for recognition. These awards provide a rare time when not only representatives from these
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August 05, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Art News
This summer, 41 years after her murder, Ana Mendieta reached her career zenith headlining at London’s Tate Modern. That’s a top-five most-visited art museum in the world and number one for modern art. A retrospective of Mendieta’s career opened in mid-July with more than 120 works, tracing her breakout years in Iowa
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