September 04, 2019 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 2
Iowans give the behind-the-scenes scoop on pageant life. Behind the brief stage moments, the bright white smiles and the sparkling crowns that accompany most pageants are months of preparation in hopes of a title that will lead to a paid college education, a modeling contract or another career opportunity. Pageant
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September 04, 2019 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 3
How football has replaced baseball as our sport of choice In 1919, two years before the first baseball radio broadcast, the New York Times reported that all records for crowds at Times Square had been “shattered” by the horde that rubbed shoulders for blocks to watch a scoreboard reenactment of
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September 04, 2019 by Brent Antisdel
in Civic Skinny
The Governor’s office sat on more than $600,000 of legal bills from the Nyemaster law firm in the costly Chris Godfrey trial until the trial was over. The bills — which raise to nearly $2 million the cost to the taxpayers so far in defending the seven-year-old lawsuit — were
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September 04, 2019 by Brent Antisdel
in Political Mercury
Slate of events, national attention expected for Sept. 7 event on town square. California Congressman Ro Khanna sees so much potential in Jefferson that he brought a delegation from Silicon Valley, the technology center of the nation, to visit the Greene County seat in December. Just weeks later, Iowa Gov.
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September 04, 2019 by Brent Antisdel
in Film Review
Nearly impossible not to telegraph every joke before the punchline Where “Booksmart” was essentially a gender-bent “Superbad,” “Good Boys” follows a similar story archetype though substituting tweens for high school seniors. The boys are still trying to get some (albeit a kiss rather than getting laid), must-attend parties that define
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September 04, 2019 by Brent Antisdel
in Food Dude
The biggest Thai place in town is also my favorite. Forty years ago, Thai cuisine was a new thing in Des Moines. Prasong “Pak” Nurack and his wife, Beni, introduced us to their native food on weekends at the Italian cafeteria Little Joe’s on Court Avenue. Later they would move
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September 04, 2019 by Brent Antisdel
in Your Neighbors
Joyce O’Brien’s fiber art has been displayed in the offices of Gov. Terry Branstad, U.S. Congressman David Young and State Senator Jack Whitver. “I made it up,” says Joyce O’Brien. The 95-year-old is referring to her unique brand of “paintings” that don’t require paint. “I call this fiber art. It
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September 04, 2019 by Brent Antisdel
in Joe's Neighborhood
“Jason Statham saved a lot of guys.” Smacked broadside by a car at the top of a hill, I was 5 years old when I had my first bike accident. I was so embarrassed, I limped home and kept my bruised body and the ruined bike a secret. My first embarrassment.
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September 04, 2019 by Brent Antisdel
in Center Stage
September marks the start of Greater Des Moines’ 2019-2020 theater season. A promising array of musicals, comedies, family theater and drama await the cultural consumer. More than a dozen companies will present about 50 productions, beckoning patrons from near and far to join in the unique communal experience that only
Read More →‘IT: Chapter Two’ R | 165 minutes Unlike Stephen King’s novel which took place in the late 1950s and then in the late 1980s, the first film in this series was set instead in 1989 — so this one will pick up in 2016, bringing the Losers Club back to
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