February 10, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Stray Thoughts
My ancestors trace their roots in America to before the days the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. You may have seen my distant cousin, Joseph Hewes, in the massive painting hanging in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. It shows colonial leaders including Cousin Joe presenting the Continental
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February 04, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 1
Traveling around Des Moines guarantees a few things. At some point, you will need to stop for food. Lucky for us, Des Moines has one of the most underrated food scenes in the entire country, but it’s certainly not underrated by its diners. You can shop in most any part
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February 04, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Business Feature
Family businesses often blur the line between work and home, where dinner-table conversations double as strategy sessions and legacy weighs as much as the bottom line. For these local business leaders, working with family isn’t just a career path; it’s a daily challenge and a source of deep pride. Growing
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February 04, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Civic Skinny
Each February, we review the sabbaticals (or, as stated by the Iowa Board of Regents, “professional development assignments”) granted to the professors at the state’s three public universities: Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa. For us common folk, a sabbatical may be used
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February 04, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Political Mercury
Early into the first speech I heard her give, Stephanie Steiner said she had a child at age 15. It’s defining in many ways for Steiner, an Iowa Democratic congressional candidate who would go on to have six more kids, battle her way through a truant and self-described wayward childhood
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February 04, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Film Review
In the shadowy glow of Joe Carnahan’s “The Rip,” the most dangerous criminals are not the cartel operatives lurking off-screen but the badges meant to protect and serve. This Netflix thriller, “inspired by true events” within the Miami Police Department, is a masterfully constructed pressure cooker of paranoia, a film
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February 04, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Food Dude
Small-town cafés are so precious to nostalgia addicts that it is difficult to find much of anything negative written about them, even on the many social media platforms that attract the meanest critics. The reality is that most of small-town cafés are average at best, employing all the kitchen short
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February 04, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Des Moines Forgotten
Several times a year, I make the trek on Interstate 80 across the state of Iowa to the Quad Cities to visit family. My nieces and nephew are getting older. My sister and I have finally cultivated a relationship in our adult life. My dad is nearly 70, and, at
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February 04, 2026 by Brent Antisdel
in Joe's Neighborhood
“BE KIND!” OK, OK, I heard you the first time. And I do want to be kind, but I’m in a rush and I don’t want to be taken advantage of and shouldn’t I first be kind to myself? All arguments I have made over the years to justify NOT
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‘Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God.’
On Friday night, Sept. 4, 2009, just before the baseball game between the Iowa Cubs and the Albuquerque Isotopes was scheduled to start, Federal Judge Robert Pratt stepped to the microphone set up near home plate at Principal Park. He was fully robed. A court official had just announced that
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