October 10, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Stray Thoughts
There’s an old expression that officials of Indian Hills Community College obviously have not heard about — or have chosen to ignore. The expression is simple: If you find yourself in a hole, stop shoveling. But the school continues to shovel — digging itself ever deeper into legal trouble and
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October 03, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Stray Thoughts
It’s confession time: I cannot say with confidence what transpired in that upstairs bedroom in a suburban home in Montgomery County, Md., on that summer evening, apparently in 1982, during a gathering of unsupervised, beer-drinking teenagers. Unless you have just awakened like a latter-day Rip Van Winkle, you know the
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October 03, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 1
Des Moines man publishes Little Shoppe of Horrors magazine for 46 years…and counting. I had heard rumors about a man who had been publishing his own horror fanzine in the basement of his Des Moines residence for four decades. Since I was 15, I have been reading Fangoria, Rue Morgue and HorrorHound Magazine. So when someone
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October 03, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 2
The hunt is on for playoff hockey in Des Moines. Tune up the Zamboni. Prepare the penalty boxes. Start practicing your slap shot. Here come the power plays, missing teeth, Minnesota accents, red lines, blue lines… In case you hadn’t heard, central Iowa’s on-ice action is starting to sizzle, and hockey fans are asking: “Is Des Moines
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October 03, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 3
Neighborhoods embrace IMT Des Moines Marathon. Jamie Seitz remembers the first year she and her husband read signs that their neighborhood would be shut down for the IMT Des Moines Marathon. Driveways would be inaccessible. Vehicles parked in the street would be towed. “We were like, ‘Really? Does that really happen?’ ” recalls Seitz, who moved
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October 03, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Civic Skinny
Teree Caldwell-Johnson is thinking of running for mayor next year. And Sheriff Bill McCarthy is thinking of retiring this year. Caldwell-Johnson, 62, is well-known in Des Moines. She was Polk County Manager from 1996 to 2003, is the very visible chief executive of the Oakridge Neighborhood Services, has been on
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October 03, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Political Mercury
It feels, sounds and smells like surrender of the basic, motivating values of more than 40 years for me. And it will to most of you, too. The facts, though, are not on our side. They are quite possibly with a man who sounds an awful lot like a canary
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October 03, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Film Review
Fear-inducing madness is sure to scare — and no doubt confuse — younger audiences. The first children’s movie by director Eli Roth, known for grotesque, grindhouse films like “Cabin Fever,” “Death Wish” and “Hostel,” “The House with a Clock in its Walls” adapts the 1973 John Bellairs novel into a
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October 03, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Food Dude
Winner of CITYVIEW’s Ultimate Steak de Burgo challenge It was inevitable. Russians won an American election, yet no one called for an investigation of Kremlin collusion. Irina’s won the Ultimate Steak de Burgo challenge by collecting the most votes from CITYVIEW readers, beating out AJ’s, Sam & Gabe’s and Chef’s Kitchen in the finals. It’s
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“Judge” Besler
If Jason Besler is a judge, he should resign. Besler was one of two men nominated to fill a vacancy on the Sixth Judicial District Court in Iowa City. Gov. Kim Reynolds had 30 days to make her choice. She missed the June 21 deadline — despite what her office
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