June 06, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Feature 3
The season just got even hotter It’s finally here. The season Iowans dream about on dark and frigid February nights. The landscape is once again lush and green, sweat beads form immediately after stepping outside, and there’s music in the air: It’s summer music festival season. You want a festival near a river? There
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June 06, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Civic Skinny
The budget cuts and pay freezes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University have some big exceptions: Athletic budgets aren’t touched, and coaches will continue to get very big raises. After a lot of back and forth, legislators in their wisdom cut $40.9 million from the general university
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June 06, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Political Mercury
Protecting the unborn. In answering a wide-open question about what he’d most like to see associated with his re-election campaign, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, didn’t hesitate in spotlighting the anti-abortion beliefs that motivated the now eight-term congressman to enter politics more than two decades ago. “I think people know
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June 06, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Film Review
Do you like wisecracks and sarcasm in your comedy? Following up from where the first film left off, Deadpool is taking care of business the only way he knows how — wholesale slaughter with a smile. After a job goes south, Deadpool must carve a new spot in life. He
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June 06, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Food Dude
Some ethnic cuisines here are modeled on the same templates and recipes. There must be more than a dozen Mexican restaurants now that serve pretty much the same menu. Italian restaurants are far more diverse. Mexico is bigger than Italy and tastes change in different regions, yet most places differ
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June 06, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Your Neighbors
Friends become family while serving Polish sausages and meat nachos Daisy Duke shorts adorn various customers of both genders as they wait in line for concessions at the Greater Des Moines Softball Park. The sun beams through an American flag whipping in the warm summer wind. The hand of an
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June 06, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Joe's Neighborhood
“I don’t do interviews,” he says without a smile. His eyes sweeping both sides of the bar while he pours the beer. Really? The timbre of his voice catches me by surprise as it rumbles softly across the room like the early hint of an Iowa thunderstorm, dry and gravelly and deep. “Let’s not
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June 06, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Center Stage
Des Moines Metro Opera prepares for another stellar summer rep season Perhaps the most difficult ticket to get this summer won’t be for a pop concert or sporting event. It will be to the prime performing nights for the 2018 internationally acclaimed Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO) season. Patrons travel
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June 06, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in Tech Talk
A cartoonishly violent, freemium videogame Most every tech-enabled marketplace celebrates a new industry darling each year. Whether it’s movies, social media, podcasting, transportation, applications, music or any other silo of technologically enhanced goods creation, some unforeseen innovation captures the industry eyes. But every once in a while, something rises above
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June 06, 2018 by Brent Antisdel
in People & Pets
Two smart and fluffy friends A hairstylist by day and student by night, Courtney Lovan never imagined she would be giving a rabbit a haircut. However, that doesn’t mean she’s ready to become a full-time pet groomer. “It’s too stressful,” Lovan says. “At least if I tell a human to
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