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September 23, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in The Culture Buzz

Greetings, Cultural Adventurers:

From Iowa’s cultural epicenter, Mainframe Studios at 900 Keosauqua Way in Des Moines, comes your Listener-supported Community Voice, the Award-Winning independent radio station, KFMG-LP 98.9 FM (streaming simultaneously at www.kfmg.org), bringing you music, literature & cultural content. Quote of the Week –     With a tip of the cap

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September 18, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Morain

09/18/25

A CALL FOR RADICAL MODERATION Another political leader killed, and another frustrating challenge on what to say, what to do. Charlie Kirk’s death resurfaces similar tragedies from our American past, both venerable and recent, some wounding, some fatal.  It’s not a time for what-ifs, for justification slanders, certainly not for

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September 16, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in The Culture Buzz

From Iowa’s cultural epicenter, Mainframe Studios at 900 Keosauqua Way in Des Moines, comes your Listener-supported Community Voice, the Award-Winning independent radio station, KFMG-LP 98.9 FM (streaming simultaneously at www.kfmg.org), bringing you music, literature & cultural content. Quote of the Week – “Men in authority will always think that criticism

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September 11, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Morain

09/11/25

Why does Congress even bother to debate an annual budget? Every year members of the federal legislative body spend innumerable hours in committees and on the House and Senate floor debating discretionary appropriations decisions. Intense negotiations sometimes produce some or all of the 12 regular mandatory appropriations bills that designate

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September 09, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Stray Thoughts

A man you’ve never met had advice you should never forget

During decades as a journalist, I had countless conversations with interesting people — future presidents, wannabe leaders, governors, business executives, religious thinkers, crooks, and ordinary folks who made a difference in their own corner of the world. With soldiers headed to our cities and chaos in our nation, now is

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September 04, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Morain

09/04/25

College football is here once again, and fans are geared up to cheer on their treasured favorite(s). What stokes such ferocious lifetime loyalty to a bunch of guys playing a game for a few weeks every fall, and does it say anything meaningful about us? In our family—nuclear, offspring, offspring

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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Feature 1

Fall Arts & Entertainment Guide

The leaves are changing, the days are getting shorter, and the weather is cooling off. What does not change is the array of things to do around central Iowa. From September to December, the metro area has countless activities for those of all ages. Art galleries continue to display the

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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Feature 2

Traveling Highway 44

I pull off Highway 44 on a chance, turn off the car on a whim, step into a farmyard of swarming chickens with trepidation, and listen to an old man weave his stories. “Meryl Streep rode that bicycle right there.” The weathered, sober-looking man, straight out of a Grant Wood

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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Business Feature

Defining a brand

Making a good first impression is undoubtedly vital in job interviews, dinner with potential in-laws, and applying for a loan. However, when it comes to making a business a success, it is often the lasting impression that matters most. And that lasting impression is created through a company’s brand. “A

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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel in Civic Skinny

State Fair’s impact. 3.7% unemployment. Mosquitoes. Straw poll. A major TV merger.

The theme at the Iowa State Fair this year was Fair Sweet Fair, and the grandstand concert attendance was sweet, indeed. The 131,616 attendees for 2025 broke the previous record of 128,504 set in 2019. Megan Moroney’s performance on Saturday, Aug. 16, drew the largest crowd at 16,371. T-Pain was

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