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, [...]
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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Business Feature
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 [...]
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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Political Mercury
‘Pieowa’ showcases rural Iowa-ness
Pie is a stand-in for Iowa itself in many ways in a feature-length documentary from director Beth M. Howard, an Iowa filmmaker who is now on a national tour with [...]
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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Film Review
‘Honey Don’t!’ is a chaotic, stylish neo-noir that refuses to play it straight
In the sun-bleached, conservative community of Bakersfield, California, a Pontiac Firebird cuts through the dust and heat. Behind the wheel is Honey O’Donahue (Margaret Qualley), a private investigator with a [...]
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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Food Dude
Masao is redefining fresh
Masao is Des Moines’ greatest application yet of the miracle of overnight air freight. It is also dramatic evidence that technology shrunk the world more than anything else did. When [...]
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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Des Moines Forgotten
When the movie cameras were rolling in Iowa
One of the bills that passed in this year’s legislative session was Iowa Bill SF657, the Economic Development Bill that includes tax credits and incentives. One of the programs that [...]
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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Joe's Neighborhood
The Irish lilt is a thing of beauty
The Irish lilt is a thing of beauty. It moves up and down the vocal scale like a soaring and diving bird rather than the flat and plodding groundhog of [...]
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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Center Stage
Historical America and UK featured in September shows
As summer slips into fall, central Iowa will be offering two distinctly different, yet delightfully appealing, shows set back in time. The 1920s and the 1940s America are the settings [...]
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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Film Previews
Film Previews
“Caught Stealing” R | 107 minutes Director: Darren Aronofsky Writer: Charlie Huston Stars: Austin Butler, Carol Kane, Bad Bunny Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) was a high-school baseball phenom who can’t [...]
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September 03, 2025 by Brent Antisdel
in Belly Up To...
Charlie’s Filling Station
“Saturday Night Live.” “Jaws.” “All In the Family.” “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” It was 1975 when these shows and movies were popular. Meanwhile, one other 50-year landmark is [...]
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