St. Louis Rams (4-3) vs. Minnesota Vikings (5-2) Sunday, Nov. 8 8:30 a.m. CST TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, Minnesota If history is an indicator, the Minnesota Vikings should pull out another win over the St. Louis Rams, just as they have done in the last three meetings. But with home
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November 04, 2015 by justin
in Sound Check
Steve Martin & Edie Brickell “So Familiar” Rounder Records This is an absolutely delightful pairing. Martin, long known for his comedic chops, is one of the more accomplished banjo players around and has the ability to concoct simple, heart-tugging melodies. Brickell, ever the songwriter’s songwriter, has been criminally under-appreciated for
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November 04, 2015 by justin
in Food Dude
Doing one thing well
Too many restaurants try to do too many different things. Food writers call this “Cheese Factory Syndrome,” referring to menus so large they need book binders. Last week, I checked out some new restaurants in town that take the opposite direction, showing confidence that they can succeed by doing just
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November 04, 2015 by justin
in Tech Talk
YouTube Red sets web economics ablaze
A common Intro to Economics question asks, “Would you be OK with free phone service if, in exchange, your calls were interrupted with frequent commercial breaks?” At first, the student immediately is drawn to answer, “yes,” because the word “free” is so attractive. But is it truly free if you’re
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October 28, 2015 by justin
in Cover Story
What we fear
Horror movies and ghost stories were once virtually exclusive to Halloween, the day in which thrill seekers indulge in haunted houses with chainsaw-wielding, masked serial killers who invoke blood-curdling screams. But not anymore. Society’s lust for a good scare now stretches well beyond a single day of the year. For
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October 28, 2015 by justin
in Locker Room
Zombie hunters
As George Romero taught us, “When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the earth.” What no one could have imagined is that Hell’s spillover would trickle out of Sleepy Hollow’s Haunted Scream Park. The newest flagship attraction, called “Black Ops: Zombie Paintball,” is Sleepy Hollow’s twist
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October 28, 2015 by justin
in Food Dude
East Village’s latest niche
East Village’s restaurant scene has been developing in its own fashion. Unlike the west side of downtown, small restaurants pop up as often as places with hundreds of seats and James Beard Awards chefs. Because relatively smaller venues are available, interesting offbeat genres have a place in the village. Open
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October 28, 2015 by justin
in Civic Skinny
Challenger Charleston sues Sheriff McCarthy again.
The bad blood between Sheriff Bill McCarthy and Dan Charleston is spilling over into court again. Charleston is a sergeant in the Polk County Sheriff’s Department. He ran against McCarthy in 2012 and was pretty well trounced, getting just 41.4 percent of the vote. He is running again next year.
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October 28, 2015 by justin
in On the Move
The U Neighborhood Bar & Grill opens in Urbandale
The recently closed Victor’s Sports Club didn’t have its doors locked for long, as The U Neighborhood Bar & Grill opened recently in its place at 7500 Douglas Ave. in Urbandale. The new owners, Chris Van Horn, Chris Lynch and Jeremy Paine, have updated the bar’s look and added new
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October 28, 2015 by justin
in Sound Circuit
Midwest disco
Electropop duo MAIDS describes themselves as “Midwest disco.” It is a fitting descriptor. Much like the land from which Danny Heggen and Mickey Davis hail, MAIDS is unassuming and can be easy to overlook or marginalize. And, like disco, the pair’s sound can be a bit saccharine at times but
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