August 12, 2015 by justin
in Uncategorized
On Aug. 18, visitors to the Iowa State Fair will have a chance to take a free trip back to the disco era when The Village People perform at the MidAmerican Energy stage at 8 p.m. The group was formed in the late 1970s after producers saw Felipe Rose dancing
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August 12, 2015 by justin
in Locker Room
What to do, what to do? The Iowa State Fair has once again taken over the greater Des Moines area, and for good reason: It’s the Iowa State Fair. Don’t make the same mistakes you made with last year’s fair. Instead of showing up with a vague idea of the
Read More →Malisa Mac Nab opened a children’s boutique called Minijoops at 424 E. Locust St. in the East Village on Aug. 1. The clothing store sells international brands for sizes 0 to 8, and the inventory includes tutus, T-shirts, swimwear and trendy play clothes, among other items. Mac Nab is a
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August 12, 2015 by justin
in Food Dude
Chef George Formaro recently discovered a 1922 menu from a Fort Des Moines Hotel restaurant. The fare offered was far more classically French than anything I remember here growing up in the 1950s and ’60s. Appetizer menus in my youth consisted of maybe four things. The Fort Des Moines’ menu
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August 12, 2015 by justin
in Belly Up To...
Dinner and a show has been a classic date form since cowboys took their ladies to see the showgirls perform at saloons, and probably before that. Dinner, drinks and entertainment at the same place — what’s not to love? The Last Laugh Comedy Theater offers just that — but with a
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August 12, 2015 by justin
in Center Stage
The goodwill in the room practically spills out the windows. Upstairs in West Des Moines Public Library, laughter punctuates the run-through of “Masha,” the latest project for the Tallgrass Iowa Playwrights Workshop, one of two new local programs for developing fresh talent. At this rehearsal, the script has reached “version
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August 12, 2015 by justin
in Once Upon A Time
100 years ago (August 1915): Ordinance No. 2396 passed “prohibiting circuses, menageries, caravans, shows or any other exhibition or performance of any kind whatsoever between the 25th day of August and the 3rd day of September…” subject to fine not less than $10 nor more than $100. ($10 then is
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August 12, 2015 by justin
in Joe's Neighborhood
The trainer sits large at his desk. Clothing loosely draped. Arms and legs wide and open. Hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. He seems too meaty to be your typical trainer. Too much bulk. Picturing him doing a downward dog seems like a stretch. It’s much easier imagining him
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August 12, 2015 by justin
in Film Review
In a summer that has been surprisingly bereft of any kind of obvious blockbuster outside of “Jurassic World” — which was nowhere near as good as its box office take would have you believe — the past few weeks have still managed to stand out as particularly bad. First, there
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An important addition to the library of Iowa history
While Congress and several state legislatures, including Iowa’s, were reinforcing the barriers to gay marriage, a determined handful of Iowa gay-rights advocates were preparing to go to court. A new book, “Equal Before the Law,” which came off the presses this summer, offers a highly readable, thoroughly researched and sometimes
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