July 01, 2015 by justin
in Locker Room
Think you’ve got agility skills behind the wheel? Is Johnny Law preventing you from testing your grit as a driver? Not this time. The Goodguys 24th Heartland Nationals will be rolling into the Iowa State Fairgrounds this Fourth of July weekend. This is your opportunity to test that classic ride
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July 01, 2015 by justin
in Civic Skinny
Dave Chivers, the new publisher of The Des Moines Register, has his work cut out for him. Audited figures show the newspaper’s slide in circulation is continuing unabated. In the quarter ended March 31, print circulation of the Sunday Register was 132,544. That’s down 13,330 from the year-earlier figure of
Read More →Gregory Reddick, 54, and his employer, SJQ Sightseeing Tours, filed a lawsuit in June against New York City for “harass(ing)” them and hampering their ability to rip off tourists, specifically, interfering with their “right” to sell tickets for $200 or more for trips on the Staten Island Ferry — which
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July 01, 2015 by justin
in Center Stage
“The Abduction from the Seraglio,” at Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO), opened its third act under moonlight. The noble Belmonte lurks in the dark, intending to free his beloved Konstanze from the Pasha’s seraglio: his harem. Mozart’s hero wears a neon-purple frockcoat, and this glows mystically under a sky full
Read More →Meg Baird “Don’t Weigh Down the Light” Drag City The element that is responsible for perhaps the biggest influence on Meg Baird’s newest solo effort does not come in the form of an instrument or a producer. Rather, it is a city. After her last album, Baird moved from her
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July 01, 2015 by justin
in The Sound
St. Lucia is, at its core, the brainchild of South African-born Jean-Phillip Grobler. But it is difficult to create anything in a void, and St. Lucia’s music is no different. So while Grobler may have created most of the music on St. Lucia’s self-titled debut, it is the work of
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July 01, 2015 by justin
in Belly Up To...
The ol’ neighborhood bar just a got a little bit cooler. Mustang Grill has all the elements of a small-town hangout: friendly, community-minded owners; good food and reasonably priced beer; and a prime location on Main Street. But there are two additional elements that put Mustang Grill a step above
Read More →We live in a time of stunning transformations. In recent weeks, we’ve seen Bruce Jenner transition from a male Olympic medalist to Caitlyn Jenner, a self-assured woman gracing the cover of Vanity Fair. Then there’s Rachel Dolezal, the ex-president of the Spokane, Washington, chapter of the NAACP. She lived as
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July 01, 2015 by justin
in Sound Circuit
In case you did not know by now, The Candymakers are legit. Formed in 2010, all the band did in its first year of life was win the 2011 Iowa Blues Challenge. An album followed the next year, but it would be two years more before we would get a
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