June 17, 2015 by justin
in Belly Up To...
It’s June in Des Moines. That means it’s hot and humid, and that vacation cannot come soon enough. In the meantime, why not make a trip to Saylorville Lake for the day? Relaxing on the beach, boating with buddies, fishing, water skiing — this is the life. But there’s something
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June 17, 2015 by justin
in Tech Talk
Thus far, 2015 has been a photographer’s dream. Quality equipment is cheap and abundant, picture taking — once restricted to the number of exposures on a reel of film — is practically limitless thanks to electronic media. And, thanks to online social networks, photos can be shared around the world
Read More →Nelson Construction & Development’s proposal to build luxury apartments on top of a new downtown parking garage gained a head start in the race to fill the space at Seventh Street and Grand Avenue in Des Moines. The City Council called for proposals last month and received three, but the
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June 17, 2015 by justin
in Civic Skinny
Michael Gartner is on vacation. This column, about his father, ran in USA Today just before Father’s Day in 2006. My father never drove a car. Well, that’s not quite right. I should say I never saw him drive a car. He quit driving in 1927, when he was
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June 17, 2015 by justin
in Center Stage
In Winterset, the evening I saw “Nunsense,” they had a Classic Car invitational in the square. A cherry 1940s Mercury sat next to a sleek ’60s Mustang. Such wheels are impractical, of course — think of the gas mileage — but they make scrumptious eye candy. I got my fill,
Read More →Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a cover band that owes its existence to Jerry Lee Lewis, Pandora and Tinder. “(Drummer Jake Blomberg) and I live together,” guitar/vocalist Josh Adams explained. “One day we were listening to Jerry Lee Lewis on Pandora. I was just on that kick. So we went down
Read More →Fantastical monsters, the Scottish Highlands, a complicated romance, and the events of World War II are all included in this coming-of-age story and period novel, “At the Water’s Edge,” written by “Water for Elephants” author Sara Gruen. The story begins New Year’s Eve of 1944 at a Philadelphia high society
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June 17, 2015 by justin
in Locker Room
When it comes to bike rides in Iowa, nothing is off limits. From crazy costumes to disjointed routes, here in Des Moines, we love to get out in the summer and see everything our city has to offer. It would seem the only thing folks like more is bacon and
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June 17, 2015 by justin
in Food Dude
Gino’s closing last week left the city with one less place to enjoy the old art of pan-fried chicken. Before the mid-1960s, this dish was a luxury dinner in Des Moines. A review of old yellow page advertisements and antique menus reveals that it was often the most expensive dish
Read More →Apartment buyers in ridiculously expensive Hong Kong are now eagerly paying up to the equivalent of $500,000 (U.S.) for units not much bigger than a U.S. parking space (and typically physically self-measured by the applicant’s wing-span). An agent told The Wall Street Journal in June that, for example, standard furniture
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