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March 11, 2015 by justin in Joe's Neighborhood

Reflections of a 50-year-old cop

The hallway is empty. High ceilings stretch off in the distance. Dark woodwork marks the openings for doorways hidden in shadowed recesses. And a low murmur of voices provides background. One-thousand-six-hundred voices to be exact.  Oh, yeah, and one cop. I follow the directions from the front desk. Right. Then left. Then

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March 11, 2015 by justin in Center Stage

Spilling blood in the courtroom

Drama can be all in the eyes. Rich Richards, the whole show in “Clarence Darrow,” can raise the tension with a hardening stare or lighten it with a sidelong glance. In a late rehearsal, his look even seemed to change the scenery, going from a seat in a small-town ballpark

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March 11, 2015 by justin in Belly Up To...

Find your lucky charms at Mickey’s Irish Pub

With so many bars participating in the Court Avenue Official Block Party to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, it’s hard to know where to go. They all open early, most offer special Irish foods, and each bar offers some sort of unique drink special. But where’s the best place to go?

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March 11, 2015 by justin in News of the Weird

Fine points of the law

Shooting “upskirt” photos of a 13-year-old girl is not illegal in Oregon, declared Judge Eric Butterfield in February, thus acquitting Patrick Buono, 61, of the crimes of invasion of privacy and “encouraging child sexual abuse.” Buono’s behavior was “appalling,” Judge Butterfield noted, but since the girl was in a public

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March 11, 2015 by justin in Your View

Don’t punish public schools

Jeff Jorgensen, Republican Pottawattamie County Chair, stated that Sen. Gronstal needs to be discussing charter schools, virtual schools, school voucher programs and homeschooling in order to find solutions for public schools. It seems the focus should instead be on what proven educational reforms needed to be implemented in public schools.

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March 11, 2015 by justin in Guest Commentary

Charmed, I’m sure

By Kent Carlson Maybe it was the period in time I was raised, or maybe it was who raised me, but the term “charming” really wasn’t a big part of my vocabulary. At least not until I met my friend, Dennis. Dennis was about 15 years older than me. He

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March 11, 2015 by justin in Food Dude

Little Morocco revives the pop-up

“If Des Moines does not allow unbridled access to food trucks, then the young professional tribe will leave, and this city’s renaissance will be dead and gone.” That mantra has spread now from the manual of hipster talking points to the mainstream media. Here in the local, alternative media, the

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March 11, 2015 by justin in What the?

Next week’s photo:   This week’s winner: “Dang, Jed, how did you rope me into doing this?” -Heidi Soliday Runners-up: “Torture? Heck, Jim Bob, this water boarding is fun!” -Rod R   “Tom did not read the fine print on the new Wisconsin Dells ride attraction.” -Jim McCool   Think

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March 11, 2015 by justin in Rap Sheet

Two of a kind?

Vanilla Ice is back with a brand new invention? No, this time it’s a conviction. He was arrested on Feb. 18 on burglary and theft charges. He stole approximately $3,500 worth of furniture from a Florida home. Ice claims he thought the items were OK to take because they were

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March 11, 2015 by justin in Sound Notes

The Hinterland Music Festival has already experienced healthy success in terms of sales for its inaugural season: VIP tickets for the event sold out in 10 seconds. Now, festival organizer Sam Summers is listening to fan requests and adding camping space for the two-day event. Camping passes will range from

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