‘DARK SOULS II’ (M) ****1/2 Namco Bandai Games Xbox 360 In “Dark Souls II,” your completely customizable avatar is cursed, and it shows. You’re tasked with exploring a sprawling and exceedingly hostile open fantasy world, and since you have the freedom to go anywhere at any time, you might find
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April 02, 2014 by justin
in Sore Thumbs
April 02, 2014 by justin
in Your View
Duped again, nice job on April Foolery
Awesome! As soon as I got too FEARA (Federal Environmental Anomalies Reserve Agency) I knew something was up (“Snake Bite,” March 27), and the names were very clever! Well done. This (issue) was sent to me by a freaked out friend who knows I ride that trail. Great job! Allen
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April 02, 2014 by justin
in Civic Skinny
Little-known PER Board about to be in news. Another suit for Wahlert. IRS files on Tirrell.
Gov. Terry Branstad gave the labor people one more reason to be pissed at him the other day. He nominated former Fort Dodge Republican legislator Mike Cormack for the three-person Public Employment Relations Board, and he didn’t reappoint Jim Riordan, the Democrat who has chaired the board for 12 years.
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April 02, 2014 by justin
in Political Mercury
Braley and his Brooklyns
The West Tennessean walked tall. And he spoke in a manner one would expect from the curator of so many things associated with the famous 1973 movie based on tall-walking Sheriff Buford Pusser. The question from my quick acquaintance came as easy as his syrupy drawl on this spring afternoon
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April 02, 2014 by justin
in Cover Story
Gangs of Des Moines
There was only one point in the past six months when I thought I was going to die. I was sitting in a house on the south side of Des Moines with six Skinheads, discussing the “beat in” ritual for initiating new members. Midway through the conversation, a seventh member
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April 02, 2014 by justin
in Tech Talk
Revel in the crowd funding era
There has never been a better period in all history than present day to be an idea guy. No matter if you have zero coding, engineering or sales skills, the information age is ripe for creative people to brainstorm game-changing ideas and find the right people and funding to make
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April 02, 2014 by justin
in Food Dude
Pho All Seasons returns
Pho All Seasons built a loyal customer base on East Ninth Street during the previous decade. Four years ago, the family was told they needed to add a prohibitively expensive grease trap. So they closed their café and moved to Arizona where they had built a second restaurant. Business was
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April 02, 2014 by justin
in Your Money
Paid for by taxpayers in… Des Moines.
Amount: $3,787.91 To: MidAmerican Energy For: Monthly payment for gas and electric services for the Fire Department. Amount: $1,885 To: AASHTO Materials Reference Laboratory For: Payment for services for the city Testing Lab, including a basic on-site assessment fee and a soil assessment test fee at multiple locations.
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April 02, 2014 by justin
in Sound Circuit
An anecdote with New Member Charles
New Member Charles occupies a unique space in local music. Local bands are usually either the work of serious, talented musicians trying to make some money doing what they love, or they’re a bunch of guys who wouldn’t know a barre chord from a hole in the ground and are
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Branstad and Iowa, a sequel to film ‘Ground Hog Day’
The Iowa film industry — beset by tax-credit scandals a few years ago — can regroup and recoup in producing a sequel to the 1993 film, “Ground Hog Day.” Remember that flick? Bill Murray is the TV weatherman stuck in a loop of Ground Hog Days. The film was directed
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