February 11, 2014 by justin
in Iowa Watchdog
Jennifer’s tragic story
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The phone call came the other day as I drove to work. A tired, sad voice said, “Scott there’s going to be another murder trial.” My shoulders sagged. My 3-year-old daughter fidgeted in the backseat. And my mind was suddenly remembering a night of horror 24 years
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February 05, 2014 by justin
in Iowa Watchdog
Iowa Democrats fail in attempt to legally define e-cigarettes as tobacco
DES MOINES, Iowa — Things got testy in the commerce committee as members of the Iowa House of Representatives discussed an amendment to a bill regulating e-cigarettes. The amendment, introduced by Rep. Chris Hall, D-Sioux City, would have defined e-cigarettes as tobacco products, even though the devices contain no tobacco.
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February 05, 2014 by justin
in Iowa Watchdog
Iowa lawmakers seek to restrict drone use while expanding strip searches
DES MOINES, Iowa — Last week, two subcommittees of the Iowa House of Representatives worked on bills involving privacy and the possibility of police overreach. One bill was drafted to regulate the use of drones in Iowa. The other concerns strip searches. The two subcommittees came to very different conclusions. The
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February 05, 2014 by justin
in Rap Sheet
On the clock
Play the “Name that Crime” Quiz! WRONG ONE WIELDING THE BELT Police were dispatched to an apartment at the 200 block of Dickman regarding a domestic dispute, where a 13-year-old boy had become physically violent toward the family. He was tearing up the home because he was upset about being
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February 05, 2014 by justin
in Sound Check
Aesthetic Perfection “’Til Death” Metropolis Emo-pop is still a thing. Don’t write angry letters to the editors: I assure you, they haven’t messed up and accidentally re-run a review from 2003. Nope, it’s 2014, and here’s Aesthetic Perfection (a.k.a. Daniel Graves), clinging to the idea that all you have to
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February 05, 2014 by justin
in On The Tube
Alice Walker, for and against
“Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth” (Friday, 8:30 p.m., PBS) tells the unlikely story of a poor African American sharecropper’s daughter who dedicates herself to changing the world and, against all odds, does. Walker immersed herself in the civil rights and women’s liberation struggles of the 1960s and wrote about them
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February 05, 2014 by justin
in Film Review
Ivan Reitman’s near-movie is a soap opera disaster
“Labor Day” 1 star Rated PG-13 111 minutes Drama Starring: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith There’s almost a movie — one with serious incest issues — hiding somewhere in writer/director Jason Reitman’s bleary attempted adaptation of Joyce Maynard’s novel. The story revolves around Frank (Josh Brolin), an ex-con who
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February 05, 2014 by justin
in Your Money
Paid for by taxpayers in… West Des Moines.
Amount: $260.58 To: William L. Laidlaw Jr. For: Payment for services repairing residents’ mailboxes on Jan. 3, 13 and 14 for a total of six labor hours at $43.43 per hour. Amount: $116 To: Lee’s Standard For: Cost to wash the police cars for the month of December.
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