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February 05, 2014 by justin in Sore Thumbs

‘TOMB RAIDER: DEFINITIVE EDITION’    (M) ****1/2 Electronic Arts PlayStation 4 Lara Croft just got a whole lot better looking — not that she really needed it. Not only was the “Tomb Raider” reboot one of the most visually impressive games on Xbox 360 and PS3 when it released on those

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February 05, 2014 by justin in Civic Skinny

Knapp, Cownie and Rastetter gave big in 2013. Zaun, once a deadbeat, says U.S. should pay bills.

How much money do big hitters give to state candidates in a year? Last year — not an election year for statewide candidates — Jim Cownie gave $89,850, Bill Knapp gave $78,900 and Bruce Rastetter gave $71,150.32, according to newly released figures from the Iowa Campaign and Ethics Commission. This

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February 05, 2014 by justin in Belly Up To...

Relive the glory days at Delta House

Fans of the late comedian John Belushi, college students and adults who love to revel in those college glory days, have found their haven at the new Delta House on East Euclid Avenue where the beloved neighborhood bar Scooter and Bab’s once ruled. A couple years ago, owners of Scooter

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February 05, 2014 by justin in Book Review

‘Enon’ is raw and enlightening

Courtesy of Beaverdale Books Review by Fay Jones Random House 9/10/13 $26 256 pp.               Paul Harding’s moving second novel takes place in the same fictional Massachusetts town, Enon, as his debut novel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Tinkers.” He also writes of the same family: Charlie Crosby, the first-person narrator of “Enon,”

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February 05, 2014 by justin in Your View

Exposing Koch’s ugly ad campaign

The Jan. 16 Cityview, “Corruption and Greed,” featured unscrupulous people around the country. How about a focus on the billionaire Koch Brothers-funded group, Americans for Prosperity, and its massive negative ad campaign targeting Senate Candidate Bruce Braley here in Iowa? The Koch’s dirty tricks campaign is using misleading and exaggerated

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February 05, 2014 by justin in Cover Story

What’s in a name?

No offense, Des Moines, but, in general, we’re ignorant of our own history. The capital city, much more so than many other cities of comparable size, is almost devoid of markers denoting its own past. There are no statues in our parks or markers along our streets or waterfronts. Aside

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February 05, 2014 by justin in Duffy

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February 05, 2014 by justin in Center Stage

Dunderhead Noir, done with brio

At Ankeny Community Theater, a late rehearsal of the mystery-farce “Death by Chocolate” proved swift, professional and, at times, delightful. Yet I kept wondering whether any company could bloom under the long shadow of Garrison Keillor. Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” regularly features Guy Noir, private detective, bumbling through cases that

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February 05, 2014 by justin in Locker Room

Rather be fishing?

For every sport you see on mainstream television, there is another version of it that is deemed a little too dangerous to be highly publicized. For a long time, mixed martial arts existed only among those who trained and participated in the matches, while the rest of the world got

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February 05, 2014 by justin in News of the Weird

Going Postal America’s returning warriors continue to experience inexplicable difficulty after putting their lives at risk for their country. It took 13 years for Army Sgt. Maj. Richard Erickson to get his job back from his civilian employer after he took leave in 2000 to serve in the National Guard

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