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October 03, 2012 by justin in Featured Story, Political Mercury

King, Vilsack debate turns to guns, gays and abortion

Polls show King in tightest race of career The two candidates for the newly drawn 4th Congressional District Thursday night faced their first pointed debate questions on three of the more defining social issues in modern politics. And the answers of U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, and Ames Democrat Christie

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October 03, 2012 by justin in Your Money

Paid for by taxpayers in… Des Moines

Amount: $2,228 To: Quality Painting Company For: Payment for graffiti removal services at various locations — 45.5 hours of labor at $43.50 per hour and $248.75 in materials.   Amount: $428.50 To: Thompson Publishing Group (Tampa, Fla.) For: Payment for a one-year renewed subscription to Family and Medical Leave Handbook

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October 03, 2012 by justin in Good Bad Ugly

The good OMG! Is including that smiley face emoticon to a text message while driving really worth crashing your car? In celebration of the national “No Text on Board Pledge Day,” Gov. Terry Branstad, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau and AT&T have joined to educate the public on the risks

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October 03, 2012 by justin in Your View

Your View

DART story is ‘right on’ Right on, Cityview, regarding your story about the bus service in the Des Moines area (“Two Weeks on the Bus,” Sept. 6). The powers that be at DART must think that the only shift worked in the city is during daylight hours. If you work

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October 03, 2012 by justin in The Sound

The Iowa Music Store, local music finds global home

On Sept. 17, the good folks at Maximum Ames Records launched the new Iowa Music Store online. The brainchild of Caleb Swank, the Iowa Music Store is a place for Iowa bands to get their music and merch in the hands of the people who want it — 24 hours

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October 03, 2012 by justin in Sore Thumbs

By Matthew Scott Hunter

DEAD OR ALIVE 5 (M)  ****  ‘Tecmo’  Xbox 360   The “Dead or Alive” series has always been famous for its adolescent infatuation with the full-figured, fairer sex, but the fifth entry in the fighting series has more going for it than its looks. Though not as refined as the

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October 03, 2012 by justin in Book Review

‘The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel’

 By Louise Penny   Minotaur Books   Aug. 28, 2012   $ 25.99   384 Pages   “The Beautiful Mystery” is the eighth in the Chief Inspector Gamache series. It was eagerly anticipated by Louise Penny fans, and a customer’s excitement convinced me to try this book. In this case,

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October 03, 2012 by justin in Sound Notes

Soundnotes Pick o’ the Week

The Thursday, Oct. 4, show at the Val Air Ballroom featuring heartland rock legends Kansas is, sadly, dust in the wind. For those of you who’ve already purchased your tickets for the show, refunds are being given by your point of purchase. The good folks at Val Air apologize for

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October 03, 2012 by justin in On The Tube

Masters and servants, unite!

They fight Hitler together in the new “Upstairs Downstairs” The new season of “Masterpiece Classic’s Upstairs Downstairs” (Sunday, 8 p.m., PBS) begins in 1938 with a British radio broadcaster saying, “It is hoped that an agreement can be reached regarding Herr Hitler’s attempt to….”                 We all know where this is

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October 03, 2012 by justin in Civic Skinny, Featured Story

If your mother says she loves you, check it out

Quote of the week, or maybe the year, as reported by Jeff Eckhoff in The Des Moines Register: “My dad’s so tight you couldn’t pull a needle out of his butt with a tractor.” That was Diane Johnson, dismissing the idea that her father would have loaned former Polk County

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