Posted August 06, 2025in Collections & Hobbies
What do most people do with old wood? Toss it into the wood chipper? Take it to the dump? Burn it? Or leave it in a pile for someone else to deal with? When Ryan François encounters scrap wood, particularly old-growth wood, he sees an opportunity. François grew up on
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Posted July 02, 2025in Collections & Hobbies
Trading card games take a variety of forms. Some of you may have seen or opened a pack of Pokémon cards. Others may have seen a few seconds of Yu-Gi-Oh on TV while channel surfing. Jeffrey Darus’ affinity for card games has allowed him to give back to his local
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Posted June 04, 2025in Collections & Hobbies
For many children, their first experience with a train set would be something along the lines of Thomas the Tank engine and his group of pals. This is not the case for John and Judy Moller. In the basement of their former home lies the imagined world by John. John
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Posted April 30, 2025in Collections & Hobbies
Capoeira is defined as an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. The combination may sound too good to be true. But, for Juan Loruido, it is his hobby and passion. He originally came across the art form while at Huntington Beach with a group
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Posted April 02, 2025in Collections & Hobbies
Dan Fessler’s love for arcade games started in his hometown of Clear Lake. He enjoyed games like The Simpsons Arcade Game, Cruis’n USA, and various shooting games for a specific reason. “I would get like 75 cents, so I would play three games. My brother said, play Centipede. It’s a
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Posted March 05, 2025in Collections & Hobbies
If you’re a musician in a band or attend live music in the Des Moines metro, you have likely encountered Bryan Mehmen. Mehmen is “that guy” — a bandana-clad rocker, often dressed in a black T-shirt located in front of the stage, dancing and singing to the driving beat. Booze
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Posted February 05, 2025in Collections & Hobbies
Packs of trading cards might not come with a stick of gum anymore, but the allure to grab a pack off the shelf, place a bid online, or go to a card convention is still alive and well when it comes to collecting trading cards. Just ask Brian Eikenberry. Eikenberry
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Posted January 01, 2025in Collections & Hobbies
Sure, football draws more spectators than other sports. We all know that. After it, there isn’t much of a conversation. However, the Central Iowa Coed Soccer League boasts one of the largest memberships of any coed soccer league in the Midwest. Craig Marker, a longtime player and former president and
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Posted December 04, 2024in Collections & Hobbies
The halls of Franklin Jr. High lead to an array of organizations including Project Iowa, the Japan America Center of Iowa, the Central Iowa Wind Ensemble and more. The Des Moines Weavers and Spinners Guild meets in one room, which it is quickly outgrowing. The Weavers and Spinners Guild has
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Posted November 06, 2024in Collections & Hobbies
Presumably, anyone can be a coin collector. A few dozen quarters might rest in your center console. A child might have a piggy bank full of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and the odd silver dollar or two. Some of the more foul-mouthed among us might even have a swear jar
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