Posted February 05, 2014in Cover Story
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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Posted January 29, 2014in Cover Story
Any imbecilic idiot, stomping toddler, wailing infant or even a primate in sign can say, “It’s cold out,” damn cold — even for Iowa — and probably colder than it looks. But despite this season’s sadistic sub-zero wind chills, the dangerous drive along an icy Interstate pavement and that missing
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Posted January 22, 2014in Cover Story
After every year rolls over, our syndicated film writer, Cole Smithey, announces his top 10 picks for best movies of the year — the productions he’d put on the podium for an Academy Awards if it were up to him. But, it’s not up to him, and, as it usually
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Posted January 15, 2014in Cover Story
As Des Moines’ only alternative news weekly, we make sure we keep our focus local when reporting on the good, bad and ugly of current events, people and issues. But sometimes it’s prudent, enlightening and even entertaining to see what’s going on elsewhere in the country. So with the help
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Posted January 08, 2014in Cover Story
In 1982, at the age of 36, Terry Branstad became the youngest governor in the history of Iowa. Now, 32 years later, he stands to become the longest-serving governor in the history of the United States. The Iowa Democratic Party establishment has long been perplexed with Branstad — at first
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Posted January 01, 2014in Cover Story
Ask anyone who’s been around long enough, and he or she will tell you, downtown Des Moines has changed. It’s grown in population but also in diversity of its offerings, entrepreneurship, aesthetics and innovation. In the past 12 years, it’s drawn more than $3 billion of public and private investments,
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Posted December 26, 2013in Cover Story
Iowa’s new 4th congressional district chose its representative a year ago, and here’s what it got: a blizzard of sound bites that sometimes provoked national condemnation, partial successes on conservative priorities, and what could be a crushing failure on one issue, ethanol, that matters deeply to the district’s economy. Say
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Posted December 18, 2013in Cover Story
(Editor’s note: Early in December of 1977, when Michael Gartner was editor of The Des Moines Register, he walked over to the desk of writer Bob Hullihan and said, “How about writing me a Christmas classic for the holidays?” “Sure,” he said. And he did. This is it.) The waterbug
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Posted December 11, 2013in Cover Story
Santa is serious business. If you thought that all it took to get one of those big thrones in the middle of the mall was a beer gut and a well-shampooed “Duck Dynasty” beard, you are sadly mistaken. Santa Claus conventions and workshops actually exist out there, run by organizations
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Posted December 04, 2013in Cover Story
Gargle and spit. That’s what you do with fluoride. You scrub your teeth with it, your tongue and your gums, then, you rinse and spit. “Do not ingest,” it says on the label. And Mom said so, too. But what about a little? Just 0.7 parts per million of fluoride
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