Beggars’ Night lore
With trick-or-treating returning on Halloween night in Des Moines after 87 years, I am going to take us on a deep dive into the lore, rumors and old wives’ tales [...]
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Posted October 01, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
Posted September 03, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
When the movie cameras were rolling in Iowa
One of the bills that passed in this year’s legislative session was Iowa Bill SF657, the Economic Development Bill that includes tax credits and incentives. One of the programs that [...]
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Posted August 06, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
Stella’s Blue Sky Diner
When I was a kid, my mother took me to one of those throwback diners where the schtick was to be rude to the customers and make a scene. She [...]
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Posted July 02, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
80/35 Musical Festival
This is my first July in Des Moines without the 80/35 Musical Festival (excluding the two pandemic years). I know it was not just one factor that ended this nearly [...]
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Posted June 04, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
Mike Pace
In 2009, I was an arrogant 24-year-old who was cutting my teeth in the film industry and getting to know the lay of the land in the Des Moines market. [...]
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Posted April 30, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
When Tiny Tim was in Des Moines
I am writing this on the Monday following Record Store Day weekend, and, with all honesty, I didn’t indulge this year. I’m already sitting on more than 2,000 LPs, which [...]
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Posted April 02, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
Animatronics and pizza
Hell must have frozen over, because I am writing about ShowBiz Pizza. As a kid in the early 1990s, spending a birthday or two at a mall arcade blowing a [...]
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Posted March 05, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
A showman, a charmer and, above all, a weirdo
On Feb. 17, I lost a close friend named Barron Christian. Nearly all my professional decisions in my career were influenced by him in some way. When I met him, [...]
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Posted February 05, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
The Negro Motorist Green Book
I was in Memphis between Christmas and New Years for the very first time, and I fell in love with the city. It didn’t feel much bigger than Des Moines, [...]
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Posted January 01, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
The walls never knew what hit them
Nostalgia doesn’t have to date back a decade or more. In fact, I am going to go out on a limb and say it doesn’t have to even go back [...]
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