Posted April 01, 2026in Des Moines Forgotten
At least twice a week, my morning walks take me through Greenwood Park along the dirt trails that begin on the west side of the Des Moines Art Center parking lot. For the past 15 years, I’ve passed what I call “the haunted birdhouse.” Perched atop a 10-foot pole, it looks like
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Posted March 04, 2026in Des Moines Forgotten
For years I have lived on west side of Des Moines on Polk Boulevard. I have driven on Grand Avenue going one direction or another more times than could be calculated. But, since I lived in this neighborhood since 2009, I have never met a college student who attended Des
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Posted February 04, 2026in Des Moines Forgotten
Several times a year, I make the trek on Interstate 80 across the state of Iowa to the Quad Cities to visit family. My nieces and nephew are getting older. My sister and I have finally cultivated a relationship in our adult life. My dad is nearly 70, and, at
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Posted December 31, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
The past 12 months were wild ones, and this didn’t fully sink in until a reader approached me at the dungeon synth show I promoted at the Locals bar here in Des Moines. He was a former Des Moines Register reporter and shared with me that he attended Mini-X theater
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Posted December 03, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
I was in Ingersoll Wine & Spirits back in October to pick up a couple bottles of wine as a treat to myself for getting through a challenging commercial project. Full disclosure: I am not much of a drinker these days. My brother in-law loves to talk about whiskeys with
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Posted November 05, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
The first adult movie theater I ever encountered was when I was staying in Hollywood during my days on “The Bachelor,” the reality television series on ABC. I was living with a buddy who lived off Santa Monica Boulevard and Western Avenue, very close to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It
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Posted October 01, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
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 that may have contributed to the creation of “Beggars’ Night.” You have likely heard many of them before: razor blades
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Posted September 03, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
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 finally made it through during the DOGE era was a new Iowa Film Tax Incentive program. I never thought I
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Posted August 06, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
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 had this habit of NOT ordering desert and instead would have me order the largest milkshake that was available. Then,
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Posted July 02, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
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 20-year run in Des Moines. When I am having an emotionally charged discussion about this, I often put the blame
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