Posted September 30, 2026in Des Moines Forgotten
I loved going to the video rental store as a kid. In the Quad Cities, there was Hogan’s Video in Moline along with The Movie Store and Jeff’s Corner in Milan. The first two shut down when chains such as Blockbuster Video moved in. Jeff’s got in trouble for dubbing
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Posted September 02, 2026in Des Moines Forgotten
September is here. School is back in session. The Iowa State Fair is over, which is Iowa’s official way of announcing that summer has packed its bags. It is also my birthday month. On Sept. 11, I will turn 41. I have lived in Des Moines since 2007. I moved
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Posted August 05, 2026in Des Moines Forgotten
Iowa State Fair time is here once again. Over the years, I have written about strange stories from Iowa’s celebrated event. In 2017, I became completely obsessed with the infamous neighborhood parking lots of the Iowa State Fair — the front lawns of the residents who live in the Fairgrounds
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Posted July 01, 2026in Des Moines Forgotten
In the late 1990s, I discovered the late-night talk show “Coast to Coast,” hosted by Art Bell. It was more personal than watching television because it felt like it was just me and the host. He was filling me in on what was going on around the country in the
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Posted June 03, 2026in Des Moines Forgotten
Exactly two years ago, I was eagerly waiting for the premiere of “The Last American Gay Bar” at the Varsity Cinema here in Des Moines. My closest friends joined me in making this series that told the history of the gay community of this city, along with the untold story
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Posted May 06, 2026in Des Moines Forgotten
Radio is still one of the most personal media formats. In a car, it becomes a companion — something you turn on without thinking, something that fills the space of a commute. After a few consistent listening sessions, hosts start to feel familiar, even personal, as if they are speaking
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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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