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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Posted June 04, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
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. One name that came up constantly was Mike Pace. I even saw his name on a building that read “Mike
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Posted April 30, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
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 is enough wax to clog the arteries of a medium-sized city. Instead, I decided to spin some records Saturday morning
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Posted April 02, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
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 pocket full of quarters on The Simpsons and Mortal Kombat was common. If you had even cooler parents, you had
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Posted March 05, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
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, he was semi-retired from acting professionally. In the late 1990s, he was the “Built Ford Tough” voice. He was the
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Posted February 05, 2025in Des Moines Forgotten
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, and the current music scene had it going on. As far as historical landmarks, I was able to visit both
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