Thank you for ‘Turning Me On’
I love radio. Faithful readers may recall my column earlier this year on the history of Ron Sorensen and KFMG. This month I’m opening the history book of Iowa broadcasting [...]
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Posted September 30, 2020in Des Moines Forgotten
Posted September 02, 2020in Des Moines Forgotten
Billy Joe’s Pitcher Show
I moved to Des Moines in the early summer of 2007. My first dwelling was on the southside where Gray’s Lake Apartments are now, located behind what used to be [...]
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Posted August 05, 2020in Des Moines Forgotten
Remembering the Iowa Jam
Many of you YouTube junkies have likely stumbled across a shot of the 1980s video documentary “Heavy Metal Parking Lot,” where a bunch of teens are tailgating outside of a [...]
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Posted July 01, 2020in Des Moines Forgotten
The Ruan Greater Des Moines Grand Prix
July is “America’s Party Month” to me, and a few weeks back we accepted the decision that the Iowa State Fair was going to be postponed due to that thing [...]
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Posted April 01, 2020in Des Moines Forgotten
The Butler House
These are strange days for us all, but we will push ahead. Like Mathew McConaughey said in a YouTube video, “Right now we are at a red light, but there [...]
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Posted March 04, 2020in Des Moines Forgotten
The Daily Planet
On the morning of Wednesday, June 29, 1977, residents of Des Moines woke up and began to carry out their regular morning habits: They got out of bed, opened their [...]
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Posted February 05, 2020in Des Moines Forgotten
The early days of KFMG
The numbers on the dial changed, but Ron Sorenson’s commitment to the station and the Des Moines community remained consistent through the years. Ron Sorenson had no interest in a [...]
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Posted January 01, 2020in Des Moines Forgotten
2000 Forest Avenue
So’s Your Mother and The Laughing Iguana Most of my faithful readers are aware of my weekly music program on 98.9 FM KFMG called “Iowa Basement Tapes” — a show [...]
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Posted December 04, 2019in Des Moines Forgotten
Holiday window displays were works of art
P.T. Barnum would have been impressed by the showmanship. The holidays have arrived whether I want them to or not. We have worked all year for this moment when we [...]
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Posted November 06, 2019in Des Moines Forgotten
Remember Kwong Tung?
It was my soul food. I am a Chinese food junky, especially old-fashion sit-down places. When I was growing up in the Quad Cities, my dad would take me to [...]
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