Posted February 20, 2013in Featured Story, Political Mercury
The brilliant actress Maggie Smith of “Downton Abbey” quoted the playwright Noel Coward on “60 Minutes” Sunday night in talking about her advancing age. She’s 78. “It seems like you eat breakfast every 30 minutes,” Smith said, referring to how days go racing by as one matures. Fair enough. For
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Posted February 13, 2013in Civic Skinny, Featured Story
More on the fallout from Tom Harkin’s decision not to run again in 2014. It’s becoming more and more clear there will be primaries in both parties as state politicians eye the First District Congressional seat that Bruce Braley will vacate as he seeks Harkin’s seat. And it’s becoming more
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Posted February 13, 2013in Featured Story, Political Mercury
Let’s get straight to the point. The Harkin Institute of Public Policy shouldn’t be located anywhere that’s accessible by taking a taxi from an airport. Visitors and researchers should have to traverse — by car or small plane — the farms U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin has so ably represented for
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Posted February 13, 2013in Featured Story, Food Dude
Readers frequently ask questions that begin, “Who makes your favorite…?” Answers, being a matter of taste, can start arguments. That’s why I appreciate tips from folks who believe they’ve discovered a new favorite of anything. Recently I received a tout for Hong Kong’s Chinese buffet. Most Chinese buffets here seem
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Posted February 08, 2013in Featured Story, Iowa Watchdog
Iowa Workforce Development officials broke Iowa law when they blocked state auditors from investigating a case in which an employee with a criminal background embezzled more than $43,500, according to a newly released report from the Iowa State Auditor. The agency contacted the state auditor’s office seven months after starting
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Posted February 06, 2013in Featured Story, Political Mercury
“No one’s a Boy Scout, not even a Boy Scout.” “I hate children. There, I said it.” — “House of Cards” Francis Underwood The just-released, made-for-Netflix political drama “House of Cards” — 13, 50-minute episodes rolled out in a delicious package — is so damn good it makes you
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Posted February 06, 2013in Featured Story, Food Dude
The 20th-century Italian restaurant culture in Des Moines was sustained by a mythic cult of personalities. Many cafes went by first names only — Babe’s, Vic’s, Rocky’s, Noah’s, Chuck’s, Gino’s, Gianni’s, Johnny’s. Everybody knew those owners because they all greeted their customers every night. Restaurateurs Linda Bisignano (Chuck’s) and Jerry
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Posted February 06, 2013in Civic Skinny, Featured Story
When the rich and the powerful get pissed off (continued): When last we left the great vinyl-window-vs.-wood-window dispute, James and Roxanne Conlin had hired Doug Gross — yeah, that’s pretty interesting in itself — to sue the City of Des Moines over the weighty issue of whether the Conlins can
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Posted February 01, 2013in Featured Story, Iowa Watchdog
DES MOINES – Iowans have little way to monitor public officials’ compliance with transparency laws. Even if they do find possible violations, the state affords them few avenues to hold leaders accountable. Take for example the Des Moines School Board. It held a closed session in May citing the provision
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Posted January 30, 2013in Featured Story, Food Dude
Bacon Week is Des Moines’ Lupercalia, or more literally, our Fastnacht — a series of pig-outs preceding the fasts of Lent. Iowa celebrants are more apt to wear hog costumes than goatskins, but the soft underbelly of this state’s most plentiful mammal provides inspiration for a week of excess and
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