Posted August 02, 2023in Lunch With...
Elaine Rose Graham Estes was the longtime director for Des Moines Public Library. She is also the first woman of color to hold that title. A Civil Rights pioneer long before that was a thing, she is a survivor of the Jim Crow South. She is also a tireless world
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Posted July 05, 2023in Lunch With...
Joe Giunta is maestro of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra (DMSO). He has had opportunities to conduct top orchestras all over Europe, South America and the U.S., and he has remained loyal to Des Moines Symphony since 1989. We asked him to lunch recently, and he chose Fresko. “They serve
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Posted May 31, 2023in Lunch With...
Willie Farrell is Des Moines’ resident comedian. He has lived here his entire life, though his talent could have opened big doors out east and west. He is also the scion of Des Moines’ most famous Mafia connection. Lou Farrell was an Al Capone lieutenant. Willie is father to arguably
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Posted May 03, 2023in Lunch With...
Rick Tollakson is the most recent inductee of the Iowa Business Hall of Fame. He has been president and CEO of Hubbell Realty since 2004, a golden age for that venerable company. We asked him to lunch recently, and he chose Des Moines Golf and Country Club. Is that his
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Posted April 05, 2023in Lunch With...
Connie Wimer has racked up a lifetime of “firsts.” She was the first female owner of a title company in Iowa, the first owner of a computerized title company anywhere, the first female owner of an alternative newspaper and of a business paper in Iowa, and the first Iowan to
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Posted March 01, 2023in Lunch With...
Mike Wedeking is Mister Barbecue. After 20 years at Flying Mango, purveyor of the best vibes of any restaurant in Des Moines, he is trying to retire. We asked him to lunch, and he selected Wasabi Chi on Douglas. This is the BBQ guy’s escape — everyone in the restaurant
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Posted February 01, 2023in Lunch With...
Leo Landis is the curator for the State Historical Museum of Iowa after similar jobs at Oldfields-(Eli) Lilly House and Gardens in Indianapolis; Greenfield Villages (Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation) in Dearborn, Michigan; Iowa Living History Farms and the Salisbury House. He is also a serious scholar of food
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Posted January 04, 2023in Lunch With...
Mariela Maya is a Peruvian-born restaurateur who opened her dream bistro just before the pandemic and somehow managed to keep it alive by sheer determination, personal will and the help of good friends and family. She is now about to open a second restaurant, which, like her first, will bring
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Posted November 30, 2022in Lunch With...
Amy Vohs is an inventor of mostly baby products. She has sold more than 1.1 million at Walmart, Buy, Buy Baby and Amazon, plus in boutiques and on her website. We asked her to lunch recently, and she chose the Scooter’s in West Glen. Scooter’s is an Omaha-based coffee chain
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Posted November 02, 2022in Lunch With...
Elvin McDonald is the grand gentleman of Des Moines style and taste. As a longtime editor of Better Homes & Gardens, as director of the Des Moines Botanical Gardens, as a guiding light of the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, the gardens of Terrace Hill, and those of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church,
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