Posted February 03, 2021in Lunch With...
I met Jim Cownie about 65 years ago on a sandlot baseball field. He was the kid all other kids wanted to be — the best at every sport. I was the youngest kid playing at the time, and Cownie would pick me on his team sooner than my talents
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Posted January 06, 2021in Lunch With...
Fabiola Shirrmeister is a Sonoran-born-and-raised media producer/host who came to Des Moines six years ago after working for Spanish language media mega nova Telemundo in Puerto Rico and for Azteca America in Tucson. After working for Latino Iowa radio, she is embarking on a new career self-producing video content for
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Posted December 02, 2020in Lunch With...
Ron Sorenson has been the leading programmer of progressive music in Des Moines since 1970. We asked him to lunch, and he proposed eating in his office. Mike Wedeking of Flying Mango (and a radio host on KFMG) dropped off some of his heavenly brisket, and George Formaro (also a
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Posted November 04, 2020in Lunch With...
Sarah Grant has been the greatest influence on Des Moines’ art scene gaining national significance in the last three decades. A significant artist in her own right, her biggest contribution to the local art scene has been entrepreneurial. The business she founded, Sticks, has provided well-paying day jobs for some
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Posted September 30, 2020in Lunch With...
Steven Vail is an international art dealer whose Steven Vail Fine Arts gallery is in Des Moines. I asked him to lunch, and he chose Lucca, Steve Logsdon’s mostly Italian café in East Village. On our visit, the carryout business was considerably more active than the indoor dining. Over a
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Posted September 02, 2020in Lunch With...
Jessica Dunker is head of the Iowa Restaurant Association, an organization that represents 600 members and 6,300 eating establishments. I asked her to lunch, and she chose Table 128, a casual fine-dining café in Clive. The restaurant had done more than any other I had seen to promote safe dining
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Posted August 05, 2020in Lunch With...
Jeff Bruning is a partner in Full Court Press, a gang of friends and entrepreneurs who open restaurants from conception to sizzle and serve. We asked him to lunch recently, and he chose Lucky Horse Beer & Burgers, the 15th restaurant in the group’s repertoire, not counting a couple they
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Posted July 01, 2020in Lunch With...
After nearly 30 years in the employee benefits business, Steve Flood retired from Holmes Murphy at age 57. Reflecting on his career, he said, “I have embraced our company’s two major goals. The first was to help our business partners attract, retain and retire the most productive workforce in the
Read More →Iowa musician was on the road 235 nights last year. Chad Elliott is an old-fashioned troubadour. He lives in Lamoni but spends two thirds of his nights each year on the road. His songs are often personal stories, and he sings them with an enthusiasm that builds audiences. He reminds
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Posted March 04, 2020in Lunch With...
Alice Meyer is the owner of Beaverdale Books, the only remaining independent new book dealer in the metro. We asked her to lunch recently, and she chose Grounds for Celebration in Beaverdale. I couldn’t help smiling at the choice. In the 1998 movie “You’ve Got Mail,” Meg Ryan plays a
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