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Three new shows
Moberg Gallery opened an exhibit of the works of Gary Kelley, TJ Moberg, Derrick Breidenthal and Midwest Pressed. Kelley’s paintings usually hang around with historical figures of American history,...
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Supersizing the magic
“The Illusionists” might seem like a super-sized machine. Versions of the show are playing Broadway, London and elsewhere. Dan Sperry, one of seven magicians coming to Des Moines, tells me the...
View ArticleHy-Vee buys the former K’s Merchandise
Hy-Vee has bought the vacant 81,936 square-foot building in Urbandale that used to be K’s Merchandise. The grocery store chain bought the building at 3303 86th St. earlier this month and paid $3.6...
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Fast and furriest
Think of physical education class back in grade school when the teacher would have you sprint back and forth to see who was the fastest in the class. If you can remember that, get ready for flyball —...
View ArticleFour good men: Ward Reynoldson, Dick Jacobson, Joe Garagiola and Bob Hudson
Ward Reynoldson For the past 40 years or so, I have kept a small picture of Ward Reynoldson on my desk at home. It was taken at a picnic at his home outside Osceola when he was Chief Justice of the...
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Grassley says guns OK on Republican convention floor
U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, tells Political Mercury he’s leading efforts on a bill that would allow Sen. Charles Grassley delegates to carry firearms into the Republican National Convention in...
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Tulips and candles
Temperatures continue to drop this day in late March. It is now below freezing, and the drizzly rain has turned sharp with just an edge of ice. The grey sky is an old Dutch Masters’ painting — dark...
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Silence and song
Few community theaters would take the risk Tallgrass has in “Children of a Lesser God.” The 1986 movie made a star of Marlee Matlin, the first deaf actor to achieve such success, but Hollywood made a...
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Set the tone with the right wine
As I peer into my backyard, a shade of green catches my eye. Among the unraked leaves are small clusters of chives reaching for the sun. It is the beginning of Iowa’s bountiful growing season. It...
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Kue’d jumps to front the queue
From nowhere, Des Moines became a solid barbecue town in the last two decades. Beginning with Flying Mango’s opening in 1997, central Iowa and barbecue initiated a sudden love affair. Woody’s,...
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