She places her phone on the tripod, presses record and steps back. Standing between the camera and a large mirror, she enjoys watching the doubling effect it creates. She starts to spin, her arms lifted, improvising the movement as she goes. For Miranda July, what matters is discovering what she doesn’t know. She moves back […]
Arts & Entertainment
Posted inBook Reviews
Fully Booked at DMPL: Reads for the kid in all of us
If you’re like me, you know that growing up means stretching regularly to avoid cramps and sleeping well to have energy for the whole day. What it doesn’t necessarily mean is stopping ourselves from reading books geared toward children and young adults. In fact, new juvenile fiction is published every year that catches my interest. […]
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John Cameron Mitchell reflects on 25 years of ‘Hedwig’ — ‘a story of trauma, abuse and the government deciding what you are’
For John Cameron Mitchell, the writer, director and star of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, punk rock has to be in the moment. Currently on tour for the film’s 25th anniversary, Mitchell will stop in Iowa City on Sept. 23 and 24 for a musical performance as part of Hancher’s Infinite Dream Festival, as well […]
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‘Futurama’ producer Tiffany Brower does ‘air traffic control’ for the series from her home in Iowa
Tiffany Brower is a survivor. And that made her damn near destined for Futurama, a show that has come back from cancellation two times over. Brower both worked on the sci-fi animated show on it’s Comedy Central run and in it’s current incarnation with Hulu, where she serves as associate producer.
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David Huckfelt talks protest music, Minnesota pride and the joys of tricking Dave Moore ahead of his James Theater debut
Everything is crumbling, but David Huckfelt, a Midwestern folk musician and activist, is putting out a new album, just eight months after the last one — a scoop he shared with Little Village.
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‘Real experiences are hard to find’: Lost Woods Music Festival adds a cozy campground, EDM stage, Balkan Night and more for its fourth fest
We catch up with the three members of Salt Fox — the masterminds behind Lost Woods, a visionary music festival returning to the Cedar Falls forest this September — during a typically busy day. Andy Fuchtman (guitarist) is en route to the mechanic. Michael Rogers (vocals) and Jacob Pauli (synths and beats) are hanging out […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Cedar County Cobras — ‘Sinners & Saints’
Sinners & Saints by Cedar County Cobras There’s a moment in Cedar County Cobras’ “Bessie Smith’s Last Ride” when nearly a century of American history collapses into a few verses. The song takes as its starting point Smith’s death following a car accident on Highway 61 near Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1937, a tragedy long surrounded […]
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Union Park is throwing 20 free concerts in one afternoon as PorchFest DSM returns Sunday
PorchFest DSM turns five this year, and has become a regional magnet for music lovers. The dynamic duo producing this capital city happening is Dave and Anne Ducharme-Jones, a husband-wife team originally from Austin, Texas. Their passion for music is an inclusive one. Knowing that a rising tide raises all ships, they envisioned PorchFest DSM […]
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Worth a Rewatch: Soderbergh debut ‘Sex, Lies, and Videotape’ is the kind of slow-burn indie film that’s getting harder to make
Nearly 40 years after its release, Sex, Lies, and Videotape will play at Varsity Cinema in Des Moines as part of the theater’s “Declarations of Independence series: Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary with early films from independent filmmakers.” The film follows a sexless married couple, Ann (Andie MacDowell) and John (Peter Gallagher) — or at least, […]
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Review: ‘There Is No Place For Us’ by Brian Goldstone — guest speaker at Drake — lays bare the structural violence behind homelessness
For many, the cost of housing is rising faster than income, as are the costs of other necessities. It’s no surprise then that homelessness is rising both in Iowa and nationally. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author Brian Goldstone will speak on these issues at a free event hosted by Drake University’s Harkin Center on Tuesday, which […]
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‘I am in all of the paintings I do’: World-renowned portrait artist Rose Frantzen has an eye for capturing Iowans
Maquoketa artist Rose Frantzen was recently awarded one of the highest honors in portrait painting. Out of 2,200 submissions, Frantzen’s piece Last Light won the Grand Prize in the Portrait Society of America’s 2026 International Portrait Competition. When Frantzen accepted the award on April 11 in Atlanta, she described Last Light as “a love letter […]
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The One of Us horror book fair returns Saturday with a Pulitzer-winning guest
Like an indie horror film that unexpectedly smashes box office records, the One of Us horror book fest was destined for a sequel. Ran by Ames-based Filthy Loot Press and its founder Ira Rat, last year’s inaugural event celebrated horror fiction and independent writers at Public Space One’s Close House. With the groundwork laid from […]
