Americans have always had a soft spot for flamboyant, devil-may-care criminals and the tales of their escapades and fast living. Add in a doomed love affair, and you’ve really got an enduring hit. The infamous Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were together just a few short years, meeting in January 1930 and dying in a […]
Central Iowa Community/News
Posted inCommunity/News
Crow Tow keeps getting contracts in Polk County, despite years of consumer complaints. Some officials are calling for an overhaul.
On Feb. 23, the Des Moines City Council voted 5-2 to extend its contract with the controversial towing outfit Crow Tow, which has had the city’s towing contract since 2019. This reignited the public debate on local and state towing laws, which are among the loosest in the nation. Crow Tow has been accused of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
In Des Moines, JD Vance calls Iran war a ‘little blip in the Middle East,’ Zach Nunn compares pain at the pump to sacrifice of Gold Star families
“My friends, this is not a normal election,” Vice President JD Vance said near the end of his speech at a campaign rally in Des Moines Tuesday. “This is not a normal political environment.” Vance then demonstrated a major reason why this is not a normal political environment. Republicans who follow the lead of Donald […]
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Judge orders hearing for ICE detainee in Polk County Jail after immigration officials fail to comply with two previous orders for a hearing
For the third time, a judge in Iowa has ordered the federal government to provide a bond hearing for a truck driver detained 10 weeks ago by the Iowa State Patrol and immigration officials. U.S. District Judge Stephen H. Locher ruled this week that the government must provide a hearing at which truck driver Suraj […]
Posted inCommunity/News
ICE accused of maliciously staging a ‘sham’ hearing for Iowa detainee denied bond
The attorney for an immigration detainee held in the Polk County Jail says federal officials maliciously staged a “sham” court hearing orchestrated to keep his client behind bars. The case involves Suraj Vasal, who four years ago came to the United States from India seeking asylum and was then released on his own recognizance. Court […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Another Iowa soldier killed in Operation Epic Fury identified
Major Jeffrey O’Brien of Waukee was one of the six service members killed in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, “during an unmanned aircraft system attack,” the U.S. Army Reserve Command said in a news release on Wednesday. Like the four soldiers killed in the attack identified by the Pentagon on Tuesday, O’Brien served in the 103rd Sustainment […]
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Drake University student Declan Coady among six service members killed in Kuwait on March 1
Sgt. Declan Coady of West Des Moines was killed on Sunday while serving in Operation Epic Fury, the Pentagon announced on Wednesday. The 20-year-old Army Reservist was one of six members of the Des Moines-based 103rd Sustainment Command killed on March 1, in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, “during an unmanned aircraft system attack,” according to the […]
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‘Remember what Iowa is really about’: Advocates stress solidarity, condemn anti-immigrant attacks from lawmakers at State Capitol rally
About 100 people were chanting “Immigrants are welcome here,” as a rally by the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice (Iowa MMJ) began in the rotunda of the Iowa State Capitol on Wednesday afternoon. The rally was the culmination of Iowa MMJ’s annual advocacy day at the Capitol. The Des Moines-based nonprofit advocates on behalf of […]
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Ames City Council votes to protect rights of trans residents — one day after legislators advance bill to ban such ordinances
This week, after Republicans on an Iowa House subcommittee advanced a bill to eliminate the power of local governments to offer broader civil rights protections than the state does, Ames became the latest city in the state to amend its municipal code to protect the rights of transgender and nonbinary residents. HSB 664 was drafted […]
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Your Village: Why is there a truck driving around with a big image of Rep. Miller-Meeks as the Grinch?
Last night I saw a truck with a light-up display of Mariannette Miller-Meeks as a green-faced Grinch. Who did that? –RB, Iowa City The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) did that. The DCCC — pronounced “D triple-C” by political types — announced in an email on Wednesday that it was “launching a new billboard campaign […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Lefty’s Live Music is closing after 10 years in Des Moines
After a decade as a pillar of the music scene in Des Moines, Lefty’s Live Music is closing. “As our tenth year draws to a close and after much consideration, we’ve made the challenging decision to say goodbye before the new year,” co-owners Anne Mathey and Erik Brown said in a social media post on […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Trial date set for Ian Roberts; Rob Sand announces audit of DMPS
On Wednesday, a federal magistrate judge set a trial date for Ian Roberts, the former Des Moines Public School Superintendent. Roberts is charged with illegally possessing firearms while being in the country without legal authorization, and for knowingly making a false statement on a federal form he submitted to the Des Moines School Board. Magistrate […]
