For some, the scariest part of October isn’t Halloween, but the last day of the farmers market. Des Moines area residents, however, need only pay a visit to www.iowafood.coop to buy fresh, local produce all year long. “We’re focused on small, local, independent producers,” Karen Davis, general manager of the Iowa Food Cooperative, told Little […]
Central Iowa
Posted inCommunity/News
Sen. Nate Boulton concedes race to GOP challenger Mike Pike after recount
Iowa Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, conceded his race for reelection Friday after the recount for Iowa Senate District 20 concluded and found Republican Mike Pike maintained his lead. Boulton served in the Iowa Senate since 2017 and held the position of Iowa Senate Democratic whip in the most recent General Assembly. In his concession […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
An online collection of ‘outsider art’ enters the real world for the first time in Des Moines
What does it look like when a social media feed jumps onto the walls of an art gallery? Visitors to the Fitch Building in Des Moines from Nov. 8-30 will find out during “Faces in the Crowd,” showcasing the work of 14 artists you’ve probably never heard of (but probably should). The exhibition was curated […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
New study documents costs, stress and confusion unhoused families face in Des Moines area
A study from Drake University, in partnership with homelessness planning organization Homeward, found that the amount of family shelters and affordable housing need to be expanded in order to meet the need from families experiencing homelessness, and the community needs to come together and try to lower barriers for those putting everything they can into […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Street-level aid groups do battle with bulldozers and broken systems as Des Moines’ anti-homeless ordinances encroach
On Sept. 16, the Des Moines City Council passed a pair of ordinances designed to prevent unsheltered citizens from sleeping or living on public property. The first ordinance will make sleeping in public places like sidewalks, streets, doorways, pedestrian and vehicular entrances punishable by a $15 fine, and bans camping under bridges, in parks, and […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Des Moines’ Sensi’il Studios makes its cinematic debut Nov. 15 with a new kind of comic book movie
Sensi’il Studios, the brainchild of Des Moines artist Basi Affia, is the only Black comic book publisher in the states of Iowa and Nebraska. Pyramid Theatre Company, meanwhile, is Iowa’s first Black theater company. Before he founded Sensi’il Studios in 2022, Affia was a critically acclaimed performer in two of Pyramid’s stellar early productions, A […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Polk County ballots with amendment spelling error remain valid, Secretary of State’s office says
The Iowa Secretary of State’s office has determined that a spelling error on some Polk County ballots on a proposed constitutional amendment will not invalidate these ballots. When early voting began Oct. 16, some ballots in Polk County were found to have contained a typo in its language on the gubernatorial line of succession amendment. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
80/35’s future ‘is not currently determined’ as the Des Moines Music Coalition shuts down
Three months after the last performers left the stage at this year’s 80/35, the organization behind the music festival has announced it is shutting down. “After nearly twenty years of volunteers and staff working passionately to grow central Iowa’s music scene, the non-profit Greater Des Moines Music Coalition (DMMC) has made the heartfelt decision to […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Polk County ballots contain spelling error on constitutional amendment
The Iowa Secretary of State’s office is determining whether a spelling error in the wording of a proposed constitutional amendment on Polk County ballots would create any problems in counting those votes. As early voting began Wednesday, some ballots in Polk County contained a typo in its section on the constitutional amendment related to the […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
How to vote early in Polk County and Story County
Early voting in the Nov. 5 election began on Wednesday morning, as county auditors across Iowa began mailing out absentee ballots requested by voters, and in-person voting started in the auditors’ offices. Voters who want a mail-in absentee ballot have a few more days to send a completed ballot request form to their auditor’s office. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Slaughterhouse in Des Moines sates its fiendish fanbase with year-round haunts, escapes, ‘spookeasies’ and Slipknot-inspired scares
Driven by a voracious appetite for fright, Central Iowa fans of haunted house experiences continue to seek the best venues for adrenaline rushes. One dark destination stands apart from the others, a haunt with a novel-length backstory and themed experiences all year: The Slaughterhouse. A growing fanbase awaits the latest offering from the immersive fright […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Jazz, drag and ballet combine for Noce’s Voix de Ville, a nightclub cabaret that’s never the same twice
There is a guiding axiom in show business that provides some clarity when things go wrong. That axiom (which we should note is sometimes superseded by, say, a pandemic) is, “The show must go on,” of course.
