Peace Tree Brewing Co., one of the pillars of the Iowa craft beer scene, is up for sale. “Peace Tree is not closing its doors,” owner Megan McKay said in a news release on Thursday. “Normal operations will continue uninterrupted, and plans for 2024 are already in motion with some exciting new beers we think […]
Central Iowa
Posted inCentral Iowa
Special election will decide Sheumaker’s replacement, Des Moines City Council votes — and the first candidate has already declared
The Des Moines City Council voted unanimously on Monday to fill its vacant Ward 1 post by means of a special election. The seat has been officially empty since Aug. 31, when Councilmember Indira Sheumaker resigned after six months of unexplained absences from board meetings. There was no discussion before the vote during the council’s […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A new, free Des Moines music festival unites six genres: Afrobeats, blues, classical, hip hop, jazz and Latino
Central Iowa’s freshest music festival is already bigger than its creators first imagined. Billy Weathers, better known as the hip-hop artist B. Well, and Ashley Eidbo, a double bass player in the Des Moines Symphony (DMS), first connected backstage during DMS’s Yankee Doodle Pops concert last summer. (Weathers was invited to the event to sing […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Indira Sheumaker steps down from Des Moines City Council with more than two years left on term
Indira Sheumaker has resigned from the Des Moines City Council. According to a statement from Mayor Frank Cownie, Sheumaker’s father Randy hand delivered a resignation letter from the councilmember on Monday. The handwritten letter, dated Aug. 31 and signed by Sheumaker, was one sentence in length. “I resign from my position as councilperson Ward 1 […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Des Moines’ Fleur Cinema opens on Friday after three-year closure
One of Iowa’s favorite indie movie theaters is finally back in bloom. After three years without regular showings, Des Moines’ Fleur Cinema & Cafe (4545 Fleur Dr) announced its imminent return in late July. On Tuesday, they confirmed they’d be back on Friday, Sept. 8, with showings of new features — including My Big Fat […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
LV Recommends: With delectable mozzarella, Gossip Tea Coffee is helping turn Ankeny into Iowa’s K-dog capital
After enjoying K-dogs at Naughtea earlier this year, I did not anticipate going back to Ankeny, the mother of all Des Moines suburbs, to peruse a whole new menu of Korean corn dogs and tasty drinks so soon. But there I was on a warm July afternoon — back in Ankeny to try the second […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
With no word from Indira Sheumaker, Des Moines City Council is officially without a Ward 1 representative
In an Aug. 21 letter to Des Moines City Councilmember Indira Sheumaker, Mayor Frank Cownie asked Sheumaker to explain her “intentions regarding [her] office and the duties of the office at the earliest practicable moment, but in any event, no later than August 28, 2023.” Sheumaker, who represents Ward 1, has not attended any council […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Des Moines mayor gives councilmember, absent since March, a deadline to return or risk removal
Des Moines City Councilmember Indira Sheumaker has not attended any city council meeting or communicated with any city official since March 6. Sheumaker, who represents Ward 1, has also not been in touch with constituents during that time, according to two community groups in the ward. On Monday, Mayor Frank Cownie sent a certified letter […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Eat food from 25 countries at the Des Moines World Food & Music Festival this month
Des Moines World Food & Music Festival is coming early this year, as the 2023 celebration moves from its usual September spot to an August appointment. The festival kicks off Friday, Aug. 25 at 11 a.m. with a naturalization ceremony — during which 100 individuals will gain U.S. citizenship — and from there offers more […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Des Moines to host National Senior Games in 2025
The National Senior Games will make its way to Des Moines in 2025 to showcase the benefits of physicality, competitiveness and active aging for adults over 50 years old. Both Catch Des Moines and the National Senior Games Association (NSGA) are combining efforts to tackle this goal. “I think it’s outstanding,” Catch Des Moines President […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
‘There’s a difference between a safe space and a brave space’: Q&A with Waukee GSA leader Naomi Pittman
Rarely are a student’s biggest bullies the governor and legislature of their state. But that’s the case for many queer K-12 students in Iowa, who are now subject to several laws passed by Iowa’s legislature and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Plenty of adults and talking heads will gladly share their opinions, but it’s young […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
The National Balloon Classic launches in Indianola this weekend, continuing a five-decade tradition
In popular imagination — or at least in ads trying to exploit people’s imagination — hot air ballooning usually happens above the dramatic landscape of the American southwest or romantic vineyards, never over more prosaic locations like Kalamazoo, Michigan or Indianola, Iowa. But Kalamazoo hosted the first National Hot Air Balloon Championship 60 years ago, […]
