For musician, activist, fashion enthusiast and Des Moines community leader Billy “B. Well” Weathers, the word “elegance” goes beyond describing expensive gowns or opulent parties. “I think figuring out that I don’t need to do anything to impress anybody else outside of myself [is elegance],” he said, “and the more that I can connect with […]
Des Moines
Posted inCentral Iowa
A beekeeper is born: Kara Kelso harvests honey and explains why Des Moines has ‘some of the healthiest bees around’
“Look at this pollen pocket! Look at this girl!” Kara Kelso, co-owner of The Slow Down Coffee Co., excitedly directs my attention to one of her 210,000 bees who is crawling across the frame with big (relative to her size, of course) yellow pockets bursting with pollen. We are in Kelso’s backyard in the Highland […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Five questions with Sharon Isbin, the ‘high priestess of the guitar,’ ahead of her Des Moines concerts
Sharon Isbin has been called “the pre-eminent guitarist of our time,” “finer even then Segovia,” and “the high priestess of the guitar” by news outlets across the world. The Minnesota native has received four Grammy nominations and two wins and has released 30 albums in her impressive classical guitar career. Working with composers and artists […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Meet Alicia Vasto, the Iowa Environmental Council’s new water czar
Growing up in the small town of Adel kept a young Alicia Vasto in the outdoors, exploring nature along rivers and streams. She developed a deep love for what naturally existed around her. Understanding the grim realities of climate change, Vasto realized she could only make a big impact using a top-down approach. “To see […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Test your beer puppeteering skills at Des Moines Oktoberfest this weekend
Des Moines Oktoberfest will return this weekend with new events, an impressive list of beers and the promise of a great time. Always held the last full weekend of September, Des Moines Oktoberfest is a beer-centered block party that takes place south of Court Avenue on 4th Street. In 2017, organizers added the Party Plaza […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
‘There was no doubt that she loved Des Moines’: Local businesses help raise money for Autumn Rupkey Memorial Build
There are some people who walk the earth and make an immediate and lasting impact on everyone they meet. Whether through their service, their art, their kindness or all of these things combined, they create positive change even if their time is short. Autumn Rupkey was one of these people. “I think that Autumn really […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Sundara Tattoo owner Rayna Ross is a master of Mehndi — both henna and permanent ink
You may not find your path on your own time, if at all. Some give up, others find it later in life. Then you have those who’ve been on their own path since age 15, like Rayna Ross. Indian tattoo artist Ross has shaken the Central Iowa tattoo scene by utilizing her skill and background […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Andrea Brook “turns the Civic Center into an instrument” this weekend
Installation artist and musician Andrea Brook has never been to Iowa before. But as she stands on top of the Civic Center with a 360-view of night-time Des Moines to install her traveling show, Sonic Butterfly, she says that she likes it a lot. Sonic Butterfly is a 200-foot long harp made up of brass […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Central Iowa libraries partner with DART to bring back free bus rides for cardholders
If you don’t already have a library card, Central Iowa library locations are partnering up with DART to give you another reason to get one. The Read and Ride program returns this week, offering free DART services to people who show their library cards while boarding a DART bus. The free rides are available for […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
After a three-year hiatus, the historic Beaverdale Fall Festival returns this month
It’s been almost three years since Des Moines’ Beaverdale neighborhood hosted their annual fall festival. That changes Sept. 16 and 17, when the festivities return to downtown Beaverdale, with some new and altered features. Patrons can hear live music from local acts such as The Maytags for some soul, Standing Hampton for ’70s and ’80s […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa photographer Samm Yu makes the finals in $20,000 national contest
Samm Yu got her first camera on her 16th birthday, her dad’s old Canon model. Three years later, Yu has turned a passion for photography into full-fledged portrait photography business. “I took photos of my friends, and then it started to become like a service I could provide for others, especially for my community,” Yu […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
‘It’s just the most Iowan thing’: A day at the Iowa State Fair with fair mega-fans, the Stumps
Since his freshman year of high school in 1969, Gary Stump has not missed an Iowa State Fair. “I had a girlfriend whose father worked at the fair and he got free tickets for everything,” Stump recalls. “And then when I was in college, a friend of mine worked there and he was able to […]
