Walking through the yellow-tinted double doors of Maggie’s Rumble Room, you’re likely to see a multi-generational Des Moines clientele purchasing drinks and crowding around pool tables. At the far end of the room hangs a sheet with a shag carpet beneath. Atop the carpet sits a chair, a speaker and a microphone. Before long I […]
Third Space
Linzi Murray and her West Des Moines bookstore/cafe are hitting their stride
Linzi Murray, owner of Reading in Public Bookstore and Cafe, lifted her pants leg, pointing to a tattoo on her left ankle. Although her dad, Keith, died of lung cancer 10 years ago, “he still jokes with me,” she said with a chuckle. They had a special bond, despite his drinking, her trauma as an […]
After flipping vinyl to pay for film school, Isaac Smith now operates a store of his own: Zig Zog’s Records in North Liberty
The vinyl collector bug bit Isaac Smith hard after he asked his parents for a turntable on his 13th birthday. After acquiring a few thousand records since that pivotal moment in 2015, the Bettendorf native recently opened a record store of his own in North Liberty. Zig Zog’s Records is the realization of a pipe […]
Four places to pass the time near the Coe College campus
A born-and-raised Cedar Rapidan, I spent the majority of my childhood in the Wellington Heights Neighborhood on the southeast side of town. Wellington Heights sits on 1st Avenue, opposite from the historic Mound View neighborhood, where you’ll find Coe College. As a result, I’ve had a lifelong front-row seat to the dilemma faced by young folks […]




