At the 2026 Iowa State Fair, the Grandstand is once again being treated to national- and world-renowned performers. Some of the biggest names in country, rock and hip hop are taking the stage in Des Moines to give fairgoers shows they won’t forgot. On Tuesday, Aug. 18, fairgoers will be getting treated particularly well, as [...]
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Each August, CITYVIEW asks its readers to find the ultimate food of a specific category. This year, we are seeking the supreme Italian dish of greater Des Moines. Since we have searched several times for the ultimate pizza, we are not including those amongst this year’s choices. Italian cuisine is a complex of contradictions and [...]
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When it’s time for small businesses in the Des Moines area to upgrade their technology, what should they do with their old electronics? The answer is not to throw them away. Electronics do not belong in landfills, and the sensitive data stored on the hardware should never end up in someone else’s hands. Knowing how [...]
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Each year, we publish several of the coaching contracts at our state’s publicly funded universities: Iowa State University, University of Iowa, and University of Northern Iowa. There is widespread reporting on some of the larger contracts like those of T.J. Otzelberger at Iowa State and Kirk Ferentz at Iowa, receive much press, but many of [...]
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In an inviting and richly reported new book populated with larger-than-life figures cut from the fabric of everyday life in early 1900s central Iowa, the city of Des Moines emerges as the most riveting character. David and Rose Donovan’s “The Nastiest Saloon in Iowa: Murder, Prostitution, and Corruption in the Heartland” reveals an early Des Moines that [...]
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Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” places audiences alongside Odysseus and his exhausted crew from its opening moments. You do not simply watch their voyage — you feel it. Every hard-earned victory comes with another loss. Every clever escape demands another sacrifice. When Odysseus begins questioning the cost of every decision he has made, the audience is [...]
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Des Moines is a brutal place for its icons. Claes Oldenburg’s brilliant “Crusoe Umbrella” should be our proudest civic monument. Instead, we have abused it with everything from satellite antennas to graffiti and disrepair. Closed, century-old schools sit without purpose. Anderson Erickson’s 2,700-pound cows, Annie and Eric, have been vandalized and kidnapped. At least they [...]
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Iowa State Fair time is here once again. Over the years, I have written about strange stories from Iowa’s celebrated event. In 2017, I became completely obsessed with the infamous neighborhood parking lots of the Iowa State Fair — the front lawns of the residents who live in the Fairgrounds Neighborhood on the east side. [...]
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“I don’t believe in gnomes,” my granddaughter says. I nod sagely — not being a believer in gnomes myself. “But I do believe in fairies,” she says seriously. And there we have it. Magic. From the mouth of a child. As an adult, that magic bucket gets pretty depleted. There are many guesses as to [...]
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Each year, a bounty of local theatres in the Greater Des Moines area produces dozens of shows. Celebrating these performances beginning in 2015, The Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Arts Awards has become a pinnacle event for recognition. These awards provide a rare time when not only representatives from these companies convene but for the [...]
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The Iowa Supreme Court typically opens its rulings on the state’s public-records and open-meetings laws by reciting that the cases start with a “presumption of openness.” But a new study of the court’s open-government decisions finds the presumption now wins only about half the time. That is a marked change from a decade ago, [...]
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When Hoobastank hit the music scene in the mid-1990s, one question followed them everywhere. “Interviewers ask, why such a stupid name?” co-founder Dan Estrin said. “We never said we love that name. We never walked around thinking we’re super cool and we came up with this brilliant name. There’s no reason for it. For better [...]
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This summer, 41 years after her murder, Ana Mendieta reached her career zenith headlining at London’s Tate Modern. That’s a top-five most-visited art museum in the world and number one for modern art. A retrospective of Mendieta’s career opened in mid-July with more than 120 works, tracing her breakout years in Iowa City through 1984. It’s the [...]
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For foodies who love discovering new dishes, the Iowa State Fair offers a giant menu of fried delights, foods-on-a-stick and cool confections to try, all within steps in one central locale. This year, the Iowa State Fair vendors will debut 84 new foods. With more than 200 food stands, options vary, and fair food goes [...]
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Scott Turczynski bought the former Landus Cooperative property in downtown Bondurant that he is redeveloping into The Grain District. That project includes 25 acres, multiple silos and a vision to become something similar to The District in Ankeny. Recently, he purchased The Foundry in Valley Junction from Templeton Rye founder Scott Bush. That property is [...]
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Parker Posey, a beagle mix, lets her owner, Sascha Crasnow, know when she’s hungry. But not by traditional means of barking or knocking a food bowl around. Instead, Parker “speaks” by pressing word buttons on a special floor mat. For breakfast, Parker orders food by pressing the “food” and “play” button. Crasnow then asks Parker [...]
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This Cars in the City column typically spotlights the latest luxury SUVs and sporty sedans and highlights their many features. This month, I’m behind the wheel of something different. This vehicle doesn’t offer zero-60 mph acceleration in 5 seconds, cooling seats or adaptive cruise control. But, it costs significantly less and can be found only [...]
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