Murder and Fire: A Dark Night

My dad walked into the house on the evening of January 10, 1983. The week before, I turned seven years old. I don’t recall what I did on my birthday, only that I had cake and ice cream while watching the Rose Bowl. It was a yearly tradition for me. Dad came through the garage…

Who’s Running This City Anyway??

While the attention has been centered around Washington, two Iowa cities are embroiled in local government infighting between mayors and city councils.

“The Longest Week” at 35: The First Major Story I Remembered As A Kid

What was the first major news story I was aware of as a kid? It happened thirty-five years ago today.

It’s Never Boring When You Have Topics to Write About

Today is the fifth anniversary of “Des Moines Is Not Boring”, a blog dedicated to touting and showing everyone that Des Moines is not boring…ever. The brainchild of Pete Jones has expanded over the years, with featured writers and topics, but the premise remains the same, which is there is plenty of events, activities, and…

Just a Senseless Beating Death?

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names (slurs) will never hurt me…” That may be true, but it shouldn’t be a precursor to murder.  The discussion over the beating death of Marcellus Andrews of Waterloo has brought up a litany of angles and different perspectives over whether or not Andrews was gay (his sister…