I first heard about Host from a Tweet, which is not that shocking in the grand scheme of things. But, I was shocked when I saw it because I hadn’t even heard Flour, the previous concept at the location of Host, had closed. I had heard that Carly Groben had sold Proof, her other restaurant, [...]

There are some activities that just scream summertime in Des Moines.  A morning at the Downtown Farmer’s Market.  An afternoon bike ride to El Bait Shop’s patio.  An evening stroll through the Pappajohn Sculpture Garden.  (Sounds like a great day, right?) But for me the summer doesn’t truly begin until I see the first live [...]

When I was about 9, I remember watching a show on TV about living in “disaster zones.” The first city featured was San Francisco. I remember saying “those people are crazy to live there, right on an earthquake fault line.” And then it was the tornado region of the Midwest. Same thing, “what are those [...]

The launch of another Des Moines startup is set to take place next week.  The FreebeeCards crew has definitely been out drawing up attention and creating some noise for their new adventure.  The business will focus on their own way of connecting cosumers with local merchants (stores, restaurants, etc.). Now we get to find out [...]

A few years ago, when I was working at little harder at promotion than I do right now, a friend was telling me about a woman he heard at Des Moines Social Club’s Open Circus.  He told me that she sat in the back for a while, a little shy even,  and then walked on [...]