His voice isn’t Deep South enough to conjure images of strumming banjos, but author Man Martin’s soothing Georgia twang and natural humor immediately makes the listener feel like an old school chum....

Ryan Megan moved from Iowa City — where he was born, raised, attended Kirkwood, and eventually dropped out — to Dutchess County, N.Y., seven years ago to pursue a job in television. Megan will visit...

A year ago, water consumed many parts of Iowa. Citizens of the Iowa City/Coralville area as well as the UI community adjusted their lives around water blocking their streets, sidewalks, and inside their...

There’s a concept behind Irreplaceable that is both shocking and heartwarming — in an extremely off-kilter, morbid way. Stephen Lovely’s début novel, which he will read from today at 7 p.m. at...

It will rot your brain The digital generation has found its own way to get its kicks: Internet gaming. For many, playing little arcade games on FreeArcade.com or AddictingGames.com was as much a part...

A devout Hindu man from India, Srinivas “Cheeni” Rao was raised to worship Shiva and excel in academics. Somewhere in his path, however, Rao decided to take a different route and, still embracing...

Creepy Crawlers was the Easy Bake Oven for boys. Well, aside from the end product which was not supposed to be eaten — which some of us found out about too late. It really looked like gummy candy. For...

Hippies dancing, beer drinking, music playing — 80/35 is a magical place. This past weekend, Des Moines added to the summer fun with its second 80/35 Music Festival, with headlining acts such as blues...

Film Review: Public Enemies Michael Mann directs crime dramas. From the masterpiece Heat to the lackluster Miami Vice and the underrated Collateral, the genre has defined his career — and his career...

Hasidic Jewish reggae mixed with beat boxing, hip-hop, and rock ’n’ roll. It may seem strange, but artist Matisyahu makes it work. “I like to make music,” Matisyahu said. “I don’t think about...

Gregory Hines may have made it cool to tap dance, but Tilly and the Wall proves it can gain worldwide success with a few indie tunes and a whole lot of hoofing. Tilly and the Wall will play 80/35 Friday...

The Dig Angees: Surfing up some pop rock The Dig Angees of Des Moines will bring gig-bags full of rock ’n’ roll to this year’s 80/35 festival on Friday at 5:15 p.m. on the Meredith West Stage. The...