New venue in Waukee woooot wooooot! We saw Phil Rosenthal here and here was our experience:…read more PARKING: We paid $15 for premier parking and that got us access to the main lot - a few steps from the entrance. My mom said the regular parking lot is a few blocks away, so might be worth paying extra for a good spot! ENTRANCE: For our show, it was easy! We arrived an hour prior to the start and got in within 5 minutes. Staff was quick in checking our tickets and getting us in. SPACE: This space is stunning and clearly brand new! Cool local mural on the wall, fun designs and decor, great bar lighting and ambiance. DRINKS: Priceyyyy haha pregame elsewhere! A simple cocktail was $20+. But the amount of bars is a LOT - like 5+? - so you'll not have to wait in line long. FOOD: They had a corn dog or popcorn available at our show - not much for concessions. Again, I'd pregame elsewhere! BATHROOMS: Great facilities! Very clean, tons of stalls and sinks. And a cool vibe in there - hats off to the designer. MAIN FLOOR: On the main floor, it's usually GA/standing room only for concerts I'm sure. But for ours - a more interview style show, we had fold out chairs. The stage was high enough we never had any issue seeing! UPPER SEATING: The seats up here are super comfy looking - maybe quite a bit further back and I'm not sure how the view compares, but so comfy! The best seats are the company-bought "box seats" similar to at a baseball game. There is a row of seats right along the rail but I think you'd have to look out through the railing if seated.

This venue looks new! From an initial first impression it looks very clean…read more I'm not sure about the service but there's a bar as soon as you walk in the lobby. A coat check next to the bathrooms. And bars in the concert area. The parking people were pretty nice. Premier parking is way closer than how the map makes it look. Kinda recommended it since it made getting to the venue and then leaving pretty smooth!

Great hometown raceway. Come enjoy sone lawnmower races on a summer or fall evening. Also, watch…read moreminibikes and more, too!

Fun AAA ballpark WHERE I CAUGHT MY FIRST BALL EVER!!! Beyond that, we had a 250 person event and it…read morewent flawlessly. We had the entire right field bleachers to ourselves. Shade for those who wanted it, sit anywhere to watch the game. Food was in good supply pregame. Supposedly pulled with first pitch but they did what I would hope: put all the remaining food out so we can take from it. (But seriously guys, if you read this? Keep serving through the first inning or so. Please.) Also a second note: Audio didn't really carry to the outfield. No secondary video screen to supplement the one directly behind us. For that fifth star, please beef that up a bit!

2 weeks ago I was visiting Des Moines, IA for 4 days visiting a friend. When planning the trip,…read moreshe wanted me to look for things I wanted to do. I did some searching and found out Des Moines was home to Iowa Cubs, AAA affiliate, of Chicago Cubs. My friend somehow got a coupon for a buy 1 ticket get 1 ticket free. I think total was $20. It was on 3rd baseline on second tier level of seats. They don't accept cash at concession stands. You have fo get a card to load or you can use a credit card. I tried to load the card my friend had but it didn't work. So we got a new card and loaded that up. I went to one stand to get beer for myself. I also got an order of steak fries. It seemed like a small portion for the price but whatever. The stadium is definitely smaller than major league ball parks. Worcester Red Sox were playing the Iowa Cubs. 6 hits Final Score 0-1 Cubs Winning. The stadium was clean, signs easy to follow.

These facilities are great! Our family came here for a hockey tournament and were taken back by how…read morespacious and clean the facilities were. They have ample parking, inside and outside turf and two well maintained ice rinks. I would seek out another tournament in this area.

You need more Dedicated pickleball courts!…read more There is a law suit waiting to happen here, senior discrimination you have all these activities for younger and middle aged but you only have 2 pickleball courts which 90% are the seniors playing. They have a list of 20 people that can sign up for 2 courts, yet we have come week after week and even during the weekdays NO-ONE is on the 3 extra pickleball courts! But they refuse to let the pickleball players play on them ‍ they chain up the extra nets and the courts sit empty. From a financial side point this is just stupid, every time they turn people away! Sometimes it's myself other times it's other people. You obviously have the need and want in the community yet they'd rather those courts sit empty. It would help if the front desk lady Kerry was a little nicer too. She is extremely rude and has outright lied and refused to let us rent out those courts for pickleball. It would be nice to see someone a little more kind and helpful there but she seems to always have a sour taste in her mouth.

I attended the inaugural Des Moines Taco Festival yesterday at the Western Gateway Park. Here are…read morea few of my thoughts. I honestly had it in my head that I wasn't going to go, but I was given a general admission ticket. Heather had plans...I didn't have my kids...so I headed down to check it out after the ISU OU game. The 400 lb gorilla in the room. The weather sucked the majority of the day. That being said no one I was among was really complaining about it. This was an all ages event. General admission was $12 and kids 12 and under were free. The Western Gateway Park was completely fenced off. The entrance to the festival was on the East side of the park. Not knowing that I parked on the West end off of 13th and Locust so I had a walk to start my visit with. No biggie. At the entrance the process went well. If you planned on drinking and were over 21 you presented your ID along with your ticket and you were given a wristband to indicate you were of legal age. I don't really drink for the most part, but I got my pink wristband just in case. After entering one of the first tents was setup to buy tokens. Everything was on a token system. One token = $2.00. Non-refundable so be careful not to buy too many tokens... Tacos were $2.00 each. Drinks varied from what I read. I did not partake in Tequila Fest or go into the bar tent yesterday so I have no experience with those aspects of this festival. There were two main areas for the food vendors. A line of trucks running East to West on Grand and a line of tents running North and South along 13th. Vendors typically had two lines going; an order line and a pickup line. After getting through the order line you proceeded to the back of the pickup line to get your food. Rinse and repeat. The lines... First of all I'm the wrong guy to talk about lines. Boot camp pretty much solved that issue for me. Festivals, concerts, amusement parks...just like being in a galley. I'm not a fan of unorganized crowds, but I can stand in a line all day. The lines were established by the people themselves. I saw no one giving direction, but I saw a lot of people helping each other out. Someone would step into the pickup line from the sidewalk and someone else would ask them "Have you ordered yet?". If they answered no they were politely pointed to the ordering line. I wasn't looking at my phone, but I would guess the lines I stood in were about 20 minutes order to pickup. I heard rumors there were times the wait at Mama's Tacos approached an hour. I can't confirm that. The weather was crappy. There was alcohol on site. And the organization was spotty in some areas. And yet everyone I talked to was having a good time. Some of you can probably can guess that I talk a lot...and I seldom stay quiet if an interesting conversation is going on around me... I think I ended up with a pretty good feel of how the people around me were doing. Not all tacos are created equal. Some $2.00 tacos were good sized (shout out to Curbin' Cuisine), and some $2.00 tacos were just sad. One thing I would recommend for the next taco festival... Stalk the pickup lines. Cruise by the people picking up their tacos and take a look at what is being delivered to them. Choose to spend your money wisely. Don't be afraid to walk up to someone and ask where they got something. Typically I approach other men to avoid the appearance I'm hitting on someone...especially when tequila is involved. No lucha wrestling was going on while I was there. The stage for the live bands was positioned well and if it hadn't been raining I bet it would have been utilized more. Because of the weather most of the people weren't in the chairs...they were listening from inside the bar tent. I missed the taco eating contest. Would I go again...with spending my own money for a ticket? I'd have to say yes. But I'd employ the tips I mentioned above. The first two places I hit...I was thinking "Thank God I didn't pay for this ticket." but when I started paying attention and talking to people I wasn't as disappointed with my purchases. There were some fantastic flavor profiles available to try. I had a good time. The people around me made it fun...despite the weather. Of course it was really hard to have a bad day, no matter what happened, after ISU got that W over OU. One additional shout out. To the wonderful woman with Per Mar security who let me slide through the fence when I headed home... Thank you! She shortened my walk back to my car by about four blocks up and back.

The arena oozes, an Iowa long gone by ...Not the worst or best place, but favorite (old but…read morecharming): Buccaneer Arena in Des Moines is home to USHL Des Moines Buccaneers  Place is a barn in every sense of the word (good and bad). Built in the '60s, concourse and locker rooms are on the same level, so they have to curtain off parts of the hallways to let players on and off the ice. The seating is all wooden benches made for 3000, but they fit 3500, and the roof is plywood and iron. Everything else is concrete.  My buddy Simo  saw Herb Brooks's 1980 squad (that's right the miracle ice team) once play an exhibition against the Blues there, he said that there was a Rochester hockey connection between everyone at the time when hockey was a very small world indeed. The halls are clean....they have  upgraded the vendor areas, including local Iowa beers on tap. It still has the usual fare popcorn,  Iowa style pork tenderloin, various Pop and canned beers. . I love this rink. Love, love, love it. They keep it fairly clean, despite it's age. It belongs in a Slap Shot movie. It's like "letter Kenny's character Shoresy hockey  Arena " one of the last of the "great old barns" left, and it's where so many  young people  learned to play hockey and learned to love hockey. Of course, now they've got the fancy rec area and then the minor league team "the Wild" at the Wells Fargo arena... The fans that attend the Buc games are pretty funny and loyal.. They mock  the announcer all the time with chants ...they boo and chant against the referees . It's about the right size because it doesn't swallow. People up like the Wells fargo Arena.. There's been a delay in tearing this place down. I suppose it could happen any year now. They were gonna start construction of the new arena over at the merle hay mall, but that's been put on hold.  It made me smile to see lots of dads with kids and moms with kids having a fun, affordable experience. If you haven't been, you should go before it disappears. Like other lost things and all the memories of this place are gone. I have been when it's been pretty crowded, and it does get pretty rowdy.

"It's like being in a movie" is what my partner said the latest time we came to a game. The fans…read moreare dressed to represent the team and certainly seem like they are regular, season ticket holders with their enthusiastic cheers (and jeers when it comes to the referees). The arena isn't huge so there really isnt a bad seat. The game is played a lot faster and more physically than the majors. A really fun time and family friendly. Be sure to follow their Facebook or check the website for any specials (eg Friday is 2 for 1 arena tickets with a fareway receipt)

Was there for first time on a Saturday night and the group of people there were the nicest group!…read moreEveryone there was just out for a good time. We will go back.

My cousin plays in a band at this location a few times a year. The people that come here will…read morealways be dancing and we always see the regulars. I am going to work up my nerve to two step one of these days! Only bad thing is the gravel parking lot gets super muddy in rain and snow and dangerous ice never gets salted on busy nights. Walk with caution...but enjoy the frozen pizza and pretty cheap drinks.

We had never attended this event so we decided to give a 1 day pass a try. I really liked that they…read morehad multiple stages, a wide variety of food and craft vendors, and bleachers where we could sit because we didn't bring our own chairs. And it wasn't overly crowded so you could easily see the stages/bands. Conveniently located off a bike trail, we rode in to avoid any potential parking and traffic issues. Bike valet was available for free so we didn't have to worry about our bikes at all. The event was well run as the sound was good and bands stayed on schedule. Plus the lineup was full of talent. A little spendy in our opinion, but not as bad as some other local options and what doesn't feel spendy right now.