I love pleasant surprises and that's just what I got at the Iowa Farmers Union Annual Convention in Marshalltown this weekend.
A few months ago my coworker Steph Larsen and I co-hosted community health care reform forums in towns across Iowa. The forums provided the opportunity for folks to get together and talk about...
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When you've sold 10 million albums in a really, really short amount of time, you'd never dream of retiring. You'd play on. And on. And on. How perfect, then, that Carrie Underwood has named her third album Play On. It doesn't come out for another 64 days so I don't have an advance copy...
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I'm a sucker for a good ol' lyrical rearrangement. And in this promotional spot for MTV's VMA show on Sept. 13, Taylor Swift has taken "Tonight" from West Side Story and turned it into her own funny-but-true thing. Like when she sings, "Tonight, tonight, I'll sing my song tonight/There will be no teardrops on...
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Steve Wariner has a new album coming that salutes his mentor and friend Chet Atkins, and he shared some of it during a Saturday afternoon (Aug. 29) performance at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Wariner led his set with "Leaving Luttrell," followed by "Sails," with its beautiful melody brought to life...
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Snakeman
Today CMT's All Jacked Up is taking a drive about an hour outside of Dallas to meet Jackie Bibby, also known as "The Texas Snakeman." As I arrive at the location, a group of handlers are beginning to build a wooden-sided pit to hold more than 100 Western Diamondback rattlers. Now, I am not...
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First, he got a taste of the TV bug on Celebrity Apprentice. Then he had a part in last year's An American Carol. And now the multi-faceted Trace Adkins is going full-on silver screen. He's joined the cast of this cool new film called Lifted, which is about a talented singer named Henry Matthews...
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I was at a Carrie Underwood concert last night (Aug. 30) and got into a deep conversation with the guy sitting behind me all about which artists are truly country. His point was that today's country is really pop. I completely disagree, because really, when was the last time Britney Spears had a steel...
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You have probably penciled in your own estimates for 2009 income, based on high production expenses and low commodity prices. Some of you will have a lot of red ink and some will have a small amount of black ink. Compared to your income for the past several years, there will be...
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Brad Keselowski declined to comment on reports he’ll drive in the Sprint Cup Series for Penske Racing next year, but he did indicate Thursday to Sporting News he won’t be back in JR Motorsports’ Nationwide car next season. Asked whether he expected to return to JRM, Keselowski said, “At this time, no,” during a...
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It appears Richard Petty Motorsports will not move from Dodge to Toyota next season. At least that’s the impression that Lee White, who heads Toyota Racing Development, gave last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. White said he believes that Mike Accaviti, the president of the Dodge brand, is doing all he can to keep...
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