Home:Southwest Iowa News:Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil:Council Bluffs Headline Stories DeSoto fishing, boating, mushroom hunting seasons open April 15 03/29/2007 Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly MISSOURI VALLEY - DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge begins its fishing, boating and mushroom season on Sunday, April 15. Home:Southwest Iowa News:Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil:Council Bluffs Headline Stories DeSoto fishing, boating, mushroom hunting seasons open April 15 03/29/2007...

In the ultra-competitive Twin City and Central Illinois dining market, the effort placed on making menus eye-catching is part of the plan to cash in on the $222. But there s a balancing act between adding new dishes to attract new customers and increase sales while not losing what already brings in regulars, Ariens said. Chains like Red Lobster have deviated from their casual offerings to experiment with more sophisticated fare like Maui luau shrimp and salmon. The challenge is to change...

Justina Duong, the sassy, dynamic owner of this town's best Vietnamese restaurant, tells me she's looking to pull the trigger on a second branch soon. The restaurant traditionally closes down for about a month over the summer, so it's unlikely a new chef could step in before the fall. Mary Elaine's has been trying to lighten its opulent fine-dining style, which can seem too formal for today's contemporary diners. These are target clients, clients who can afford to eat out all the time, and...

A heart attack, cancer, macular degeneration, a broken hip that required two surgeries, and two hospitalizations in the past five years haven't stopped her. The country store of the 1940s and 1950s was stocked with 50-gallon kegs of vinegar, 50-pound sacks of flour and 40-pound boxes of bananas from the Pacific Fruit and Produce co. Thomas Grocery got its eggs from local farmers in trade for groceries. She uses a walker to get to her back door, holds onto the railings to walk the...