I looked in disbelief at the kid who’d just snatched my backpack. I’d known him since fi rst grade, and he’d earned his reputation as a cocky prankster. We were 13 now. But we were friends, classmates… Scholars’ Bowl teammates, for Pete’s sake. Th is was a joke, surely. “Say it! Or your backpack’s going in the highway.” He mock-threw it toward the 5 p.m. traffi c in front of our high school, and I lunged for it, grabbing a strap. We wrestled over the $10 Wal-Mart bag for a few moments before he begrudgingly released it.

Becoming involved with the Ames music scene might sound a bit difficult at first, but if you simply go to a few shows around town, you may start networking and maybe even picking up band members before you know it. Nate Logsdon is the President of Maximum Ames Records, the co-founder of the Maximum Ames Music Festival and one of the co-owners of the Iowa Music Store. One of the other co-owners of the Iowa Music Store is Bryon Dudley, who is also one of the people in charge of Nova Labs, another Ames record label.

You’re driving down the street, and flashing red and blue lights appear in your rear view mirror. Time to get pulled over, or as the police call it a “traffic stop.” You were probably speeding or forgot to put your headlights on. Thank your personal deity that you haven't had a drink. You sink in your seat—the night just went from great to horrible.

Includes "Cover", "Table of Contents", and "Spring 2015 Staff".

Thrust into the chaos of freshman orientation, you met more people than you could remember. You tried to remember their name, major, hometown…and preferred personal pronoun? Chances are, probably not.