FROM KCCI: Central Iowa public health leaders clarify new COVID vaccine guidelines. With the fall COVID-19 vaccination window approaching, the Food and Drug Administration has narrowed its recommendations compared with last year — a shift that could complicate access for some people seeking the shot. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Dead fish found after roughly 700 gallons of copper-containing fluid released in Hancock County. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a copper release caused by a broken pipe at a facility near Garner. The Iowa DNR says at approximately 7 a.m. they were notified of a broken pipe at the Zinpro facility, resulting in the release of an estimated 700 gallons of copper-containing liquid. The material then flowed into a storm drain on-site, eventually discharging into a drainage ditch on the west side of the facility. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Des Moines woman sentenced to 16 years for fentanyl distribution linked to death. A Des Moines woman was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison Thursday for distributing fentanyl that led to a death. Following the overdose death of a Des Moines man in January 2024, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa said 38-year-old Ashley Lynn Andrews was identified as having dealt the fentanyl that killed him. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Peace efforts in limbo as Kyiv mourns 23 dead after Russian attack. The death toll in a major Russian missile and drone strike on the Ukrainian capital rose to 23, including four children, officials said Friday, as U.S.-led efforts to end the three-year war remain stuck in apparent limbo. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Police say Minneapolis church shooter was filled with hatred and admired mass killers. The shooter who killed two Catholic school students and wounded more than a dozen youngsters sitting in the pews of a Minneapolis church once attended the same school and was “obsessed” with the idea of killing children, authorities said Thursday. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Authorities identify man killed in exchange of gunfire with officers in southwest Iowa. A Missouri man who fired at law enforcement after a pursuit on Interstate 29 was shot and killed by officers, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Around 5:35 p.m., an Iowa state trooper attempted to stop a vehicle on I-29 and during the stop, the driver, identified as 48-year-old Michael Broyles, showed a firearm and then fled, officials said. ... READ MORE

Clear Mortgage meteorology

Spotty shower chances will be around late day today and Saturday. Most of us will stay dry. Otherwise expect warm and dry conditions until late Tuesday. A front will bring cooler air late next week.

For help with pre-approvals or refinancing, get in touch with Originating Branch Manager Carrie Hansen at carrie.mortgage.

Pet food
Human diets in America continue to be among the world's least heathy as demonstrated by media drooling over state fair junk foods. But our pets are embracing healthier diets faster than humans. Elanco CEO Jeff Simmons credited healthier foods for their recent animal food successes. Credelio Quatro was an instant success with the U.S. dog population growing 17% since 2016 and the cat population growing 27% in the same time. He said success comes down “to the two P’s – protein and pets” but adds livestock owners are also buying into healthier diets.  
 
The Farmer's Dog has been advertising that their dog food is "minimally processed."

Weekend deals
• Waterfront's Saturday special includes cocktail shrimp or raw oysters on the half shell for half price until 4 p.m.


• Gilroy's (1238 Eighth St., West Des Moines) does Saturday and Sunday brunch buffets for $24.99 for adults. Kids 6 and younger eat free.

• The Station on Ingersoll has a Friday special Baja chicken salad, $14.

• Eastside Eddie's (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines) has a Friday special chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy for $10.

• Rube's steakhouses offer a prime sirloin special on Sundays only, $29.

• Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines) offers $9 Philly cheesesteaks or hot honey chicken plus $8 biscuit and gravy breakfasts on Fridays.

• Smoking Goat Pub (3015 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines) offers walleye or steak dinner specials tonight and karaoke after 9 p.m. They have a ten for $10 wings deal on Sundays. 

• Irina's Steak & Seafood (650 S. Prairie View Drive, Unit 100, West Des Moines) has a three-course Sunday dinner for two featuring filet and shrimp for $85 all summer. 

• IHMVCU hosts Food Truck Frenzy with the first 50 people in line at 3990 Merle Hay Road eating free. This Friday 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. will be catered by Egg Roll Ladies. 

• Friday is Soul Food day at Joppa Experience (1829 Sixth Ave., Des Moines) with fried chicken and oxtail stew joining the usual menu. 

• Because Sunday is an Indiana Fever game day, the West Des Moines Jethro's will have a "Fever Reliever" special of any two appetizers on the Happy Hour menu and two pints of domestic beer for $22. All Jethro's Sunday special is papa cheeseburgers and side for $9.95. Today they have BBQ melt and side deal for $9.95. 

• G Mig's has Friday prime rib dinners for $29.75 or swordfish with Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes for $25.95. 

• Django (1420 Locust St., Des Moines) offers a Sunday supper with a roasted half chicken as the main course. The meal includes house salad with red onion, apple, Roquefort, and candied walnuts; fresh baguette with whipped butter; roasted fingerling potatoes with fresh herbs; and sautéed haricot verts with caramelized onions and lardons, $30.

• Table 128 (220 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines) features a Saturday tasting menu for $58. This week's menu is shrimp slider - gulf shrimp, coconut, cabbage slaw, slider roll, spicy aioli, shoestring potatoes; bbq chicken - dry-rub and smokey tomato bbq, grilled corn and corn salad with walnuts and shallot, corn bread; and peach pie – all-butter crust, peaches, ginger, cardamom, turbinado sugar, vanilla bean ice cream.

• Heavenly Asian (225 Fifth St., Valley Junction) has an all-day Friday sale on orange chicken served with soup, crab Rangoon, egg roll and rice, $14, available for dine-in and phone carry-out.

• Fish Fry Friday specials can be found at Machine Shed (11151 Hickman Road, Urbandale), Johnny's Italian Steakhouses, Red Lobster (3838 Westown Parkway, West Des Moines), Cracker Barrel (11701 University, Clive), Hy-Vee stores and Bevy’s Tavern (1300 50th St., West Des Moines). Kelly's Little Nipper (1701 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines) offers $3 off any fish dinner or sandwich in Fridays. 

• Bawarchi (6630 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines) has Friday-Sunday specials on paneer kebabs, chicken curry and goat curry.

•  Westown Tap (3530 Westown Parkway, West Des Moines) offers $12 flatbreads on Fridays.

• Chicago Speakeasy (1520 Euclid Ave., Des Moines) offers BBQ beef and marinated roast beef sandwiches on special for Friday lunch.

• Destination Grille (2491 E. First St., Grimes) has a $40 prime rib dinner special Friday and Saturday. 

• Court Avenue Brewing Company (309 Court Ave., Des Moines) hosts Saturday and Sunday breakfast buffets for $23.99.

• Haiku (1350 31st St., Des Moines) offers free tom ka kai and fried won tons with lunch entrees today.

• Maxie's Supper Club's (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines) Friday special is chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes - $16.95 all day. They also have prime rib dinners on Friday and Saturday for dinner only, $30-38.   

• Fareways have specials through Saturday on loinback ribs at $3.99/pound, USDA Choice flat iron steaks at $10.99/pound,  and butter at $3.99/pound. 

• Price Chopper stores have sales through Tuesday on red or green grapes at $1.69/pound, whole watermelons at $3.99 and frozen catfish nuggets at $2.29/pound.

• Fresh Thyme (2900 University Ave., West Des Moines) begins a week long sale on T-bones at $12.99/pound, 8-inch fruit pies at $5.99 and Kandy melons at $2.99. 

• Aldi stores have sales through Tuesday on green grapes at $1.29/pound, nectarines or plums for $1.49/pound and St. Louis ribs at $2.39/pound. 

• Hy-Vee stores have sales on chicken thighs and drums for 99 cents/pound, Haagen Daaz for $3.99/pint and Hy-Vee yogurts at $1/three through Sunday.

Music


Steve Grismore / Nick Rueckert Duo plays Louie's Wine Dive (4040 University Ave., Des Moines) on Sunday at 5 p.m. El Toreado Mexican Bar & Grill on EP True has live music from The Juan and Only on Friday from 6 p.m. Willie James Shay plays Sonny’s Pizza Bistro Friday at 5:30 p.m. Drew Peer play Kelly's Little Nipper at 7 p.m. Friday. Back To Vinyl plays Truman’s Pizza Tavern at 5 p.m. Friday, and Geoffrey Jr. plays there Sunday at 2 p.m. Fred Gazzo Quintet plays Anna Dolce Ristorante, WDM, at 6 p.m. Saturday. David Watson will be at Exile Brewing - patio Sunday at 5 p.m.

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

1949: Soviets explode atomic bomb. At a remote test site at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, the USSR successfully detonates its first atomic bomb, code name “First Lightning.” In order to measure the effects of the blast, the Soviet scientists constructed buildings, bridges, and other civilian structures in the vicinity of the bomb. They also placed animals in cages nearby so that they could test the effects of nuclear radiation on human-like mammals. The atomic explosion, which at 20 kilotons was roughly equal to “Trinity,” the first U.S. atomic explosion, destroyed those structures and incinerated the animals. ... READ MORE

1970: Native American group occupies Mount Rushmore to protest broken Treaty of Fort Laramie. Around dusk on the evening on August 29, 1970, a group of 23 Native American activists climbs to the top of Mount Rushmore. Renaming the landmark Crazy Horse Mountain, in honor of the Lakota Sioux leader who famously resisted white Americans’ incursions into the area, the protesters are there to reclaim land they believe to be rightfully theirs under the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which guaranteed Indigenous people the right to all of Western South Dakota. The occupation will last for two months, beginning a new chapter in Native American activism. ... READ MORE

2005: Hurricane Katrina slams into Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina makes landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, as a Category 4 hurricane on August 29, 2005. Despite being only the third most powerful storm of the 2005 hurricane season, Katrina was among the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. In the wake of the storm, there were over 50 failures of the levees and flood walls around New Orleans and its suburbs. The levee and flood wall failures caused widespread flooding. ... READ MORE

 www.history.com

The Des Moines Symphony performs its sixth Water Works Pops concerts over Labor Day weekend.
This year, audiences will hear a back-to-back throwback:
    • Saturday, Aug. 30: Decades: Back to the 80s (featuring iconic hits from the decade, including Billy Joel’s “Tell Her About It,” Madonna’s “Material Girl,” Phil Collins’ “Sussudio,” Kenny Loggins' “Footloose,” Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” and much more.)
    • Sunday, Aug. 31 – Disco Divas: Back to the 70s (Disco Divas joins the Orchestra, celebrating the reigning Queens of Disco: Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan and the one and only Diana Ross along with classic disco hits from Earth, Wind & Fire, The Bee Gees and more.)
    Both concerts are free, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Tom and Linda Koehn, and will be held outdoors at the Lauridsen Amphitheater at Water Works Park at 7:30 p.m. both nights. 

Art on The Avenues opens neighborhood event series
Local artists, neighbors creating all summer with support from Invest DSM
Wonder Week through Aug. 29.

Check out upcoming season offerings with metro theatre companies
This lull in presenting shows picks up again in September, so now is a great time to check out shows to add to your cultural adventurism calendar. It's also a great time to consider volunteering in non-performance roles.
1.     About Time Theatre Company.
2.     Ankeny Community Theatre.
3.     Carousel Theatre of Indianola. 
4.     Class Act Productions (CAP). http://www.captheatre.org/main/expect/
5.     Des Moines Community Playhouse.
6.     Des Moines Performing Arts.
7.     Des Moines Young Artists Theatre.
8.  Iowa Stage Theatre Company. 
10.  Once in a While Productions.
11.  Pyramid Theatre Company.
12.  Tallgrass Theatre Company. 
13. Theatre Midwest. https://www.theatremidwest.org/
14. Urbandale Community Theatre.

— John Busbee, The Culture Buzz