DU May 25: Memorial Day ceremonies; fresh finds, rooted in Urbandale; what did the kid flower say to its mom on Mother’s Day?

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Monday, May 25, 2026

Good morning to you!

It was a sunny and beautiful Memorial Day morning a few decades ago when I pried two of my daughters out of their beds and took them with me to a military service at a local cemetery. They were barely school-aged, still rubbing sleep from their eyes as we made our way through the quiet rows of gravestones. At that age, they didn’t yet understand what a Memorial Day service was all about. To them, it was simply another outing with Dad on a warm morning. Even so, they patiently and quietly stood by my side while we listened to solemn speeches honoring fallen soldiers and watched veterans in crisp uniforms salute the flag. A talented high school boy played “Taps” on his trumpet, and the haunting melody drifted across the cemetery grounds, lingering in the still morning air.

At the end of the ceremony, as people slowly began to leave, an elderly woman whom I did not know walked toward me. Her steps were slow and deliberate, but when she reached me, she firmly grabbed my arm and looked me straight in the eyes. “I want you to know something,” she said. “I appreciate you bringing your young children here. That means something.”

That was all she said before she turned and quietly walked away, alone. I stood there for a moment, watching her disappear into the crowd, and my mind wandered. Was her husband a veteran? Had she lost a parent, a child, a sibling or a grandchild in war? Perhaps she had served herself. Maybe she carried a lifetime of memories connected to sacrifice and service. I would never know, but I could tell her words came from a deeply personal place.

Her simple statement stayed with me long after that morning ended. Bringing my children did mean something. At the time, I could not fully explain why, much like I couldn’t explain why my father took me to Memorial Day services when I was young or why my mother carefully placed flowers on graves each spring. As children, we may not fully understand the meaning behind those traditions, but the experiences quietly shape us over time. They teach us to pause, to remember and to honor those who gave so much for freedoms we often take for granted.

That “something” is difficult to put into words, but a few come to mind today: appreciation, admiration, pride, respect, gratitude and remembrance. Memorial Day is more than the unofficial beginning of summer. It is a day to reflect on sacrifice and to recognize the cost of the freedoms we enjoy every day.

You may be planning to attend a Memorial Day service today. If so, I hope this column inspires you to bring along a child or grandchild. And if you see a parent doing the same, perhaps take a moment to say, “I appreciate you bringing your young children here. That means something.”

Have a memorable Monday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman

President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com

Read more of Shane Goodman's columns here.

FROM KCCI: Memorial Day ceremonies planned across central Iowa. Memorial Day, a federal holiday honoring the men and women who died while serving in the United States armed forces, will be observed Monday with several events across central Iowa. The Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Dallas County will hold a ceremony tomorrow morning starting at 8 a.m. Iowa National Guard Col. Eric Soults, who recently re-deployed from a mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, will serve as the keynote speaker. The ceremony will also be broadcast on the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs website. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Police make arrest in fatal Des Moines hit-and-run case. Des Moines Police say surveillance cameras helped lead to an arrest in the overnight hit-and-run that killed a woman. Des Moines Police says they were called to the 1000 block of E. Railroad Avenue just after 2 a.m. on Sunday in response to reports of an injured person in the roadway. At the scene, police located a deceased woman in the roadway. Authorities said evidence showed a vehicle has struck her and left the scene without stopping to provide aid or to report the crash. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Fire crews bring Boone camper fire under control before it spreads to nearby home. Boone fire crews were able to control a camper fire before it spread to a nearby home late Saturday night. Just after 11:30 p.m., the fire department responded to a camper on fire in the 300 block of Nature Road. Crews on scene found a camper fully involved, with the flames starting to spread to a nearby house, according to a Facebook post. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Pope calls for robust regulation of AI in manifesto that ponders the future of humanity. Pope Leo XIV called Monday for robust regulation of artificial intelligence and for its developers to work for the common good rather than profit, issuing a sweeping manifesto on safeguarding humankind as the technology impacts everything from work to war. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: The origins of Memorial Day and how it has evolved. Memorial Day is a U.S. holiday that is officially about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it has come to signal the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of travel and discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers. Here is a look at the holiday and how it has evolved: ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Former Johnson Co. Conservation Department employee charged with theft. About a year after a state audit, a former county employee is being criminally charged. Wade Schultz, 56, of Lisbon, is the former Operations Superintendent for the Johnson County Conservation Department. He faces felony charges of first and second-degree theft, as well as misdemeanor charges of misconduct in office and tampering with records. He is accused of stealing around $38,000 in payroll and benefits. ... READ MORE

Monday, May 25

Mostly sunny

High: 85

Low: 61

Rain chance: 20%

Tuesday, May 26

Sunshine and warm
High: 87
Low: 62
Rain chance: 0%

Wednesday, May 27

Sunshine plentiful
High: 85
Low: 64
Rain chance: 20%

The 2026 results: CITYVIEW's Best of Des Moines®

Best Local Place to Purchase a Musical Instrument
1. Rieman Music
2. Uptempo Music
3. Guitar Center

See all of the results

Junk food news
PepsiCo cut prices for brands including Doritos and Cheetos by up to 15% in a bid to reignite growth. The recent changes show signs of paying off. In the first quarter of 2026, PepsiCo said revenue surged 8.5% to $19.4 billion. Volume in its North American food business, which includes Doritos, Lay’s and other salty snacks, rose 2%.

Pop-Tart’s new Frosted Strawberry Cheesecake is filled with both sweet strawberry jam and a creamy cheesecake layer, then finished with a drizzle of icing.

Wendy's is adding new heavy hitters to menus for summer: Jalapeño Ranch Cheeseburger, Jalapeño Bacon Breakfast Potatoes, Jalapeño Breakfast Biscuits, Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion, Watermelon Lemonade, Watermelon Sparkling Energy and Sprite Watermelon.

Chick-fil-A is bringing the Jalapeño Ranch Club Chicken Sandwich nationwide. It consists of a signature chicken fillet on a buttermilk ranch bun with pepper jack cheese, caramelized onion-flavored candied bacon, lettuce, tomato and pickled jalapeños, as well as a brand-new creamy jalapeño ranch sauce on the side.

Deals today
• Marianna's (1305 University Ave., Des Moines) offers carnitas tacos for $2 Mondays.

• Cowboy (1234 E Euclid Ave., Des Moines) has a Monday special fajitas lunch for $11.99.

• The False Nine Social Club (206 Fifth St., Valley Junction) has British pies on sale Mondays for $10.

• District 36 (1375 S.W. Vintage Parkway, Ankeny) has a Monday special $60 dinner for two. Two entrees starring sea bass and NY strip de Burgo with soup or salads, a bottle of wine and a dessert to share.

• Some Hy-Vee Market Grilles offer chicken fried steak specials on Mondays for $8.

• Today is chicken pot pie with biscuit top day at Sale Barn Cafe (Lamoni).

• It's catfish night at Waterfront stores. Dinners cooked any way you like it, $19.99.

• It's Meat Loaf Monday at Mickey's in Yale.

• Chuck's (3610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines) Monday special is three for $25 on all appetizers.

•  Bubba (200 10th St., Des Moines) has a Monday night sirloin dinner special for $20.

• Kelly's Little Nipper (1701 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines) offers a "Monday grind" special grinder and fries basket for $9.50.

• Monday brings prime rib specials to both Chicago Speakeasy (1520 Euclid Ave., Des Moines) and Christopher's (2816 Beaver Ave., Des Moines).

• Trostel's Greenbriar (Merle Hay Road, Johnston) has a Monday burger with a side and beer deal for $14.

• Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines) has $8 omelets and $10 hot beef sandwiches or Mexican bowls on Mondays.

• Johnny's Italian Steakhouses have a chicken de Burgo special on Mondays before 4 p.m., $14 including beverage.

• Smoking Goat Pub (3015 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines) hosts Shelby Smokehouse Soul Food on Mondays, 5-9 p.m.

• G Mig's (126 Fifth St., Valley Junction) has $11 smashburgers today including a side.

• The Station on Ingersoll (3124 Ingersoll, Des Moines) has a Monday special Graziano grinder with a side for $12.

• The Continental (407 E. Fifth St., Des Moines) offers a Monday special double smash burger and shoestring fries, $12.

• Jethro's have a Monday chicken tenders and fries special $9.95 in Altoona and West Des Moines.

• Angry Goldfish (2301 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines) has specials on chicken Parmesan and lasagna today, $15 with garlic bread and salad.

• Eastside Eddie’s (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines) Monday special is a burger with domestic beer, soft drink or well drink for $10.

• Centro (1003 Locust St., Des Moines) offers half-price pizza and Peronis on Monday.

• Pelican Post (265 50th St., West Des Moines) has a special today on hot beef sandwiches, $10.95 all day.

• Tito’s Lounge (3916 Urbandale Drive, Urbandale) offers all-you-can-eat wings Mondays.

• Johnny's Hall of Fame (302 Court Ave., Des Moines) has $12 burger baskets on Mondays and Fridays.

• Urban Cellars (640 S. 50th St., West Des Moines) offers $60 wine dinners for two on Mondays including two entrees with soup or salad, a dessert and a bottle of wine.

• Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines) has a burger basket with fries deal Mondays for $9.

• Red Lobster's Monday special is lobster and shrimp scampi with a side for $20.

• Paula's (524 Elm St., Valley Junction) has a Monday special homemade tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwich for $12.50.

• Destination Grille (2491 E. First St., Grimes) has a Monday steak night special, sirloins and truffle fries for $18.

• Price Chopper delis offer two-piece, bone-in fried chicken dinners with two sides and a roll for $8 on Mondays.

• Fareways have specials through Saturday on boneless chuck roast at $8.88/pound, Italian or plain pork sausage ground at $4.44/pound and asparagus for $1.99/pound

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

Featured in the current issue of Urbandale Living magazine.

Fresh finds
Local farm extends farmers market season to year-round.

By Joe Baumgarten

Longer days and warmer nights can only mean one thing — farmers market season is back. With fresh-picked produce, handcrafted goods and sweet treats, these weekly gatherings provide a place for both vendors and visitors. While farmers markets abound in the metro, Urbandale has its own “farm market” open year-round.

Rooted in Urbandale
For half a century, one family has tended trees, baked pies and grown something rarer than apples — a true neighborhood institution. Iowa Orchard and Pie Bakery, 9875 Meredith Drive, Urbandale, provides seasonal fresh produce as well as making products such as pies and cider available at its farm market long after farmers markets have closed.

When you turn onto the property on a breezy spring morning, the first thing you notice is that the apple trees don’t look quite as you would expect — at least not by any conventional standard. They are slender and close together, lined up in tight rows along wire trellises, their branches pruned to precise widths. They look, as more than a few passersby have reportedly asked, like hops. Or maybe a nursery. Certainly not a working orchard in the middle of Urbandale. ...

Featured home for sale

Post listings here for only $50. Contact jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com for details.

$459,000
158 56th Place
West Des Moines, IA 50266

Fantastic West Des Moines location in a highly desirable neighborhood! Conveniently located near schools and top-rated Willow Springs Park, this home offers lots of updates, and space to grow. ...

See the listing here.

See more homes for sale

SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction

1165 SECOND AVE., DES MOINES
SALE DATE: 2025-11-14
SALE PRICE: $9,550,000
SELLER: SUD DES MOINES LLC
BUYER: UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
ACRES: 14.334
SQUARE FEET: 262,491

More transactions

FROM ESPN: Rosenqvist wins closest Indy 500 ever by 0.02 seconds. Felix Rosenqvist swung to the outside of David Malukas, then found a way past the Team Penske driver to win the closest Indianapolis 500 in history by a margin of 0.0233 seconds Sunday. ... READ MORE

FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Spurs vs. Thunder Game 4: Four Takeaways After Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Dominate OKC to Even Series. After dropping Games 2 and 3, Sunday’s Game 4 wasn’t quite a must-win for the Spurs, but it was close. While we’ve seen a pair of 3–1 comebacks in these NBA playoffs already, doing so against the defending champion Thunder is likely a bridge too far, even for this very talented San Antonio squad. ... READ MORE

FROM YAHOO SPORTS: French Open: Novak Djokovic rallies past Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard after dropping first set, makes Grand Slam history. Novak Djokovic faced an early test on Sunday, dropping his first set in French Open play to unseeded Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. But he rallied for a tough second-set victory, then largely cruised from there to a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 win in the first round at Roland-Garros. ... READ MORE

1787: Constitutional Convention begins. Four years after the United States won its independence from Great Britain, 55 state delegates, including George Washington, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin, convene in Philadelphia to compose a new U.S. constitution on May 25, 1787.. … READ MORE

1961: JFK asks Congress to support the space program. On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announces to Congress his goal of sending an American to the moon by the end of the decade and asks for financial support of an accelerated space program. He made the task a national priority and a mission in which all Americans would share, stating that it will not be one man going to the moon—it will be an entire nation. … READ MORE

2020: George Floyd is killed by a police officer, igniting historic protests. On the evening of May 25, 2020, white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kills George Floyd, a Black man, by kneeling on his neck for almost 10 minutes. The death, recorded by bystanders, touched off what is possibly the largest protest movement in U.S. history and a nationwide reckoning on race and policing. … READ MORE

www.history.com

Birthdays and notables

These celebrities were born on this date: Cillian Murphy, Brec Bassinger, Mike Myers, Ian McKellen, Rasheeda, Octavia Spencer, Elle Graham, Frank Oz

The answer to the last riddle: What do you call a country where everyone drives the same color car? A RED CAR-NATION! - Gail Tomlinson. Or, a bland land! - Anne Lentz. Or Autocratic! - Carolyn Rogers. Or, Monochromatic! - Bill Snyder.

Today's riddle: What did the kid flower say to its mom on Mother’s Day? 

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

To advertise in the Daily Umbrella or the Johnston Living magazine, contact:

Andrea Hodapp
Account Executive
Office: 515-953-4822 ext. 322
Mobile: 515-883-0523
andrea@iowalivingmagazines.com

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