DU Aug. 19: Stuart shooting leaves woman dead; attendance record at State Fair; ocean with no water?

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Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026

Good morning to you!

I like houseplants. I really do. I just don’t think they like me.

I bring one home. I set it on the counter. I admire how green and vibrant it is. And I comment how it is quietly improving the air while making our home look like we have it all together. Then, three weeks later, I stand over it like a disappointed parent.

Houseplants are supposed to be good for us. They can brighten a room, add a little nature to our homes and, depending on the plant and the circumstances, actually help improve indoor air quality. They also can make a space feel more inviting and relaxing.

They ask for very little in return. A little water. Some sunlight. Maybe the occasional fertilizer. Apparently, that is too much to ask of me.

I have owned a few houseplants through the years. They all start out looking like they belong in a botanical garden. They end up looking like they were waiting for their own funerals.

The problem is that plants don’t come with warning labels. A dog will let me know when it needs something. A cat will make sure the entire neighborhood knows it has been neglected. A plant just sits there. Silently. Judging me.

I can overwater a plant and kill it. I can underwater it and kill it. I can put it in too much sunlight and kill it. Too little sunlight? Also kill it. Move it 3 feet to the left? You get the idea.

Just when I think I have figured it out, the plant develops yellow leaves, brown tips or some mysterious condition that requires me to spend a few hours on the internet. The irony is that houseplants are supposed to reduce stress. Instead, I spend Saturday mornings conducting plant triage. Is that a new leaf? No. That’s mold.

Still, there is something wonderful about keeping plants around the house. They remind me that growth takes time, that living things need attention and that sometimes a little green can make a gray day better.

They also teach humility. I can raise children, run a company, pay a mortgage and remember to put gas in the car. Then a $12 fern comes along and defeats me. Maybe that’s the real benefit of houseplants. They don’t just bring nature indoors. They bring perspective.

Because every time I look at a half-dead plant on my table, I’m reminded that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be worthwhile. And if that plant suddenly perks up after I’ve nearly given up on it, I’ll celebrate. Then I’ll immediately wonder if I should water it. And that, right there, is how the cycle begins again.

Have a watchful Wednesday, and thank you 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: Stuart shooting leaves woman dead and state trooper injured, suspect in custody. Law enforcement is investigating a deadly shooting in Adair County that left one woman dead and an Iowa State Patrol trooper injured Tuesday afternoon. According to Iowa Division of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Adam DeCamp, county dispatch received a call around 3:35 p.m. of shots fired in the 200 block of SW 6th Street in Stuart. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Another attendance record broken at the Iowa State Fair. For a second day in a row, the Iowa State Fair broke an attendance record. The fair revealed that 111,159 people attended on Monday, breaking the previous daily attendance record for Monday that was set in 2017 with 105,522 attendees. Sunday was also a record-breaking day. There were 123,140 people on the first Sunday of the fair, surpassing the daily attendance record for the first Sunday of the fair, set in 2024. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Iowa first in US to launch new peer support drug prevention programs. Gov. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced two new drug prevention programs that will be coming to Iowa.
The two peer-support drug prevention programs are part of the Trump administration’s “Great American Recovery Plan.” Kennedy says Iowa is the first state in the nation to participate in the program. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Trump says US and Canada have reached last-minute deal to delay 50% US tariffs on Canadian imports. elPresident Donald Trump said Tuesday he was delaying the 50% U.S. tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports after the two countries reached a last-minute deal less than two hours before the sanctions were to go into effect. The announcement, which Trump made on his social media platform, buys time for more negotiations and avoids, for now, another strain in already tense relations between the historic allies. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Amazon set to expand drone delivery of lightweight packages to 500 US cities. Millions more people may be able to get smaller, lightweight Amazon packages delivered by drones by the end of the year under a plan the company announced Thursday to expand the airborne shipping to suburban areas in nearly 500 U.S. cities. Customers could receive the drone deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes, Amazon said in a news release. The drones can carry packages up to 5 pounds. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Johnson County taxpayers question $94 million jail proposal. A $94 million bond referendum to pay for a new Johnson County jail will be on the November 3 ballot, and taxpayers had questions about the project at an informational meeting Tuesday. Land has already been purchased in Johnson County for the jail, which the public has not yet voted on. New renderings show the building will sit off Melrose Avenue near the historic “poor farm.” ... READ MORE

Wednesday, Aug. 19

Partly cloudy
High: 80
Low: 63
Rain chance: 20%

Thursday, Aug. 20

Partly cloudy
High: 81
Low: 66
Rain chance: 20%

Friday, Aug. 21

Isolated storms
High: 83
Low: 63
Rain chance: 30%

Allergy alert

Today: 9.4, medium - high range

Top allergens:

Nettle

Sagebrush

Ragweed

See more: https://www.pollen.com/forecast/current/pollen/50301

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

Best Local Place to Play Golf
1. Waveland Golf Course
2. Topgolf
3. Jester Park Golf Course

See all of the results

Woebegone Wednesday
From 1995 to 2026, the average price of a Big Mac jumped from $1.99 to $6.72, a 337% increase equaling an annual inflation rate of nearly 11%, while the cost of an order of large fries went from $1.29 to $5.39, a 417% increase equaling an annual inflation rate of more than 13%. (WSJ)

In 2024, KFC's two-piece chicken and fries combo cost $6, while it now costs $8.89; that's a nearly 50% increase in two years and customers aren't having it. (The Takeout)

Deals today
• Guesthouse Tavern and Oyster (9500 University, West Des Moines) offers walleye dinner specials for $21 Wednesdays.

• Fareways have a half-priced watermelon sale on Wednesdays for $2.99.

• High Life Lounge (200 Second St., Des Moines) has a Wednesday special chicken fried steak for $11.99.

• Fresh Thyme (2800 University Ave., West Des Moines) has $6 half slabs of ribs on Wednesdays.

• Crouse Cafe's (111 E. Salem, Indianola) special today scalloped potatoes and ham.

• Sale Barn's (Lamoni) special today is fried chicken with twice baked potato.

• The Empire's (223 Fourth St., Des Moines) Wednesday special is meatball sandwiches for $9.

• Wednesday is biryani day with two for $20 at Desi Bites (3828 100th St.,, Urbandale.

• Mariana's (1305 University Ave., Des Moines) offers asada tacos for $2 Wednesdays.

• Talk Shop Lounge (3357 St. Charles Road, St. Charles) has a rib dinner deal Mondays, half slabs for $12, full racks $16.

• The False Nine Social Club (206 Fifth St., Valley Junction) has hamburgers for $7 on Wednesdays.

• B&B Grocery, Meat and Deli (2001 S.E. Sixth St., Des Moines) has Philly cheesesteak on special today.   

• Waterfont's Wednesday special this week is whole live Maine lobster served with Grimes sweet corn, new potatoes and house-made slaw for $29.95.

• Waveland Cafe (4708 University Ave., Des Moines) offers a wiener Wednesday special today.

• Wednesdays are Chicago Italian beef sandwich day at Graziano Brothers (1601 S. Union St., Des Moines).

• AJ's (Prairie Meadows) has a new early bird menu on Wednesday and Thursday from 4-6 p.m. Half-pound burgers with frites $15, pasta and chicken dinners, $20-22, seafood and steak dinners $27-30. Prime rib dinners for $30 all night.

• Hy-Vees offer second sushi rolls for half price on Wednesdays.

• Paula's (Elm Street at Sixth, Valley Junction) has a Wednesday Cuban sandwich special.

• Jack’s Place (6112 S.W. Ninth, Des Moines) has 10 wings for $10 Wednesdays.

• Wednesday at Short E's BBQ (8805 Chambray Blvd., Johnston) the special is ribs - $15 full racks, $10 half racks and $5 off rib dinners.

• Whatcha Smokin? (Highway 17, Luther) has a brisket burnt ends special on Wednesdays.

• Kelly's Little Nipper (1701 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines) offers any burger with a side for $10 on Wednesdays.

• Toad's (302 State Ave., Des Moines) special today is wings with two sides for $12.

• Exile (1514 Walnut St., Des Moines) offers a $12 burger basket with fries and a beer on Wednesdays.

• Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines) offers $8 French toast or pancake breakfasts and $2 tacos, $9 wraps and $10 half pounds of wings on Wednesdays.

• Johnny's Italian Steakhouses have a chicken Madeira special on Wednesdays before 4 p.m., $15 including beverage.

• Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines) offers 10 wings for $10 on Wednesdays and steak night, too.

• Smoking Goat Pub (3015 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines) has a $10 classic burger and beer all day.

• Gilroy's (1238 Eighth St., West Des Moines) has all you can eat fried chicken dinners on Wednesdays, $23.99 after 5 p.m.

• Angry Goldfish (2301 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines) offers hot beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy for $11.50 on Wednesday. It's also hot beef sandwich day at Chicago Speakeasy (1520 Euclid Ave.) where the gravy is made with pan drippings.

• Wine bottles are half price on Wednesdays at Trostel's Greenbriar (5910 Merle Hay Road, Johnston) and The Continental (407 E. Fifth St., Des Moines).

• G Mig's (128 Fifth St., Valley Junction) offers a Wednesday special lasagna plus salad and garlic bread for $19.25.

• Barntown's (9500 S.E. University Ave., West Des Moines) Wednesday specials are a pound of chicken tenders with fries and two sauces for $11.99, plus $13 core pitchers of beer.

• Wednesday is Biryani Festival at Chowrastha (5910 Ashworth Road, West Des Moines). Buy two and a third is free.

• Village Inns offer free pie with entrees on Wednesdays.

• It's lasagna day at Maxie's Supper Club (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines) and breaded pork tenderloin day at Eastside Eddie's (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines).

• Chuck's (3610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines) offers $5 off pizza on Wednesdays.

• Kwik Stars' Wednesday special is eight pieces of fried chicken for $10. Their fried chicken is ridiculously good for a convenience store.

• On Wednesdays, flatbreads are $10 at Tito's Lounge (3916 N.W. Urbandale Drive, Urbandale).

• Jethro's have $9.95 breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches, including a side of choice, on Wednesdays.

• The Station on Ingersoll (3124 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has a Wednesday special of chopped cheeseburger with a side for $12.

• Price Choppers have sales through Monday on frozen tilapia fillets at $4.49/pound, Kandy melons at $1.99 and bone-in pork chops at $1.99/pound.

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

Featured in the current issue of CITYVIEW magazine.

CENTER STAGE
Cloris’ daughter to attend 2026 Cloris Awards

By John Busbee

Each year, a bounty of local theatres in the Greater Des Moines area produces dozens of shows. Celebrating these performances beginning in 2015, The Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Arts Awards has become a pinnacle event for recognition. These awards provide a rare time when not only representatives from these companies convene but for the public to witness each year’s memorable gathering. As this awards event continues to grow, more and more patrons have come to savor the euphoric atmosphere created when performers, technicians and production personnel celebrate each other’s achievements from the previous season. ...

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FROM ESPN: Brewers tie largest shutout since 1900 with 22-0 win over M's. The Milwaukee Brewers matched baseball's modern-era record for the biggest shutout, beating the Seattle Mariners 22-0 on Tuesday night behind three-run homers from Christian Yelich, David Hamilton and Luis Lara and a two-run shot by Jake Bauers. ... READ MORE

FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Three big questions circling the Lakers amid potential sale of Buss family’s remaining stake. Nearly a week after Mark Walter sold his majority ownership stake in the Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for $12.5 billion, the Buss family has reportedly agreed to sell its remaining 17.8% ownership stake in the team, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Lakers governor Jeanie Buss, who assumed the title after her father Jerry died in 2013, is strongly opposed to the sale. ... READ MORE

FROM YAHOO SPORTS: Indiana Fever 'spectacle' goes international as team picks up fifth straight win in first trip to Toronto. The standard 5 o'clock pedestrian traffic of financiers in suits featured pops of red and No. 22 jerseys in the Entertainment District on Tuesday night. The promenade at Scotiabank Arena was populated with even more two hours before tipoff. ... READ MORE

1791: Benjamin Banneker writes to Thomas Jefferson, urging justice for African Americans. On Aug. 19, 1791, the accomplished American mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Banneker pens a letter to then-Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson corresponds prolifically with luminaries from around the world, but Banneker is unique among them: the son of a free Black American woman and a formerly enslaved African man from Guinea, Banneker criticizes Jefferson’s hypocritical stance on slavery in respectful but unambiguous terms, using Jefferson’s own words to make his case for the abolition of slavery. … READ MORE

1909: First race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On Aug. 19, 1909, the first race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, now the home of the world’s most famous motor racing competition, the Indianapolis 500. … READ MORE

1964: The Beatles kick off first U.S. tour at San Francisco’s Cow Palace. On Aug. 19, 1964, more than six months after taking the East Coast by storm, the Fab Four travel to California to take the stage at the Cow Palace in San Francisco for opening night of their first-ever concert tour of North America. … READ MORE

www.history.com

Birthdays and notables

Happy birthday, Shelli Pulley! And happy belated birthday to Rob Schultz, who celebrated Aug. 18.

These celebrities were born on this date: John Stamos, Ethan Cutkosky, Lexi Jayde, Siena Agudong, Christina Perri, Melissa Fumero, Manny Jacinto, John Deacon, Nico Hulkenberg

Historical birthdays

1871 – Orville Wright, American engineer and aviation pioneer who co-invented the first successful motor-powered airplane

1881 – George Enescu, renowned Romanian composer, violinist, and conductor

1883 – Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Chanel), pioneering French fashion designer and businesswoman

The answer to the last riddle: What happened when the musical act left the outdoor stage due to a thunderstorm? The audience left with reckless a-band-done! Other answers: Gail Tomlinson

Today's riddle: Where can you find an ocean with no water?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com BY NOON to be sure your answer gets included!

To advertise in the Daily Umbrella or Ankeny Living magazines, contact:

Angela Ossian
Account Executive
Office: 515-953-4822 ext. 307
Mobile: 515-979-5585
angela@iowalivingmagazines.com

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