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Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026
Good morning to you! 

Welcome to an extra edition of the mailbag where you will find some of the comments, questions and ideas sent recently by readers of this newsletter or our publications. They are edited for space and clarity.

“Amen to your recent column (Thank you to the people who keep America working, Guthrie County Times Vedette, Sept. 1, 2026). I couldn’t agree more with every point you made. I think America would be well-served if working for the sake of having pride in yourself and your community would get back into the forefront of our citizens’ minds.” - Chris

A little self-responsibility certainly goes a long way — for all of us. - Shane

“Bills in the mail (Paper bills, Sept. 2, 2026). Payments mailed. Real people I can understand when I call customer service. The way it ought to be.” - Brad

Kind of demanding, aren’t you, Brad? - Shane

“I'm with you on paper billing, paper receipts, etc. (Paper bills, Sept. 2, 2026). I only write about eight paper checks a year anymore, but I still maintain a check register in order to keep a finance journal and accurate balance. Each time I pay something online, I enter it into the register. And each time an automatic payment happens, I enter that into the register. I keep all receipts from credit cards and automatic subscription payments. These are collected monthly and combined with the paper copy of the online bank bill when it arrives in the U.S. mail. They don't get thrown out for three years in case IRS audits me, but I do keep some receipts forever for things of major purchase (sometimes only for satisfaction to remember how much I paid for that sofa or TV or to remind me where I bought it). Call me old fashioned, but at least when technology has a glitch or I haven't upgraded software to read things, I will still have my papers.” - Margaret

This is yet another reason why I like you, Margaret. - Shane

“Shane, count me in to old school way of doing things for the exact reasons you mentioned (Paper bills, Sept. 2, 2026). Take care.” - Scott

Well, I guess we are not alone. - Shane

“I’m nearly 80 years old, and I’ve gone as paperless as possible (Paper bills, Sept. 2, 2026). It’s becoming more and more expensive to pay bills by snail mail with a piece of paper. I’m anticipating the day when vendors will start charging a ‘processing fee’ for using paper instead of electronic payments. The last time I had to order check blanks, it cost me almost $1 per check. Add that to the cost of postage and an envelope and you’re into real money. As for those pesky receipts, I only keep them long enough to ensure that they are accurately recorded in my accounts. Then it’s into the shredder, unless I might need it later to verify a major purchase for warranty coverage or to satisfy Judge Judy as to what an item or a repair cost me.” - Bill

Good points. You are a rebel, Bill. - Shane

Have a thoughtful Thursday, 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: $1.2 billion in Central Iowa Water Works projects coming. There are big plans ahead for Central Iowa's drinking water system: $1.2 billion worth. "It's no secret Des Moines is a wonderful place to live, and as we grow, we need more water for that population," said Tami Madsen, executive director of Central Iowa Water Works. The list of projects includes building a new West Plant, expanding the Saylorville and Grimes plants, and expanding the nitrate removal facility. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Central Iowa begins drying out after rainfall floods hundreds of basements. Many central Iowa homeowners are working to dry out as restoration efforts get underway after Tuesday’s heavy rainfall. Restoration companies like ServiceMaster by Rice have been working around the clock since 5 p.m. Tuesday, after roughly 6″ to 8″ inches of rain fell in just 24 hours. Some homeowners were aware of the flooding last night, while others woke up to inches of water in the basement. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: 2 men in custody after chase involving stolen car tied to shooting near Roosevelt High.  Two men are in custody Wednesday evening following a pursuit connected to stolen vehicle which was allegedly involved in a Tuesday shooting near Roosevelt High School and Hubbell Elementary School, according to Des Moines police. Just before 2 p.m. Wednesday, DMPD said detectives received a license plate reader alert for a suspect vehicle connected to the shooting. ... READ MORE

 
 

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Yemen risks a return to civil war as Iran-backed rebels target a crucial shipping route. Yemen is moving closer to a return to civil war. The escalating events in the Arab world’s poorest country are closely linked to the war in Iran and global efforts to ship oil out of the Gulf region. Here’s a look at an emerging conflict involving an Iranian-backed rebel group’s efforts to keep neighboring Saudi Arabia from using a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, and how that could tear Yemen apart once more. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Trump, hoping to salvage midterms, makes dubious pledge to give every US adult $5,000 if GOP wins. President Donald Trump pledged Wednesday to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, an extraordinary gambit to reverse his party’s sagging fortunes in November. The dubious promise would likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, and would further exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: $3M settlement in lawsuit over 2021 officer involved shooting. The family of a man shot and killed by a Waterloo police officer has reached a settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit. Brent Boggess was shot and killed in November 2021 following what his family says was a mental health episode. Waterloo police say he led them on a chase and eventually stopped but then accelerated again, hitting a police cruiser at about 8 miles per hour. ... READ MORE

 
 
Weather forecast
Thursday, Sept. 10
 
Mostly sunny
High: 79
Low: 61
Rain chance: 10%
Friday, Sept. 11
 

Partly cloudy
High: 84
Low: 67
Rain chance: 30%

Saturday, Sept. 12
 

Mostly cloudy
High: 82
Low: 63
Rain chance: 20%

 
Allergy alert
 
Today: 10.5, high range
 
Top allergens:
Nettle
Chenopods
Ragweed
 
 
 

Des Moines Playhouse. "Come From Away." Sept. 11-Oct. 4.  At right, Cast of "Come From Away" at the Playhouse. Photo by Steve Gibbons

Carousel Theatre of Indianola. "110 Stories." Sept. 10-13. Proceeds above the cost of the show will be donated and split between Indianola Police and Fire Department charities.  A first responder will be featured each night in our audience. 
 
Tallgrass Theatre Company. "She Kills Monsters: Young Adventurers Edition." Sept. 11-27. 

One of the region’s signature end-of-summer events happens Sunday, Sept. 13 as PorchFest 2026 delivers a day of diverse music. Listen as founders and producers Dave and Anne Ducharme-Jones share insights into this year’s magnificent lineup.

Des Moines Performing Arts. "Wicked." Through Sept.  20.

— John Busbee, The Culture Buzz

 
Reader submission

GROOT? Iowa sunset during a storm. Photo by Catherine Westercamp , Ankeny, who asks if others see the character Groot in the shape.

 
The 2026 results: CITYVIEW's Best of Des Moines®
 
 
Best Local Museum
1. Des Moines Art Center 
2. State Historical Museum of Iowa
3. Science Center of Iowa
 
See all of the results
 
 

Iowa Nice report
Iowa State University's Seed Science Center is providing assistance to Jamaica following recent hurricane damage, shipping seeds and expertise to help communities recover and restore food production. 

With help from Lutheran Services in Iowa's Global Greens program, African immigrants have been growing lenga lenga (tastes like collard greens) in Iowa, where we call it amaranth. The Global Greens Market sold $550,000 of the leafy green crop during last year's growing season.

Deals today
• Guesthouse Tavern and Oyster (9500 University Ave., West Des Moines) offers pasta and meatball dinner specials for $22 Thursdays.
 
• High Life Lounge (200 Second St., Des Moines) has a Thursday special spaghetti and meat balls for $10.99.
 
• The Empire's (223 Fourth St., Des Moines) Thursday special is baked spaghetti for $10.
 
• Thursday is $10 kebabs and wings day at Desi Bites (3828 100th St., Urbandale). 
 
• Mariana's (1305 University Ave., Des Moines) offers pastor tacos for $2 Thursdays.
 
• Talk Shop Lounge (3357 St. Charles Road, St. Charles) has two deals Thursday: jambalaya dinner for $15, lasagna for $10.
 
• Cowboy (1234 E. Euclid Ave., Des Moines) has ribs on special today, $2.99/per rib.
 
• The False Nine Social Club (206 Fifth St., Valley Junction) has jacket potatoes on sale Thursdays for $10.
 
• The Waveland (4708 University Ave., Des Moines) has Italian sausage grinders on special today.
 
• B&B (S.E. Sixth and Hartford, Des Moines) has a Thursday special Killer's double hot Polish with fries and a soda for $12.95.
 
• Thursdays are triple decker Reuben day at Graziano Brothers (1601 S. Union St., Des Moines).
  
• Striking Sparrow (1930 S.E. Sixth St., Des Moines) has a Thursday special breaded pork tenderloin with fries and soda for $12.
 
• Taco pizzas are the Thursday special at Walker's Place (475 N.E. Broadway Ave., Des Moines).
 
• Sale Barn Cafe (Lamoni) is offering pulled pork and loaded tater tot specials today.
 
•  AJ's (Prairie Meadows) has an 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.
 
• Istanbul Grill Cafe & Bakery (3281 100th St., Urbandale) has a Thursday special of $11.99 for a döner wrap with fries as well as $5 off döner plate which comes with Turkish salad and your choice of rice or bulgur. 
 
•  Turkey club melt on garlic focaccia with fries for $12.99 are a Thursday special at Club 2000. 
 
• Maxie's (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines) Thursday special for $20.95 is half a fried chicken with potato, side of spaghetti, and a salad. Lunch and dinner.
 
• Mullets Norwalk offers two, two-topping pizzas for $20 on Thursdays, 4 p.m. to close.
 
• Buzzard Billy's (615 Third St., Des Moines) has $2 off appetizers on Thursdays.

• Steak Nights: Sirloin steak dinners are featured specials today at Johnny's Italian Steakhouses (before 4 p.m.), Sully's Irish Pub (860 First St., West Des Moines); Front Row (9956 Swanson Blvd., Clive); Winn’s Pizza and Steakhouse (122 W. Ashland Ave., Indianola); and Hy-Vee Market Grilles. The Station on Ingersoll (3120 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has a $12 ribeye sandwich special on Thursdays. Gilroy's (1238 Eighth St., West Des Moines) offers ribeyes and sirloins only on Thursdays after 5 p.m.
 
• Mullets has a Thursday pizza special — buy one large specialty pizza and get a free 14-inch two-topping pizza.
 
• Kids eat free at Scorno’s Pizza & Pasta (1930 S.E. 14th St., Des Moines) on Thursdays with every $15 order.
    
• The Continental (407 E. Fifth St., Des Moines) has $7 loaded fries on Thursdays.
 
• Buffalo Wild Wings offers two orders for the price of one Thursdays on orders of six, 10 and 15 boneless wings.

• Price Choppers have sales through Monday on chicken breasts at $2.99/pound, tilapia filets at $4.49/pound and russet potatoes at $2.99/10-pound bag.

• Aldi stores have sales through Tuesday on green grapes at $1.39/pound, avocados at $.59 and navel oranges at $2.89/3-pound bag.

• Fresh Thyme (2800 University Ave., West Des Moines) is running sales through Tuesday on Coho salmon at $5.99/pound, boneless chicken breasts at $1.99/pound and pumpkin pies at $4.99/22 ounces.

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

 
 
Featured in the current issue of CITYVIEW  magazine.
 

FEATURE STORY
Paradise lost — The rich black dirt of Iowa

By Jim Duncan

From the human point of view, dirt is the ultimate outsider. We try to keep it out of sight, out of mind and outdoors. We kick it off our shoes, spit on it and degrade it linguistically with dirty jokes, dirty minds, dirty secrets and dirty truths.

In the end, everything comes from it and everything returns to it. It is first on Aristotle’s list of the “Big Four” elements of life, ahead of air, fire and water. Yet somehow, no one worries that it is disappearing.

When agriculture was the “new technology,” 98% of the population worked the land to support the small ruling classes who somehow controlled its distribution and its bounty. Today, less than 1% of the U.S. population works the land. While the world population keeps growing, the amount of productive land that is farmed has been in steady decline since the 1970s. ...

 
Read more
 
Featured home for sale
 
Post listings here for only $50. Contact jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com for details.
 
$599,000
36 30th St.
Des Moines, IA 50312
  
With more than  3,200 finished square feet, this beautifully updated South of Grand home offers the perfect blend of space, comfort and privacy. The bright, open floor plan features vaulted ceilings, an inviting living room that flows into the kitchen, multiple gathering spaces, and a thoughtfully designed layout with the spacious primary suite tucked away from the additional bedrooms for added privacy. ...
  
See the listing here.
 
See more homes for sale
 
SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction
 
12345 UNIVERSITY AVE., CLIVE
DATE: 2026-04-02
SALE PRICE: $5,450,000
SELLER: STRATFORD PARTNERS LLC
BUYER: FORTRESS BANK
ACRES: 2.488
SQUARE FEET: 39,732
 
More transactions
 
 
Sports headlines
FROM ESPN: Seahawks QB Darnold injures hip vs. Patriots, set for MRI. The Seahawks might have to continue their title defense with Sam Darnold temporarily sidelined. For now, though, the reigning Super Bowl champions are 1-0 with Drew Lock at quarterback. Darnold went down on the opening possession Wednesday night against the New England Patriots because of a hip injury that sidelined him for the rest of the game. With help from Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Seattle's dominant defense, Lock led a second-half rally to help the Seahawks open the season with a 13-10 win in a rematch of Super Bowl LX. ... READ MORE
 
FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: At his highest moment, Frances Tiafoe Rose even higher. His viral U.S. Open hug is why we love sports. When American star Frances Tiafoe handed his compatriot and friend a heartbreaking defeat in Tuesday’s U.S. Open quarterfinals, it was what he did after that captured the hearts of a nation. Tiafoe had just completed an all-time epic comeback against world No. 46 Alex Michelsen, who was playing in his first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal. After dropping the first two sets, Tiafoe punched back in the third and fourth sets to force a winner-take-all tiebreaker in the fifth. ... READ MORE
 
FROM YAHOO SPORTS: Hearing in SEC's lawsuit vs. LSU, Lane Kiffin delayed, conference no longer expected to discuss kicking Tigers out. Tensions appear to be cooling between the SEC and LSU. Wednesday's scheduled court hearing regarding the conference's lawsuit against the school and coach Lane Kiffin was continued to a later date. The continuance comes a day after LSU filled its final two open roster spots and will not be able to roster TE Dae'Quan Wright and DT Zxavian Harris during the 2026 season. ... READ MORE
 
 
Weekly fuel report
 
The price of regular unleaded gasoline rose 17 cents from last week's price and is currently averaging $4.06 across Iowa according to AAA. Prices are up $1.22 from a year ago. The national average on Wednesday was $4.22, up 10 cents from last week’s price.

Retail diesel prices in Iowa rose 27 cents this week with a statewide average of $5.71. One year ago, diesel prices averaged $3.56 in Iowa. The current Iowa diesel price is 23 cents lower than the national average of $5.94.

The current Des Moines Terminal/Rack Prices are $3.17 for U87-E10, $3.92 for Unleaded 87 (clear), $4.70 for ULSD#2, $4.95 for ULSD#1, and $2.58 per gallon for E-70 prices.

Natural gas prices were down 11 cents at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently priced at $2.85 MMbtu.

 
Cheapest gas in the metro. www.gasbuddy.com
Sinclair in West Des Moines (136 First St.) - $3.59
Flying J in Altoona (3231 Adventureland Drive) - $3.64
Murphy USA in Altoona (3405 Eighth St. S.W.) - $3.64
QuikTrip in Des Moines (3700 Hubbell Ave.) - $3.64
 

1897: First drunk driving arrest. On Sept. 10, 1897, a 25-year-old London taxi driver named George Smith becomes the first person ever arrested for drunk driving after slamming his cab into a building. Smith later pleaded guilty and was fined 25 shillings. … READ MORE

1977: The guillotine falls silent. On Sept. 10, 1977, at Baumetes Prison in Marseille, France, Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant convicted of murder, becomes the last person executed by guillotine. … READ MORE

2008: CERN Large Hadron Collider is powered up. On Sept. 10, 2008, scientists successfully flip the switch for the first time on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) lab in Geneva, kicking off what many called history’s biggest science experiment. … READ MORE

www.history.com

 
Birthdays and notables
 
These celebrities were born on this date:  Colin Firth, Big Daddy Kane, José Feliciano, Karl Lagerfeld, Ryan Phillippe, Guy Ritchie, Joe Perry, Philip Baker Hall, Adam Herz, Amy Irving, Ashley Monroe, Chandler Massey, Clark Johnson, Aaron Kyro
 
Historical birthdays
1852 – Alice Brown Davis: The first female Principal Chief of the Seminole Tribe in Oklahoma, appointed by President Warren G. Harding.
 
1857 – James Edward Keeler: An influential American astronomer and astrophysicist who helped confirm the nature of Saturn's rings and co-founded The Astrophysical Journal.
 
Morning chuckle

The answer to the last riddle: What's the easiest building to lift? A LIGHTHOUSE! - Carolyn Rogers, Kris Laurson, Ceci Jackson, Gail Tomlinson. Or, A HIGH RISE! Or, AN ELEVATOR FACTORY! - Irving Stone, Sharon Hill Watkins, Anne Lentz.

 Today's riddle: Where do birds stay when they travel?

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

 

To advertise in the Daily Umbrella or the Grimes/Dallas Center, North Polk or Adel Living magazines, contact:

Dan Juffer
Senior Account Executive
Office: 515-953-4822 ext. 303
Mobile: 515-371-2290
dan.juffer@dmcityview.com

 

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Johnston, Iowa 50131

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