DU Sept. 16: Smith named DMPS superintendent; Perry police find dead infant inside trash bag; why did the cowboy adopt a wiener

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Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026

Good morning to you!

“You got water in your basement?”

That was a common phrase of my youth, directed at anyone whose pant length may have been on the short side. This was the 1970s. Before capris. Before clam diggers. Before pedal-pushers. Back then, the longer and more flared the pant legs were, the better. Short pants were called “floods,” a clever tie-in to the aforementioned “water in the basement” question.

I am guessing this whole bit of tomfoolery came from the attempt to keep pant legs dry by rolling them up when walking through water. At least, that makes sense to me. Maybe it was a regional thing. Perhaps you had your own colorful vocabulary for “highwaters” where you grew up.

Of course, with all the rain we have had lately — and more in the forecast — many of you are dealing with actual rain water in your basement. And you may even be wearing “floods” while you clean it up. For your sake, I hope not. I remember those days all too well.

Firing up the wet vac was a common occurrence in one of my childhood homes whenever it rained. The Realtor who sold my family the house said it did not have water in the basement. The Realtor was wrong. My brother and I would cringe whenever we heard thunder because we knew what was coming next. Out came the wet vac. Then the squeegee. Then the towels. Then the cleaning supplies. It was not “family fun night.” It was “welcome to the basement water-removal department.”

After a few years of this, Mom decided enough was enough. The carpet was torn out, tile was installed and that cracked basement wall behind the paneling was structurally repaired. And it worked. We could finally join Eddie Rabbitt and love a rainy night.

This morning, sump pumps are humming across Iowa, working overtime to keep basements dry. Homeowners are crossing their fingers that the pumps don’t burn up, the power doesn’t go out and the rain doesn’t decide to move into the basement for an extended stay.

People in other states sometimes wonder why we even have basements. Those people have never experienced an Iowa tornado. Around here, a basement is not just extra living space. It is a storm shelter, storage unit, laundry room, recreation area and, occasionally, an indoor swimming pool.

So, the next time someone asks, “You got water in your basement?” take a moment before answering. Because, these days, it might not be a joke about your pants. It might be a serious question. And, if the answer is yes, I hope your sump pump is working, your wet vac is nearby and your pant legs are short enough to stay out of the water.

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: Matt Smith named new Des Moines Public Schools superintendent. Des Moines Public Schools did not have to look far to find its next full-time superintendent. Matt Smith, the district's associate superintendent, was unanimously voted to be the next superintendent on Tuesday. Smith has twice served as the interim superintendent while district leaders searched for a full-time replacement, including nearly a year in that role since Sept. 26, 2025, following former Superintendent Ian Roberts' arrest. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Perry Police find dead infant inside daycare center trash bag. Perry Police Department says an investigation is underway after an infant was found deceased at a daycare center. Police say on Tuesday just before 5:00 p.m., Dallas County Emergency Medical Services were dispatched to Acorns & Oaks Child Care for a report of a female experiencing vaginal bleeding. When EMS arrived, they aided the patient and took her to a metro hospital just after 5:30 p.m. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Local residents and hardware stores scramble for supplies amid unexpected September floods. After another night of heavy rain, some residents are waking up to flooded basements and a growing need for supplies to remove the water.
At Cappel’s Ace Hardware in West Des Moines, several shelves were left empty Tuesday as customers searched for items including shop vacs, squeegees and other equipment to help deal with flooding. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Building collapse in Gaza kills 19 as perilous conditions persist for Palestinians during truce. A building housing about 100 people gave out in Gaza City early Wednesday morning, killing 19 people as they slept and injuring 25, and leaving rescuers digging through rubble for dozens more who’d been sheltering inside the structure. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: 3 people killed when NBC and Telemundo news helicopter crashes while covering LA bus collision. A news helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighborhood on Tuesday and burst into flames, killing at least three people while reporters were covering the collision of an SUV and a city bus, officials and the news outlet said. Colleen Williams, an NBC4 Los Angeles anchor, confirmed during live broadcasts that two people were killed when the chopper went down. At least one other person was killed on the ground, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department said. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Packed Dubuque County forum pushes candidates on data center concerns. Seats were hard to come by inside Happy’s Place on Tuesday evening as Dubuque County residents crammed into the venue to press local political candidates on how massive data center developments could impact their community. The candidate forum, organized by the Data Center Accountability for the Citizens of Dubuque County group, brought voters face-to-face with candidates running for office ahead of election day. ... READ MORE

Wednesday, Sept. 16

Showers
High: 70
Low: 64
Rain chance: 40%

Thursday, Sept. 17

Slight chance of showers
High: 79
Low: 66
Rain chance: 40%

Friday, Sept. 18

Partly Cloudy
High: 84
Low: 68
Rain chance: 40%

Allergy alert

Today: 7.9 medium-high range

Top allergens:

Nettle

Chenopods

Ragweed

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

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

Best Local Annual Event
1. ARL Raise Your Paw Auction
2. Iowa State Fair
3. Des Moines Arts Festival

See all of the results

Woebegone Wednesday
Other than Chili's, the casual dining category of restaurants is hurting. Red Robin said it plans to close 20 restaurants in 2026 as leases expire. That is after closing 23 locations in 2025. The Ruby Tuesday restaurant chain has been downsizing its chain for almost 20 years, as its locations have declined from 945 locations in 2007 to about 174 today. Bravo Italian Kitchen has continued closing locations since filing for bankruptcy in August 2025, as it has abruptly closed its restaurants at the Dayton Mall in Miami Township in Ohio, and the Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines earlier this month.

Some chains are betting on nostalgia. Buffalo Wild Wings brought back some early 2000s menu items including Mini Corn Dogs and Hot BBQ Sauce. Taco Bell brought back the chain's 2016 menu, with returning items including the Naked Chicken Chalupa and Beefy Crunch Burrito.

Deals today
• Dam Pub (2710 Beaver Ave.) has half-price wings on Wednesdays, usually with a special sauce available.

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

• Fareways have a Wednesday-only half-priced sale on King Hawaiian sandwich trays, $9.99/16 count.

• 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.

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

• 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.

• 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.

• Wednesdays bring steak night to Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines). Steaks are cooked to order with salad, potato and bread, $14.99.

• 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 cheese manicotti, 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.

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

Featured in the current issue of CITYVIEW magazine.

FILM REVIEW
‘Facing El Chapo’ offers a suspenseful standoff — after the first act

By David Rowley

“Facing El Chapo”
R | 1 hour, 31 minutes
Director: Chava Cartas
Writers: Bernardo Esquinca, Héctor de Mauleón
Stars: Alfonso Herrera, Noé Hernández, Hector Kotsifakis

Netflix’s “Facing El Chapo” (original title “La Captura”) makes an unusual bet: Instead of building its story around Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, it turns the spotlight on two ordinary federal officers who stumble into the biggest arrest of their careers.

Director Chava Cartas opens with Officer Arturo Carmona (Alfonso Herrera), who is haunted by nightmares from a past shooting and buried under money problems as his wife’s third pregnancy adds pressure to an already stretched household. It’s a deliberately small, human problem — how does a cop with two kids and a baby on the way cover the bills? — and it works precisely because it’s unglamorous. Viewers aren’t asked to root for a hero; they’re asked to worry about a guy picking up dangerous night shifts to keep his family afloat. ...

Featured home for sale

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Waterbury Neighborhood

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See more homes for sale

SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction

3355 S.E. MIEHE DRIVE, GRIMES
DATE: 2026-04-09
SALE PRICE: $180,000
SELLER: DURACHEM LLC
BUYER: OLBERDING, DAVID
ACRES: 0.062
SQUARE FEET: 1,080

More transactions

FROM ESPN: Pete Alonso hits 300th HR at Citi Field as Orioles beat Mets. Pete Alonso hit plenty of memorable home runs for the Mets. This one came at their expense -- and still earned him a curtain call in Queens. Alonso launched his 300th career homer Tuesday night, a tying shot in the ninth inning against his former team, and Coby Mayo's inside-the-park homer in the 11th sent the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-5 victory at Citi Field. ... READ MORE

FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Six embattled college football coaches on the hot seat already. The preseason hot seat lists weren’t very long this August, largely because so many jobs turned over last year (34 out of 138, to be precise). But the coaches who were on the list remain on it so far, with perhaps a couple additions. Some have big opportunities this weekend — either to improve their standing or perhaps bury themselves. ... READ MORE

FROM YAHOO SPORTS: Protect College Sports Act passes first major hurdle, but obstacles remain. As voting concluded here at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, as senators sent their resounding support for a bill to regulate college athletics — the procedural first vote passed, 74-24 — the authors of the legislation, for a brief few minutes, buried their beaming happiness and postponed their celebration. An issue brewed. ... READ MORE

1620: Mayflower departs England. On Sept. 16, 1620, the Mayflower sails from Plymouth, England, bound for the Americas with 102 passengers. The ship was headed for Virginia, where the colonists—half religious dissenters and half entrepreneurs—had been authorized to settle by the British crown. However, stormy weather and navigational errors forced the Mayflower off course, and on November 21 the “Pilgrims” reached Massachusetts, where they founded the first permanent European settlement in New England in late December. … READ MORE

1893: Settlers race to claim land in Oklahoma. On Sept. 16, 1893, the largest land run in history begins with more than 100,000 people pouring into the Cherokee Strip of Oklahoma to claim valuable land that had once belonged to Native Americans. With a single shot from a pistol the mad dash began, and land-hungry pioneers on horseback and in carriages raced forward to stake their claims to the best acres. … READ MORE

1940: United States imposes the draft. The Burke-Wadsworth Act is passed by Congress on Sept. 16, 1940, by wide margins in both houses, and the first peacetime draft in the history of the United States is imposed. Selective Service was born. … READ MORE

www.history.com

Birthdays and notables

These celebrities were born on this date: Chase Stokes, Nick Jonas, Flo Rida, Alexis Bledel, Gleb Savchenko, Amy Poehler, Ian Harding, Marc Anthony, Jennnifer Tilly, Kyla Pratt, Piper Rubio, Loona, Ed Begley Jr., Marcus T. Gray

Historical birthdays

1875: James Cash Penney Jr. was an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the JCPenney stores in 1902.

1888: Walter Owen Bentley, MBE was an English engineer who founded Bentley in London. He was a motorcycle and car racer as a young man. After making a name for himself as a designer of aircraft and automobile engines, Bentley established his own firm in 1919.

The answer to the last riddle: How do you cook an alligator? IN A CROC POT! - Judy Anderson, Gail Tomlinson, Rex Post. Or, By making it boiling mad! - Carolyn Rogers.

Today's riddle: Why did the cowboy adopt a wiener dog?

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

To advertise in the Guthrie Center Times, Panora Times, Lake Panorama Times and Guthrie County Times Vedette, contact:

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