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.
“Good afternoon, Shane. How about a great steak (Summertime foods, Aug. 14, 2024)? Medium rare. Speaking of ice cream, when we lived near Washington, D.C., we were trying to find salt for our ice cream maker. The clerk at a Giant store questioned why I would need such an odd item in the stifling heat of a Washington summer. I explained why, and it brought back memories for him. He asked me to let him know if I found it. I did.” - John
Steaks on the grill and homemade ice cream. You know my weak spots. I am in. - Shane
“Good point, Shane, about the blowing bags I pick out of our townhome bushes (Mailbag, Aug. 15, 2024). Thanks.” - John
Some people say diamonds are forever. Those plastic bags are, too. - Shane
“I much prefer to celebrate for the entire month (Birthday memories, Aug. 19, 2024)!” - Carol
I like the way you think, Carol. - Shane
“I arrived at my boyfriend's house knowing he wouldn't be back for a few minutes. So, I grabbed the Ankeny Living magazine out of his recycle container and proceeded to read your column (The buzz about bees, Ankeny Living, August 2024). It gave a me a smile and a couple of laughs. Normally, I seem to find these types of articles boring or mundane. Not yours! I wanted to take the time to thank you for your humorous writing skills. P.S. - I'm going to read it again!” - Stacey
You are welcome. I am glad you are reading. - Shane
“You obviously aren’t at the age where you are routinely visiting medical facilities (Birthday memories, Aug. 19, 2024). When you reach that age, you’ll quickly memorize your birthday (and your spouse’s because she’ll be at that age, too) because that’s the secret code that identifies you in the medical records system.” - Bill
I don't have trouble remembering my birthdate. Doing the math to determine my age seems to be the problem. Taking my socks off doesn’t seem to help. - 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
See Shane Goodman's previous columns here. |
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Clear Mortgage meteorology
Nice weather ahead until we heat up this weekend. Next rain chance comes late Friday into Saturday.
For help with pre-approvals or refinancing, get in touch with Originating Branch Manager Carrie Hansen at carrie.mortgage. |
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| Featured in the August issue of CITYVIEW | | | CARS IN THE CITY
Chevy Suburban is a swift and solid ride
By Jackie Wilson
One of Chevrolet’s longest-running production vehicles continues its popularity for nearly a century.
The 2024 Chevy Suburban RST is a monster SUV and is even longer than the Silverado pickup truck. It’s got a big price tag to boot. The RST is a middle-range Suburban, and this version with its extras rang in at $82,745. For comparison, in the year 1989, you could have bought a three-bedroom home in Des Moines for about the same price.
Dollar signs aside, the Suburban has power. With a 6.2 liter, EcoTec3 V-8 engine and 420 horsepower, this was a solid and swift ride, once I figured out how to put the car in gear. It seemed counter intuitive as I had to pull the latch toward me to put it in gear instead of a push button or a shifter. | | | READ MORE |
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| CITYVIEW's Best Of Des Moines® | | | The results have been tallied and published in the February issue of CITYVIEW and online!
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If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some weapons in your hair. The hospitality industry is rebounding from pandemic woes. But not in San Francisco where hotel owners are drowning in bad debt. The delinquency rate among commercial mortgage-backed security loans for the lodging sector in the City by the Bay skyrocketed to 41.6% in June from 5.7% in June 2023 — the largest increase across the country’s 25 largest metro areas. Weekend hotel occupancy in June, a rough proxy for leisure travel, is down around 22% since 2019 in the San Francisco-San Mateo region, versus 4% nationwide. Conferences are passing on the city, citing "quality of life issues." (Vegas is sucking many of them up.) The city’s two largest hotels, Hilton Parc 55 and Hilton San Francisco Union Square, combined, have lost $1 billion in value after being unloaded at deep discount by the investment firm that owned them. (WSJ)
Real estate tip: Build a pub inside your home. Tom and Molly Bedell’s West Okoboji house, with an Irish Pub, recently set an Iowa sales record, selling for $9.5 million. (WSJ)
Deals today
• Irina’s Steak and Seafood (650 South Prairie View Drive, West Des Moines) now offers a USDA prime version of steak night. Choose a filet, New York strip or sirloin with a side for $25.
• Ribeye sandwiches are tonight's feature at The Station on Ingersoll (3124 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines), and chicken fried steak or liver and onions dinners are at Mickey's in Yale (217 Main St., Yale).
• Firecracker shrimp are $6 on Thursdays, and five pasta dinners are just $12.99, including fettuccine chicken Alfredo, at Bianca’s Grill & Vineyard (410 S. Ankeny Blvd., Ankeny).
• Red Lobster (3838 Westown Parkway, West Des Moines) offers a Thursday special of Maine lobster tail with shrimp scampi and a side for $20.
• Fresh Thyme (2900 University Ave., West Des Moines) offers $.99/pound Michigan apples through Tuesday including acclaimed hybrids Ginger Gold and Paula Red.
• Aldi stores are selling avocados for 79 cents each through Tuesday. They are running $2 each in other chains.
— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com |
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CENTER STAGE - a weekly Daily Umbrella update about cultural happenings in Central Iowa.
The 2024 Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Arts Awards.
Sunday, Aug. 25, 5 p.m. (doors open at 4:30 p.m.) at Hoyt Sherman Place Theatre. Free and open to the public. Celebrating the best in regional community theatre from this past year. “Broadway has its Tony Awards. Central Iowa has its Cloris Awards. With dozens of shows each year, this thriving theatre community shares the wonder and magic of performing arts with tens of thousands each season. Once a year, performers, production people and audiences converge to celebrate the accomplishments of the previous season, basking in the celebratory afterglow in communal appreciation.” – The Culture Buzz
World Food Festival’s 20th Anniversary
The 2024 World Food & Music Festival presented by Veridian Credit Union will make its return for its 20th year on Friday, Aug. 23 – Sunday, Aug. 25 at Western Gateway Park in Downtown Des Moines. Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Moulin Rouge! The Musical”
Playing on the Civic Center stage, Des Moines Performing Arts brings the North American National Tour of this dynamic, multiple Tony Award-winning Broadway show to Iowa. The Culture Buzz attended opening night of this show's run here. "The advance hype and anticipation for this show was incredible...the production exceeded expectations."
Tallgrass Theatre Company - Karaoke Night
Saturday, Aug. 24, 7 p.m. Get your Broadway excitement ramped up on Cloris Awards Eve.
— John Busbee, The Culture Buzz |
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| Featured home for sale | | |
$329,900 2614 Moonlight Drive, Des Moines, IA 50320
Welcome to this stunning home that is sure to impress from the moment you step inside. You'll be greeted by a cozy sitting area, perfect for curling up with a good book. The updated kitchen seamlessly flows into the dining area and family room, creating an ideal space for entertaining. Upstairs, you'll find three generously sized bedrooms, with the master suite offering its own ensuite and plenty of closet space.
See the listing here.
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| SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction | | | 9289 SWANSON BLVD., CLIVE
SALE DATE: 2024-05-29
SALE PRICE: $2,400,000
SELLER: ACES UP PROPERTIES LLC
BUYER: CLIVE INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS LLC
ACRES: 3.002
SQUARE FEET: 30,240 |
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| From the August issue of Norwalk Living magazine | | | Giving back in numerous ways
Croll enjoys being a “conduit of joy”
By Lindsey Giardino
After moving to Norwalk with her family in 2017, Angie Croll began volunteering to make new friends in her new town.
“I was surprised that Norwalk felt like ‘home’ very quickly despite my being a lifelong Urbandale resident,” she says.
Most of ther volunteer work is with the Norwalk Area Ministerial Association, which is a group of churches working together to provide immediate assistance for community members’ basic needs in times of crisis.
[...] | | | READ MORE |
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FROM KCCI: Motorcyclist injured in crash that slowed traffic on I-80 near Clive. CLIVE, Iowa — A crash on Interstate 80/35 near Clive had traffic backed up on Wednesday afternoon. ....READ MORE
FROM WHO-TV: Semi-truck crashes, catches fire on I-80/35 in Urbandale early Wednesday. URBANDALE, Iowa – A fiery semi-truck crash on I-80 in Urbandale caused traffic slowdowns Wednesday morning. The crash happened around 4:45 a.m. in the westbound lanes, east of 86th Street when a semi-truck collided with the barrier and caught on fire.... READ MORE
FROM WOI-DT Local 5: Rhys Dakin has a tough act to follow at Iowa, where Tory Taylor's punting made him a showstopper. The Hawkeyes open Aug. 31 at home against Illinois State of the Football Championship Subdivision. ...READ MORE |
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ESPN: 2024 college football preseason playoff, bowl projections ...READ MORE
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Fellow Tennis Pros Take Issue With Lack of Punishment for Jannik Sinner ... READ MORE
CBS Sports: Hall of Famer Alvin Attles dies at 87: Warriors great spent 60 years with franchise as player, coach, GM ...READ MORE |
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1851: U.S. wins first America’s Cup. On August 22, 1851, the U.S.-built schooner America bests a fleet of Britain’s finest ships in a race around England’s Isle of Wight. The ornate silver trophy won by the America was later donated to the New York Yacht Club on condition that it be forever placed in international competition. Today, the “America’s Cup” is the world’s oldest continually contested sporting trophy and represents the pinnacle of international sailing yacht competition. ... READ MORE
1911: Theft of “Mona Lisa” is discovered. An amateur painter sets up his easel near Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris, only to discover that the masterpiece is missing. Earlier in the day, in perhaps the most brazen art theft of all time, Vincenzo Perugia had walked into the Louvre, removed the famed painting from the wall, hid it beneath his clothes, and escaped. ... READ MORE
1864: First Geneva Convention establishes Red Cross aid for war wounded.The Geneva Convention of 1864 for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick of Armies in the Field is adopted by 12 nations meeting in Geneva. The agreement, advocated by Swiss humanitarian Jean-Henri Dunant, called for nonpartisan care to the sick and wounded in times of war and provided for the neutrality of medical personnel. ... READ MORE
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| Birthdays and notables | | | Happy Birthday Stormy Miller!
These celebrities were born on this date: James Corden, Kristen Wiig, Carl Yastrzemski, Dua Lipa, Ty Burrell, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Giada De Laurentiis, Howie Dorough, Tori Amos, Paul Molitor, GZA, Rick Yune, Bill Parcells, David Marks, Diana Nyad, Paul Doucette, Richard Armitage, Ari Stidham
SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com |
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The answer to yesterday's riddle:
Do you know what being vegan is? A BIG MISSED-STEAK! -Kristine McDonald kind of got it. Other answers from Gail Tomlinson, Judy Anderson.
Today's riddle
What does a Triceratops sit on?
Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com |
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To advertise in the Daily Umbrella or CITYVIEW, contact:
Megan Pugh
Account Executive
c: 515-360-1225
megan@iowalivingmagazines.com
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www.biggreenumbrellamedia.com. Add webmaster@dmcityview.com to your address book to ensure delivery. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Click here to get it delivered to your inbox for FREE! |
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