No. 4 is gone. On her way to rural Washington state to stay with her new owner. Yes, the fourth dog in the Goodman family, Layla, has been adopted by my brother-in-law, Curtis, as we prepare for our first grandchild, who is scheduled to arrive in a few weeks.
We would have liked to have had both grandson and dog, but Layla didn’t want to cooperate with this plan. She is a great dog, but she takes issues with living and breathing things that are smaller than her. We found out the hard way. She likes cats, a bit too much, if you know what I mean. Small dogs get her all wound up, too. But when she gets near babies, she makes noises and has reactions I have never heard or seen before in a dog. We were not willing to risk our grandson’s safety for a dog. That may sound cold to some of you, but it is the right choice for us.
The good news is that we found a good person to provide a good home for this otherwise great dog. The bad news is that he is 1,674 miles away. Fortunately, this provided an opportunity for Jolene to see her brother and for our daughter, Abby, to see her uncle — and they both get to spend quality road time with Layla in a beautiful part of the country on the drive there.
Abby and I picked out Layla from a rescue organization a few years ago while we were dogless. Jolene was not so enthusiastic about having a dog again. As it worked out, Jolene and Layla became best friends, which was immediately apparent when she jumped on Jolene’s desk at work when they first met. The dog never really cares if I am even in the room, but she follows Jolene everywhere, tail wagging and making continual eye contact.
I am the one who takes Layla outside, feeds her and plays ball with her, but she loves Jolene. And Jolene loves her, too, which is obvious by the mountain of bones, rubber balls, blankets, sweaters, treats and other “stuff” she continually brings home for Layla.
I would bring Layla to work sometimes, as some of you who have visited our office know. She is affectionate to most humans, and she struggles to hold her licker. When Jolene leaves the office, she waits by the back door for her to return. What none of us at work will miss, though, is Layla’s flatulence when we all gathered in the conference room.
So, we are dogless once again, at least for a while. I believe every child should know the love of a dog, so I hope we may be able to find a No. 5 down the road that will cooperate with the plan. In the meantime, I look forward to swapping out bones, rubber balls, blankets, sweaters and dog treats for Nerf balls, Tonka Trucks, Hot Wheels, Lincoln Logs and Grandpa’s Best Hot Cocoa.
Have a magnificent 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
See Shane Goodman's past columns here. |
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FROM KCCI: Des Moines police identify homicide victim found dead in River Bend apartment. DES MOINES, Iowa — Des Moines police continue to investigate a homicide in the River Bend neighborhood. Just before 8:30 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to a report of a dead person in an apartment in the 500 block of Forest Avenue. There, they found the body of a 65-year-old man with evidence of a traumatic injury, DMPD said in a news release. ...READ MORE
FROM WHO-TV: New classes, programs offered through DMPS Community Education. DES MOINES, Iowa — The Community Education program through Des Moines Public Schools is open for registration for classes in the winter and spring. Jacob Burke, the Community Education Manager with Des Moines Public Schools joined Today in Iowa Sunday to discuss the variety of classes and programs that are offered. ...READ MORE
FROM WOI: Urbandale pays off multi-million dollar bonds early. The city did it through a combination of local option sales tax and a partnership with the City of Clive.....READ MORE |
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Clear Mortgage meteorology
Colder air moves in starting today and stays with us into the weekend. A chance for a dusting Wednesday night and Saturday night.
For help with pre-approvals or refinancing, get in touch with Originating Branch Manager Carrie Hansen at carrie.mortgage. |
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| Read the latest CITYVIEW | | | STRAY THOUGHTS
More access to government, not more secrecy, is needed
By Randy Evans
I was asked to speak last week at the annual conference of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. My remarks boiled down to a simple message: The public needs more information *about* their governments, not more secrecy *from* their governments.
I explained a troubling trend I see worming its way through local governments in Iowa. This trend cuts at the heart of the public meeting law that has served our state and its citizens well for 50 years.
Open meetings of government boards, councils and commissions give the tax-paying public a seat from which they can monitor what government boards are doing — or not doing. ... | | | READ MORE |
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Back to the Biz
Top notch culinary school Escoffier released results of a survey of Americans’ spending on take-out food. 1.) Fast food dominates takeout, with 60% of Americans choosing it as their preferred option for ordering meals at home. 2.) 64% of consumers tip more generously when using digital payment platforms, with tips increasing by an average of 15% compared to cash payments. 3.) 55.7% of Americans’ food budgets are now spent on dining out and takeout, marking a record high, while spending on food cooked at home has dropped to 44.3%.
The nation’s fastest growing non-coffee restaurant brand (by sales growth) opened an outlet recently in Jordan Creek Town Center. KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot had only three stores open at the end of 2020, then boasted of 55 at the end of 2023, with sales of roughly $300 million. Owner Vertex Hospitality Group’s chief Margaret Monahan Farrell told Nation’s Restaurant News that "the company was developed specifically to accommodate rapid growth." She said the company is locating KPOT in areas that are “rich in cultural and ethnic diversity but lacking a little bit in the various types of cuisine to fulfill the modern-day palette.”
That sounds like West Des Moines to us. The chain, out of New Jersey, follows others — Persis, Bawarchi, PF Chang, etc. — looking for underfed ethnic diversity in the Jordan Creek hood, where Telugu movies thrive. KPOT is a new version of the Chinese/Mongolian buffet, with Korean BBQ added to the usual build-your-own, hot-pot buffet fare. Lunch is $21 and dinner/weekends are $31. Oddly, they open at noon. Do they think Iowans need the extra hour to work up an all-you-can-eat appetite?
Monday's deals
• Centro (1003 Locust St., Des Moines) offers half-price pizza and Peronis on Monday.
• Who's on First (810 E. First St., Ankeny) has steak night on Monday, and it's an 8-ounce filet with salad, mashed potatoes and beans for $22.95
• Pelican Post (265 50th St., West Des Moines) has a special today on hot beef sandwiches, $10.95 until 4 p.m.
• Eastside Eddie’s (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines) Monday $10 special is ham and Swiss sliders with fries.
• Tito’s Lounge (3916 Urbandale Drive, Urbandale) offers all-you-can-eat wings Mondays.
• Trostel's Greenbriar (5810 Merle Hay Road, Johnston) offers half-pound steak burgers with fries or salad and a beer for a Monday-only price of $14
• Monday brings prime rib specials to both Chicago Speakeasy (1520 Euclid Ave., Des Moines) and Christopher's (2816 Beaver Ave., Des Moines).
• 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 on wine.
• Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines) has a burger basket with fries deal Mondays for $9.
• Price Chopper delis offer two piece, bone-in fried chicken dinners, with two sides and a roll, for $6 on Mondays. The stores are offering a Thanksgiving turkey dinner for four package for $20. They also have house brand butter on sale for $2.99/ pound.
• Fareway has a deal this week on boneless USDA Choice ribeye roasts $15.99/pound and a free pound of butter with purchase of 10 pounds of russets.
— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com |
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The 2024 results ...
CITYVIEW's Best Of Des Moines® | | | Best Local Senior Living Community
1. Scottish Rite Park
2. Edencrest
3. Copper Shores Village
Cast your votes in the 2025 Best Of Des Moines Poll now! Open until Nov. 22. Results to be published in the February 2025 issue of CITYVIEW. |
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| Featured home for sale | | | |
$399,990 150 10th Ave. S.W. Altoona, IA 50009
Welcome to the coveted Cedar II plan from Jerry’s Homes Century Collection. This sought-after 4-bedroom home offers an inviting open-concept design that seamlessly connects the living, dining and kitchen areas. The kitchen features a generous peninsula that opens into a spacious living area, complete with a cozy gas fireplace. This home also has upgraded 9-foot ceilings on the main level ...
See the listing here.
| | | See More Homes For Sale |
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| SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction | | | 5233 STONEY CREEK COURT, JOHNSTON
SALE DATE: 2024-07-23
SALE PRICE: $4,477,500
SELLER: SPIRIT SPE LOAN PORTFOLIO 2013-2 LLC
BUYER: ETERNITY CHURCH
ACRES: 10.794
SQUARE FEET: 62,276 |
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Featured in the current
issue of Winterset Living magazine | | | Gerleman is rooted in the community
A life dedicated to family and Winterset
By Lindsey Giardino
When Stephanie Gerleman and her family moved to Winterset in 1999, they sought a place where they could grow alongside their community.
Her husband’s job with Agriland FS (then known as Rolling Hills FS) brought them to the Madison County town, and they settled into a place near the Winterset Aquatic Center — a perfect spot for their 7-year-old twins at the time.
Their house, a new spec build, quickly become more than just a place to live. It became home.
... | | | READ MORE |
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FROM ESPN: South Carolina's 43-game win streak ends with loss to UCLA ... READ MORE
FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Crazy Ending to Cowboys-Commanders Left NFL World Reeling ... READ MORE
FROM Yahoo Sports: Oklahoma draws two $100,000 fines from the SEC for fans storming the field after Alabama win ... READ MORE |
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1960: Mirabal sisters assassinated by Trujillo regime. On Nov. 25, 1960, a car carrying three Dominican political dissidents, the Mirabal sisters, is stopped as they travel to visit a prison where two of their husbands are being held. Members of the Dominican Republic’s secret police, including the alleged “right-hand man” of dictator Rafael Trujillo, beat the sisters and their driver to death, placing their bodies in the car and pushing it over a cliff in an attempt to make the murders look like an accident. The cover-up fools nobody, and the Mirabal sisters become martyrs of the Dominican resistance. Within a year, Trujillo will also be killed in a roadside ambush. … READ MORE
1990: Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge sinks to the bottom of Lake Washington. After a howling wind- and rainstorm on Thanksgiving Day, Washington state’s historic floating Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge breaks apart and sinks to the bottom of Lake Washington, between Seattle and its suburbs to the east. Because the bridge’s disintegration happened relatively slowly, news crews were able to capture the whole thing on camera, broadcasting it to a rapt audience across western Washington. … READ MORE
1950: “Storm of the century” hits eastern U.S. The so-called “storm of the century” hits the eastern part of the United States, killing hundreds and causing millions of dollars in damages, on November 25, 1950. Also known as the “Appalachian Storm,” it dumped record amounts of snow in parts of the Appalachian Mountains. … READ MORE
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| Birthdays and notables | | | These celebrities were born on this date: Corbyn Besson, Kevin Chamberlin, Pedri, Bruno Tonioli, Rome Flynn, Diego Tinoco, 42 Dugg, Christina Applegate, Kenny Payne, Yung Reece, Katie Cassidy, Xabi Alonso, Joey Chestnut, Talone, Amy Grant
SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com |
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The answer to the last riddle: What did the gravy say to the judgmental mashed potato? Taters gonna tate! Or, I’m going to be all over you! - William Snyder. Or, Don'tworry, I got you covered! - Rex Post, Irving Stone. Or, Your a-peeling. - Gail Tomlinson. Or, You have more lumps than I do! - Donna Willems. Or, Just close your eyes! - Scott Gonzales.
Today's riddle: If leaves come from trees, where do turkeys come from?
Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com |
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To advertise in the Daily Umbrella or West Des Moines/Jordan Creek, Waukee or Norwalk Living magazines, contact:
Martha Munro
Account Executive
Office: 515-953-4822 ext. 314
Mobile: 515-321-5246
martha@iowalivingmagazines.com
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www.biggreenumbrellamedia.com.
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