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Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025
Good morning to you!

Welcome to another 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.

“Don’t forget about Waymo (Rideshare apps, Feb. 17, 2025)! I’m in Phoenix right now and have seen the driverless car a couple of times in my travel. Disappointing when there isn’t a driver to have road rage toward. Ha!” - Mike

I haven’t had the courage yet to try driverless taxis, but it won’t be long. Pilotless airplanes might take longer. - Shane

Shane, I’m with you. I enjoy all the Iowa seasons, including winter (Sure is weather we are having, Feb. 18, 2025). Snow always puts a smile in my face. My mother, on the other hand, always hated the snow and cold. So, I started a yearly tradition when I was 10 years old. At first sight of snow every year, I would call her and sing ‘Let it Snow!’ She passed away a year ago, so the first snowfall this year was a little melancholy. However, I still smiled and sang it to her. I’m sure she’s up in heaven and smiling back down at me.” - Kevin

She may even now be the one in charge of sprinkling the snow down on us! - Shane

“Shane, you often write about some of your pet peeves. Here's one of mine that, perhaps, may be one of yours: the placement of expiration dates on perishable products. There is no consistency! I get tired of spending time looking for those elusive dates on boxes, bottles, bags, etc. I swear that some companies purposely attempt to hide the expiration dates by making them difficult to find, let alone read. The companies may be technically following the law — the expiration date is on the product — but apparently there are no requirements as to placement or legibility. One of my favorite examples is a two-liter bottle of Diet Coke. You have to pick up the bottle, find where the date (printed in dark pixelated ink) is on the curved part near the top, tilt it so that the dark liquid isn't making it unreadable, and hold it up to the light to try and decipher it. Ugh! And let's not even get into the distinctions between ‘best by,’ ‘sell by,’ and just plain old dates. Now that I've vented, I think I'll go pour myself a Diet Coke — provided it hasn't expired!” - Carolyn

Good points, Carolyn. I once read that the best test for whether or not a product is still good or not is your nose. It works with milk, anyway. - Shane

“Isn't it amazing how snow removal has ‘developed’ into the use of snowblowers, pickups with electronic blades, salt brine and contracts with removal companies (Sure is weather we are having, Feb. 18, 2025)? Our greatest generation had shovels and manpower for walks and driveways.” - James

And the obesity rate has skyrocketed. Hmmm. - Shane

Have a thoughtful Thursday, 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

See more of Shane Goodman's columns here.

 
 
News headlines

FROM KCCI: Des Moines breaks ground on largest downtown housing project. DES MOINES, Iowa — Des Moines city leaders broke ground Wednesday on the $148 million 515 Walnut development, the largest housing project in downtown Des Moines history. "It's gratifying, I think is the best way to say it," developer Joe Teeling said.  ...READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: 17 sentenced to prison in federal firearms, drug investigation.  DES MOINES, Iowa — 17 Des Moines residents have been sentenced to federal prison following an investigation that involved firearm trafficking, drug distribution, and more across Des Moines. On Wednesday, the final defendant in a 17-defendant gang investigation which involved the Only My Brothers (OMB) street gang, was sentenced to federal prison. All 17 defendants had previously plead guilty or been found guilty in a jury trial. ...READ MORE

FROM WOI: 2 baby girls declared Safe Havens by Iowa HHS. The relinquishment of the two babies brings the total number of Safe Haven babies to 76 since the law's enactment in Iowa over 20 years ago. ...READ MORE

 
 

Clear Mortgage meteorology

Mild weather continues through Friday before we see cooling this weekend. A Monday warm up is followed by Tuesday rain chances.

For help with pre-approvals or refinancing, get in touch with Originating Branch Manager Carrie Hansen at carrie.mortgage.

 
The 2025 results: CITYVIEW's Best of Des Moines®
 

Best Local Thai Food

1. Thai Flavors

2. Cool Basil

3. Eat Thai, Thai Eatery

 
See all of the results
 
 

How much Coke is too much?
The Coca Cola Company introduced six new trial flavors, available in restaurants with Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, through March 3. New options include: Fanta Lime In My DMs, Sprite CherryBaby101, Sprite Orange Goin’ Viral, Fanta Citrus Chatbox, Coca-Cola Vanilla Peach Luvr, and Coca-Cola Tropical Vlogg. You can look for the closest Freestyle machine’s location here.

On Tuesday, Coca-Cola announced it's expanding its beverage lineup with its all-new Simply Pop line, the company's first-ever "prebiotic" sodas. The company told Food & Wine that each Simply Pop soda comes with six grams of prebiotic fiber, 20-30% fruit juice, along with vitamin C and zinc. Flavors include Strawberry, Pineapple Mango, Fruit Punch, Lime and Citrus Punch. Each can retails for $2.49.

Lachelle's opens its second store today, at 3619 Sixth Ave., Des Moines. It will feature more blue ribbon diner specials and fewer burger choices than the Ingersoll store. 

Deals today
 
• Want to go to Honolulu for May Day? United is offering a roundtrip fare of $504 for travel beginning April 30. 
 
• Chelsea's Courtyard Diner (300 MLK Blvd., Des Moines) has the ridiculous bargain of $1 burgers on Thursdays, 4-9 p.m. That folks is a loss leader. 

• Sirloin steak dinners are featured specials today at Sully's Irish Pub (860 First St., West Des Moines), Front Row (9956 Swanson Blvd., Clive), and Winn’s Pizza and Steakhouse (122 W. Ashland Ave., Indianola). The Station on Ingersoll (3124 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has a ribeye sandwich special at $12 Thursdays. Hy-Vee Market Grilles have strip steak dinners tonight for $10.

• Sprockets (2314 University Ave., Des Moines) offers a breaded pork tenderloin special on Thursdays for $9.99 

• Kids eat free at Scornovacca’s (1930 S.E. 14th St., Des Moines) on Thursdays.

• Mariscos El Pirata (6050 S.E. 14th St., Des Moines) offers $2 off all sushi on Thursdays 

• Chuck's (3610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines) has karaoke tonight from 6 p.m.

• ShortE's BBQ (8505 Chambery Blvd., Johnston) has $1 smoked wings Thursdays.  

• Cyd's Catering has a Romantic Dinner that includes charcuterie, crudité with hummus, shrimp cocktails, filet mignon on salt bocks, shrimp Parmesan penne, pierogies, caprese salad and chocolate covered strawberries for two - $300. 

• Jethro's Thursday special is a pound of boneless "wings" for $8.

• Bevy’s Tavern (1300 50th St., West Des Moines) has a special of beef stew and cornbread Thursdays for $13.   

• Amruth Indian Grill (9974 Swanson Blvd., Clive) offers an all-you-can-eat dosa (gram/rice flour crepes) buffet on Thursdays 5:30-9 p.m. $18.95.  

•  Red Lobster's Thursday special is shrimp or chicken Alfredo on linguini for $15.

• Aldi has a sale on  green grapes at $1.69/pound, USDA Choice corned beef point cut briskets at $2.99/pound and baby bella mushrooms at $1.29/8-ounce box through Tuesday. 

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

 
 
Featured in the current issue of CITYVIEW
 

COLLECTIONS & HOBBIES
Sports card collecting sees a resurgence

By Cyote Williams

Packs of trading cards might not come with a stick of gum anymore, but the allure to grab a pack off the shelf, place a bid online, or go to a card convention is still alive and well when it comes to collecting trading cards. Just ask Brian Eikenberry.

Eikenberry began his card collecting when he was a child. A local card shop where he grew up in northeast Iowa supplied the cards. He experienced the days of gum in packs before they were no longer included in 1991.

 
Read more
 
Featured home for sale
 
Post listings here for $50. Contact jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com for details.
 
$715,000

1703 S.W. Linden St.
Ankeny, IA 50023

Spacious and inviting layout thoughtfully designed with comfort in mind. Gourmet kitchen perfect for entertaining, with modern appliances and ample storage. Cozy living spaces ideal for creating lasting memories with family and friends. Serene primary suite is a private retreat after a long day with ensuite soaking tub and large closet. Finished basement provides extra space for a large family/game room, large wet bar with ample storage ....

 
See the listing here.
 
See More Homes For Sale
 
SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction
 
701 N.E. GATEWAY DRIVE, GRIMES
SALE DATE: 2024-11-12
SALE PRICE: $100
SELLER: HOPE K FARMS LLC
BUYER: THE KNOLLS LC
ACRES: 2.001
SQUARE FEET: 0
 
More transactions
 
Featured in the current
issue of North Polk Living magazine
 

Hommers conquer solo races
Competitive spirit fuels their racing passion.

By Deborah Mikelson

Jay and Linda Hommer have the racing fever. It all started when Jay was finally able top fulfill his dream of buying a Corvette. Jay had been interested in cars since high school, especially Corvettes. After serving in the Marine Corp, he started looking and found a 1964 Corvette to buy.

He found an ad in the sports section about the Corvette Club of Iowa.

“That’s how I got into it,” he says.

 
READ MORE
 
Sports headlines
FROM ESPN: NFL considering changes to regular-season overtime rules ... READ MORE
 
FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Wild Michigan State Buzzer-Beater Leaves Maryland Crowd Stunned  ... READ MORE
 
FROM Yahoo Sports: Paul George announces 'Podcast P' hiatus amid Sixers' 8-game losing streak ... READ MORE
 

1973: AIM occupation of Wounded Knee begins. On the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, some 200 members of the Oglala Lakota tribe, led by members of the American Indian Movement (AIM), occupy Wounded Knee, the site of the infamous 1890 massacre of 300 Sioux by the U.S. Seventh Cavalry. The AIM members, some of them armed, took 11 residents of the historic Oglala Sioux settlement hostage as local authorities and federal agents descended on the reservation. ...READ MORE

1980: Buddy Holly’s glasses, lost since his death in 1959, are found in Mason City, Iowa. On February 27, 1980, the long-lost glasses of rocker Buddy Holly, who died in the deadly plane crash in 1959, were found — filed away in an envelope in a court clerk's office.  ... READ MORE

1980: “I Will Survive” wins the first—and last—Grammy ever awarded for Best Disco Recording.  On February 27, 1980, the first—and final—Grammy for Best Disco Recording is awarded to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” After watching disco music utterly dominate the musical landscape of the late 1970s, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences had finally decided to give it their stamp of approval, with the category Best Disco Recording—just as the musical style was preparing to die. ... READ MORE

 
 
Weekly fuel report
 
The price of regular unleaded gasoline fell 5 cents, averaging $2.96 across Iowa according to AAA. Prices are down 3 cents from a year ago. The national average on Wednesday was $3.13, down 3 cents from last week’s price.
 
Retail diesel prices in Iowa fell 2 cents this week with a statewide average of $3.44. One year ago, diesel prices averaged $3.81 in Iowa. The current Iowa diesel price is 24 cents lower than the national average of $3.68.
 
Wholesale ethanol held steady and is currently priced at $2.16.
 
Natural gas prices were down $.21 at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently priced at $3.99 MMbtu.
 
Propane prices averaged $1.69 per gallon in Iowa.
 
Home heating oil prices had a statewide average of $3.02 per gallon.
 
Cheapest gas in the metro
 
Costco, 7205 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines, $2.59
Kum & Go, 11989 Hickman Road, Urbandale (also in Clive and Waukee), $2.62
Kwik Star, 855 S.E. Alice's Road, Waukee, $2.62
Love's Travel Stop, 11820 Hickman Road, Clive, $2.62
Pilot, 11957 Douglas Ave., Urbandale, $2.62
 
Birthdays and notables
 

These celebrities were born on this date:  Adam Baldwin, Adrian Smith, Brandon Beemer, Chelsea Clinton, Donal Logue, Grant Show, Jake Clemons, Josh Groban, Tony Gonzalez, Daniel Gibson, Callum Wilson

SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

 
Morning chuckle

The answer to the last riddle: Why isn’t the photon taking any baggage on its trip? BECAUSE IT IS TRAVELING LIGHT! - Rex Post, Gail Tomlinson, Carolyn Rogers, William Snyder, Brent Hoover, Kris Laurson

Today's riddle: Why are violinists happier than guitarists?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

 

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

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

Add webmaster@dmcityview.com to your address book to ensure delivery. 

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