April 15 Daily Umbrella: Olsen drafted by Washington Mystics; new favorite wine; squeaky floors

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Good morning to you!

Several years ago, I was talking with a friend who lived in a brand new home and was expressing his annoyances with the squeaky floors. He asked me, “Why is it that squeaky floors in an old home add character but are so disturbing in a new home?”

I didn’t have an answer, but I agreed with him, and I think about his question every time I hear a floor squeak.

Clearly, there are a lot of people who like things bright and shiny and new. To some degree, we probably all do. But there is another large group of people who want that weathered look in the things they buy, and they will use a great deal of time and/or money to get it.

In recent decades, blue jeans that show wear or have holes in them became fashionable. I would have been quite hip as a young kid, as almost all my pants had the knees worn out from scooting my Hot Wheels around on the shag carpet. Mom was quite handy with the sewing machine, though, so those holes quickly had patches sewn on them.

Years later, while in college, a friend had a pair of jeans she bought with worn threads on purpose. I told her I could take those home for her and have my mom patch them up. She didn’t laugh. I continue this comment today with my kids. They don’t laugh either.

Back to those floors — the ones without the shag carpet. Another popular trend today is to install wood flooring that comes with imperfections. Dings. Scratches. Miscoloring. All straight from the factory. Some people will even do the weathering process themselves to get this look.

You have likely seen this with new furniture, too. Brand new stuff made to look old.

I have used related logic in purchasing vehicles. The first dent or scratch in a new car is the one that bothers you the most. But when you buy a used car that already has a few of them, one more isn’t as annoying. Of course, I am not going to purposely bang up my vehicle, but you get the idea.

The only exception to these weathering techniques seems to be in our own personal appearances. Consumers go to great lengths to try to slow down the aging process and appear younger. I don’t know of any hot-selling products that people buy to make them look older, but we sure spend a lot of money to keep our bodies from wrinkling, graying, cracking, popping — and even squeaking. Then again, maybe all those things simply add character, too.

Have a terrific Tuesday, 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 more of Shane Goodman's columns here.

News headlines

FROM KCCI: Iowa paramedic suspended, charged with stealing painkillers from ambulance. A Carroll County paramedic is facing criminal charges alleging she repeatedly stole liquid painkiller from a county ambulance service and replaced it with saline to conceal the theft. Teresa Marie Johnson, 53, of Manilla, who is a state-licensed paramedic, is charged with the felony of unlawfully obtaining a controlled substance through fraud or deceit while working as a licensed paramedic in February 2025. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Executive order cuts funding for Iowa museums and libraries. Federal grants to local libraries and museums have been halted following an executive order. President Donald Trump signed an executive order a month ago, dismantling seven independent government agencies. The order states the goal is to reduce the parts of the federal bureaucracy that Mr. Trump determined to be “unnecessary.” ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Lucy Olsen drafted No. 23 overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Iowa's Lucy Olsen was drafted by the Washington Mystics with the 23rd overall pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft on Monday night. The selection, which came towards the end of the second round, was made with a pick the Mystics acquired from the Connecticut Sun. ... READ MORE

Clear Mortgage meteorology

Dry today and Wednesday. Scattered showers and storms Thursday and Friday. Dry again Saturday. Then a late rain chance Easter Sunday.

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 Boba Shop

1. Ocha Bubble Tea & Dessert Cafe

2. Zenko Tea

3. Pho Real Kitchen and Bar

See all of the results

Tuesday touts
Wall Street Journal’s wine guru, Lettie Teague, is raving about Aligoté, a reasonably priced white Burgundy. She called it her "new favorite wine" and suggested loading up before tariffs kick in. She touted bottles in the $20-47 price range.

~ Mulata brings good Columbian food to the Locust Mall, plus it’s open for breakfast.

~ Save the date. Tuesday, April 22, one week from today, Gateway Market will celebrate its 18th anniversary with a 13-hour 20% off sale on everything on the shelves.

Deals today
• Jethro's Tuesday special is 2 pounds of bone-in smoked wings for the price of one.
• Paula's (524 Elm St., Valley Junction) runs a Tuesday special hot beef sandwich with mashed potatoes, gravy and drink for $13.50 till Memorial Day.
• Irina's Steak and Seafood (650 S. Prairie View Drive, West Des Moines) offers live lobsters at half price on Tuesdays.
• Opa! (2800 University Ave., West Des Moines) has a buffet featuring fried shrimp, manicotti, chicken piccata, chicken meatballs, garlic knots, pasta alfredo, lamb and chicken, pizza, and all-you-can-eat dessert for $22.99 tonight till 8 p.m.
• Kids meals are half price till 2 p.m. today at Machine Shed (11151 Hickman Road, Urbandale).
• Taco Tuesday brings serious discounts to Mariscos El Pirata (6050 S.E. 14th St., Des Moines), La Familia (1610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines), all Taco John's, The Dam Pub (2710 Beaver Ave., Des Moines), all Abelardo's, all Fernando’s, Malo (900 Mulberry St., Des Moines), Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines), Los Laureles (1518 E Grand Ave., Des Moines), Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines) and Faustino’s (4944 Franklin Ave., Des Moines).
• Today is beef and noodles day at Maxie's Supper Club (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines).
• Django (1420 Locust St., Des Moines) has happy hour all night Tuesdays. That means super deals on oysters, shrimp, duck frites, poutine, charcuterie, cheese boards, beers, wine and classic martinis.
• Sully's (806 First St., West Des Moines) has a burger basket special for $12 today.
• Destination Grille (2491 E. First St., Grimes) hosts a Tuesday Burger and Beer special, ½-pound burger, chips and dip, with a tap beer of choice, $15.
• The Station on Ingersoll (3124 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has a tenderloin Tuesday special with BPT and fries for $10.
• Curbin Cuisine (1325 S.W. Oralabor Drive, Ankeny) offers cheeseburgers and fries for $7.99 on Tuesdays.

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

Featured in the current issue of CITYVIEW

FEATURE STORY
Here come the cubbies!

By Cyote Williams

The Iowa Cubs team is an institution in Des Moines. I-Cub fans pack the ballpark all season long and even watch at home. The fan loyalty is evidenced by CITYVIEW readers who voted for the Cubbies as the Best Local Sports Team and Best Local Outdoor Sporting Event for yet another year in the Best of Des Moines poll.

The wins were not where team officials and fans wanted them to be last season, but that does not change the palpable feeling of excitement currently running through the organization. The Cubs farm system is once again loaded with some of the best young prospects in baseball, and the people behind the scenes have been putting together exciting promotions to make fans feel engaged throughout the season. We spoke with a few of the I-Cubs movers and shakers to see why they are excited for the 2024-2025 MiLB season.

Featured home for sale

Post listings here for $50. Contact jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com for details.

$275,000

613 Gordon Ave.
Norwalk, IA 50211

This home is a terrific value in the city of Norwalk! On the upstairs level, there are three bedrooms, a full bathroom, living room, kitchen and dining. Off the dining area is a deck that leads to the fully fenced, flat back yard. The lower level has a large family/rec room, three-quarter bathroom, fourth bedroom, and laundry is located in the utility/storage room. ...

See the listing here.

See more homes for sale

SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction

503 FIRST AVE. N., ALTOONA
SALE DATE: 2024-12-14
SALE PRICE: $5,400,000
SELLER: 503 FIRST AVE N LLC
BUYER: STORE MASTER FUNDING XXXVII LLC
ACRES: 5.460
SQUARE FEET: 53,200

More transactions

Featured in the current
issue of Altoona Living magazine

Stuart changes mind on town living
Move worth it to be near grandkids

By Sean Dengler

Rita Stuart never wanted to leave her acreage, but given the chance to live next to her grandchildren, Emmitt, Madison, Brinley and Nevaeh, she changed her mind.
After 30 years of country living, she bought a townhouse.

“My husband died in 2014. I had no intention of ever leaving my acreage,” Rita says. “My son bought a townhouse here in 2018. A year and a half later, the one right next door to my son came up for sale, and my daughter bought it.”
Rita ended up moving into a townhouse that is only 50 feet from her children. Being so close allows her to be present to help with her grandchildren, who also love her rat terrier, Jill.

Sports headlines

FROM ESPN.COM: Suns fire coach Mike Budenholzer after one season. After missing the NBA playoffs and play-in tournament with the largest payroll in league history, the Phoenix Suns have fired head coach Mike Budenholzer, the team announced Monday. "Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season. Our fans deserve better. Change is needed," the team said in a statement. ... READ MORE

FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: MLB’s most-improved hitters: What’s behind their early-season success? Make what you will of April performances. Small sample sizes, lousy weather and quirks of the schedule can send false signals. Alec Bohm (.598 slugging) and Adolis Garcia (.585) crushed the ball last April, for instance, only to lose pop the rest of the way (.410 and .359, respectively). ... READ MORE

FROM YAHOO SPORTS: Sunday's Masters final round draws biggest rating for CBS since 2018, as Rory McIlroy wins in playoff. Rory McIlroy's thrilling victory in the 2025 Masters, winning a one-hole playoff over Justin Rose, was a riveting sports experience and plenty of people tuned in for it. CBS announced on Monday that Sunday's final round — during which McIlroy gained and lost the lead while battling with Rose, Bryson DeChambeau and Ludvig Åberg — drew the highest rating for a golf telecast since 2018. ... READ MORE

1947: Jackie Robinson becomes first African American player in Major League Baseball. On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson, age 28, becomes the first African American player in Major League Baseball's modern era when he steps onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to compete for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson broke the color barrier in a sport that had been segregated for more than 50 years. Exactly 50 years later, on April 15, 1997, Robinson’s groundbreaking career was honored and his uniform number, 42, was retired from Major League Baseball by Commissioner Bud Selig in a ceremony attended by over 50,000 fans at New York City’s Shea Stadium. Robinson’s was the first-ever number retired by all teams in the league. ... READ MORE

1912: Titanic sinks. At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, the British ocean liner Titanic sinks into the North Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada. The massive ship, which carried 2,200 passengers and crew, had struck an iceberg two and half hours before. ... READ MORE

2013: Three people killed, hundreds injured in Boston Marathon bombing. On April 15, 2013, two bombs go off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three spectators and wounding more than 260 other people in attendance. Four days later, after an intense manhunt that shut down the Boston area, police captured one of the bombing suspects, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; his older brother and fellow suspect, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died following a shootout with law enforcement earlier that same day. .... READ MORE

www.history.com

Birthdays and notables

Happy birthday, Stevie LeWarne!

These celebrities were born on this date: Alice Braga, Chris Stapleton, Danny Pino, Dara Torres, Douglas Spain, Emma Thompson, Emma Watson, Cooper Barnes, Seth Rogen, Hootie Hurley, Jordan Chiles, Iyaz

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

Morning chuckle

The answer to the last riddle: If horses replaced cars, what would happen to gas stations? THEY BECOME GRASS STATIONS! - Gail Tomlinson, William Snyder

Today's riddle: Which kind of cookie is the richest?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

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Mary Fowler
Account Executive
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c: 641-485-0555
mary@dmcityview.com

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