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Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Good morning to you!

Easter is a Christian holiday. Let’s not forget that. It commemorates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as detailed in the New Testament. This entire week is important to Christians like me, as it is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by a 40-day period of fasting, prayer and penance called Lent. This week is Holy Week. Palm Sunday. Maundy Thursday. Good Friday. And, of course, Easter Sunday.

And then there are the eggs. Yes, Easter eggs. Do eggs have anything to do with this Christian holiday? Or are they as unrelated as Santa Claus and Jesus? Interestingly, the answer seems to be a bit of both, depending on what you read and who you believe.

Decorating eggs appears to be an ancient tradition with some records claiming decorated 60,000-year-old ostrich eggs were found in Africa. Other reports say similarly decorated ostrich eggs were also placed in graves of ancient Sumerians and Egyptians 5,000 years ago. Some say these early egg rituals influenced Christian culture in those areas.

Meanwhile, the Christian custom of Easter eggs is said to have initiated with the early Christians of Mesopotamia, who stained them with red coloring in memory of the blood of Jesus. The Christian Church apparently adopted the custom of regarding the eggs as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus with the Roman Ritual. The first edition of this was published in 1610, but older texts exist that cite the Easter Blessings of Food, which includes one for eggs.

Others have stated that the use of eggs at Easter seems to have come from Persia and ultimately spread through Europe. Still others say the association between eggs and Easter came about in western Europe during the Middle Ages because Catholic Christians were prohibited from eating eggs during Lent but were allowed to eat them when Easter arrived.

I’m not sure. And, to be honest, I really don’t care about decorating Easter eggs. Even as a kid, I didn’t have much interest in the process, despite Mom’s commitment to the tradition. I was more curious about that big chocolate bunny. This Easter fascination hit home with me, as I often gave up chocolate for Lent. Or at least I made a good effort.

Do you continue the Easter egg decorating tradition? If so, send me a note and let me know. And please don’t tell me you dye them in the toilet like this so-called “influencer.”

Have a wonderful Wednesday, 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: Teens throw Jenga blocks at Waukee business owner and her baby. Police are investigating an incident at Zenko Tea in Waukee, where two teenagers were caught on camera throwing Jenga blocks at the shop's owner and her infant daughter. The incident has left the owner, Phuong Thai, shaken and questioning the motive behind the attack. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Des Moines sober living home ravaged by fire Tuesday night. A Des Moines sober living home is uninhabitable after a fire broke out Tuesday evening. Firefighters responded to the 1300 block of 11th Street around 7:15 p.m. When firefighters arrived at the home they found flames emanating from the building and thick black smoke billowing from the front windows of the first, second and third floors. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Iowa relies on exports, and its senior senator opposes tariffs. Trump is pressuring both. A woman in southeast Iowa wasted no time when the floor opened for questions at Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley's public meeting Tuesday, asking about the impact the Trump administration's trade war could have in this export-dependent state.  ... READ MORE

 

Clear Mortgage meteorology

Warming today. Storms Thursday and Friday… some could be strong Thursday evening. More rain chances start late 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 Store (Overall)

1. Bing’s

2. Mint Piercing Studio

3. Enchantasys

 

 
See all of the results
 
 

Woebegone Wednesday
They do things differently there. Sukiya, Japan's largest beef bowl chain, closed nearly all of its 2,000 stores for four days for “deep cleaning” and pest control measures after incidents of rat and bug remnants being found in food.

Last Sunday, the splendid Amruth Indian Grill celebrated its first anniversary with a 34-item buffet of Andhra and Tamil delights. The first year is often the toughest and these days is much worth celebrating. Oh my, the Malabar fish and the pressure cooker tadka dhal were delicious.

Bargains today
• Bacon Bingo will be called at Captain Roy’s tonight from 6-8 p.m. as they kick off their countdown to "The Bacon Boat." 

• Village Inns offer free pie with entrees on Wednesdays. 

• Wine bottles are half price on Wednesdays at Trostel's Greenbriar (5910 Merle Hay Road, Johnston). 

• 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.

• 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. 

• Kids eat free with every paying adult on Wednesdays at Chuck’s (3610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines).

• Rangemasters Training Center (10520 Hickman Road, Clive) has a Wednesday ladies day special of $13 per person for live firing range and one target. $10 handgun rentals or BYOG.

• Bordanaro's (6108 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines) has a Wednesday-Thursday only special on carryout pizza. They start at $6.50 for a 10-inch cheese pie. Each ingredient added is an extra charge, but this pretty much adds up to half-price pies.

• It's lasagna day at Maxie's Supper Club (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines), breaded pork tenderloin day at Eastside Eddie's (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines), and barbecue ribs evening at G Migg's (128 Fifth St., Valley Junction).

• Panka Peruvian (2708 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has live jazz Wednesday. 

• Curbin Cuisine (1325 S.W. Oralabor, Ankeny) has $7 gyros on Wednesdays. 

• Jethro's offers breaded pork tenderloins for $9.99 on Wednesdays  

• Price Chopper has a sale on cantaloupes at $1.99 each, strawberries at $2.99 per 2-pound box and butter for $2.99/pound through Monday.

• Destination Grille (2491 E. First St., Grimes) offers half-priced wine, all bottles and glasses, on Wednesdays.

• Trostel's Greenbriar (5810 Merle Hay Road, Johnston) offers a Poulet Des Moines chef's special today consisting of thighs seared and flambéed with Cognac and served in paprika, sour cream, wine sauce, with fingerlings. $28

• Fresh Thyme (2900 University Ave., West Des Moines) begins a week-long sale today on 2-pound bags of lemons or Mandarins and 3-pound bags of navel oranges, all at $1.99, plus 99 cent pineapples with digital coupon. 

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

 
 
Featured in the current issue of CITYVIEW
 

LUNCH WITH...
David Baruthio at Waterfront West Des Moines

By Jim Duncan

David Baruthio is Des Moines’ most traveled top chef. A native of Strasbourg, France, the “cradle of great chefs,” he began working in Michelin star restaurants at age 15 under Hubert Maetz, and then under Gordon Ramsey at Aubergine, his breakout restaurant in Chelsea, England.

Baruthio brought new ideas about dining to town more than two decades ago. Since arriving here to help Steve Logsdon launch Lucca, he has, with several peripatetic breaks, built a most interesting group of Iowa restaurants.

 
Read more
 
 
Featured home for sale
 
Post listings here for $50. Contact jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com for details.
 
$265,000

9479 Elmcrest Drive
Norwalk, IA 50211

Welcome to this well-maintained gem in Lakewood. Offering nearly 1,500 square feet of finished living space, this home features three bedrooms on the main level, an updated full bath and beautiful hardwood floors throughout the large living room....

 
See the listing here.
 
See more homes for sale
 
SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction
 
1301 E EUCLID AVE., DES MOINES
SALE DATE: 2024-12-16
SALE PRICE: $574,000
SELLER: BELLVILLE PROPERTIES LLC
BUYER: RUSTIN PROPERTIES LLC
ACRES: 0.514
SQUARE FEET: 11,352
 
More transactions
 
Featured in the current
issue of Adel Living magazine
 

Homes away from home
Local families share experiences hosting foreign exchange students.

By Rachel Harrington

The decision to host a foreign exchange student can come with a myriad of worries. Will the student want to eat the food we make? Will everyone get along? How will we keep the student entertained? Will he or she get homesick? However, many of those who decide to give it a try find their fears to be unfounded as they gain an appreciation of the student’s homeland and culture, see their own country from a new perspective and build bonds that endure. Local residents share their stories about the adventure of being a host family.

Sue Caves and her daughter, Emma Heitz, became involved with foreign exchange students when Karen Fitzgerald, area coordinator for World Link, reached out to them.

 
Read more
 
Sports headlines
FROM ESPN.COM: MLB marks 78 years since Jackie Robinson broke color barrier. Jackie Robinson was the first to break baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers 78 years ago Tuesday. His legacy continues to inspire people inside the major leagues — and outside, too. ... READ MORE
 
FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Hunter says he'd quit football if asked to play one position. Travis Hunter is a unique talent unlike any the NFL draft has ever seen and is expected to be one of the first names called when the first round kicks off on April 24. As Hunter proved to be elite on both offense and defense while at Colorado, it remains a mystery as to what his role will look like at the NFL level, but his skill is so obscene that it's a problem most teams would love to have. ... READ MORE
 
FROM YAHOO SPORTS: NASCAR: Our first quarter takeaways ahead of the only off weekend during the 2025 Cup Series season. Welcome to the only off weekend all season for the NASCAR Cup Series. When you count the All-Star Race next month, NASCAR’s top level races 37 times in 38 weeks from the Daytona 500 to the championship race at Phoenix in November. And with no race on Easter Sunday, Cup Series teams will be competing in 28 races over the next 28 weeks. ... READ MORE
 
 

2007: Virginia Tech shooting leaves 32 dead. On April 16, 2007, 32 people died after being gunned down on the campus of Virginia Tech by Seung-Hui Cho, a student at the college who later died by suicide. ... READ MORE

1943: Hallucinogenic effects of LSD discovered. In Basel, Switzerland, Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist working at the Sandoz pharmaceutical research laboratory, accidentally consumes LSD-25, a synthetic drug he had created in 1938 as part of his research into the medicinal value of lysergic acid compounds. After taking the drug, formally known as lysergic acid diethylamide, Dr. Hofmann was disturbed by unusual sensations and hallucinations. ... READ MORE

1947: Fertilizer explosion kills more than 500 in Texas. A giant explosion occurs during the loading of fertilizer onto the freighter Grandcamp at a pier in Texas City, Texas, on April 16, 1947. Nearly 600 people lost their lives and thousands were injured when the ship was literally blown to bits. .... READ MORE

 www.history.com

 
Birthdays and notables
 

These celebrities were born on this date: Antony Blinken, Bill Belichick, Claire Foy, Ellen Barkin, Jon Cryer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kelli O'Hara, Chance The Rapper, Martin Lawrence, Te'a Cooper

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

 
Morning chuckle

The answer to the last riddle: Which kind of cookie is the richest? FORTUNE COOKIE! - Gail Tomlinson, Kris Laurson. Or, Neiman Marcus cookies! - Carolyn Rogers.

Today's riddle: What do you call a going out of business sale at an apparel boutique?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

 

To advertise in the Daily Umbrella or the Winterset Living magazines, contact:

Kristine McDonald
Account Executive
Office: 515-953-4822 ext. 321
Mobile: C: 515-975-3543
kristine@iowalivingmagazines.com

 

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