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Friday, May 16, 2025
Good morning to you!

Welcome to the Friday 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.

“I like the helpful info you provide in your columns. I will bookmark your blog and check again here regularly. I am quite sure I'll learn lots of new stuff right here! Best of luck for the
next!” - Merri

Keep reading, Merri, and be sure to sign up for the free email delivery. - Shane

“My hands are allergic to Ivory soap (Wash your hands, May 7, 2025). A thin layer of skin about as big as a quarter will start to peel off in several places on my hands within about a day after I use Ivory. Very annoying, but not really serious. Some brands of liquid soap also result in the same allergic reaction. So, I use hypoallergenic soap, and it works fine. I have never had a problem with any shampoo. As I have said to many people, I am not average. I have only met a couple people in my lifetime who share the same quirk, but I do not discuss soap allergies with many people, so I guess there are probably many others with the same problem.” - George

Could be the herbicides and hog manure. - Shane

“There are ways, Grasshopper, to keep the kids from taking your things (Wash your hands, May 7, 2025). Buying really ugly stuff makes it uncool, and they won’t want to be seen with it. Plus, it identifies as your property, kind of like not buying black suitcases. My ugly ones are easily identified on the luggage carousel. As for socks, mentioning toe jam might be a slight deterrent. T-shirts and sweatshirts are tougher. My wife usually declares certain garments as presents when they are washed enough and soft enough for her night shirts. In the case of really cool stuff, get two; then there is no contest of ownership.” - Rex

Toe jam is a good idea. Mentioning a bad case of athlete’s foot might do the trick, too. - Shane

“In my high school days, Audubon was one of our conference rivals (High school mascots, May 12, 2025). Our football coach developed a cheer for the students to yell when Audubon came to town: ‘Hey, hey, what do you say? What's a Wheeler anyway?’ By the way, Jefferson is the Rams, and the same football coach shared with us during a pep rally that it was better to be a Ram than an Oyster. It's always good to be better than something.” - Brad

I remember watching a high school basketball game when opposing fans in the stands were doing a lot of quacking when the Mallard Ducks took the floor. It was funny then. - Shane

“You forgot your cross-town rival, the Golden Bears of Bishop Garrigan (High school mascots, May 12, 2025)!” - Carol

Oh, yes, those Bears are Golden. - Shane

Have a fantastic Friday, 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: Arkansas man linked to more than 20 school burglaries in Iowa and Missouri. The Wapello County Sheriff's Office has connected Curtis Lee Barton of Arkansas to more than 20 burglaries in Iowa and Missouri, with the investigation beginning after a significant theft at a school in Eldon, Iowa. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: 3 charged in Dallas County fire that caused over $800k in damage to bike trail bridge. Three people have been charged in a fire that caused more than $800,000 in damage to a bike trail bridge. Early Monday morning, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a fire at a bridge on the Raccoon River Valley Bike Trail on the east side of Adel. Multiple fire departments were called in to assist, as the location of the fire made it difficult to extinguish. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Former Freedom for Youth Ministries employee charged with sexual abuse of 7-year-old. An Urbandale man and former employee of Freedom for Youth Ministries has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a 7-year-old. Tylor Thomas Moore, 26, of Urbandale, was arrested on Wednesday by the Des Moines Police Department, according to court documents. ... READ MORE

 

Clear Mortgage meteorology

Windy today with gusts 35-40 mph. Cooler for the weekend and next week as well with the bigger rainfall holding off until Tuesday to Wednesday morning.

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

 
Pollen tracker
 
Tree pollen: Very high
Grass pollen: High
Ragweed pollen: None
 
The 2025 results: CITYVIEW's Best of Des Moines®
 

Best Local Hardware Store

1. Waukee Hardware & Rent-It Center

2. Miller’s Hardware

3. O’Donnell Ace Hardware

 
See all of the results
 
 

Tune in Saturday as Kitchen Insider welcomes Frankie Farrell of Black Sheep.

New stuff from our food world
Blink and there's a new tenant at 2302 Ingersoll. Blue Shark is already gone and Perfect 10 is open there with a Hooters knockoff theme. 

McDonald's is bringing back McCrispy Strips after a decade-long hiatus. The fast-food chain's take on a crispy chicken tender isn't the only new addition to their menu. McDonald's is also releasing an all-new Creamy Chili Dip to sweeten the deal. Their words not ours.

Weekend deals
• Heavenly Asian (225 Fifth St., Valley Junction) has an all-day Friday sale on orange chicken served with soup, crab Rangoon, egg roll and rice. $14, available for dine-in and phone carry-out.

• Brenda Tran offers a fabulous Friday buffet every week at Vietnam Cafe - Merle Hay Mall Food Court, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. - $18.95.  

• Bawarchi (6630 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines) has Friday-Sunday specials on paneer kebabs, chicken curry and goat curry.

• Mickey's in Yale (217 Main St., Yale) has hot beef sandwich lunches and all you can eat fish dinner specials today.

• Chicago Speakeasy (1520 Euclid Ave., Des Moines) offers BBQ beef and marinated roast beef sandwiches on special for Friday lunch.

• The Continental, (407 E. Fifth St., Des Moines) offers BOGO flatbreads Fridays and a blackened chicken sandwich and fries for just $12 on Saturdays. 

• 801 Chophouse (801 Grand Ave., Des Moines) offers Sunday supper specials that deliver deep discounts on filet, prime rib and red king salmon dinners.

• Destination Grille (2491 E. First St., Grimes) has a $40 prime rib dinner special Friday and Saturday. 

• Tito’s Lounge (3916 N.W. Urbandale Drive, Urbandale) has brunch on Fridays as well as Saturdays and Sundays. 

• Court Avenue Brewing Company (309 Court Ave., Des Moines) hosts Saturday and Sunday breakfast buffets for $23.99.

• Friday night is paella time at Purveyor (505 E. Grand, Des Moines, officially, but really on E. Fifth), real Valenciana paella.

• Maxie's Supper Club's (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines) Friday special is chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes - $16.95 all day. They also have prime rib dinners on Friday and Saturday for dinner only, $30-38. 

• Jethro's Sunday special is Papa cheeseburgers and side for $9.99. 

• Chicken Heat (1101 Army Post Road, Des Moines) offers $1 wings on Friday.  

• Price Choppers have sales on iceberg lettuce at $1.69 each, frozen Swai fillets at $3.49/pound and chicken hindquarters for $6.99/10-pound bag, through Monday.

• Fresh Thyme (2900 University Ave., West Des Moines) begins week-long sales today on sockeye salmon fillets at $9.99/pound, 3-pound bags of mandarins or navel oranges for $2.99 and asparagus for 99 cents/pound with coupon.

• Fareway has deals this week on $5 whole watermelon, 3-pound bags of mandarin oranges at $3.88 and boneless pork ribeyes at four for $5.

• Aldi is selling mangos for 69 cents, mini avocados for $2.89/six pack and chicken wings for $2.29/pound through Tuesday.

•  Westown Tap (3530 Westown Parkway, West Des Moines) offers $12 flatbreads on Fridays.

• Music: Nick Rueckert / Aaron Ehrlich Duo plays Louie's Wine Dive (4040 University Ave., Des Moines) on Sunday at 5 p.m. Mark Stuart plays Maggie’s Rumble Room at 6 p.m. Sunday.  El Toreado Mexican Bar & Grill on EP True Parkway has live music from The Juan and Only on Friday from 6 p.m. Willie James Shay plays Sonny’s Pizza Bistro Friday at 5:30 p.m. JB Williams plays Kelly's Little Nipper at 7 p.m. Friday. Dan Medeiros plays Truman’s Pizza Tavern at 5 p.m. Friday.

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

 
 
Featured in the current issue of CITYVIEW
 

FEATURE STORY
Summer Arts & Entertainment Guide

By Cyote Williams

That’s right Iowa; summer is back. With it comes a whole host of reasons to get out of the house and get out the sunscreen. Des Moines and the surrounding metro area become a destination in the steamy months with art, food, music and cultural festivals to satisfy most every craving.

Several communities have their neighborhood celebrations and Fourth of July fireworks displays. Looking to stay inside? Community theatre performances deliver the entertainment — with air conditioning. If your way of beating the heat is working up a sweat, there are also plenty of fun runs, walks and triathlons for you and your kids.

 
Read more
 
Featured home for sale
 
Post listings here for $50. Contact jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com for details.
 
$925,000

1101 Timber Valley Drive
Polk City, IA 50226

Welcome to Big Creek Valley at TCI Golf Course! This stunning 5-bedroom, 3.5-bath walkout ranch sits on a timbered lot with more than 2,300 square feet on the main level and a fully finished basement. The open-concept main floor features a spacious living room with stone fireplace, custom built-ins, and large windows offering serene views. The gourmet kitchen includes a generous island, walk-in pantry, and eat-in dining area that opens to a covered deck — perfect for entertaining or relaxing. ....

 
See the listing here.
 
See more homes for sale
 
SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction
 
144 ARTHUR AVE., DES MOINES
SALE DATE: 2025-01-07
SALE PRICE: $100
SELLER: DEMARANVILLE, STEPHANIE G
BUYER: DWK PROPERTIES LLC
ACRES: 0.331
SQUARE FEET: 3,000
 
More transactions
 
Featured in the current
issue of Winterset Living magazine
 

Optimist Club helps youth in many ways
Holds variety of events and fundraisers

By Rich Wicks

It’s a safe bet that the Winterset Optimist Club is doing more in the community than readers probably realize. Club President Darrell Vossekuil sheds light on many of the ways the club serves the public good.

“The Optimist Club is an organization of civic-minded men and women who work together for community service. Our main focus is helping youth,” Vossekuil says.

To that end, the club holds many events.
“We do Family Night, boys and girls basketball tournaments, fishing derbies, our annual turkey dinner, Toys for Tots, Youth Appreciation Week, a food bank drive; we help fund the post-prom party; we help fund the local Boy Scouts and Little League; and we have a scholarship program and Youth of the Month for high school students,” Vossekuil says.   ...

 
Read more
 
Sports headlines
FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: There’s much more to the Fever than the Caitlin Clark show. Forget the steady rebuild. Indiana upgraded everything from its front office to its bench this offseason and is ready to win now. ... READ MORE
 
FROM ESPN: Jamal Murray scores 25 as Nuggets force Game 7 vs. Thunder. The Thursday afternoon addition of Denver Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray to the injury report for Game 6 was a mere formality.Murray was listed as questionable because of an illness he felt after waking up in the morning, but he never had any doubt he'd be in the starting lineup with the Nuggets facing elimination against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. ... READ MORE
 
FROM YAHOO SPORTS: Ranking all 32 NFL teams' strength of schedule for 2025 season. The NFL's annual schedule release is fun because everyone wants to see key matchups or maybe a road trip for their favorite teams. When teams play certain opponents matters, but probably not as much as the strength of schedule itself. ... READ MORE
 
 

1985: Discovery of Ozone Hole announced. In the scientific journal Nature on May 16, 1985, three scientists from the British Antarctic Survey announce their detection of abnormally low levels of ozone over the South Pole. Their discovery, commonly known as the Ozone Hole, became a palpable example of mankind's ability to damage the Earth's atmosphere as well as one of the most famous success stories in the history of climate activism. ... READ MORE

1960 U.S.-Soviet summit meeting collapses after U-2 spy plane shot down. In the wake of the Soviet downing of an American U-2 spy plane on May 1, 1960, Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev lashes out at the United States and President Dwight D. Eisenhower at a Paris summit meeting between the two heads of state. Khrushchev’s outburst angered Eisenhower and doomed any chances for successful talks or negotiations at the summit. ... READ MORE

1980: Basketball great Magic Johnson plays center as a rookie, wins championship. On May 16, 1980, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Earvin “Magic” Johnson steps in for injured center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and scores 42 points, leading the Lakers to a four games-to-two series win over the Philadelphia 76ers for their first championship since 1972. ... READ MORE

 www.history.com

 
Birthdays and notables
 

Happy birthday, Ben Butzke today and Ian Brandt Sunday!

These celebrities were born on this date: Dan Coats, Danny Trejo, Bill Smitrovich, Debra Winger, Olga Korbut, Megan Fox, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Janet Jackson, Pierce Brosnan, Gracie Kramer, Krist Novoselic, Tori Spelling

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

 
Morning chuckle

The answer to the last riddle: Where do squirrels go in a hurricane? ALL OVER THE PLACE! Or, It depends on which way the wind is blowing! - Gail Tomlinson

Today's riddle: What do you call a squirrel in church?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

 

To advertise in the Daily Umbrella, CITYVIEW or SENIORVIEW, contact:

Mary Fowler
Account Executive
515-953-4822 x311
c: 641-485-0555
mary@dmcityview.com

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