FROM KCCI: Gov. Kim Reynolds files complaint against University of Iowa alleging noncompliance with DEI act. Iowa officials are taking action after a video surfaced, appearing to show a University of Iowa employee discussing how the staff skirts new laws regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds sent an official complaint to the Iowa Attorney General's Office. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Arrest made in Des Moines vehicle vandalism and shooting case. An arrest has been made in an ongoing investigation involving the attempted theft of vehicles and a shooting that damaged a home and car earlier this month. Michael Hargrove, 20, was arrested on July 25th and is being held in the Polk County Jail. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Des Moines begins lead water line replacement in Drake neighborhood homes. Des Moines Water Works launched its drinking water utility program on Wednesday. During its first phase, they will replace lead service lines for 400 homes in the Drake neighborhood. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Russian missile and drone attack hits Ukrainian capital Kyiv, killing 8 people and wounding 82. Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital with missiles and drones overnight, killing at least eight people, including a 6-year-old boy, and wounding 82 others, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Brown University strikes agreement with Trump administration to restore lost federal funding. Brown University will pay $50 million to Rhode Island workforce development organizations in a deal with the Trump administration that restores lost federal research funding and ends investigations into alleged discrimination, officials said Wednesday. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Land purchase finalized ahead of establishing Newton Rail Park. A joint purchase of 294 acres of farmland by Jasper County and the Iowa Interstate Railroad has been finalized. The land will be used to establish the Newton Rail Park, an industrial rail development spanning 367 total acres. Leaders from the public and private partners involved in the project say the rail park will be economically beneficial for the community. ... READ MORE

Clear Mortgage meteorology

We’ll see a nice cooler and dry stretch through the weekend. Tiny rain chances Monday and Tuesday.

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

First Friday at Mainframe Studios
This Friday, Aug. 1, Mainframe Studios’ bounty of creatives open their doors for the best in cultural adventurism. Free, family-friendly destination from 5-8 p.m.  This event will feature multiple special exhibitions including a group showcase by Artists of Mainframe Studios exploring various forms of movement in the creative process as well as art that is designed to move. 

Mainframe in Motion will spotlight the often unseen stages of creation — from early sketches and compositions to color experiments, highlighting both the final product and the process that shapes each piece.  Exhibiting artists include: Amenda Tate, Nekia Whitfield, Craig Miller, Adam Van Wyk, Chris Sullivan and Charlie Borowicz.

Additional galleries will feature installations by special guests Ballet Des Moines and Uplifting Puppet Co; Hidden Thoughts by Linda Lewis, and Rural Imaginarium, a group showcase by Creston Arts, an organization dedicated to enriching lives of Southwest Iowans.

Guests can also enjoy open studios, delicious food and beverages, a make and take shadow puppet lab and performances by Brant Bollman of the Uplifting Puppet Co., an Open Book experience by CultureALL featuring Kelsey Bigelow and Abena Imhotep; and a drop-in movement sessions led by Michael Tomlinson, Manager of Artistic Operations at Ballet Des Moines. 

Several shows to entice Central Iowans –
·        Des Moines Performing Arts. “Parade.” July 29-Aug. 3.
·        Carousel Theatre of Indianola. “Anastasia the Musical.” Through Aug. 3.
·        Des Moines Young Artists’ Theatre. “The Spongebob Musical.” Through Aug. 3.
·        Urbandale Community Theatre. “Hello, Dolly!” Through Aug. 3.

— John Busbee, The Culture Buzz

Serious restaurant reviews in the age of Yelp. Washington Post has reduced the number of restaurants it reviews drastically. Its food section now is mostly just recipes. The Des Moines Register hasn't reviewed a restaurant for years. They prefer features about new places that are hardly ever critical. But the New York Times recently decided to review restaurants from the entire country, not just greater New York City. A national survey found that 49% of readers like the idea but more do not. We do because someone with an aegis of authority should. 

Lobbyists and bureaucracy, oil and fire. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has now dumbed down the use of the word "organic" in food production to just "95% organic."

Thursday deals
• Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines) offers $10 country fried breakfasts and $9 tenderloins or shrimp/fish tacos on Thursdays. 

• Ruth's Chris (Ashworth Road at Jordan Creek Parkway) has a Thursday special with their decadent RBAR burgers and fries going for $16.

•  Steaks: Sirloin steak dinners are featured specials today at Johnny's Italian Steakhouses (before 4 p.m.), Sully's Irish Pub (860 First St., West Des Moines); Front Row (9956 Swanson Blvd., Clive); Winn’s Pizza and Steakhouse (122 W. Ashland Ave., Indianola), and Hy-Vee Market Grilles. The Station on Ingersoll (3120 Ingersoll Ave.) has a ribeye special on Thursdays. Gilroy's (1238 Eighth St. West Des Moines) offers ribeyes and sirloins only on Thursdays after 5. 

• Thursday nights, Moroccan couscous — lemon chicken, beef keftas, five vegetables, harissa — are $17 at Purveyor (505 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines).

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

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

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

• 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.  

• Destination Grille  (2491 E. First St., Grimes) has a "Comfort Thursday" special chicken fried De Burgo, a gluten free spin on DSM's classic. $16

• The Dam Pub (2710 Beaver Ave., Des Moines) has a throwback Thursday special goulash with garlic toast.  

• The Continental (407 East Fifth St.) has $7 loaded fries on Thursdays. 

•  Fareways have specials through Saturday on half-pound USDA choice ribeyes $9.99, cherries at $2.88/pound and whole chickens at $1.99/pound.

• Haiku (1350 31st St., Des Moines) offers free tom yum soup and edamames with lunch entrees today.

• Aldi stores have sales through Tuesday on racks of lamb at $9.99/pound, cucumbers at 49 cents and red cherries at $2.29/pound. 

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

1941: Preparations for the Final Solution begin. On July 31, 1941, Hermann Göring, writing under instructions from Hitler, ordered Reinhard Heydrich, SS general and Heinrich Himmler’s number-two man, “to submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question.” ... READ MORE

1964: Ranger 7 photographs moon. Ranger 7, an unmanned U.S. lunar probe, takes the first close-up images of the moon—4,308 in total—before it impacts with the lunar surface northwest of the Sea of Clouds. The images were 1,000 times as clear as anything ever seen through earth-bound telescopes. ... READ MORE

1975: Labor leader Jimmy Hoffa is reported missing. On the morning of July 31, 1975, James Riddle Hoffa, one of the most influential American labor leaders of the 20th century, is officially reported missing after he failed to return home the previous night. Though he is popularly believed to have been the victim of a Mafia hit, conclusive evidence was never found and Hoffa’s fate remains a mystery. ... READ MORE

 www.history.com