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Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025
Good morning to you! 

Penalty for delay. Lawyers have defined what this means with a clause that establishes a financial consequence for parties that fail to meet agreed-upon contractual deadlines or milestones. Construction companies are quite familiar with this.

Typically, a penalty for delay clause specifies a fixed amount — or a percentage of the contract value — to be paid for each day or week the completion is delayed. The purposes are to reward timely performance and to penalize delays by compensating the non-breaching party for losses.

Estimating construction timelines is no easy task, as hiccups in the process certainly happen — many beyond the contractor’s control. Even so, it is amazing how the work is mostly completed on time — or with very short delays — when additional financial costs hit the company.

With all the media coverage, frustrations and political theater involved in what has been the longest government shutdown in history, one has to wonder if a “penalty for delay” clause should be in order — and not one that lawmakers simply pass on to the American citizens. We need a true penalty, one that affects our elected officials personally, in their own pocketbooks.

One may argue that any financial penalty will simply be offset by payments from big donors through fundraising, and that is likely true. So, the better solution may be to also have our lawmakers be held to the same standard most of us are in our jobs: do what you are hired to do or be replaced by someone else who will.

Of course, the devil is in the details, but most of us would offer our tax dollars for special elections to vote in replacements who would do the job they were elected to do without simply placing blame on the opposing side.

The reality is that this shutdown may not have directly impacted all of us, but it did affect millions of Americans, including federal workers who went without paychecks and airline passengers who had their trips delayed or canceled. More importantly, the interruption in nutrition assistance programs created long lines at food banks and added emotional stress for many as we head into the holidays.

Ultimately, our elected officials seem to work things out, much like the construction companies that eventually finish the projects. Timeliness is the problem, and it shouldn’t be. A penalty for delay, in one form or another, could fix that. What’s the harm?

Have a thoughtful Thursday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
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 police arrest suspect for voluntary manslaughter after deadly shooting. The Des Moines Police Department is investigating a deadly shooting Wednesday. Authorities say it happened at a home in the 600 block of E. Hackley Avenue in the South Central DSM neighborhood. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: 1 killed in Dallas County crash involving semi. One person was killed in a crash on Wednesday morning in Dallas County. The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office said that at around 8:34 a.m. deputies responded to a report of a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway 44 and J Avenue. First responders arrived at the scene to find a passenger vehicle had collided with a semi that was hauling a grain trailer, the sheriff’s office said. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Officials investigating hit-and-run that injured 2 cyclists. The Polk County Sheriff's Office is seeking information about a driver connected to a hit-and-run that injured two Des Moines cyclists. Officials said the crash occurred on Nov. 3 at 2:45 p.m. around the intersection of N.W. 26th Street and NW 54th Avenue. ... READ MORE

 

Rare performance opportunity
Boone Community Theatre, just a short drive from Greater Des Moines, presents "Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical." This show stars the multi-talented, Cloris Award-winning Michael Howland. Nov. 13-22.

The highly caffeinated performing arts gem returns to Des Moines
" Triple Espresso "returns to its record-breaking origin space, the Temple for Performing Arts, for another extended run of more audience bonding through the boundless energy, wit, and talent of that original trio: Patrick Albanese, Paul Somers and John Bush. The timeless appeal of this show, Nov. 18 - Dec. 7, makes it a must-see for first-timers as well as longtime fans.

THE WEIRD: The Artwork of D. Ryan Allen
In a long-awaited solo exhibition, veteran artist D. Ryan Allen presents a tantalizing diversity of artwork, wandering in the realms of fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and more. Presented at The Fremont in Des Moines, their intimate event space becomes a vibrant visual arts experience. Saturday, Nov. 15, 6-10 p.m.

CJC Big Band
The Saxophone Section Session Sunday, Nov. 16, 2-4 p.m. at New Hope Methodist Church, 4525 Beaver Ave., Des Moines. This free concert celebrates another show by the decades-long tradition of the region’s best jazz big band.
 
The Black Jacket Symphony at Hoyt Sherman Theatre
The nationally hailed Black Jacket Symphony brings its AC/DC Back in Black show to Des Moines. The first act features a live performance of each track of this iconic album, followed by a second act of AC/DC music as performed by the nation’s best talent.
 

Temple for Performing Arts: Beatles and Stones Tribute Show
Two Iconic Tributes Face Off Live at the Des Moines Performing Arts Center/Temple Theater on Saturday, Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m.

Iowa Culinary History
Terrace Hill, Iowa Governor’s Residence and National Historic Landmark, presents Savor Iowa's Culinary History presented by Darcy Maulsby, on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m.  in the Terrace Hill Drawing Room. This is a free program, but advance registration is required as space is limited. Register through link or contact Allison Wergeland at allison.wergeland@governor.iowa.gov or 515-281-7205.

Continuing shows:
Des Moines Playhouse – "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" (Through Nov. 23)
Tallgrass Theatre – Seedlings Children's Theatre – "The Boxcar Children" (Through Nov. 23)
Des Moines Young Artists’ Theatre (DMYAT) – "Willy Wonka Jr" (Through Nov. 16)

— John Busbee, The Culture Buzz
 

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Top Ukrainian ministers submit their resignations as the country is rocked by a corruption scandal. As Russia’s renewed attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure cause rolling blackouts ahead of winter, a major embezzlement and kickbacks scandal involving the state-owned nuclear power company has put top officials under scrutiny. It’s fast becoming one of the most significant government crises since Moscow’s full-scale invasion, with media reports implicating a close associate of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: President Trump signs government funding bill, ending shutdown after a record 43-day disruption. President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night, ending a record 43-day shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports and generated long lines at some food banks. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Two die after apparent drug overdoses in Cedar Rapids hotel. Cedar Rapids Police are looking into potential drug-related overdoses following the deaths of two individuals. First responders say they arrived at a hotel on the 600 block of 33rd Avenue Southwest early on Monday, finding several people with apparent drug-related health issues. CPR was administered to three individuals, who were then taken to a local hospital. Unfortunately, two of them have died. The investigation into these deaths is ongoing. ... READ MORE

 

Clear Mortgage meteorology

Warming into the weekend, then turning colder. Rain chance Monday.

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

 
Pollen tracker
 
Tree pollen: None
Grass pollen: None
Ragweed pollen: Low
 
 
The 2025 results: CITYVIEW's Best of Des Moines®
 
 
Best Local Hospital
 
1. UnityPoint Health Iowa Methodist Medical Center
 
2. MercyOne Medical Center
 
3. Broadlawns Medical Center
 
See all of the results
 
 

Chi Chi’s opened its first restaurant in 20 years, in the Twin Cities where it began 50 years ago. Chi-Chi’s closed in 2004 after a hepatitis outbreak tied to green onions in the salsa sickened 650 people, left four dead and spurred a slew of lawsuits against the chain. Founded in 1975 by Marno McDermott and former Green Bay Packers player Max McGee, the chain once boasted more than 200 locations nationwide. The outlet on University in West Des Moines rivaled Jimmy's American Cafe as the hottest spot in town. 

Terrace Hill hosts a program today at 5 p.m. based on the books of Iowa food writer and century farmer Darcy Mausby. It’s free but you need tickets. Terrace Hill also hosts a Victorian dinner Nov. 20. It costs $125.

Deals today
•  Hot beef sandwiches are a Thursday special at Club 2000. 

• Maxie's (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines) Thursday special for $20.95 is half a fried chicken with potato, side of spaghetti, and a salad. Lunch and dinner.

• Mullets Norwalk offers two two-topping pizzas for $20 on Thursdays 4 p.m. to close.

• Buzzard Billy's (615 Third St., Des Moines) has $2 off appetizers on Thursdays.

• Whatcha Smokin? (Highway 17, Luther) has a pork belly burnt ends special on Thursdays.

• 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.

• Steak Nights: 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., Des Moines) has a ribeye special on Thursdays. Gilroy's (1238 Eighth St., West Des Moines) offers ribeyes and sirloins only on Thursdays after 5 p.m.

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

• Mullets has a Thursday pizza special of buy one large specialty pizza and get a free 14-inch two-topping pizza.

• Kids eat free at Scornovacca’s (1930 S.E. 14th St., Des Moines) 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 E. Fifth St., Des Moines) has $7 loaded fries on Thursdays.

• Aldi stores have sales through Tuesday on avocados at 55 cents, racks of lamb at $9.99/pound and USDA choice beef tenderloin at $10.99/pound.  

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

 
 
Featured in the current issue of CITYVIEW
 

POLITICAL MERCURY
Art Cullen’s new book tells us the rent is due for Iowa

By Douglas Burns

With a rare sense of place, a know-it-when-you-see-it Iowa-ness, Art Cullen’s roaring new book is nothing short of an unsparing mirror for 3.3 million of us in the state. With still-night whispers of truth and bar-fight ferocity, this western Iowa newspaperman reveals the masquerade-ball leadership that’s turned so many of Iowa’s once-warm communities into furnaces of justified grievance and misdirected outrage.

Readers will absorb the very landscape of this state with more informed eyes after completing Cullen’s “Dear Marty, We Crapped In Our Nest: Notes From The Edge Of The World.” ...

 
Read more
 
Featured home for sale
 
Post listings here for $50. Contact jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com for details.
 
$1,544,450
1185 Grays Parkway
Des Moines, IA 50309
 
Proposed Custom Home in Gray’s Station with Rooftop Terrace
Embarq Signature Homes proudly presents the Elena plan—a fully customizable, detached single-family home in downtown Des Moines. This modern design features cement and cedar exterior accents and abundant natural light through windows on all four sides. Enjoy stunning skyline views from a full-sized rooftop terrace with optional pergola, perfect for entertaining or relaxing above the city. ...
  
See the listing here.
 
See more homes for sale
 
SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction
 
113 MILL ST., S.W., MITCHELLVILLE
SALE DATE: 2025-06-25
SALE PRICE: $370,000
SELLER: MCCONNELL, VICKI TYLER
BUYER: LAB INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES LLC
ACRES: 0.313
SQUARE FEET: 3,240
 
More transactions
 
Featured in the current
issue of Winterset Living magazine
 

Hoenig says, ‘Welcome to Winterset’
Community greeter provides useful information and more.

By Rich Wicks

Moving to a new community is challenging. Not only are there financial and logistical challenges, such as moving expenses, utility deposits and connection fees, there are also social challenges, such as trying to make new friends, meeting the neighbors, and finding out what the community’s resources are.
That is where Sandy Hoenig comes in. In her role with Community Greetings, Hoenig reaches out to those who are new to the community. She and her husband, Rick, experienced being new to Winterset not many years ago. ...

 
Read more
 
Sports headlines
FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Mark Cuban had a hand in Mavericks firing Nico Harrison. It's safe to say a lot of people in Dallas wanted Nico Harrison out as Mavericks general manager—including the franchise's former majority owner Mark Cuban. Harrison was fired on Tuesday nine months after he orchestrated the seismic trade of sending Luka Dončić to the Lakers. Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont has since taken ownership for the ill-aged Dončić deal and penned a frank letter to the Mavs fanbase looking ahead to a hopeful and brighter future in the post-Harrison era. ... READ MORE
 
FROM ESPN: MSU gets 3-year probation; 14 wins from 3 seasons vacated.The NCAA has placed Michigan State football on three years of probation for violations that occurred during Mel Tucker's tenure as coach. The violations occurred due to the participation of three ineligible players. Now, the Spartans will vacate all 14 wins from the past three seasons, a school spokesperson confirmed. That includes all five wins last season during Jonathan Smith's first year as coach. ... READ MORE
 
FROM YAHOO SPORTS: Caitlin Clark shakes off rust in her second appearance at the Annika Pro-Am: 'I need some lessons.' Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark knows teammates are important. That's an essential skill in basketball, where you need to put your faith and trust in the four other players on the court. That's less important in a — relatively — solo game like golf, but Clark still found a way to get her teammates involved in the festivities. When Clark showed up to take part in the Annika Pro-Am on Wednesday, she brought some familiar faces. ... READ MORE
 
Weekly fuel report
 

The price of regular unleaded gasoline fell 5 cents from last week's price and is currently averaging $2.76 across Iowa according to AAA. Prices are down 5 cents from a year ago. The national average on Wednesday was $3.08, unchanged from last week’s price.

Retail diesel prices in Iowa rose 17 cents this week with a statewide average of $3.76. One year ago, diesel prices averaged $3.31 in Iowa.
The current Iowa diesel price is the same as the national average of $3.76.

Natural gas prices were up 23 cents at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently priced at $4.50 MMbtu.

Propane prices averaged $1.53 per gallon in Iowa.

Home heating oil prices had a statewide average of $3.27 per gallon.

Lowest gas prices in the metro. www.gasbuddy.com

Kum & Go in Perry (1219 First Ave.) - $2.46

BP in Perry (1115 IA-141) - $2.49

Murphy USA in Altoona (3405 Eigth St. S.W.) - $2.55

1974: The Amityville murders. On the tragic evening of Nov. 13, 1974, a young man shoots and kills his entire family with a 35-caliber Marlin rifle as his parents, two brothers and two sisters apparently sleep. The gruesome murder of the DeFeo family shakes up the sleepy Long Island town of Amityville — and leads to decades of horror storytelling. ... READ MORE

1982: Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedicated. Near the end of a weeklong national salute to Americans who served in the Vietnam War, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. after a march to its site by thousands of veterans of the conflict. The long-awaited memorial was a simple V-shaped black-granite wall inscribed with the names of the 57,939 Americans who died in the conflict, arranged in order of death, not rank, as was common in other memorials. ... READ MORE

2020: Kim Ng named first female MLB general manager. On Nov. 13, 2020, veteran front-office official Kim Ng breaks several glass ceilings simultaneously when she is named General Manager of the Miami Marlins. Ng is the first woman and first person of East Asian descent to lead a Major League Baseball front office, as well as the first female GM in the history of North American professional men’s sports. ... READ MORE

 www.history.com

 
Birthdays and notables
 

Happy birthday, Kathy Summy!

These celebrities were born on this date: Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Kimmel, Gerard Butler, Devon Bostick, Monique Coleman, Nikolai Fraiture, Jordan Bridges, Neil Flynn, Walter Kibby, Chris Noth, Neil Flynn

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

 
Morning chuckle

The answer to the last riddle: What role do green beans play in Thanksgiving dinner? CASSE-ROLE! - Gail Tomlinson. String instruments! - Anne Lents-Gagen.

Today's riddle: What type of glass does a turkey drink from?

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

 

 

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