A tribute to Judge Robert Pratt by Michael Gartner

On Friday night, Sept. 4, 2009, just before the baseball game between the Iowa Cubs and the Albuquerque Isotopes was scheduled to start, Federal Judge Robert Pratt stepped to the microphone set up near home plate at Principal Park. He was fully robed.

A court official had just announced that a special session of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa was in session.

Not everyone knew what was going on, and many of the thousands of fans kept drinking their beers, eating their hotdogs and chatting with their neighbors as the judge started to speak. But Judge Pratt was not speaking mainly to the fans. He was addressing 34 men and women lined up along the base path between home plate and third base. They were from 15 countries, and the judge was swearing them in as citizens of the United States. ...

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FROM KCCI: Police identify West Des Moines man wanted after shots fired at officers. Police have identified the suspect as Andrew Clark of West Des Moines. Detectives have obtained arrest warrants charging Clark with attempted murder of a peace officer, a Class B felony, and intimidation with a dangerous weapon, a Class C felony. Investigators say they executed search warrants at two locations Tuesday — a home in the 600 block of 12th Street in West Des Moines and another in the 1400 block of Northwest 81st Street in Clive. The Suburban Emergency Response Team assisted by securing both residences, but the suspect was not found. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Part of $975K Lillie Parker settlement was for ‘alleged emotional distress,’ agreement says. More details have been released in a financial settlement reached between the City of Des Moines and a now-former member of the Des Moines Police Department. An open records request revealed the breakdown of the $975,000 settlement with Maj. Lillie Parker, which was approved by the Des Moines City Council at its Jan. 26, 2026, meeting. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Norwalk plans privately funded $12B data center, promises jobs and tax revenue. The City of Norwalk is moving forward with plans to annex almost 3,000 acres southwest of its current limits as part of a long‑term strategy to connect Highway 28 to Interstate 35. In January, the City Council voted to acquire 282 acres within that larger area for what officials are calling a major data center project. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Greek rescuers search for potential missing people after deadly migrant boat collision. Greek coast guard boats and a helicopter scoured the sea near an eastern Aegean island on Wednesday after an overnight collision between a patrol boat and a speedboat carrying migrants killed at least 15 people and injured more than two dozen. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Clintons finalize agreement to testify in House Epstein probe, bowing to threat of contempt vote. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finalized an agreement with House Republicans Tuesday to testify in a House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein this month, bowing to the threat of a contempt of Congress vote against them. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: State Auditor investigation finds over $250,000 in questionable spending in Tama County. A report from the Iowa Auditor’s Office found $251,200 in questionable spending in the Tama County Human Resources Department. The special investigation released Tuesday was requested by the county from January 2020 through February 2025, when former HR Manager Tammy Wise was fired. Around the same time, the county found that it was $950,000 over budget in its 2024-25 fiscal year. ... READ MORE

Clear Mortgage meteorology

Cold today, but the warmup is coming! Quiet, dry weather ahead.

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

Woebegone Wednesday
Nothing is more wistfully woebegone as love lost and Victorian grandeur. There are some marvelous woebegone experiences coming up. Marty Stuart, writer of bittersweet classics like "You Can't Stop Love" and "That's What Love's About," plays the Victorian splendor of Hoyt Sherman theater this March. Stuart declared his love for Connie Smith when he was 10, married her 27 years later and celebrates their 30th anniversary this year. The Victorian restaurant Aposto will be open for pre concert dinner.
 
Terrace Hill is hosting its first Valentine’s Day tea service on Feb. 14. Held inside the historic 1869 Governor’s Residence, it will feature sweet and savory bites, sparkling wine and Terrace Hill’s signature tea. Tickets are $55.20 and benefit the Terrace Hill Partnership’s ongoing restoration work. Reservations are required and available in advance.
 
The first Victorian Tea of the year at Wallace House will be Feb. 13 at 2:30 p.m. and includes sweet and savory finger foods and two kinds of hot tea. $30.

Deals today
• Waterfont's Wednesday special this week is cioppino, the real San Francisco treat.  

• Crouse Cafe (115 E. Salem, Indianola) offers scalloped potatoes with ham as today's special. 

• Today is fried chicken with mashed potatoes day at Sale Barn Cafe (Lamoni).

• Wednesdays are Chicago Italian beef sandwich day at Graziano Brothers (1601 S. Union St., Des Moines).

•  AJ's (Prairie Meadows) has a new early bird menu on Wednesday and Thursday from 4-6 p.m. Half-pound burgers with frites $15, pasta and chicken dinners, $20-22, seafood and steak dinners $27-30. Prime rib dinners for $30 all night. 
 
• Hy-Vees offer chicken and noodles dinners for $5 on Wednesdays.
 
• Guesthouse Tavern and Oyster (9500 University, West Des Moine) offers Walleye Wednesday with dinners $21.
 
• Jack’s Place (6112 S.W. Ninth, Des Moines) has 10 wings for $10 Wednesdays.
 
• Mitzi's (125 Fifth, Valley Junction) offers $7 cheeseburger and fries deals on Wednesday. 
 
• Kids eat free on Wednesday at Short E's BBQ (8805 Chambray Blvd., Johnston).
 
• Fareway is offering $5 rotisserie chicken on Wednesdays. Other days they cost about $9.
 
• Whatcha Smokin? (Highway 17, Luther) has a brisket burnt ends special on Wednesdays.
 
• Kelly's Little Nipper (1701 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines) offers any burger with a side for $10 on Wednesdays. 
 
• Exile (1514 Walnut St., Des Moines) offers a $12 burger basket with fries and a beer on Wednesdays. 
 
• Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines) offers $8 French toast or pancake breakfasts and $2 tacos, $9 wraps and $10 half pounds of wings on Wednesdays. 
 
• Johnny's Italian Steakhouses have a chicken Madeira special on Wednesdays before 4 p.m., $15 including beverage.
 
• Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines) offers 10 wings for $10 on Wednesdays and steak night, too.
 
• Smoking Goat Pub (3015 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines) has a $10 classic burger and beer all day. 
 
• Paula's (524 Elm, Valley Junction) has a Wednesday special beef stew with biscuit, $13.50.
 
• Gilroy's (1238 Eighth St., West Des Moines) has all you can eat fried chicken dinners on Wednesdays, $23.99 after 5 p.m. 
 
• 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. It's also hot beef sandwich day at Chicago Speakeasy (1520 Euclid Ave.) where the gravy is made with pan drippings.
 
• Curbin' Cuisine (1325 S.W. Oralabor Road, Ankeny) offers traditional gyros for $7 Wednesdays. 
 
• Wine bottles are half price on Wednesdays at Trostel's Greenbriar (5910 Merle Hay Road, Johnston), Table 128 (220 S.W. Ninth, Des Moines) and The Continental (407 E. Fifth St., Des Moines). 

• G Mig's (128 Fifth St., Valley Junction) offers a Wednesday special spaghetti and meatballs dinner with salad and garlic bread for $19.25.

• 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.
 
• Tacos Mariana's (1305 University Ave., Des Moines) and The Station (3124 Ingersoll, Des Moines) have specials on tacos today. 

• Village Inns offer free pie with entrees on Wednesdays. 
 
• It's lasagna day at Maxie's Supper Club (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines) and breaded pork tenderloin day at Eastside Eddie's (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines).
 
• Panka Peruvian (2708 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has live jazz Wednesday. 
 
• Chuck's (3610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines) offers $5 off pizza on Wednesdays.
 
• Kwik Stars' Wednesday special is eight pieces of fried chicken for $10. Their fried chicken is ridiculously good for a convenience store.  

• On Wednesdays, flatbreads are $10 at Tito's Lounge (3916 N.W. Urbandale Drive, Urbandale). 
 
• Jethro's have $9.95 breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches, including a side of choice, on Wednesdays.  

• Price Chopper stores have sales through Monday on raspberries, blackberries and blueberries at $2.50, frozen catfish nuggets at $2.69/pound and chicken tenders at $3.99/pound.  

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

1983: Singer-songwriter Karen Carpenter dies. Karen Carpenter, a singer who long suffered under the burden of the expectations that came with pop stardom, died on Feb. 4, 1983, succumbing to heart failure brought on by her long, unpublicized struggle with anorexia.   … READ MORE

2004: Facebook launches. On Feb. 4, 2004, a Harvard sophomore named Mark Zuckerberg launches The Facebook, a social media website he had built in order to connect Harvard students with one another. By the next day, over a thousand people had registered, and that was only the beginning. Now known simply as Facebook, the site quickly ballooned into one of the most significant social media companies in history. Today, Facebook is one of the most valuable companies in the world, with over 2 billion monthly active users. … READ MORE

1861: States meet to form Confederacy. In Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana convene in Montgomery, Alabama to establish the Confederate States of America. … READ MORE

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