FROM KCCI: Crews respond to fire at downtown Des Moines hotel. A fire broke out Tuesday afternoon at the Surety Hotel on the 200 block of Sixth Avenue in downtown Des Moines. Crews responded shortly before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Light smoke was seen coming from the roof, and the Des Moines Fire Department confirmed there was a fire on the building’s top floor. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Bill increasing school funding 1.75% passes Iowa Senate. A bill increasing school funding by 1.75% passed the Iowa Senate on Tuesday. The Senate’s proposal, SF 2201, increases funding 1.75% for the 2026-27 school year, a decrease from recent years. In 2025, lawmakers increased school funding by 2%, while in 2024 it was increased by 2.5%. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Urbandale man arrested on drug charges following high-speed chase. An Urbandale man has been arrested on drug charges after leading deputies on a chase that reached 113 mph, according to a release from the Guthrie County Sheriff's Office. A Guthrie County deputy was westbound on Highway 44 just after midnight on Feb. 8 when he noticed a speeding red Ford Bronco. When the deputy activated his emergency lights and sirens, the vehicle fled, the release says. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Shootings at school and home in British Columbia, Canada, leave 10 dead including suspect. A shooting at a school in British Columbia left seven people dead, while two more were found dead at a nearby home, Canadian authorities said Tuesday. A woman who police believe to be the shooter also was killed. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Gov. Tim Walz says federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota could end within days. Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he expects the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota will end in “days, not weeks and months,” based on his recent conversations with top Trump administration officials. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Xenia Water issues boil advisory for town of Menlo. The Xenia Rural Water District issued a boil advisory Tuesday for customers in Menlo. Officials with the company said crews had to shut off the town's water to fix a leaky fitting that caused a loss of pressure. Repairs should be completed Tuesday, but the boil advisory is expected to last at least two days. ... READ MORE

Clear Mortgage meteorology

Temperatures continue to be mild with highs gradually warming into the upper 50s by early next week.

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

Woebegone Wednesday
 
While deep cleaning the Greenwood Lounge, workers discovered an 8-foot-tall window above a false ceiling in the ladies' bathroom. It will be restored along with a new tall ceiling. New owner Connor Delaney says he thought it would take a week to clean up the place but now expects a grand reopening the first week of March. "It should be the first Thursday." It's only right that it reopens on a night when Rudy plays there. "Rudy" is Iowa Blues Hall of Famer Scott Eggleston of the Soul Searchers. He began the Greenwood tradition of top musicians playing the dive bar for tips.  

George Formaro has been closing KFMG's  Kitchen Insider radio show each Saturday morning with his take on Jimmy Durante’s legendary close. We found out what “And good night to you Captain Trang, wherever you are” is all about. “Captain Trang” is Des Moines restaurateur Trang Pham, owner of Egg Roll Ladies in the Equitable Building. She is currently deployed with her Iowa Army National Guard troops to the Middle East. Kitchen Insider became particularly concerned about her after the Army refused to release the names of the three members of the Iowa guard who were shot, but not killed, in the Dec. 13 attack that left two of its members dead.

Deals today
• Waterfont's Wednesday special this week is Patagonian toothfish, better known as Chilean sea bass. The name change turned the fish into an overnight superstar, so much so that it was overfished until quotas and controls regulated it. 

• Crouse Cafe (115 E. Salem, Indianola) offers stuffed peppers as today's special. 

• Krispy Kreme is running a limited time winter collection and a Valentine's Day collection. A dozen doughnuts run $19.99.

• 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.

• Clyde's Fine Diner (111 E. Grand Ave., East Village) has a four-course tasting menu tonight for $125.

• 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).
 
• 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 has sales through Monday on asparagus at $2.99/pound, red or gold potatoes at $2.99/5-pound bag, and frozen tilapia filets at $4.49/pound. 
 
— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

1990: Nelson Mandela released from prison. Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, is released from prison after 27 years on Feb. 11, 1990. … READ MORE

2012: Pop superstar Whitney Houston dies at age 48. Whitney Houston, one of the world’s top-selling singers from the mid-1980s to late 1990s, is found dead in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Feb. 11, 2012. Houston’s death was the result of accidental drowning; heart disease and cocaine, which was found in her system, were determined to be contributing factors. … READ MORE

2020: World Health Organization officially names novel coronavirus disease COVID-19. A few months after the first known case was detected in Wuhan, China, and approximately three weeks after the first U.S. case was reported, on Feb. 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially named the illness that would go on to cause a pandemic "coronavirus disease 2019," shortened to the acronym COVID-19. … READ MORE

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