FROM KCCI: Construction begins on $164 million flyover bridge at Southwest Mixmaster. Crews have begun construction on a $164 million flyover bridge at the Southwest Mixmaster in Iowa, marking the first major design and construction change for the area in more than 60 years. Two cranes are now in place, and earth is already moving as the first visible signs of progress. The new bridge will replace the original cloverleaf ramp that currently moves southbound Interstate 35/80 traffic to eastbound I-235. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Ill-fated Ignit Johnston files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The ill-fated Ignit Johnston sports complex project is entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy, adding another development to the troubled history of the long-delayed project. Ignit Johnston, LLC announced it voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Iowa. The filing comes after months of lawsuits and controversy regarding the project, which was spearheaded by brothers Chad and Brian O’Meara. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Des Moines Water Works passes rate increase for most customers. Des Moines Water Works' Board of Trustees passed a water rate increase for most of its customers Tuesday afternoon. The new rates are intended to fully recover the organization's cost of providing service, the Board of Trustees said. In some communities, DMWW is making back four-fifths or less of the cost of providing water due to high infrastructure costs, lower numbers of customers and other factors. Those communities will see a higher rate increases. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Can larger batteries safely power residential buildings? A project in New York aims to show how. A battery system installed in a Buffalo, New York, apartment building will store excess energy when it’s plentiful and power the building when the grid is strained and electricity is costly. The manufacturer and state officials hope it will show that larger batteries can safely operate where people live and work. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Driver who led chase onto Coe College campus sentenced to federal prison. A man who led Cedar Rapids police on a chase onto the Coe College campus in January, has been sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison. The Northern District of Iowa says Dondre Minor, 30, pleaded guilty in May to being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Minor to 111 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after his prison term ends. ... READ MORE

Woebegone Wednesday
Iowa's nitrate drinking water violations doubled in 2025 in comparison to the previous year, according to a report by the Iowa DNR. Yet both gubernatorial campaigns hark about each other's indirect ties to water pollution. No solutions are even talked about. Farm Bureau is the only entity in the state doing its job, but its job is to protect agriculture from lawsuits.

The numbers: Iowa's adult obesity rate reached 37% in 2025, the ninth-highest in the country. About 71% of Iowa adults are overweight or obese. It gets worse: 22.2% of Iowa adults are physically inactive, ranking 19th in the country. These adults don't engage in physical activity outside of work. Iowa ranks 30th for diabetes and 34th for hypertension. (Trust for America's Health, 2025 U.S. Census) An estimated 20,000 Iowans have Parkinson's disease. 53 million pounds of pesticides were used in Iowa last year. EPA studies on paraquat, an herbicide linked to Parkinson's, have not found a clear link. Were they really looking for one?

Deals today
• It's My Jam (7015 N.E. 14th St., Ankeny) has cherry and lemon meringue pies and ham and bean soup today.
 
• Dam Pub (2710 Beaver Ave.) has half-price wings on Wednesdays, usually with a special sauce available.
 
• Irina's Steak & Seafood offers a Wednesday night $89 dinner for two, with 8-ounce filets and black garlic jus, truffled potatoes, green beans, salad and desserts.
 
• Guesthouse Tavern and Oyster (9500 University, West Des Moines) offers walleye dinner specials for $21 Wednesdays. 
 
• Fareways have a Wednesday-only half-priced sale on King Hawaiian sandwich trays, $9.99/16 count.
 
• High Life Lounge (200 Second St., Des Moines) has a Wednesday special chicken fried steak for $11.99. 
 
• Fresh Thyme (2800 University Ave., West Des Moines) has $6 half slabs of ribs on Wednesdays. 
 
• Sale Barn's (Lamoni) special today is  tater tot casserole.
 
• The Empire's (223 Fourth St., Des Moines) Wednesday special is meatball sandwiches for $9.
 
• Wednesday is biryani day with two for $20 at Desi Bites (3828 100th St., Urbandale.
 
• Mariana's (1305 University Ave., Des Moines) offers asada tacos for $2 Wednesdays.
 
• Talk Shop Lounge (3357 St. Charles Road, St. Charles) has a rib dinner deal Mondays, half slabs for $12, full racks $16. 
 
• Hy-Vees offer pork chop dinners for $4.99 Tuesdays.
 
• The False Nine Social Club (206 Fifth St., Valley Junction) has hamburgers for $7 on Wednesdays.
 
• B&B Grocery, Meat and Deli (2001 S.E. Sixth St., Des Moines) has Philly cheesesteak on special today. 



• Waveland Cafe (4708 University Ave., Des Moines) offers a wiener Wednesday special today. 
 
• Paula's (Elm Street at Sixth, Valley Junction) has a Wednesday Cuban sandwich special.
 
• Crouse Cafe (115 E. Salem, Indianola) has hamburger steak with mushroom gravy on special today.
 
• Jack’s Place (6112 S.W. Ninth, Des Moines) has 10 wings for $10 Wednesdays.
 
• Kelly's Little Nipper (1701 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines) offers any burger with a side for $10 on Wednesdays. 
 
• Toad's (302 State Ave., Des Moines) special today is wings with two sides for $12.
 
• 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. 
 
• 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.
 
• Wine bottles are half price on Wednesdays at Trostel's Greenbriar (5910 Merle Hay Road, Johnston) and The Continental (407 E. Fifth St., Des Moines). 
 
• G Mig's (128 Fifth St., Valley Junction) offers a Wednesday special vodka cream bow ties, plus 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.
 
• Village Inns and Baker's Squares offer free pie with entrees on Wednesdays. 
 
• 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.  
 
• The Station on Ingersoll (3124 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has a Wednesday special of chopped cheeseburger with a side for $12.

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

1959: Guggenheim Museum opens in New York City. On Oct. 21, 1959, on New York City’s Fifth Avenue, thousands of people line up outside a bizarrely shaped white concrete building that resembled a giant upside-down cupcake. It was opening day at the new Guggenheim Museum, home to one of the world’s top collections of modern art. … READ MORE

1941: Germans massacre men, women and children in Yugoslavia. Between Oct. 18 - Oct. 21, 1941, German soldiers go on a rampage, killing thousands of Yugoslavian civilians, including whole classes of schoolboys, in what has become known as the Kragujevac massacre. … READ MORE

2021: Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins killed on set for the Western movie “Rust." On Oct. 21, 2021, Halyna Hutchins is killed on the film set of Rust, a Western starring Alec Baldwin. The fatal shot comes from a prop gun, handled by Baldwin, which mistakenly contained live ammunition. … READ MORE

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