FROM KCCI: West Des Moines doctor says harvest season and mold can make allergy symptoms worse. Harvest season can bring increased allergy symptoms as combines churn through crops, according to Dr. Ravinder Agarwal, an allergy specialist with more than three decades of experience at the Allergy, Asthma and Sinus Center in West Des Moines. "This is the time of the year when people become more symptomatic," Agarwal said. With most pollen gone for the season, he said mold is the primary outdoor allergy concern. Dust mites and animal allergens also remain sources of exposure. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Des Moines Public Schools hits record enrollment in AP courses. Des Moines Public Schools is celebrating a record number of its students taking college-level Advanced Placement classes this year. DMPS announced the numbers Tuesday, stating that 3,993 of the district’s students were enrolled in AP courses as of October 1st. That’s an all-time high for DMPS. The district also pointed to the success of students who took AP classes in the Spring of 2026. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Grimes City Council introduces steps for data center proposals, focusing on transparency. The Grimes City Council on Tuesday approved a series of steps data center developers have to complete before they submit an application. The city’s resolution is different from a moratorium, which other cities in central Iowa have adopted. Grimes Mayor David Gisch said the city has not yet received any applications to build a data center. Still, he and the council want to be proactive if one were wanting to come into town. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Global cyberscams bilk Americans out of billions. A fragmented US response means few get money back. The U.S. government isn’t doing enough to fight the surge in cyberscams, and partnerships with the private sector remain fragmented and voluntary, an investigation into the global scam industry led by the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress has found. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Legendary Waterloo basketball coach dies after 50-year career. A legendary coach in Waterloo has died. Dr. Anthony Pappas coached girls basketball at Waterloo West. He died Tuesday morning after a fight with brain cancer. He was 72. Out of his 50-year career courtside, 47 of those were with the Wahawks. Pappas led the Wahawks to 11 state tournament appearances, including three trips to the championship game. He was inducted into the Iowa Girls Coaches Association’s State Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005. ... READ MORE

Woebegone Wednesday
A 2023 U.S. Geological Survey study estimated that at least 45% of U.S. tap water contains PFAS, aka forever chemicals. 3M and DuPont have paid multi billions in legal settlements over these. DSM Water Works won $9.7 million and West Des Moines Water Works is looking for around $2.3 million.

Iowa ranks ninth in obesity, 30th for diabetes and 34th for hypertension. (Trust for America's Health, 2025 U.S. Census)

Lately, we have been annoyed by loud music in restaurants where we didn't expect, nor remembered it. So often so that we are soliciting a list of places that play no music that interferes with conversation. Irina's, Oak Park, Proudfoot & Bird, Splash, Harbinger, 801, La Mie, Lucca, Ruth's Chris, Centro, Christopher's, Noah's, Portofino's, Tumea & Sons, and Jesse's Embers come to mind. Who else? Please let us know. jd91446@aol.com

Deals today
• Bianchi's Hilltop (2820 Hubble Ave., Des Moines) has an Italian beef sandwich on special today. 
 
• It's My Jam (7015 N.E. 14th St., Ankeny) has blueberry and key lime 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  fried chicken and green bean 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.
 
• Tacos 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. 
 
• 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. 
 
• Paula's (Elm Street at Sixth, Valley Junction) has a Wednesday Cuban sandwich special.
 
• Crouse Cafe (115 E. Salem, Indianola) has lasagna on special today.
 
• Jack’s Place (6112 S.W. Ninth, Des Moines) has 10 wings for $10 Wednesdays.
 
• Wednesday at Short E's BBQ (8805 Chambray Blvd., Johnston) the special is ribs - $15 full racks, $10 half racks and $5 off rib dinners.
 
• 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. 
 
• 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.
 
• 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.
 
• 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). 
 
• 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.
 
• Village Inns and Baker's Squares 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.  
 
• The Station on Ingersoll (3124 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has a Wednesday special of chopped cheeseburger with a side for $12.

• Price Choppers have mandarins on sale for $3.99/3-pound bag, frozen Swai filets for $3.99/pound and bone-in chicken thighs for $1.69/pound.

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

1886: Statue of Liberty dedicated. The Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States, is dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.. … READ MORE

1919: Congress overrides presidential veto of the Volstead Act, ushering in Prohibition. Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Prohibition Amendment. … READ MORE

1998: President Bill Clinton signs the Digital Millennium Copyright Act into law. On Oct. 28, 1998, President Bill Clinton signs into law the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The legislation was written in order to strengthen existing federal copyright protections against new threats posed by the Internet and by the democratization of high technology. … READ MORE

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