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Posted December 03, 2025in Commercial Real Estate Transactions

Commercial Real Estate Transactions in Polk County from July 7, 2025, to July 24

1210 FIRST AVE. N., ALTOONA SALE DATE: 2025-07-09 SALE PRICE: $208,578 SELLER: F&S ROSENBERGER LLC BUYER: DCW INVESTMENTS LLC ACRES: 0.798 SQUARE FEET: 0 1301 FIRST AVE., N. ALTOONA SALE DATE: 2025-07-09 SALE PRICE: $790,000 SELLER: ABRAHAM PROPERTIES LLC BUYER: UCS HOLDINGS LLC ACRES: 0.638 SQUARE FEET: 4,500 5075 S.E.

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Posted December 03, 2025in Gartner Commentary, Guest Commentary

Twelve drummers drumming…

…To the nation’s 14,000 air-traffic controllers — especially those who kept working without pay after the politicians closed down the government while continuing to get their own pay…and to the quarter-million or so of Iowans — including 50,000 in Polk County — whose SNAP benefits were cut off by those

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Posted December 03, 2025in Your Neighbors

More than 350 hours of volunteer work

The United Way of Central Iowa has been in operation since 1917. Though it has operated under a number of different names since its inception, its goal of uniting the community and its various charitable efforts to make central Iowa a better place remains the same. One of its employees,

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Posted December 03, 2025in People & Pets

A trio of furry favorites

Jennifer Schmit has been a dog-lover her whole life. Fortunately, it didn’t take much to convince her cat-loving boyfriend, Sam, to share in her love of dogs. Today, the now married couple has three dogs.  “I had cats, but I liked the idea of a dog. Cody (Jennifer’s dog) was

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Posted December 03, 2025in Sound Circuit

All about the entertainment factor

From lounge acts to jazz standards to pop music and Broadway tunes, it’s safe to declare that Gina Gedler is at home singing any genre.  Gedler’s wide vocal range shines across genres, garnering many awards and accolades. This year, the Greater Des Moines Community Jazz Center Hall of Fame honored

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Posted December 03, 2025in Gartner Commentary, Guest Commentary

Remembering Bill Knapp

One afternoon 50 years or so ago, when I was president of The Des Moines Register and Tribune, Bill Knapp called me. “What are you doing?” he asked, and before I could answer, he said: “I’m on my way to pick you up. We need to raise $250,000 this afternoon

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Posted December 03, 2025in Book Review

Book Reviews

‘The Book of Kin: On Absence, Love, and Being There’ This is such a book of the moment, for me. It is healing and kind and full of the parts of humanity we rarely see these days, the power of what can be accomplished together. It is a radiant blend

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Posted December 03, 2025in Belly Up To...

Highland Underground

As one business shutters, another often snaps up the location and revamps it, reopening within a few years. Yet, for the Highland Underground, it took more than 40 years to be transformed from a department store into a cocktail bar. The Highland Underground opened in early October and is in

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Posted December 03, 2025in Collections & Hobbies

Mercury inspires extensive Hot Wheels collection

Whether from inside a box in your basement, in your child’s collection of toys, or perhaps sitting on your shelf, you likely have held a Hot Wheel in your hands before. After all, the first Hot Wheels were introduced in 1968 by Mattel, and the total number produced is in

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Posted December 03, 2025in Iowa Artist

Megan Hammer gains inspiration from nature

When initially viewing Megan Hammer’s framed art, it appears like a delicately painted fabric canvas. Yet, upon further inspection, the artwork is actually made of layers of felted wool fiber. There’s no paint. Rather, it is the wool’s pop of color weaved in it. Hammer is a fiber artist located

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