Posted March 04, 2026in Civic Skinny
It’s a well-known stereotype to those who frequent Iowa’s roadways that, even though most every Iowa winter comes with ice, snow, sleet and whatever a snow-squall is, drivers in the area suddenly forget the rules of driving when the conditions take a turn. A survey by RVWindshieldReplacement.com (sounds like they’ve
Read More →
Posted February 04, 2026in Civic Skinny
Each February, we review the sabbaticals (or, as stated by the Iowa Board of Regents, “professional development assignments”) granted to the professors at the state’s three public universities: Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa. For us common folk, a sabbatical may be used
Read More →
Posted December 31, 2025in Civic Skinny
The Iowa Department of Revenue released its fiscal year 2025 report, which includes the alcohol revenue numbers. Each year, the department details which spirits, from beer to wine, and which brands, from local to national, were the most popular in Iowa. All in all, total sales were $434,938,128 and total
Read More →
Posted December 03, 2025in Civic Skinny
Elections were in full swing across the nation and Iowa in November. City council seats were up for grabs, with one race finishing incredibly close, and school board elections were interesting once again. But who is donating to these campaigns? And how much? Three Des Moines city council elections took
Read More →
Posted November 05, 2025in Civic Skinny
Each November, we take a look at some of the highest salaries among nonprofit organization employees in the state of Iowa. Using candid.org, we sort by the highest-grossing nonprofits in the area and review their most recent 990 tax form. Here are the largest salaries we found: Prairie Meadows Race
Read More →
Posted October 01, 2025in Civic Skinny
Ever wonder who buys those $3 million homes? Wonder no more. Here are six homes with some of the highest sale prices we found this year. Two sold for $3 million. Two were in West Des Moines. Two were in Johnston. One was in Clive. One was in Urbandale. But,
Read More →
Posted September 03, 2025in Civic Skinny
The theme at the Iowa State Fair this year was Fair Sweet Fair, and the grandstand concert attendance was sweet, indeed. The 131,616 attendees for 2025 broke the previous record of 128,504 set in 2019. Megan Moroney’s performance on Saturday, Aug. 16, drew the largest crowd at 16,371. T-Pain was
Read More →
Posted August 06, 2025in Civic Skinny
University coaches are often the highest-paid state employees, which is true in Iowa. For example, the University of Iowa’s head football coach, Kirk Ferentz, is compensated $7 million a year before bonuses and incentives, making him the state’s highest-paid employee. Iowa State University’s head football coach, Matt Campbell, makes $4
Read More →
Posted July 02, 2025in Civic Skinny
Park place. Des Moines continues to be a solid destination for those looking to live within walking distance to a park. According to Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit that helps create parks and protect public land, 75% of Des Moines residents live within a 10-minute walk to
Read More →
Posted June 04, 2025in Civic Skinny
Ever wonder how — or if — our elected officials are dealing with Artificial Intelligence and how they are juggling the risks and benefits for their constituents? The National Conference of State Legislatures recently released a tool showing Artificial Intelligence legislation by state. In 2025, 48 states and Puerto
Read More →
