Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Join our email blast

Posted December 31, 2025in Civic Skinny

Alcohol sales down. Tax dollars paid to newspapers continue. Reimagining Education progresses. Pet adoptions break record. And holiday drinks confuse?

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 [...]

Read More →
Posted December 03, 2025in Civic Skinny

Biggest campaign donations. Register and Business Record subscribers. Grad job market is ‘low and slow.’

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 [...]

Read More →
Posted November 05, 2025in Civic Skinny

Guess which nonprofit CEO earned $4,926,772. See how Des Moines schools are ranked. And quit talking with chatbots.

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 [...]

Read More →
Posted October 01, 2025in Civic Skinny

Who buys $3 million homes? What company was fined $125,000 for gambling violations? How long do felons serve in Iowa?

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 [...]

Read More →
Posted September 03, 2025in Civic Skinny

State Fair’s impact. 3.7% unemployment. Mosquitoes. Straw poll. A major TV merger.

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 [...]

Read More →
Posted August 06, 2025in Civic Skinny

University coaching contracts surprise. Office space vacancies rise. KCCI viewership increases.

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 [...]

Read More →
Posted July 02, 2025in Civic Skinny

Park positive. Good tippers. Big trees. A $300K median home price. And Iowa… works?

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 [...]

Read More →
Posted June 04, 2025in Civic Skinny

AI legislation. Data centers. Free lube. A near Emmy win. And 222,617,547 alcoholic drinks.

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 [...]

Read More →
Posted April 30, 2025in Civic Skinny

Most valuable NCAA basketball teams. Some concerning scores. No sweat. And the ‘model’ governor?

In the aftermath of March Madness, the Wall Street Journal released a ranking of the most valuable NCAA college basketball teams. As you may expect, two of the sports’ most [...]

Read More →
Posted April 02, 2025in Civic Skinny

Why is Iowa the only state not to double in population since 1900? How have the tariffs impacted Iowans? And were sharks added to Iowa’s list of dangerous wild animals?

Iowa is the only state in the union that has not seen its population double since 1900. Don’t expect that to be part of our state’s economic development marketing campaign [...]

Read More →
House - Rack Locations