Posted June 03, 2026in Civic Skinny
The Des Moines Register’s latest subscription numbers are in, and they are not pretty. The bad news is not just for the printed editions, but let’s start there. According to a report from Alliance for Audited Media, for the six months ending March 31, 2026, the Sunday Register now has
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Posted May 06, 2026in Civic Skinny
The arrest of Kristin Ramsey in the Ashley Okland murder case has raised a few questions, as what the public has been provided so far is not very helpful in determining why it was presented to a grand jury 15 years later. The use of a grand jury is also
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Posted April 01, 2026in Civic Skinny
Iowa leads the country in wind energy, according to iSelect, a business that compares energy costs. The company reported its findings after researching renewable energy trends across the U.S. Data show Iowa’s total renewable energy share increased from 59.42% in 2020 to 65.55% in 2024, a 6.13% rise. More than
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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,
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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
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