Posted September 06, 2017in Civic Skinny
School-board elections will be held in Iowa on Sept. 12. You probably won’t have to wait in line at the polls. There are 115,103 registered voters in the Des Moines Independent School District. Two years ago, 4,984 of them voted. That’s a turnout rate of 4.3 percent. In West Des
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Posted August 02, 2017in Civic Skinny
One-hundred and nine of the 1,121 employees of Polk County will make more than $100,000 in the fiscal year that started July 1, up from 102 employees in the year just ended. Once again, the highest-paid employee will be Gregory Schmunck, the county medical examiner, who will earn $250,767. Next
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Posted July 05, 2017in Civic Skinny
Attorney General Tom Miller‘s staff indicated to Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds or her staff weeks in advance that he was going to rule she would not have the constitutional authority to appoint her successor after she took over the Governor’s duties from Terry Branstad. So her “surprise” at the May
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Posted May 31, 2017in Civic Skinny
Chief Justice Mark Cady on Monday (June 19) barred all weapons from “courtrooms, court-controlled spaces, and public areas of courthouses and other justice centers occupied by the court system” in Iowa. The exception: peace officers carrying weapons in courthouses while performing law-enforcement duties. Cady cited “increasing concern over the security
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Posted May 03, 2017in Civic Skinny
Marty Tirrell‘s lawyer sued him the other day — and then withdrew the suit. Steve Hamilton said in the filing in Polk County District Court that he loaned the deadbeat talk-show shouter and serial loan-defaulter $14,750 and was promised repayment by Jan. 16 of this year. “Despite many demands,” Tirrell
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Posted April 05, 2017in Civic Skinny
Circulation of The Des Moines Register continues in its free fall. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016, home delivery and mail and single-copy sales of the Sunday Register totaled 112,317, down an alarming 11.1 percent from the 126,400 of a year earlier, according to the latest filing with the
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Posted February 20, 2017in Civic Skinny
Good news for Steve Leath: Auburn University, where he will be the new president, owns at least 15 airplanes, according to records at the Federal Aviation Commission. … Drake University has ousted long-time trustee Tom Rossley after he claimed that his son was expelled after being unfairly treated in a
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Posted February 01, 2017in Civic Skinny
A big payday for Vilsack. Is Marty Tirrell job-hunting? Iowa State University the other day gave a rich new contract to Athletic Director Jamie Pollard. The press release noted “Pollard and his team of coaches and staff have reshaped nearly every aspect of the athletics department of the last
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Posted December 28, 2016in Civic Skinny
Marty Tirrell’s settlement deal with Charles Gabus Motors lasted about a month. At the end of November, Tirrell and Gabus told the Bankruptcy Court that Tirrell had agreed to pay Gabus $45,000 to settle a $72,000 claim it had against the blustery radio sportscaster. If Tirrell made his payments, Gabus
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Posted November 30, 2016in Civic Skinny
Twelve drummers drumming… …to recognize the great work done by Anawim Housing…and Margaret Toomey, who has done so much for so many…and the folks at Art Force Iowa, who change the lives of young people…and Anne Starr and the people at Orchard Place, who try to mend the lives of
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