Posted November 25, 2015in Civic Skinny
Your tax dollars at work: Meriam Belli, an associate professor of history at the University of Iowa, will take off the spring semester of 2017 to study “the international funerary industry and…the politics of burial.” She “will explore funerary industries and burial societies, conduct interviews, and gather data in France,
Read More →
Posted November 18, 2015in Civic Skinny
Former Governor Chet Culver is getting closer to deciding to run for Congress in the Third Congressional District. He is looking at the numbers — the money numbers and the registration numbers — and lining up a staff. He is studying the issues and talking to longtime supporters. He is
Read More →
Posted November 11, 2015in Civic Skinny
He has sold the naming rights for $1 million. He has built the building that will house the Prairie Meadows Pool at the new $40 million Wellmark YMCA downtown. Now all Vernon Delpesce needs is the pool. But to get it, the chief executive of the YMCA of Greater Des
Read More →
Posted November 04, 2015in Civic Skinny
Is it a public meeting if the public officials don’t actually meet with one another? That sounds odd, but that’s the central question in an Iowa Supreme Court case that was argued last week. It’s not a simple issue — if it were, it probably wouldn’t be at the Supreme
Read More →
Posted October 28, 2015in Civic Skinny
The bad blood between Sheriff Bill McCarthy and Dan Charleston is spilling over into court again. Charleston is a sergeant in the Polk County Sheriff’s Department. He ran against McCarthy in 2012 and was pretty well trounced, getting just 41.4 percent of the vote. He is running again next year.
Read More →
Posted October 21, 2015in Civic Skinny
Nick Klinefeldt is the United States Attorney in Des Moines who is responsible for, among other things, going after drug dealers who violate federal law in this area. Charles Grassley is the Republican United States Senator from Iowa who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and who is up for re-election
Read More →
Posted October 14, 2015in Civic Skinny
It sounded too good to be true. And, alas, it was. The best show in town this fall could have been on Nov. 5 at Drake University, with lawyers Jerry Crawford and Doug Gross squaring off for the first time in a courtroom. Republican Gross and Democrat Crawford are old
Read More →
Posted October 07, 2015in Civic Skinny
The National Pork Producers is headquartered in a handsome building in Clive. It is assessed at $3,291,000. The Fraternal Order of Eagles has a 6,000-square-foot lodge on Bloomfield Road assessed at $308,000. The PEO has its national headquarters in two nice buildings at 37th Street and Grand Avenue in Des
Read More →
Posted September 30, 2015in Civic Skinny, Featured Story
Mell Meredith and Tom Meredith — the two senior members of the founding family of Meredith Corp. — control Meredith stock that will be swapped for $182 million in cash as well as large stockholdings in the consolidated company after Meredith Corp. is purchased by Media General Inc. next year,
Read More →
Posted September 09, 2015in Civic Skinny, Featured Story
Iowa State University’s three-year fight against basketball player Bubu Palo ended last week in the Court of Appeals. Once again, Palo won. And, finally, the university is giving up. It let pass the deadline for filing a petition with the Iowa Supreme Court for further review. No matter what the
Read More →
