Godfrey bills now near $770,000. Van Orsdel home sold.

Your tax dollars at work: The cost to the state in defending the lawsuit filed by former Workers’ Compensation Director Chris Godfrey now tops $750,000. The state Executive Council this [...]

Anonymous fellow Democrats pile on Matt McCoy.

Some of his fellow Democrats are anonymously stabbing Matt McCoy in the back. Or maybe in the front. McCoy, the 49-year-old state senator who represents sections of Des Moines and [...]

Brownell sends blistering memo — and wishes he hadn’t.

Bob Brownell, the usually mild-mannered Republican Polk County supervisor, sent an intemperate email six weeks ago blistering Democratic legislator Tony Bisignano (“Senator Boozehound”) and plotting how to use a Bisignano-backed [...]

The resume inflation of the Regents’ Bob Donley.

Bob Donley, the executive director of the Board of Regents, is a finalist to be chancellor of the North Dakota University system. The list of eight finalists was pared from [...]

Tirrell: A divorce, a lawsuit — and another bankruptcy?

Marty Tirrell update: 1. A $350,000 suit against him has been reinstituted in Houston, Texas. 2. His wife was granted a divorce on March 24. He did not show up [...]

Klinefeldt for Congress? Byers’ and Meyer’s salaries.

Nick Klinefeldt for Congress? The U.S. Attorney is the guy that the Democratic Party in Washington wants to run against first-term Republican Congressman David Young. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee [...]

Feds sent in big gun to prosecute abusive ex-cop.

The government wasn’t taking any chances in the second — and successful — trial of former Des Moines cop Colin Boone last week. The feds sent in Barbara (Bobbi) Bernstein [...]

Judge list is cut to 11; Eric Branstad buys a house.

Eleven people apparently have made the cut for second interviews with the Grassley pals who are screening applicants to advise him on whom to back for two open federal judgeships [...]

Civic Skinny has taken a much needed vacation and will be back next week.

Some questions and some answers about AIB deal. State stops some refunds. Channel 8 deserves credit.

Some questions: Who owns AIB? Every Iowan. What if the AIB-University of Iowa deal falls through? Who knows. Does the AIB board have to keep the school alive? No. Can [...]