Thursday, August 13, 2026

Join our email blast

Posted March 06, 2024in Civic Skinny

22 million pounds of manure. $50,000 in RAGBRAI seed money. 2,096 cases of gonorrhea. 1 Iowa Grammy. And a whole bunch of &’s.

A recent study by innerbody.com ranked Des Moines 43rd in a list of the top 100 U.S cities with the highest sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates. The ranking came from the amount of STD cases per 100,000 people. Des Moines was listed as having 942 cases per 100,000. The report

Read More →
Posted January 31, 2024in Civic Skinny

University sabbaticals — cookbook, bees, knitting. Also… Baby names. Broken records. Growth ranking.

For most of us, taking a “sabbatical” is veiled as a simple vacation. It is a nice break from work, if nothing else. However, the definition, at least according to the Oxford dictionary is, “a period of paid leave granted to a university teacher or other worker for study or

Read More →
Posted January 03, 2024in Civic Skinny

Liquor sales grow. Air quality suffers. Tourism grants announced. Register circulation drops.

The IABD (Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division) released its annual report for the 2023 fiscal year. It reported a total revenue of $478,259,852, which is a 3.34% increase from 2022. Unsurprisingly, $445,830,313 of that came from liquor sales.  It appears many Iowans enjoy the Christmas spirits considering December had the highest

Read More →
Posted December 06, 2023in Civic Skinny

DART funding concerns. Campaign donation totals. Business Record subscribers. And lung cancer.

DART recently released information on how much Des Moines and the surrounding communities contribute to the public transportation service. They say a 40% cut to their services is looming if additional funding is not received. Des Moines has contributed $9.8 million this year, but under the new funding formula needs

Read More →
Posted November 01, 2023in Civic Skinny

Highest nonprofit executive salaries. City council race heats up. Iowans nice to delivery drivers.

Last month CITYVIEW gathered information on the highest bonuses and salaries of nonprofit executives in Iowa, omitting those at the head of healthcare-oriented nonprofits. This month we will highlight the executives with the largest salaries of the top five nonprofits with the highest gross receipts in central Iowa according to

Read More →
Posted October 04, 2023in Civic Skinny

$2 million residential sales. Nonprofit executive compensation. Underage drinking. Tattoo regrets.

Despite rising interest rates and home prices, a number of major residential purchases have occurred since the start of 2023 in central Iowa. CITYVIEW gathered details on seven homes that have sold for more than $1.5 million, four of which went for more than $2 million.  In Granger, a home

Read More →
Posted September 06, 2023in Civic Skinny

Iowa ranks 4th in gambling. ISU (finally) sends coaching contracts. State Fair has 2nd largest attendance ever.

Winter and construction may be known as Iowa’s two seasons, but it might be time to add a third: gambling. New research from casinos.com details gambling expenditures across several states and shows Iowans — and not just university athletes — have an affinity for placing bets that rivals those from

Read More →
Posted August 02, 2023in Civic Skinny

Coaching contracts, road safety plans and broadband funding

With the college football season approaching, we take a look at coaching contract details behind some of the state’s highest-paid employees. For comparison, CITYVIEW also requested contract details of some of the lesser-known coaches at the state universities. The University of Iowa In the aftermath of a less than stellar

Read More →
Posted July 05, 2023in Civic Skinny

The future of Court Avenue. Historic buildings recognized. Hy-Vee grows in Nebraska but ponders future of downtown store.

What is the future of the Court Avenue District? On May 8, The Responsible Hospitality Institute (RHI) presented a study completed on behalf of the Polk County Board of Supervisors detailing the social, economic and growth opportunities of the Court Avenue District. RHI offered suggestions for improvement and provided an

Read More →
Posted May 31, 2023in Civic Skinny

Chambers merging, Partnership leadership history, early campaign contributions and unpaid fines

The Windsor Heights Chamber of Commerce, which formed in 2004 and currently has 58 members listed on its website, merged operations with the Urbandale Chamber of Commerce, which formed in 1962 and has approximately 750 members. This merger, which took effect June 1, “will now represent more than 800 businesses

Read More →
House - Rack Locations