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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Posted May 03, 2023in Civic Skinny

Spendy condos, a history of Iowa’s closed colleges, and investments in Highland Park

After a long delay, sales prices have been recorded for the high-end Grand Avenue condominiums developed by Harry Bookey and Pamela Bass-Bookey. The Kathleen J. Fehrman Revocable Trust paid $2,838,799 for a unit that takes up half of the top floor in the eight-story building at 3750 Grand Ave. (Or,

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Posted April 05, 2023in Civic Skinny

Who’s running for mayor? Mari Culver’s new job. Prairie Meadows update. Potholes — and more sabbaticals.

The race for Des Moines’ highest office is stacking up. Connie Boesen, an at-large councilmember for the city, announced her run for mayor last month. Boesen has served on the Des Moines City Council since 2018. She previously served on the Des Moines School Board and owns two concession vendors

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