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Posted January 01, 2020in Civic Skinny

Jeff Young’s spotty record. Tirrell’s sentencing date set. Kauffman is a reporter again. Godfrey bills. Dog treats.

The Des Moines City Council on Dec. 16 gave the go-ahead for the plan by developer Jeff Young to turn the old Franklin Junior High School into an entertainment center, [...]

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Posted December 04, 2019in Civic Skinny

Tirrell makes a plea deal, faces 20 years. ‘Cultures of Basketball’ course for U of I.

Marty Tirrell, the sports-talk guy who shouted on the radio but smooth-talked friends, wives, relatives, acquaintances, advertisers and strangers as he bilked them out of millions of dollars, has made [...]

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Posted November 06, 2019in Civic Skinny

Drake, schools plan new stadium on Forest. A judge calls Branstad’s lawyer a liar. The night they raided the old Cargill Hotel.

UPDATE: On Nov. 13, Drake and the Des Moines School District announced plans to build a $19.5 million stadium just east of the Knapp Center. The 4,000-seat stadium would be [...]

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Posted October 02, 2019in Civic Skinny

Mike Whalen wonders about buying Register. Was appointment of Iowa Corrections chief done legally? Bookings of women jump at Polk County jail; Godfrey bills jump.

An Iowa businessman is poking around to see if he can drum up support from some colleagues to make an offer to buy The Des Moines Register.   “Iowans have [...]

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Posted September 04, 2019in Civic Skinny

Reynolds sat on $600,000 in bills in the Godfrey case. Tirrell trial delayed. Campus sex, drinking and helmets.

The Governor’s office sat on more than $600,000 of legal bills from the Nyemaster law firm in the costly Chris Godfrey trial until the trial was over. The bills — [...]

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Posted July 31, 2019in Civic Skinny

Godfrey case: a search warrant on judge’s chambers and $4.1 million bill from Conlin. Also: Another cyclist sues city. Opioid data. Steve Leath.

AUGUST 7 UPDATE: Christopher Godfrey’s attorneys have submitted bills of $4,130,673.38 for fees and expenses in the retaliation and discrimination lawsuit he won against former Gov. Terry Branstad and Brenna [...]

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Posted July 03, 2019in Civic Skinny

Social Club woes, a ‘gripping noir-ish thriller’ and Radar Heights

Editor’s Note: Michael Gartner was out this month, so the rest of us scrubs pulled together the following. The Des Moines Social Club is “in financial hot water” and “looking [...]

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Posted June 05, 2019in Civic Skinny

Dico, owing millions in fines, thumbs its nose at Feds. Register circulation plummets, more reporters leave.

Titan Tire is a deadbeat. The company or its affiliates own those 38 acres at 16th Street and MLK Jr. Parkway on the edge of downtown, land where the soil [...]

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Posted May 01, 2019in Civic Skinny

City pays $1.5 million to biker who hit new curb on bike path. A primer on property tax. Good guys: Bill Stowe, Daryl Hecht.

The city of Des Moines has paid Mark Evans $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit he filed after hitting a 6-inch-high, unmarked curb the city built across what most bikers [...]

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Posted April 03, 2019in Civic Skinny

Harry hops into town. Tirrell trial delayed. Still more bills in the Chris Godfrey case.

Three things, perhaps in order of importance: Thing No. 1. Rejoice. Harry is here. Harry arrived without fanfare several months ago from London. He came on British Airways, hoping to [...]

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