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Posted February 02, 2022in Civic Skinny

University sabbaticals: robot handicaps, turtle DNA, mosquito hearing… and the boudoir

The following excerpts are a sample of the professional development assignments, also known as sabbaticals, that were approved by the Board of Regents for 2022-23 at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa.  Iowa State University: Debra Marquart, a distinguished English professor and former

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Posted January 05, 2022in Civic Skinny

Sign of change at The Boat House. Iowa booze sales soar. LHF snubs longtime mud run race directors.

The Johnston City Council started hearing complaints in July regarding a sign posted at The Boat House, a bar located across from Hyperion Field Club at 7695 N.W. Beaver Drive in northern Johnston: “Trump 2024 National Headquarters,” the banner read, along with a message against defunding police and a reference

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Posted December 01, 2021in Civic Skinny

Towing company says County supervisor’s actions cost him contract. Women only on DMPS board. Eateries lose $1.4 billion to COVID-19.

After losing a Polk County towing contract despite being the lowest bidder, towing operator Randy Crow, owner of Crow Tow, wrote to CITYVIEW to speak out against the Polk County Board of Supervisors, who he says is steering Polk County in the wrong direction. “Recent news regarding the Polk County

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Posted November 03, 2021in Civic Skinny

A whistleblower, a mountain lion, $604 for addicts and some not-so-desirable rankings

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen is from Iowa City. The former Facebook data scientist, who is the daughter of two professors and grew up attending the Iowa caucuses with her parents, recently sounded the alarm on the social media giant regarding the dangers of the platform.  “The company’s leadership knows how

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Posted September 29, 2021in Civic Skinny

McCoy asks to join Nahas suit against other supervisors.

In passing, he says Hilton Hotel will lose $8 million this year. In case there was any doubt, Polk County Supervisor Matt McCoy proved this week that the board is totally dysfunctional.    That was fairly clear in the lawsuit that the ousted Polk County personnel chief Jim Nahas filed

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Posted September 01, 2021in Civic Skinny

The most interesting man in the NFL. Sensory garden opens. Census stats released. Lunches.

Who is the only player in NFL history to throw a touchdown pass for eight different teams? The same person who will soon, in all likelihood, have done so for nine franchises: Ryan Fitzpatrick. If you haven’t heard of him, “Fitz” is recognizable by his voluminous facial hair, and he

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Posted August 04, 2021in Civic Skinny

Coach Jennie Baranczyk’s deal with U of Oklahoma. Supervisors await redistricting. Courthouse tops out.

What did it take for the University of Oklahoma to lure basketball coach Jennie Lillis Baranczyk away from Drake University? Here’s what, based on a freedom-of-information request made by CITYVIEW to the Big 12 school: A base salary of $300,000 a year. Plus $175,000 a year from “unrestricted private funds.”

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Posted June 30, 2021in Civic Skinny

Why have some events returned, but not others? Dunshee resigns. Cowboy dies. Catholics return.

No state high school baseball tournament this year at Principal Park? You read that correctly. But will the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) bring the tournament back to the Iowa Cubs home stadium in 2022? The answer is a definite… maybe. According to the IHSAA, conflicting dates with new

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Posted June 02, 2021in Civic Skinny

Great mentions and trial balloons: What’s going on in Iowa politics?

Reporter Jim Flansburg’s mind and notebooks were filled with the odd fact, the strong suspicion, the half-story that he never could develop into a piece that would stand alone in The Register. Yet the stuff was usually interesting — it made great newsroom and barroom speculation and debate in those

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Posted March 23, 2021in Civic Skinny

Jim Nahas is fired by county, and it’s a mess. He lawyers up as supervisors hunker down.

Jim Nahas has been fired as head of human resources for Polk County.  It’s complicated, it’s messy, it’s unusual — it’s hard to get fired by the county — and, like many things in the county, it’s political. It’s full of intrigue, allegedly with secretly taped interviews and unannounced meetings,

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