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Good Wednesday morning to you!
 

Independent. It is an interesting word with interesting meanings. I throw the word around a lot and stress how important it is for local media to be independent, but that’s just one definition. So what else does “independent” mean?

Some say it means not to be controlled by others, or to be truly self-governing. That can work for countries, for companies and for organizations that have the wherewithal to operate without assistance. Many say they are independent but still rely on funding from outside sources to exist. True independence, in this regard, is rare.

Others say independent means to not be affiliated with a larger controlling unit. That defines Big Green Umbrella Media. We don’t have a “corporate” office to report to. We don’t have a board of directors to approve or disapprove of our efforts. And we don’t have out-of-town shareholders to satisfy. We do have mentors, and one of them gave me some sage advice many years ago. He said that we would never be editorially sound until we were financially sound. That proved to be true, and it is valuable counsel for anyone who wants to get into this industry.

In a simpler sense, independent can mean not requiring or relying on something or someone. I often wonder if I could exist in the wild on my own, and how long I would last. I would still have to rely on many things including the land, animals, the sun, water and much more. Or how about living in an underground bunker? Could you do it, and for how long?

Some retired folks and financial planners define independent as being free from the necessity of working for a living. Most all of us would like to experience that form of independence.

From a political view, independent means not being bound by or committed to a political party. Independents or unaffiliated voters typically outnumber Republicans or Democrats, but their voices are rarely represented. In a weird way, that may be exactly how independents want it to be.

I am proud to be independent by many of these definitions, but I also fully realize how much I need others to exist. Human contact is a necessity for most of us, but we also want to minimize many of the other things we have become reliant upon. And the more we can do that, the more independent we will truly be.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305

 

Your Clear Mortgage forecast from Jason Parkin

More great weather lies ahead. We’ll see highs in the mid-60s today and tomorrow, followed by a high near 55 on Friday. The average high this time of year in Des Moines is around 39 degrees, so we’re doing all right. We cool back down to the 40s for the weekend.

For help with preapprovals or refinancing, get in touch with Jason at parkin.mortgage

 
Things To Do
 

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 7-9 p.m.
Trivia at Smash Park on Wednesdays: Will Ferrell Movie Trivia
At: Smash Park is located at 6625 Coach Light Dr., West Des Moines
Info: Teams must register in advance and have 8-or-less players. The entry fee is $5 per team. Must be 21-plus to participate.
First place: $100 Smash Park gift card.
Second place: $50 Smash Park gift card.
www.facebook.com/SmashParkDM/events
app.smashpark.com/H2tYbiZh2SGdjCj6r9Jf/events

 
Featured Home For Sale
 
Attention Realtors, post your listings here for $50. Contact pat@dmcityview.com for details.
 
3937 E 30th Street
Des Moines, IA 50317
$110,000
 

This 2 bedroom 1 bathroom ranch is on a 40'x134' lot. It has a dining area and an unfinished basement ...

 
Find Out More!
 
Headlines

FROM KCCI: Residents could save major bucks through joint central Iowa water works project

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — West Des Moines Water Works is one step closer to joining a proposed regional water source that would bring together utilities across the metro. It's been more than five years in the making. Officials told KCCI they've spent thousands of hours looking at several options and weighing the costs of having one water utility for all of Central Iowa. ...READ MORE FROM KCCI

FROM WHO-TV: Federal grant money allows for untested sexual assault kits to be tested

DES MOINES, Iowa — For years, hundreds of sexual assault kits went untested because the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation didn’t have the resources. A pair of federal grants totaling $3 million allowed the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to begin addressing the backlog in 2015. It’s a project called the Iowa Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.  READ MORE FROMWHO-TV

FROM WOI-DT Local 5: Driver who crashed into West Des Moines officer sentenced

Jon Schwartz, of Kellogg, was sentenced last week after being found guilty by a judge of causing serious injury by vehicle in November 2020. ... READ MORE FROM WOI-DT Local 5

 
CITYVIEW's Best Of Des Moines 2021
 

Nearly 14,000 votes were cast in the 2021 CITYVIEW Best Of Des Moines readers' poll.

Best Local Place to Chow After 2 a.m.
1. Fong’s Pizza
2. Big Tomato Pizza
3. Abelardo’s Mexican Restaurant

[...]

 
Read more
 
Personalities
 

Go big or go home: Walraven finishes cupola on garage

By Darren Tromblay

For Larry Walraven, bigger is better.
So much so that the Urbandale resident has a customized license plate that says as much on his 2005 Triumph Rocket motorcycle. The two-wheeler has the biggest engine of any production motorcycle, and it holds the land speed record at Bonneville Salt Flats for Touring Motorcycles at 175 mph.

Fits the bill perfectly for Larry, a 74-year-old retired military man of 40 years, having served in the Army and National Guard. Bigger is indeed better.

It should come to no surprise then, that everything in Larry’ cache of interests is unique and big, including his antique kerosene lantern collection, which now number more than 200. Larry is also into painting and decorating and remodeling.

[...]

 
Read more
 
Jobs

Place your help wanted ad in the list below for FREE! Email to pat@dmcityview.com. And ask us about upgrading your FREE ad with a display ad in any of our publications.

ASSISTANT COOK...

CUSTOMER SERVICE ...

PARTY ATTENDANT...

 
Snapshots
Seagull with carry out dinner. Photo taken at Walnut Woods State Park by Paul Houston.
 
SEND YOUR PHOTOS OF ARTWORK IN YOUR COMMUNITY, THE SIGHTS OF THE SEASON, OR WHATEVER CAPTURES YOUR EYE! Email to tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com to be included in an upcoming Daily Umbrella!
 
 
Digital Editions
 
Grimes/Dallas Center Living weekly newsletters are emailed each week and available online. The digital edition can be subscribed to via email. Learn more at www.iowalivingweekly.com
 
 
Birthdays and Notables!
 

Happy Birthday to these celebrities: Zoë Kravitz, Woody Allen, Bette Midler, Sarah Silverman, Janelle Monáe

SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to:tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

 
Poll of the Week

Which type of can opener do you have?

Electric
Manual
None

 

Which would you prefer?

A white Christmas - 65%
A green Christmas - 35%

 
Morning Chuckle
 
YESTERDAY'S RIDDLE:

What do you get when you cross a quarterback with a carpet?

A THROW RUG! Right on Gail Pecht, Judy Anderson, Gail Tomlinson!

TODAY'S RIDDLE

Why did the coach give his basketball players bibs?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com 

 

If you would like to advertise in this daily newsletter, please contact Pat Checketts at pat@dmcityview.com, or call 515-953-4822 xt. 311.

P.S. As a free newsletter, we rely on readers like you to grow our subscriber list. If you have a friend or coworker who you think would enjoy waking up to The Daily Umbrella each weekday morning, please share our newsletter sign up page with them! Visit www.thedailyumbrella.com and click on the SUBSCRIBE link on the upper right-hand side!

 

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Big Green Umbrella Media, Inc.
8101 Birchwood Court, Suite D
Johnston, Iowa 50131

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