Sept. 2, 2026, Des Moines Daily Umbrella Podcast

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.Good morning, central Iowa. It is Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, and this is your Daily Umbrella Podcast. Let’s get started….The Urbandale City Council has rejected a request to change the land use designation for about 20 acres near Northwest 100th Street and Northpark Drive. That is where Buc-ee’s had proposed building a new travel center. The property is owned by former Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, who plans to sell it to Buc-ee’s. Traffic was one of the council’s biggest concerns. Buc-ee’s Real Estate Director Stan Beard told the council the company’s engineers would address those issues. For now, though, the proposal is rejected. …Iowa officials are also sounding the alarm about kratom. Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety are raising concerns about the substance. State officials report 45 kratom-associated deaths since 2024, along with an increase in exposure calls. Kratom is increasingly available at gas stations, smoke shops and other retailers. State officials say they want Iowans to be aware of the potential risks. …Libraries are also facing some difficult decisions. In Des Moines, City Manager Scott Sanders has proposed $750,000 in cuts to the Des Moines Public Library. The proposal is part of a larger effort to deal with an anticipated $12 million to $17 million budget shortfall over the next two years. Part of the problem stems from a new Iowa property tax law that caps property tax increases at 2% from year to year. …Around the world, tensions are rising again between the United States and Iran. Iran fired on U.S. allies in the Gulf early Wednesday. That followed a night of U.S. military strikes against Iran. The latest violence ends a monthlong lull in fighting. And it comes as the war continues to affect oil prices, the global economy and the political landscape heading toward the November midterm elections. …Around the state, Iowa City is considering more police downtown. The Iowa City City Council delayed a vote Tuesday on adding three full-time police officers to downtown patrols. The vote was 4-3 to delay the proposal. The plan follows months of discussion about downtown safety after a shooting in April injured five people. The three positions would cost the city about $370,000. The city estimates it could save about $88,000 in overtime once the positions are filled. …Now, let’s check the weather. Today will be partly cloudy, with a high near 94 and a low around 75. There is a 20% chance of rain. Thursday looks similar. Partly cloudy, with a high of 93 and a low of 74. Rain chances remain at 20%. Friday brings another partly cloudy day, with a high near 92 and a low around 72. The chance of rain increases slightly, to 30%. And for allergy sufferers, today's pollen level is in the high range. The top allergens are nettle, chenopods and ragweed. …A little history for Sept. 2. On this date in 1945, Japan formally surrendered aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. That brought World War II to an end. Fifty years later, in 1995, Michael Jackson's “You Are Not Alone” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was his 12th and final solo No. 1 hit. And in 2013, Diana Nyad became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. The swim covered about 110 miles and took approximately 53 hours. …And we will finish with today's morning chuckle. The question is: What did the bottled water tell the spy? Think you know the answer? Send your guess to [email protected] before noon today for a chance to be featured in the next edition. And be sure to subscribe to our full email version of The Daily Umbrella for free at www.TheDailyUmbrella.com.