Latest news with #FirstAmendmentWeek
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Altoona family's home destroyed in morning fire
ALTOONA, Iowa — An Altoona family's home was destroyed in a fire on Friday morning. The Altoona Fire Department responded to a report of a house fire in the 100 block of 21st Street SW at around 10:16 a.m. The fire department said neighbors reported hearing a loud explosion near the home. When firefighters arrived at the scene they found flames and smoke coming from a rear window. The fire department said the fire was quickly extinguished and was contained to one room and the attic space above it. However, the entirety of the home sustained significant heat and smoke damage, the fire department said. Madison County Attorney files petition to formally remove Treasurer Amanda DeVos from office A family of three — two adults and one child — and their pet cat resided at the home. The adults and child weren't home when the fire broke out. Firefighters managed to locate the cat and said it appears to be doing well. According to the fire department, the explosion that neighbors heard was likely caused by a phenomenon called a backdraft, which is the abrupt burning of superheated gases in a fire that occurs when oxygen is introduced into an oxygen-deprived environment. This can occur when a fire is in an enclosed space and a window or door is opened or broken. The fire department said no injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation. The Altoona Fire Department was assisted by the Des Moines, Pleasant Hill, and Ankeny fire departments and the Altoona Police Department. Metro News: A local Easter candy staple, Chocolate Storybook, busy this holiday weekend Altoona family's home destroyed in morning fire The happiest room in Des Moines? It might be Drake's Peggy's — again Ankeny neighborhood faces possible rezoning, plans for Walmart Iowa State notes First Amendment Week Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The happiest room in Des Moines? It might be Drake's Peggy's — again
DES MOINES, Iowa — In 1935, the little place on Forest Avenue got tossed onto its ear. 'It was a café owned by a woman named Peggy Fleming,' says current owner, Annie Baldwin. 'When she died, her husband Harlan 'Boots' Fleming turned it into a bar and named it after his wife. Peggy's Tavern was born that day on the Drake campus and it's seen only minor changes in the 90 years since. 'People don't want it to change,' says manager John Han. 'They want it to look the way they remember it looking when they were at Drake.' Peggy's added mixed drinks and expanded into the former Dick Pharmacy in the late 1990s, but has mostly kept the rest of its weathered, storied interior intact. 'The mural was painted in 1959,' says Baldwin, who purchased the bar from Mark Graziano in the last decade. 'The beer steins, booths, and bar go back nearly that far. We'd never want to change those.' Ankeny neighborhood faces possible rezoning, plans for Walmart Next week, the tiny bar will erect a giant tent and spill into is rear parking lot. Thousands of Drake students and alums will pack every inch to buy 30-50 kegs worth of beer over five days. 'It pretty much pays the bills for the whole year,' Han says of Relays week. Baldwin says the traditional Peggy's Relays cup will get a special twist for this year's 90th birthday celebration. 'We've ordered 12,000 of them,' she says. 'We'll break them out on Thursday, and by Saturday at 9pm they'll be gone. Every one of them.' Baldwin says for many Drake alums, Peggy's has been a part of their story. 'They tell me how they met their husband or wife, here,' she says. 'And nearly every year, someone gets down on a knee and proposes here. We've actually had a wedding in a tent out back.' Those returning to Peggy's this year will certainly relive some of their happy stories of college. They certainly won't find any reason to fear it won't continue to be a part of those stories for another 90 years. Metro News: The happiest room in Des Moines? It might be Drake's Peggy's — again Ankeny neighborhood faces possible rezoning, plans for Walmart Iowa State notes First Amendment Week A Drake Relay Homecoming for star runners Schweizer and Houlihan Simpson College President Jay Byers has died Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
