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Opinion

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The Elbert Files: The other DMU

Nearly 100 years ago in the spring of 1929, when today’s medically oriented Des Moines University went by the name Still College, students at the original Des Moines University rioted. 

Upset by new owners who …

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On Leadership: Whose job is it to address mental health in the workplace? It’s yours.

Have you ever had a colleague who you knew was having mental health issues but you weren’t sure what to do? Earlier in my career when I worked in investment management, I had a beloved …

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The Elbert Files: Recession? Probably Not.

An uncomfortable connection between interest rate cuts and recessions was explored by Minneapolis-based economist James Paulsen in a recent Paulsen Perspectives newsletter.  

Seven of eight recessions between 1969 and 2020 were preceded by Federal …

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The Elbert Files: Frank Allen’s Wild Ride

When 19-year-old Benjamin Franklin “Frank” Allen arrived at Fort Des Moines in 1848, he brought with him gold coins in a burlap bag.

David Wiggins’ 2002 book “The Rise of the Allens: Two Soldiers and …

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The Elbert Files: Creating Des Moines

Benjamin Franklin “Frank” Allen was an early Iowa banker who built Terrace Hill, the Iowa governor’s mansion, in 1869, before business failures forced him to sell it to Frederick M. Hubbell in 1884.

Frank Allen …

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On Leadership: Improve your balance with healthy coping strategies

Earlier in my career, I had a very demanding job in finance where leaders were expected to regularly put in 80-plus-hour weeks. Naturally, I did what any self-respecting, overachieving, hyper-responsible perfectionist would do: I worked …

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The Elbert Files: Our buffalo cat

Cooper, our 18-pound, 13-year-old orange cat has a new name.

Most of the 15 cats Amy and I have parented over our 49 years of marriage had multiple names and backstories, including Cooper.

“The Buffalo” …

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The Elbert Files: Agricultural evolution

Iowa’s agricultural economy is a series of contradictions wrapped in an enigma.

The enigma is the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the massive federal agency that controls the farm economy, along with other divergent functions.

The …

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On Leadership: Des Moines University CEO and Iowa Business Hall of Famer Dr. Angela Franklin on Transformational Leadership

This is part of an ongoing series on Transformational Leadership.

As she nears 14 years as president and CEO of Des Moines University, Dr. Angela L. Walker Franklin is now one of the longest-serving university …

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The Elbert Files: A case of bad wiring? 


Sculptor Tony Smith’s “Willy” in Des Moines’ Pappajohn Sculpture Park.

It had been a long time since I’d seen my friend, K.C., and I wanted to ask him a question.

I found him in the …

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