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Get smarter, faster about what’s happening in your backyard with local reporters Jason Clayworth and Linh Ta.

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Linh here. The Rib Shack, a popular fair food vendor, is serving up the wildest doughnut you can imagine: The Ultimate Bacon-Brisket Mac & Cheese Donut ($7).

With Patton Oswalt's famous 2007 comedy bit about KFC Famous Bowls in mind, I set out to try it.

What it is: A mac and cheese cake donut, topped with bacon, brisket, jalapeños, and a sweet barbecue glaze.

🙈 My thought bubble: I didn't like it.

I really wanted to because it's been getting rave reviews on TikTok and Instagram. And there's plenty going for it — the meat and sauce were good, but I wasn't a fan of the actual donut.

The moist, squishy texture was unappealing to me, reminiscent of wet breading. But I did eat it all. And it's one of the cheaper new foods you can try.

🧈 Butter ranking: One stick = meh. Five = don't miss it.

If you go: The Rib Shack outside the giant slide

We tried the Iowa State Fair's bacon-brisket mac-and-cheese donut

The donut has been getting rave reviews on social media.

Close-up of a foil-wrapped sandwich piled with shredded barbecue meat and pickle slices, held in a hand with a busy outdoor market blurred in the background.

Ultimate Bacon-Brisket Mac & Cheese Donut ($7). Photo: Linh Ta/Axios

Linh here. The Rib Shack, a popular fair food vendor, is serving up the wildest doughnut you can imagine: The Ultimate Bacon-Brisket Mac &amp; Cheese Donut ($7).<ul><li>With Patton Oswalt&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="famous 2007 comedy bit" data-vars-click-url="https://www.eater.com/2020/1/27/21078673/patton-oswalt-kfc-famous-bowl-bit-eater-bowl-bowl" data-vars-content-id="15798463-05a4-4b21-ad96-9f227773704d" data-vars-headline="We tried the Iowa State Fair&#x27;s bacon-brisket mac-and-cheese donut" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.eater.com/2020/1/27/21078673/patton-oswalt-kfc-famous-bowl-bit-eater-bowl-bowl" target="_blank">famous 2007 comedy bit</a> about KFC Famous Bowls in mind, I set out to try it.</li></ul>

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Attention, Ankeny shoppers: Those items at Costco may become a little more expensive following a special election.

Why it matters: The city of Ankeny is holding a special election to approve a local option sales tax (LOST) on Sept. 8 to help the city reduce property taxes and pay for road projects.

How it works: In Iowa, everyone pays 6% in sales tax on most goods, except necessities like food, rent and prescriptions. 

Most cities in the state also charge an additional percent for goods bought within their municipalities, raising their sales tax from 6% to 7%. 

Cities must use 50% of the 1% sales tax revenue for property tax relief. The other 50% can go toward capital projects.

State of play: Ankeny Mayor Bobbi Bentz says city officials have long considered holding a special election to approve the increase, and the Legislature's recent decision to cap property tax revenue helped cement it.

Zoom in: The growing suburb, which already has the lowest property tax rate in the Des Moines metro, wants to diversify its revenue, Bentz says.

The once-sleepy community now draws people from all across the metro, and about 50% of sales tax revenue comes from visitors. 

Those visitors could help pay into the city's coffers and infrastructure through the 1% sales tax, which is what Ankeny residents do right now when they shop outside the city, she says.

For example: Ankeny's Costco, which is the largest in the Midwest, earns 70% of its sales tax revenue from shoppers outside the city. But those visitors are benefiting from the city's amenities without paying in.

By the numbers: City officials estimate they'll garner $12 million in annual revenue.

They project lowering property tax rates from the current $9.90 per $1,000 of valuation to $9.30 by fiscal year 2028.

The city's property tax calculator shows that LOST would save an annual $80 in property taxes for owners of a $300,000 home.

A line graph showing property taxes with or without LOST.

A line graph by the City of Ankeny with property tax rate projections with or without LOST. Chart: city of Ankeny

Reality check: If you don't own property, you don't get the benefits. 

Sales tax is considered regressive, since lower-income families may not benefit from the property tax relief and are more likely to spend a larger share of their income on goods.

If you go: The election is Sept. 8 from 7am–8pm. More than 50% approval is needed to pass.

Ankeny voters to decide on sales tax increase

The city is the only one in the metro that doesn't have a local option sales tax.

An aerial view of a sprawling suburban neighborhood at golden hour: rows of blue-gray houses, winding roads, a water tower in the distance, and a curving path along a lake with autumn trees.

Attention, Ankeny shoppers: Those items at Costco may become a little more expensive following a special election.Why it matters: The city of Ankeny is holding a special election to approve a local option sales tax (LOST) on Sept. 8 to help the city reduce property taxes and pay for road projects.

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Linh here. And I believe the most quintessential "fair food" comes from Korea — specifically, Korean corn dogs.

What it is: Cinnamozza Kdog ($18). It's on a stick. It's fried. And it's full of stretchy mozzarella cheese.

This "new" version of the popular treat is smothered in cinnamon, sugar and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, making it a couple of dollars more expensive than a traditional Korean corn dog.

My thought bubble: You can't go wrong with crispy hot cheese on a stick.

But while I like a sweet and savory combo, this feels a little haphazardly added, instead of an even coating. I would stick with the OG and save a little money.

If you go: Find it at GoldenKDog outside the Varied Industries Building.

Iowa State Fair 2026: We tried the Cinnamozza Kdog

The new Korean corn dog is smothered in cinnamon, sugar and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Two hands pull apart a breaded, fried mozzarella stick, cheese stretching between halves. In the background a blue water bottle and a white takeout cup sit by a window.

The Cinnamozza Kdog ($18) from GoldenKDog. Photo: Linh Ta/Axios

Linh here. And I believe the most quintessential &quot;fair food&quot; comes from Korea — specifically, Korean corn dogs.What it is: Cinnamozza Kdog ($18). It&#x27;s on a stick. It&#x27;s fried. And it&#x27;s full of stretchy mozzarella cheese.

Shelly and Tyson Robinson, the longtime franchise owners of the Pancheros locations in West Des Moines and Johnston, are opening a third store in Waukee next month at the corner of Grand Prairie Parkway and Ashworth Road.

Why it matters: Call it Pancheros or call it "Panch," the soft-pressed tortillas are a quintessential part of an Iowan diet, next to Midwest icons like breakfast pizza and pork tenderloins.

Driving the news: We chatted with Shelly about the burrito restaurant's Iowa fandom and the decision to open another location after 22 years in the business.

📍 Why Waukee: Despite a franchise already existing off Hickman, Shelly says she felt like the growing suburb could handle a second location. 

And though the Grand Prairie Parkway area is still in the development stage, she expects it to grow long-term. 

⏰ Biggest changes over time: Digital ordering and creating "second lines," so in-person customers don't have to wait behind a DoorDash order.

🌯 Wildest food hack: A double-pressed tortilla combining two tortillas for one "enormous" burrito.

💪 Get hyped: The burrito restaurant has a particular fan base among younger high school and college-aged students, who affectionately refer to it as "Panch," she says.

If you go: The new restaurant is opening Sept. 8 at 2980 Grand Prairie Pkwy., #100.

Pancheros opening second Waukee location next month

The burrito franchise has lots of love in Iowa.

Close-up of an orange burrito wrapper with a Pancheros logo, held up in front of a Pancheros Mexican Grill storefront with a brown brick wall and blue sky.

A Pancheros burrito. Photo: Courtesy of Eric Burson

Shelly and Tyson Robinson, the longtime franchise owners of the Pancheros locations in West Des Moines and Johnston, are opening a third store in Waukee next month at the corner of Grand Prairie Parkway and Ashworth Road.Why it matters: Call it Pancheros or call it &quot;Panch,&quot; the soft-pressed tortillas are a quintessential part of an Iowan diet, next to Midwest icons like breakfast pizza and pork tenderloins.

Linh here. I hate myself for saying this, but my favorite new fair food happens to be from Minnesota.

What it is: Deep-fried cookie dough pie served with a choice of homemade vanilla or cinnamon ice cream ($12).

It comes from Minneapple Pie, a longstanding Minnesota State Fair vendor that made its Iowa State Fair debut.

My thought bubble: Cookie dough can be sickeningly sweet, but this had none of the artificial sugar grittiness and, instead, all of the warm, gooey, chocolatey goodness of a cookie, but inside a pie. The cinnamon ice cream is the cherry on top.

We tried the new deep-fried cookie dough pie at the Iowa State Fair

Minneapple Pie made a big splash with its debut at the Iowa State Fair.

Golden fried pastry sprinkled with powdered sugar in a white takeout box, with a scoop of beige ice cream beside it and a white plastic fork piercing the pastry; a teal wristwatch is visible at left.

Deep-Fried Cookie Dough Pie ($12). Photo: Linh Ta/Axios

Linh here. I hate myself for saying this, but my favorite new fair food happens to be from Minnesota.What it is: Deep-fried cookie dough pie served with a choice of homemade vanilla or cinnamon ice cream ($12).

Linh Ta

Featured stories

Pancheros opening second Waukee location next month

We tried the new deep-fried cookie dough pie at the Iowa State Fair

Ankeny voters to decide on sales tax increase

We tried the Iowa State Fair's bacon-brisket mac-and-cheese donut

Iowa State Fair 2026: We tried the Cinnamozza Kdog