Des Moines has eliminated a longstanding rule that often required building owners to undertake additional site improvements during significant renovation projects.

Why it matters: The requirement sometimes added millions of dollars to project costs, stifling redevelopment and discouraging investment, council members tell Axios.

• Lifting the rule encourages new growth and may increase the city's tax revenue, they say.

Catch up quick: The rule was adopted in 2004 when the city introduced formal landscape standards.

• It required building owners who spent more than $500,000 on interior renovations — or whose upgrades exceeded 50% of the property's value — to submit a formal site plan.
• That prompted older properties to meet new construction standards, such as planting trees in parking lots, widening sidewalks, adding decorative fencing or burying power lines.

Zoom in: The rule was designed to promote more consistent aesthetics and improve public spaces throughout the city.

Yes, but: It increased project costs and often caused businesses to cancel plans to relocate to or expand in the city, Council Members Carl Voss and Mike Simonson — who participated in recent talks with developers — tell Axios.

Context: When she successfully ran for mayor in 2023, then-Council Member Connie Boesen said a main campaign goal was making doing business in DSM easier and more efficient, including gathering developer feedback to better understand obstacles.

The fine print: Site plans are still necessary for alterations like additions that change the building's footprint, height or use.

• The changes do not affect the city's building and maintenance codes that maintain safety standards, DSM planning and urban design administrator Jason Van Essen tells Axios.

The intrigue: City staffers are unaware of any Iowa community that requires site improvements based on the value of building renovations, as DSM did previously, Van Essen says.

Inside the room: Last month's changes were made during what seemed to be a routine ordinance update and without council members highlighting its importance.

• Yet, Simonson later told Axios it was "one of the most impactful" development decisions the city has made in decades.

What they're saying: Local businessman Rich Eychaner— who clashed with the city in 2023 over driveway and site standards during renovations across from Merle Hay Mall — tells Axios he's encouraged.

• "You need some level of oversight and basic standards, but you don't want to be in a situation where you're needlessly killing deals where people want to invest in your city," he says.

Related: DSM building permits hit record

Polk County supervisors this week approved contributing to a legal effort to defend counties' rights to regulate hazardous liquid pipelines.

Why it matters: The case could influence the authority Iowa counties have over placing carbon dioxide pipelines, potentially blocking multibillion-dollar projects.

Catch up quick: Several companies have proposed building networks of underground pipelines across Iowa to capture carbon dioxide from ethanol or fertilizer plants and transport it to an underground sequestration site in Decatur, Illinois.

• A pipeline project scheduled to run in parts of northeastern Polk County was canceled in 2023, but other projects in nearby counties are still in planning stages.
• Gov. Kim Reynolds vetoed a bill in June that would have limited projects and made it harder to use eminent domain to build them.

Zoom in: A U.S. appeals court in June ruled in favor of Summit Carbon Solutions, concluding that Story and Shelby counties' ordinances could not impose safety standards on pipeline projects governed by federal standards.

• The counties are now requesting a review from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Driving the news: Polk supervisors agreed to allocate $1,000 to the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) to support a brief advocating for Story and Shelby counties' requests.

• ISAC argues the lower court's ruling incorrectly restricts local governments' authority and endangers public safety.
• The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and multiple states, including Minnesota and Michigan, have also filed briefs in support of Story and Shelby's reevaluation request.

State of play: As of Tuesday, 28 other counties had contributed to ISAC's legal costs, spokesperson Rachel Bennett tells Axios.

What we're watching: Whether the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, a process that could take months.

An economic impact study commissioned by the Iowa State Fair shows it drew in $629 million in 2024 — comparable to Taylor Swift's three-day New Orleans Era's tour run, per the fair.

Zoom in: Johnson Consulting firm, which was hired to conduct the study, based the dollar amount on revenue earned by events held year-round at the fairgrounds, as well as attendance at those events.

• The dollar amount does not include money earned by food concessions and carnivals, but it does include rent revenue the fair received.

The big picture: In 2024, the Iowa State Fair also broke several attendance records, including the all-time single-day attendance record with 128,298 attendees.

• But maybe they can break that next if they can get Taylor Swift to the grandstand?

🗳️ Iowa Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, announced he is seeking reelection and will not launch a campaign for governor. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

🚨 Former Farm Bureau insurance investigators filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming it repeatedly concealed fraudulent practices from state regulators. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

President Trump called former AP Iowa reporter Catherine Lucey "piggy" after she asked him about Jeffrey Epstein. Lucey now works for Bloomberg. (The Guardian)

Des Moines Public Schools chief academic officer Robert Lundin is resigning after he was placed on administrative leave. (KCCI)

This week's History Mystery features then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush on the presidential campaign trail in Des Moines.

• Hit reply and tell us the name of the restaurant he's pictured at for a chance to win an Axios hat!

If you're thawing a frozen turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner, there are two common methods: the refrigerator or cold water.

Our Visuals team created this graphic based on USDA guidelines to help you safely prep your meal — just one week to go!