The future of a new charter school that would serve the Des Moines metro is in jeopardy before this year's classes even begin.

What's happening: An emergency rule is being considered this week by the Iowa State Board of Education that would leave the school with little or no state funding, Choice Charter School director Cynthia Knight told Axios Monday.

Why it matters: The online school is an option for potentially hundreds of students who have dropped out or are struggling to complete their education in a traditional setting.

Catch up fast: Choice Charter is one of two new public schools formed under a 2021 state law that allows them to operate independently and request waivers to some state education requirements.

• The other school is part of the Hamburg district, allowing the district to reopen its high school after low enrollment and financial problems shut it down in 2015.

Driving the news: Per-pupil funding for Choice Charter's first year would be based on the number of students they have by Aug. 5.

• So far it has around 50 — below its first-year estimate of 300.

Yes, but: Charter school enrollments might be reconciled later in the year, a decision that could be made during this week's rulemaking process, Margaret Buckton of the Urban Education Network told Axios.

• If so, it means a charter school's payments could ultimately be caught up to reflect student numbers more accurately, Buckton said.

Of note: Hamburg's charter school isn’t in the same situation because its enrollments are connected with district budgets, superintendent Mike Wells told Axios Monday.

What we're watching: Thursday's State Board of Education meeting starts at 9am at the Grimes State Office Building in DSM.

• Remote and video conferencing options are available.

It's been years in the making, but Paws & Pints in Des Moines is close to opening its doors to two and four-legged friends.

Why it matters: In a world where we hate leaving our furry companions at home, having a hangout option like Paws & Pints means we can chill with our bipedal friends and turn off the Furbo camera.

How it works: Visitors can pay per dog for each trip or get a monthly membership for $50.

• Dogs must be up to date on vaccinations and pass a temperament test to get in.

State of play: The gargantuan seven-acre property is a mix between Disneyland and Lifetime Fitness for your dog, said co-owner Megan Casey.

• On the fun side, there's a doggy jungle gym, water features, walking trail and over 20,000 square-feet of indoor and outdoor turf grass.
• But if you need to get things done, there's also a daycare, groomer, training classes and coming in 2023, a veterinarian.

For the humans: Full restaurant options, as well as a full bar and 16 beer taps.

What's next: Expect a soft opening this month and a grand opening the weekend of Sept. 22, Casey said.

Location: 6218 Willowmere Dr., DSM

The federal government is making plans to transfer or sell the existing federal courthouse in downtown Des Moines.

Here are some of your ideas for its reuse:

💈 Retail

• Businesses on the main floor, condos on upper floors — Beth Gibbins, DSM
• A community marketplace, like this one in Colorado Springs — Rebekah Jones, DSM

🏘 Housing

• Low-income housing — John Newberg, Urbandale
• Homeless shelters and food kitchen — Kevin Pokorny, DSM

🏢 Office space

• A downtown private high school to pick up where programs like Bergman Academy end. —Tiffani Milless Heininger, DSM
• Des Moines police department — Don Baney, DSM
• Headquarters for regional governmental groups like MPO, WRA, DART, regional water utility, etc. — Perry Beeman, WDM

🏄‍♂️ Staffing area aquatic centers is getting tougher as more student workers head back to class. (KCCI)

💊 The former head of the Iowa Greyhound Association was sentenced to 15 months in prison on a drug conviction. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

✈️ Collins Aerospace will build a $14 million expansion to its WDM facility to increase its parts production. (Business Record)

📈 Sioux City's Planned Parenthood is seeing an increase in demand from states where abortion is banned. (Iowa Public Radio)

💼 Check out who’s hiring on our Job Board.

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👋 Linh here and I'm back from my favorite annual vacation — RAGBRAI.

• This year was great. Nice temps, good camaraderie, plenty of hard seltzers.

Yes, but: What really stuck out to me during the ride was a game in Anthon, Iowa called, "chicken s--- bingo."

• It's not a euphemism for anything. There was literally a board with numbers, a chicken and a group of rowdy cyclists hoping some "business" would happen on their bingo space.

🐓 Linh's thought bubble: I didn't win the grand prize of $50.

• But in a world where we're filling every second with some distraction, I felt appreciative that in this town of 500, all that really mattered was chicken 💩.