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Black jack has been good to Iowa…to the tune of two-and-a-half billion dollars added annually to the state’s economy. Plus sixteen thousand jobs and 726 million in tax revenue…making casinos lookless like a vice than a virtue….in the report by Oxford Economics for the American Gaming Association.

The latest report from ISU’s center for Rural and Ag development may prompt a frown or two…with Iowa land values dropping eight point nine percent from last year…to just under 8 thousand dollars an acre. The state’s highest farmland values were reported in Scott county…the lowest in Decatur county.

An upsurge in phone scams on Des Moines residents has con artists co-opting phone numbers of state agencies to appear on your caller ID…then proceeding to tell you about fees or penalties owed to the IRS…that you can pay by giving them your credit card numbers. If it’s happened to you… contact the IRS assistance line. 800-829-1040.

A new caffeine option is coming to Des Moines’ East Village. It’s Mars Coffee Bar…sprouting in the new Raygun building this spring. You’ll be able to grab a joe…then trot down to Thelma’s Handmade Ice Cream sandwiches…another tenant in that building in the 500 block of east Fifth street.