Your eyeballs were all over these stories in 2015

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Whether it was a story about cheap bus fares to Chicago or a proposal for a 32-story apartment building with a theater and climbing wall, here are the 15 stories you couldn’t get enough of this year.


1.  Patrick Dix, after 16 years with the WHO Channel 13 news desk, became the senior public relations manager of SHAZAM Network.


2.  Justin Mandelbaum proposed a 32-story residential tower for the Court Avenue district, embellished with a jazz club and climbing wall.


3. Colby Interests announced plans to demolish its Apple Valley shopping center in Windsor Heights to make way for a phased retail development called Midtown Center that could add $10 million in taxable value once the new project is completed and leased.



5. This deal has gone away, but you still liked the story of a proposal to buy 70 acres of land that sprawls across the the southern reaches of River Point West in downtown Des Moines.


6. Bill McKibben, an author and environmental activist who has written extensively about climate change, was announced as the Grinnell College commencement speaker.


7.  Approximately 90,000 current and former Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield members in Iowa and South Dakota had personal data accessed as a result of a cyberattack against Anthem Inc.


8. Des Moines Social Club’s Zachary Mannheimer announced he was stepping down after nearly eight years of leading an organization he created and expanded from nothing more than an idea.


9. Here are five tips to understanding conflicts in your office and how to resolve them.


10. Prairie Crossing is ready to spread across 230 acres of land in Altoona in a mixed-use development that would rival the largest in Greater Des Moines and could trigger at least $200 million in single-family and multifamily housing, retail shops, a possible water feature and other amenities.


11. We asked for the advice of 25 Forty Under 40 honorees — from the members of the most recent class (2015) to members of the inaugural class of 2000 — on how to be a successful young professional.


12. After five years of perfecting its business model and building a presence in Greater Des Moines, Crème Cupcake + Dessert moved to a national level. 


13. Des Moines businessman Nixon Lauridsen is the plaintiff in an unusual lawsuit over the sinking of his $10 million yacht. The misfortune occurred on the evening of May 18, 2014, just as the 90-foot-long vessel was being launched for the first time in a small seaport north of Seattle.


14. A reader asked this question of columnist Jeffrey Gitomer: When the gatekeeper asks to take a message, or alert the person you are trying to reach that you’re calling, and they ask, “May I ask what this is regarding?” would you just say, “Yes, I would like to ask your boss to buy something”?


15. A Kansas City-based chiropractic practice that has begun franchising offices around the country said it would open its first Iowa location in Des Moines. But rather than leasing a retail storefront, the chiropractic clinic will be located at Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines campus to coordinate care and share referrals with Mercy physicians.