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Updated: May 30

JOIN ME! CAMPAIGN KICKOFF JUNE 1

I have reserved the Ding Darling Shelter at Birdland Park from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Thursday, June 1. Join us if you can to celebrate the start of this year’s municipal elections.

 

The City is our home, and various endeavors, from neighbors and City agencies, are striving to make it more so, for more residents. Here’s the latest:

NEARLY $3.4 MILLION INVEST DSM HOMEOWNER PROJECTS

This year, homeowners in four Invest DSM target neighborhoods have completed 68 projects, totaling $3,371,635 in improvements, with $1,083,579 coming from Invest DSM reimbursements. The average homeowner project is $49,583, with property owners investing $2.11 for every Invest DSM dollar. The Franklin neighborhood accounts for 147 of the 274 applications.


Invest DSM reports 274 applicants in progress, with 90 grants signed and awaiting completion.


• NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK CHALLENGE TEAMS READY TO ROLL

Fifteen teams have been selected for this year’s City-wide Block Challenge Grants, reports Heather Tamminga, neighborhood outreach coordinator for the City’s Neighborhood Services Department. The program provides up to $2,500 matching dollars per household for exterior home improvements. At least half the annual funding is reserved for areas where at least 51 percent of residents have low or moderate incomes.


Since 2021, 351 households have been awarded $679,364 in matching funds. Collectively, the impact is valued at $2.3 million.


• 65 AND OVER? APPLY NOW FOR NEW HOMEOWNER EXEMPTION

One of the bills enacted at this year’s Iowa Legislature provides qualifying seniors 65 years and older with a new $3,250 homeowner’s exemption. This annual exemption—a reduction in your property’s taxable value rather than a direct reduction in the amount of tax you pay—is in addition to the current homestead tax credit. Legislators enacted a similar exemption for veterans.


Here’s a copy of the form, which contains other requirements. To qualify, you must mail your completed application by July 1, or present it to the county assessor’s office at room 195 in the Polk County Office Building, 111 Court Avenue.

ONE MORE HABITAT BUILD

On a recent Saturday in a parking lot at 39th Street and Grand Avenue, members of Central Presbyterian Church and friends completed a Habitat for Humanity “panel build,” assembling all exterior and interior walls for the 1,158-square-foot ranch house that will be constructed soon. Saturday’s panel build was the fourth in May for Habitat volunteers; 15 are scheduled this year.


The nonprofit values the panel-build volunteer labor at $3,750 on top of the $10,000 materials sponsorship. And the love and care for our neighbors is priceless.


Nailed it! Church member Sue Mattison helps Stacey Heston frame up a short wall.

Mike Basset, left, leads a team of six to stack one of the completed interior walls on a pallet.


• DES MOINES: MORE THAN BLUES, REDS, AND PURPLES

Forget about the politics of blue, red, and purple—there’s a lot of colors on Des Moines streets.


The Des Moines Heritage Center recently hung posters assembled by local photographer Jim Zeller depicting colorful Des Moines.


For three years, Jim snapped photos of colorful homes while delivering prescriptions here and there. With the help of Christian Photography in Urbandale, Jim assembled seven posters—each displaying the 30 blue, green, orange, purple, red, and yellow homes he collected. With another 30 homes on the Patchwork Des Moines poster, Jim’s work captures 210 colorful Des Moines homes.


“These were all over town,” Jim recalled, “not any particular neighborhood. But I got lucky a few times and found more than one home on a block. But purple was really hard!”


Ingenious, Jim! And there’s not a single beige, taupe, or gray home in the collection.


“Jim's work has always been inspiring to me,” Rebecca Eckstrand, a local artist-friend said. “His ‘Colorful Des Moines’ posters highlight the independent homeowner who boldly chooses to paint their beloved homes in shimmering and brilliant combinations of color. Amazing and joyful!”


Scroll through the entire collection. Or stop by the Des Moines Heritage Center when you’re nearby.








 

NO SUMMERTIME BLUES: POOLS FULLY STAFFED, SUMMER CAMP EXPANDS

Since enough lifeguards and pool attendants have signed on to fully staff all five City public swimming pools, residents can look forward to all facilities being open this summer, according to Ben Page, Des Moines Parks and Recreation director. Last year, a lifeguard shortage resulted in a schedule of rolling closures, when only four pools were open daily.


According to the parks website, most pools, aquatic centers and splash pools will officially open for the season Saturday, June 3. Wading pools will open Monday, June 5, with Ashworth Pool opening Saturday, June 9. (All openings are weather permitting.) Here’s more information, including how to get a season pass.


Ben also reports an expansion of the department’s FREE day camps, operated Mondays–Fridays. Sixteen teens have been hired to staff day camps for eight weeks at five locations: Columbus, Drake, Evelyn K. Davis, ML King, and Prospect parks. Last year, the program saved families an estimated $250,000 in childcare expenses.


Spoiler alert: The camps are at capacity except for a few slots at Prospect Park; 103 kids are on the waiting list. Inquire about openings.


 

HEY! SLOW THE HECK DOWN!

Throughout the 40-plus neighborhood meetings I’ve attended this year, one common theme has always surfaced: People drive too fast through our streets. The Iowa State Patrol confirms that speeds are up, up, up on routes from interstate highways to county roads and residential streets.


Change—slower, responsible speeds—can’t come soon enough.


With the creative help from Mike Draper and company at RAYGUN, I developed two yard signs, each with a different message on opposite sides. In the photo above, Jeannine Ray, left, and Jack Leachman, Capitol East Neighborhood Association president, grab a couple of signs for their yard. Want a sign? I have a few remaining.


 

The words “spring” and “cleaning” go together like “Iowa” and “nice.” Throughout this spring, Neighbors and agencies have combined to do their bit to spruce up the City for summer. Here’s a roundup:

The Fun on Friday volunteers dropped off a dozen or so piles of trash—including tires, mailboxes and even a wading pool—when they cleaned along the Carl Voss Trail.

• BASH CRASHED; TRASH SMASHED

More than 5,600 caring volunteers stepped up April 21–May 15 to pick up trash from City parks, trails, and streets. In Des Moines, Parks and Recreation and Public Works volunteers donated nearly 7,000 hours, valued at more than $221,000—proof positive that residents care about our parks and trails. Woohoo!


Dedicated volunteers signed up to donate time at more than 70 sites metro-wide, according to Callie Le’au Courtright, Parks and Recreation supervisor of volunteer engagement. Besides gathering more than 29,000 pounds of litter, volunteers planted trees and strawberries, removed invasive species, and tackled tasks to improve the region’s water quality.

Earth Day Trash Bash is Iowa’s largest Earth Day event. Over the past 15 years, more than 55,000 volunteers have donated nearly $1.4 million in service and have cleared more than 600,000 pounds of litter, brush, and debris. Check out the fabulous collaborative work in this Earth Day Trash Bash video.


Interested in pitching in year-round? Parks & Recreation has seven parks available for adoption. And view all Parks and Rec volunteer opportunities. • SCRUB DAYS: 77 TONS AND COUNTING

Des Moines residents continue to take full advantage of Spring Cleanup to Reduce Urban Blight (SCRUB) Days. By early May, City crews had delivered more than 77 tons of materials to the Metro Park East Landfill, not including the May 20 MEGA SCRUB Day at Polk County River Place.


SCRUB Days are no longer just about Spring! The next SCRUB Day is June 17. Here are details for accepted items and upcoming dates.

DUMPING ILLEGAL DUMPING

Last year, Des Moines Public Works crews picked up 2,703 tires illegally dumped in parks, greenways, and streets. And the City paid $16,600 to recycle the 38.52 tons of tires. That doesn’t include labor and equipment costs.


In 2023 we are already on a record pace: By May 1 the City had collected more than 1,400 tires, for which it paid nearly $9,000 in disposal fees.


The City recently added a boom truck to its fleet, which should make it easier to pick up tires and other illegally dumped items, as well as appliances on regular routes. In addition, Jonathan Gano, director of Public Works, expects this truck to reduce lifting-related injuries and resulting workers’ compensation claims. • METRO RECYCLING FACILITY HITTING TARGETS

The $28 million Metro Recycling Facility (MRF), operating for 18 months at a sprawling 100,000-sq-ft building near Grimes, continues successfully selling recycled products. Managing the facility is the Metro Waste Authority, which counts Des Moines, Polk County, and 14 additional communities among its members.


The MRF processes 17 to 20 tons of what you deposit into your blue waste cart. More than 23,114 tons have gone through the no-wrap, non-round augers, which separate many materials before they reach the sorting team. This technology—used in only one other place in the world at the time of opening—has empowered the facility to tons of aluminum, milk jugs, paper, cardboard, glass, and aseptic containers such as drink and milk cartons. A few months ago, MRF was 15 percent over income projections.


The MRF also opened a second bottle-and-can redemption site in February, and it accepted its one millionth can in April. Between this and the pilot redemption site in Bondurant, which was opened last July, the program accepts an average of 100,000-plus containers each month.


 

MAKE THE LEAP TO PRAIRIE PLANTS

When Katie and Andy James lived near South Union and Park Avenue, they transformed their “keep-it-mowed” lot into a showcase of native plants and insects. The neighbors dubbed it “Firefly Lane” because of all the midsummer lightning-bug activity.


The couple believes manicured lawns aren’t the be-all. “Our yard may have looked wild,” Katie said, “but it was intentional.”


Having purchased a 2-acre farm homestead on Easter Lake Drive, the couple, who post regularly on Instagram under Backyard Conservationists, are transforming their yard into turf for their son’s soccer goal, as well as an oak savanna. But mostly, they’re dedicating it to native prairie flowers.

The first step in transforming your yard, Katie says, is a mindset shift: All but about 3 percent of U.S. insects are beneficial. “When we stop vilifying insects,” Katie says, “we start improving our ecosystem, since insects are the foundation of our environment.”

Here’s the recipe for transforming your yard—or even a portion of it—to native plants: You need a healthy dose of patience; you won’t see results right away. “The first year, Andy said, “the seeds sleep. The second year, they creep. And the third year, they leap.” By then, he insists, “your yard will look like a full-grown prairie.” Ready to take the leap—or even take a few baby steps? The best starting place is usually one you don’t regularly visit. “Where you don't go,” Andy says, “you don't mow.” Here are the couple’s top five starter plants, photographed from their former South Union yard:


Goldenrod (late-summer blooming and is keystone species).
















Pale Purple Coneflower (mid and late summer and is specifically native to Polk County)

Black-eyed Susan (mid to late summer)

Golden Alexander (springtime)



Prairie wild rose (Iowa’s state flower; blooms in late spring and early summer!

The Jameses rely on Blooming Prairie in Carlisle as a go-to source for plant material.

Got questions? Katie gives high-fives to the Polk County Conservation Board for advice and references.


 

GREAT, GREAT BLUE HERON IN MORNING LIGHT

Admiring a great blue heron—my absolute favorite bird—at Easter Lake or on the Raccoon or Des Moines River is a memorable treat. On a morning bike ride earlier this month, I spotted my first of the season, lifting off from Easter Lake.


Viewing a heron reminds me of conversations with Dave Hurd on the Fifth Street Bridge. On several chance meetings with Dave, a heron was wading downstream. Dave was quick to mention how we need to take care of Iowa’s waterways for all of the waterfowl habitats. After Dave’s death, Trudy gave me his heron lapel pin—the same pin that Dave used to spark conversation about waterways.


*Special thanks to Ira Lacher for your continued support of our monthly newsletter.

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Des Moines, IA – Carl Voss, current at-large Des Moines City Council Member, and community advocate, announced today that he plans to run for reelection in the November 7 Des Moines municipal elections.

“It’s been an honor to serve as the At-Large City Councilman over the past four years,” said Councilman Voss. “During that time, I’m proud that we’ve made great strides to make Des Moines one of the best places to live in the country. There is still much to be done, we need to make our city safer, improve its infrastructure, create a healthier environment for our citizens, and continue to make Des Moines more neighborhood-focused. That’s why I’m running for reelection to build off the progress we’ve made.”


About Carl Voss: Councilman Voss is a fifth-generation Iowan and has lived in Des Moines since 1971. He served as an interim City Council member in 2013 and 2014 and was elected to the At-Large Council seat in 2019. Carl is a former photographer and editor for the Des Moines Register, and a co-founder of the Des Moines Bicycle Collective. He and his wife, Susan, are among the first East Village residents, where they have promoted Shop Local and community-building initiatives. As a founding board member of the Historic East Village, Carl has worked since 2000 to create a safe, walkable neighborhood for residents, small businesses, and visitors. For more information about Carl, visit www.CarlVoss.com.

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HIGH PRAISE FOR IMPROVING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

Dorothy Haus and Linda Jones are among the first Des Moines households to feel the impact of Improving Our Neighborhoods (ION), the City’s new voluntary program to improve home exteriors. Over three months, the mother and daughter replaced the roof of their 840-square-foot South Side home, repaired soffits, added new gutters, and applied a fresh coat of paint. This spring, they expect to add new concrete between the garage and back door.


Dorothy and Linda were effusive about the assistance from their assigned ION team members, John Cook and Tyler Friesen. “I can’t praise them enough,” Dorothy told me. “John did all the paperwork to get us approved. And then, the two of them handled all the scheduling and contacts with the crews. And the painter did a wonderful job—just the light gray we wanted.”


When the projects are complete, 50% of the cost will be forgiven over fiver years, and the 50% balance will be a differed loan.

ION supervisor Dan Grauerhollz reports that the City’s ION team and local contractors completed 26 homes last fall in the soft rollout. Dan’s team aims to complete 150 or more home improvements this calendar year. This year, 235 residents have applied for the 2023 program. Homeowners qualify for assistance based on income.


In a 2022 survey of all Des Moines homes, the ION team identified 4,000 as in poor condition and needing significant repairs, or very poor condition and approaching a public nuisance. ION staff has notified most homeowners via informational door hangers with contact phone information in English and 11 additional languages.


ION funding includes $1 million annually from local option sales and service taxes (LOSST); $300,000 via a Community Development Block Grant; and a one-time sum of $2,900,000 from the federal COVID assistance program known as the American Rescue Plan Act. Dan anticipates the City will invest $8 to $10 million in ION projects by the end of July 2026.

 

MENTAL HEALTH CALLS ON THE RISE

In February, Des Moines Police Department (DMPD) 911 dispatchers checked “mental health” on 633 calls, up from 442 in January, a 43 percent increase. The February total was the largest monthly volume since July. That was when Broadlawns Medical Center’s Crisis Advocacy Response Unit (CARE) team joined the Des Moines Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) to answer mental-health calls.


Since that rollout, there have been hundreds of successful outcomes for mental-health calls that now get extra attention from DMPD, Broadlawns Medical Center staff and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. I found one example that illustrates how the program has helped to control violence and tragedy:

A woman fleeing from domestic violence was the impetus for this particular 911 call. CARE team members Jennifer and Cassondra coordinated with a local domestic violence shelter to secure a bed. They then picked-up the client's prescribed mental health medication from the pharmacy before dropping her off, safe and sound with the shelter staff.


Des Moines logs most mental health calls; 3 to 5 percent come from other Polk County communities via the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.


For a deeper dive into data since the CARE team started, see below.

 

CITY EXPANDS RECOMMENDED TREE SPECIES

To paraphrase poet Joyce Kilmer:


“How comely would our City be

If every street there grew a tree?”


Besides making Des Moines look invitingly green and serene, trees provide natural insulation so as to lower residents’ heating and cooling costs. Trees also increase stormwater retention, property values, and use of the outdoors. This year, the City plans to plant 3,800 trees in parks and along streets by staff or contracted to Trees Forever.

Chestnut, golden raintree, and Persian ironwood are just three species on Des Moines’ Forestry Division’s recommended trees list. City Forester Shane McQuillan told me the list has been expanded to increase the biodiversity of our urban tree population: Think fewer trees susceptible to the next tree blight or disease.


More than 90 species, which tolerate ice melt chemicals, are recommended for trees in rights-of-way or parkways. Those include dawn redwood, willow oak, and kwanzan cherry.

RecommendedTreeSpecies
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Download XLSX • 20KB

Want to plant your own tree? Each year, City residents can request up to five saplings—absolutely free—from the Forestry Division to plant on private property through the Tiny Trees Program. (Deadline to request trees this year is April 28.) Since the program started in 2017, the City has given residents tens of thousands of free trees to Des Moines residents, for planting on private property.

 

BARK! BARK! DM TAGS

TREATED ASH TREES

In the City’s fight against emerald ash borer disease, the Des Moines Forestry Division earlier this month began tagging treated ash trees that residents have adopted in rights-of-way (parkway or parking) or in parks. The tag, which resembles a dog tag, is nailed prominently to the trunk of an ash tree that’s been injected with emamectin benzoate, which is 99.9% effective against the disease.


Urban Forestry Project Manager Dan Just told me the City has tagged 25 treated trees out of 160 adopted trees along streets and in parks. In addition, an additional 195 trees along ML King Parkway and in the East Village have been treated.


The idea is to identify treated ash trees and keep them alive. Before the ash borer invasion, in 2015, the Forestry Division inventoried about 8,600 ash trees in public spaces and parks. Dan told me that’s now been reduced to 1,212: 680 in public spaces and 532 in parks.


Last summer, two healthy ash trees were felled inadvertently by a City contractor in a neighborhood south of Park Avenue. The new tag program should alleviate similar mistakes.


Adopting an ash tree helps with the cost of treating it; typically, $10 per inch of trunk diameter. So treating a 15-inch-diameter tree runs $150 and lasts two years.

 

COME ON DOWN! EAST VILLAGE

LAUNCHES FIRST FRIDAY EVENTS

The Historic East Village merchants are over the moon about the April 7 launch of its First Friday events. Locally owned shops, restaurants and bars will remain open until 9 pm for five upcoming months.


To support of brick-and-mortar retail businesses, the City of Des Moines will provide free on-street parking in the core retail area.


More details.

 
Jay Chedester and Jay Sunvold bag cimmaron lettuce heads that staff delivers to local customers. It takes just six weeks from seed to table.

CISS GREENHOUSE PRODUCING

1,200 HEADS OF LETTUCE WEEKLY

Several Des Moines businesses and nonprofits are getting plenty of head’s-ups from the new Schoen Family Greenhouse at Central Iowa Shelter and Services (CISS), which opened in November.

Aaron Thormodsen, CISS urban farm manager

Aaron Thormodsen, CISS urban farm manager for the hydroponics operation, tells me the 3,600-square-foot greenhouse produces 1,200 heads of fresh lettuce a week for the Iowa Food Cooperative and Farm Table Delivery, as well as the Big Grove Brewery restaurant. Aaron believes his team can bump the output to 1,400 heads per week.


Besides lettuce, the greenhouse grows jobs: 10 employees work in the 8- to 12-week job program. The $8 per hour supplements veterans’ and other benefits.


On a recent trip to the greenhouse, at 1420 Mulberry Street, I noticed two CISS residents pushing tiny seeds into growing medium, then stacking seed trays under grow lights. Just a few steps away, four employees scurried about, tending to the thriving lettuce, okra, tomentose, and herbs.


By summer, Aaron, a California transplant, expects to expand the employment base to 20 to assist with outdoor raised beds and a new fish culture. Four 15,000-gallon fish tanks will flip the hydroponic operation into an aquaponics greenhouse, with fish waste fertilizing the plants. CISS will market the locally grown fish to area restaurants.


CISS executive director Melissa O’Neil sees a huge upside to the CISS Agri-hood she envisions. “This operation aligns with the City’s strategies for innovative homeless solutions and more reliance on local food sources,” she told me. She also noted she’s turned down $1.8 million in contracts from big local producer users. “They get it,” she says. “There would be an immediate market if we could fund the aquaponics expansion.”


Melissa and City staff have greenlit the concept of floating raised-bed community gardens on four city retention basins, as well as a fifth floating operation on CISS property. Imagine vegetables and flowers growing on a 9,600-square-foot platform of raised beds, fed via drip irrigation. It’s a flood-proof operation that would float when the little-used retention basins fill with water.


The concept has won a $300,000 USDA innovation grant. Melissa has set her sights on the first floating operation in 2024. More details.

 

TRAIL, PARK FACILITY USAGE CLIMBED IN 2022

Once again, the Kruidenier Trail at Gray’s Lake Park logged the highest number of trail visitors in 2022, with 796,226 uses. The Principal Riverwalk Hub Spot counter reported the second-highest number, with 327,653 annual uses.


The Parks & Recreation Department uses 14 trail counters to track usage along Des Moines trails. Nine EcoCounters were added in 2022, thanks in part to the commemorative plaque donation program on three popular bridges.


The data also reported that City residents were taking advantage of our many other recreational amenities:


  • Shelter and facility rentals rose 10 percent in 2022 to 1,708 from 1,443 in 2021

  • Volunteer hours increased 35 percent, from 21,307 hours logged in 2021 to 28,816 in 2022

  • Almost 10 percent more folks took advantage of learn-to-swim lessons at one of the City’s five pools/aquatic centers in 2022: 3,546, up from 3,268 in 2021

  • And 124 native Iowa trees and shrubs were planted at Gray’s Lake Park in 2022, the park’s largest single shrub planting since it opened in 2001. In addition, 10-plus new species were introduced to bolster biodiversity.

Parks and Recreation Annual Report.

 

LIGHT IT UP! WILD LIGHTS

RETURNS TO BLANK PARK ZOO

The Blank Park Zoo has some new animals to show off, and not one is behind a fence.


Last week, Shuying Zhang, above, and her crew of eight wrapped up the installation of this year’s Wild Lights Festival presented by MidAmerican Energy. The exhibit, which features 50 illuminated animal-shaped major pieces, opens to the public on Saturday, April 1, and continues Wednesdays–Sundays through May 29. Chinese engineers, artists, and electricians designed pieces for this show in the style of the impressive array at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.


Twenty-five U.S. cities will promote the Tianyu Arts & Culture exhibits this year. But Shuying ranks Des Moines as the “most happy city” she has visited since joining the Tianyu organization.


The Des Moines show arrived in early March on 13 semi-trailer loads from three U.S. warehouses. Shuying’s team invested more than 1,000 hours setting up the colorful illuminated pieces, including:

  • a 23-foot-tall giant panda along with nine additional pandas;

  • a 75-foot-long tunnel, teeming with brilliant sunflowers and bees;

  • a massive 3-foot-diameter drum that controls the colors and intensity of nearby light columns, responding to strikes from a drum (guaranteed kid magnet); and

  • a collection of eight swimming sea turtles and giant, friendly praying mantises.

Ryan Bickel, the zoo’s chief market officer, told me that to avoid overcrowding, the zoo will limit nightly attendance to 2,500. He also offered these photo tips:

  • Walk the display during “golden hour,” just before sunset, which casts an appealing golden hue to photos. For an entirely different intense hue, walk the exhibit again after sunset.

  • Switch off electronic flash, even if you include your group in the foreground. “Smartphone cameras do an amazing job with these exhibits,” Ryan says.

  • Walking the display after a rain or in a light shower can improve photos—the puddles reflect fantastic light.

  • Videos of 30 seconds or less are easier to share via text or Instagram.

  • The zoo walkways include several lighted “angel wings” set up especially for posing children and adults.

 

GROUND CREW PREPS FOR I-CUBS OPENER FRIDAY

Can you believe it? We haven’t even wrapped up March Madness, and it’s already time to head to Principal Park for baseball. (And oh, those loaded bratwursts!)


Iowa Cubs field operations director Chris Schlosser, above, promises the diamond will be ready for the team’s home opener Friday night against the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. Unlike a typical front yard, warming tarps and sand beneath the turf avert frozen ground issues.


When I visited the ballpark recently, Chris, who is entering his 24th season with the Iowa Cubs, told me he and I-Cubs president Sam Bernabe glue their eyeballs firmly to four weather radar reports to stay ahead of Iowa’s up-and-down conditions.


“When they all have the same forecast,” says Chris, while supervising a crew of three full-time employees preparing the infield for a top dressing of calcined clay, “I’m worried. Something must be wrong!”


Calcined clay is the official prescribed infield dressing of Major League Baseball. Chris told me it provides the reliable surface for a “true baseball bounce.”


The I-Cubs’ 75-game home season runs through September 17. Ticket prices range from $7 to $40, with discounts for children ages 13 and under.

 

A NASTY SPRING FOR POTHOLES

Oh, the glory of spring also signals the return of pothole season.


Public Works Director Jonathan Gano expected this year’s pothole season to be worse than normal, and the number of pothole validates his prediction.


As of late last week, 1,249 potholes were reported via the myDSMmobile app.


City crews usually respond to reports (as in fill the pothole) within 24 to 48 hours.


There’s no award for the top pothole reporter, but congratulations to Albert Daniel, who logged 117 pothole tickets as of late last week. Rick W is second with 51 new tickets. According to Jonathan, most other residents report fewer than 10 potholes.

 

MEDIACOM ROLLS OUT AFFORDABLE INTERNET PLAN

Mediacom has enabled area income-restricted households to qualify for reduced-rate internet service through the new federal Affordable Connectivity Program. Katie Reeder, a Mediacom public relations coordinator, told me that through February, more than 3,000 households in Polk County connected to the service through the credit, which reduces or zeroes out the monthly service cost.

Eligible households can qualify for an income-restricted monthly credit of up to $30. The company offers 100 Mbps service and provides free installation, lease-free modems, no deposit, and a long-term contract.


Qualifying households include those receiving government assistance programs, including SNAP, Medicaid, federal housing assistance, SSI, or WIC.

 

NEIGHBORHOOD NOTES

The Merle Hay Neighborhood Association wrapped up its annual food drive this month. The group made cash and canned goods donations to DMARC, Food Bank of Iowa, Reach Church Food Pantry, Grace Lutheran Church Little Free Pantry, and Immanuel United Methodist Church Little Free Pantry.


The Lower Beaver Neighborhood Association will host a Community Easter Egg Hunt at 9 am on April 1 at Woodlawn Park.


And another egg hunt! The Union Park Neighborhood Association will host an Easter Egg Hunt at 10 am on April 8 at Union Park.


The Merle Hay Neighborhood Association will again partner with Des Moines Public Works to host the annual Spring Clean Up to Reduce Urban Blight (SCRUB) from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 15 in the parking lot behind the ramp on the north side of Merle Hay Mall.


Three additional Mega SCRUB days are planned in other parts of the City. More details on dates, locations and accepted items.


Thanks again to Ira Lacher for his keen copy-editing additions to this newsletter. 😄



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