Let's Catch Up! June '25

NFC CELEBRATES 35 YEARS

Mayor Connie Boesen speaks on June 2 at a well-attended 35th anniversary celebration of the Neighborhood Finance Corporation (NFC) on East Granger Avenue.

The banner behind Mayor Boesen represents three NFC homes on the 400 block of East Granger Avenue, in the South Side’s Little Italy, that are planned to be constructed this year. They are the 14th, 15th, and 16th homes NFC has built in partnership with Invest DSM.

Since 2008, NFC Properties has built or renovated 175 homes in Des Moines. This year, Executive Director Stephanie Murphy told me, NFC plans to build or renovate 12 homes and sell them to owner-occupied homebuyers.

Created in 1990, NFC provides purchase, refinance, and home improvement loans, paired with forgivable loans up to $10,000, funded by the City of Des Moines and Polk County. An NFC forgivable loan can be used for home renovations; 20% of the amount is forgiven each year of owner-occupancy over a five-year period. If you live in an Invest DSM neighborhood, NFC partners with that agency to access their funding.

NFC has served more than 8,000 households with $56 million in forgivable loans, utilizing funding from the City and Polk County. The $56 million has leveraged $413 million of repayable loans through local financial institutions and investors. Stephanie reports that in 2024, every $1 of forgivable loans translated to a $2.82 increase in Des Moines property value.

Part of NeighborWorks America, a network of 250 similar organizations, NFC also has down-payment programs for eligible homebuyers. Its Energy Advantage Program, funded by the City, empowers home buyers and homeowners to make energy-saving improvements without increasing their monthly payments.

Stephanie told me that this year, NFC expects to close on 225 purchase, renovation, or home improvement loans, representing $5 million in investments. To learn about all the programs available and see best fits your needs, call NFC at 515-246-0010.

NEW PRIDE BAND ROCKS PARADE

Amanda Thomas-Murphy leads the newly formed Iowa Pride Ensembles in the PrideFest parade Sunday, June 8, in the East Village. Amanda and her wife, Meredith Murphy, along with their friend Allegra Hernandez, organized the musicians, who plan to march again later this year in the Ankeny and Valley Junction Pride parades.

“This was grassroots recruiting and word of mouth,” Meredith told me. “We had 65 marching with us Sunday. Ages ranged from 19 to 65 years — professional musicians, band directors, and some who hadn’t marched since high school.” The group now plans to establish a pep band, a jazz band, and a concert band.

BUSY PRIDEFEST DAY FOR LIBRARY CREW

Des Moines Public Library librarian Ana Neff, seated, kept busy Saturday, June 7, fielding questions and signing up 85 new library patrons at PrideFest. The library staff also had 2,000-plus visitors at their pop-up in the Teen Village.

LONDON-INSPIRED STREET COFFEE

Matt Wynne and Brialle Koerselman catch up on emails while sipping iced coffee at a new, 8-inch-wide shelf outside Vibrant Coffeehouse + Kitchen on East Grand Avenue in the East Village.

Vibrant manager Jason Rosa told me he had noticed an uptick in the use of the space, especially from 8 and 10 in the morning, and 3 to 5 in the afternoon. Similar compact stand-up spaces are popular outside coffee shops and pubs in London.

It’s all about activating the street.

MORE DETAILS: OVERDUE PARKING TICKETS

Local news outlets were correct in reporting that the City Council voted May 19 to increase overtime parking ticket fines from $15 to $20. The increased penalties take place July 1. What slipped through the cracks:

• Overtime parking fees were last increased on July 1, 2003 — 22 years ago.

• Examples of peer cities. Grand Rapids, Michigan, compares favorably in population and tourism activities. Their council increased overtime parking tickets to $20 on January 1, 2023. Unpaid fines double ($40) after 10 calendar days, and triple ($60) after 90 days.

The New Yorker recently published a lengthy article on parking zones and finding a spot in Manhattan. This gem jumped right off the page: “Parking problems began, more or less, with the first vehicles. In 705 B.C., the Assyrian King Sennacherib prohibited chariot parking on royal roads. Violators could be beheaded.”

So much for repeat violators.

More information on paying Des Moines parking fines.

ARTS FESTIVAL RECOGNIZES 20-YEAR VOLUNTEER

The Des Moines Arts Festival went all out to recognize Kent Maahs for serving 20 years as a valued volunteer for its three-day festival, June 27–29 this year. Kent received “When Pigs Fly,” a whimsical sculpture by Missouri artist Steve Jones, in recognition of his long-time devotion to the Event Management Team. At the same Preview event in late May, the Festival board presented plaques to five 5-year volunteer managers.

Kent’s 20 years of volunteering began with applying charcoal tracings to dumpsters that Festival attendees transformed into public art.

“Stephen King and the Arts Festival staff created this really great model of teams that keep volunteers coming back year after year,” Kent told me, referring not to the author but the festival’s executive director since 2006. “I’m part of the sponsor relations team that staffs the Silent Rivers Hospitality Suite.

“They give us plenty of details to answer questions. And then Stephen and his staff turn over the space to us. We have lots of repeat volunteers! We always have two or three volunteers in the suite during peak hours. No shifts are longer than four hours.

“When I talk to friends about first-time volunteering for the Arts Festival, I twist their arm to join the Artist Relations Team. That’s a good way to see what’s going on at the festival.”

More volunteer details.

When Kent is off duty from his volunteer tasks, he makes sure to check out the Emerging Iowa Artists and the Student Art Exhibition while doing a couple of laps around the 190-plus artist booths in Western Gateway Park.

(Full disclosure: I’m a member of the Des Moines Arts Festival board of directors. I’ll be a repeat Festival Greeter again this year at one of the Western Gateway Park intersections.)

GREAT OAKS TEAMS UP WITH HABITAT

Noray Mehammed and his wife, Abeba, hold two of their four children at a Habitat for Humanity noontime celebration for the Mehammeds’ new home, along East Capitol Avenue on the East Side. Joining them on the porch are staff from Habitat and the Great Oaks High School and Career Center, as well as students from the nonprofit charter school, which opened for the 2024–25 school year.

This is the first time Great Oaks has partnered with Habitat through the federal Department of Labor YouthBuild program. After the foundation was poured, six students dived into hands-on learning new skills to help build this 1,200-square-foot three-bedroom, two-bath home.

Brisney Vasquez, center (wearing a white top), is the first graduating senior in the Great Oaks construction program. Brisney has embarked on the Build My Future boot camp to introduce her to trade careers, including HVAC, plumbing, and electrical.

MAKING A DENT IN DOWNTOWN LOOP SCOOPERS

Sgt. Elliot Ness (really!), a Des Moines police officer with the Traffic Unit, reports that the City’s effort to improve motorist behavior in the downtown core, once thought to be untouchable (ahem!), has improved.

“The vibe feels like folks are grateful for the downtown street patrol,” Deb Madison-Levi, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association and proud owner of the double-sided “Slow Down” fan above, told me. “We are experiencing fewer problems than in recent years.”

“Almost everything is down,” Sgt. Ness confirmed to me. “I think the problem people got the hint last year. Speeding doesn’t seem as popular, but there are still burn-out contests.”

During the first six weeks of enhanced enforcement (4 p.m.–2 a.m.), citations have dropped from 1,523 in 2024 to 1,161 this year. Arrests are down from 71 in 2024 to 34 this year. One uptick: Sgt. Ness and his six officers have issued 455 warnings this year compared with 343 in 2024.

The enforcement zone boundaries include north to I-235, west to Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, and south to East Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. The eastern boundary has expanded from 2nd Avenue (the west side of the Des Moines River) to East 9th Street in the East Village.

“We are writing more tickets this year for loud mufflers,” Sgt. Ness added, “for cars and motorcycles with modified mufflers.”

DMPD TATTOO GUIDELINES UPDATED

Since Police officers no longer need to cover tattoos beneath long sleeves or tattoo sleeves, one of the changes new Des Moines Police Chief Mike McTaggart initiated this earlier year. Sgt. Ben McCarthy, above, is one of the officers welcoming the change.

Chief McTaggart told me the updated policy could attract a “touch” more police academy candidates.

CITY FORESTERS VISIT GRIMES TREE NURSERY

Dan Just, City urban forestry project manager, left, and Shane McQuillan, City forester, right, watch Bentley Ridge Tree Farm production manager Dylan Rolfes, kneeling, and sales manager Jimmy Juergens demonstrate how they nurture tree stock like this multi-stem chokecherry in custom 25-gallon “pot-in-pot” felt-lined root bags at irrigated fields near Grimes.

Trees Forever, the City’s primary contractor for trees in the rights-of-way along streets and in parks, has recently ramped up purchases of Bentley Ridge trees.

During our two-hour tour, Jimmy shared how the Bentley Ridge crew cares for about 42,000 nursery trees. Bentley warranties its trees and boasts a 98% survival rate for the first year. On a summer day, the Bentley drip irrigation system uses about 35,000 gallons of water.

SCENES FROM SAFE SUMMER KICKOFF

The Evelyn K. Davis Park was a hub of activity on June 6, with the annual Safe Summer Kickoff, sponsored by the King-Irving Neighborhood Association, the Des Moines Police Department, the Police Activities League, the Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department, and the Street Collective. Here are just a few activities:

Daniel Glay, 16, was one of 100 lucky neighborhood youths who rode off with a new or refurbished bike and helmet from the Des Moines Street Collective. With Daniel are his mother, Saysaw Flahn (right), and Philimena Glahn of the nonprofit Liberian Association.

Vanessa Espinoza was part of the Jovenes Embajadores DSM, performing Mexican folk dances.

With only a few soft, encouraging words, Creative Visions executive director Ako Abdul-Samad gets Jacks, his red-winged macaw parrot, to perch on Jalayia, 5.

BCYCLE NETWORK GROWING

How is BCycle doing?

Des Moines’ bike-share program began in 2010 with four stations and 18 bikes. Now, at 31 stations and approximately 200 bikes (including 80 e-bikes), it remains the oldest continuously operating bike-share program in the USA. The Street Collective (originally known as the Bike Collective) is the nonprofit BCycle operator.

In 2024, riders logged nearly 70,00 miles on the bikes in the Des Moines area network. The average trip duration was 35 minutes.

The top 10 performing stations in 2024, were, in order: Brenton Skating Plaza; 4th Street and Court Avenue; 13th and Grand; East 4th and Locust; Easter Lake Park; Water Works Park; Lauridsen Skatepark; 2nd and Court; 3rd and Market; and 10th and Walnut.

New this year: Check out BCycle stations at Fong’s on East Court Avenue, and Big Grove Brewery and Taproom overlooking Ingersoll. Avenue. That’s Jack Jermano checking over the BCycles at Fong’s. Coming soon: Confluence Brewing Company patio, adjacent to Gray’s Lake Park.

Street Collective Executive Director Jeremy Lewis told me he has two additional BCycle stations seeking new locations.

Let's Catch Up! May '25

When Robert D. Ray was governor of Iowa, one of his most amazing humanitarian accomplishments was to invite Southeast Asian refugees — “boat people,” as they were known — to settle in Iowa. Unheard of!

Sponsored by churches, communities, and families sprinkled across the state, the first wave of Tai Dam arrived in October 1975 — nearly 50 years ago. Ray’s success and that of the immigrants are an Iowa story that will be retold for decades.

This entire newsletter is devoted to the amazing story of five Southeast Asian immigrant communities who have woven themselves into the fabric of Des Moines during the last half century. All communities will participate in CelebrAsian Friday and Saturday in the Western Gateway Park.

Des Moines police Sgt. Doua Lor, a fixture in the Hmong community, provided all the contacts for this newsletter. In 2003, Sgt. Lor organized the City’s first Asian Outreach Office and served until recently as lead officer. The Asian Outreach Program now includes 14 officers proficient in nine languages.

From left, outside the Robert D. Ray Welcome Center at the Tai Village: Ava Saengaroun, Cara Hoang, Allison Onmanivong, Sulivanh Cavanh, Alexis Onmanivong, Josslyn Cam, Tom Baccam, and Kinsley Baccam.

TAI DAM

The surname “Baccam” is embedded in the Tai Dam community. And Tom Baccam, one of its leaders, acknowledges that most Baccams are related. “Lots of cousins,” Tom told me.

Indeed, when we walked outside the Tai Village event center in northwest Des Moines for a quick photo session with six members of the Sao Tai Dam of Iowa dancers, Sullivanh Cavanh, the group’s keyboard player, told me, “They are all my cousins.”

The community, which Tom estimates at 5,000–7,000, is a close-knit ethnic group, tracing its heritage to China and later to the mountainous regions of Laos. Iowa is home to the largest Tai Dam population outside Asia.

With pride, Tom recounts the story of 265 Tai Dam refugees who arrived in Iowa in October 1975 — nearly 50 years ago — marking the first Southeast Asian group to settle in the state. Within months, Iowa’s Tai Dam community surged to 2,600. Tom told me his community includes Protestants, Catholics, Buddhists, and animists, a belief system that all objects have a life, soul, or spirit.

Denison, in southwest Iowa, was the first home for Tom, his grandparents, parents, and five siblings. Shortly, they moved to Marshalltown, where Tom graduated from high school in 1979. He later attended Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) and Grand View College (which became a university in 2008) before graduating from the University of Iowa.

Tom became a U.S. citizen in 1984 and clearly remembers his first time voting. “I was very happy to make my voice heard,” he told me.

He said he worked for many political campaigns “to get votes from my people. Most of the candidates I supported prevailed. I remember walking for Jack Bishop in a Polk County supervisor election to collect 17 ballots from my people. He won by only 15 votes!”

Tom was a tutor for the Des Moines Public Schools and Grand View University. At Employee and Family Resources, he assisted numerous families with their paperwork.

In 2003, Tom was among the Tai Dam leadership who spearheaded the community’s purchase of bordering Beaver Creek and now known as the Tai Village, north of Douglas Avenue and west of ML King Jr. Parkway. Every Labor Day weekend, the community hosts the Tai Village Festival, attracting swarms of Southeast Asian descendants and appreciative Americans of all backgrounds to its 84 acres. The community is exploring opportunities to expand its event center to host community events.

By the way: Don Khongmaly, a member of the Lao community, told me that before he moved to Des Moines, he had never been aware of the existence of the Tai Dam in Laos. The Laotian government officially recognizes 49 ethnic groups, including the Tai Dam.

By the way #2: The young women shown above are the third generation of local Tai Dam dancers. The Tai Dam are also known as the Black Tai for the traditional black skirts worn by females. The dresses were custom-made locally for the dancers. For their skirts, the girls choose their own exquisitely detailed embroidered flowers. The green silk belts are known as say el. Each dancer wears a say soy (silver chain) at the waist and ornate silver buttons on the colorful blouses.

Eang Muom Op, a monk for the Cambodian community at Watt Iowaram Temple, with Emily Frimml, left, and Sanaye Chung.

CAMBODIANS

“I enjoy helping people,” Sanaye Chung told me about her 36-year career with the state of Iowa.

Sanaye’s job as an income maintenance worker in Health and Human Services puts her on the front line of helping Central Iowa immigrants determine their eligibility for assistance, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Family Investment Program (FIP). “The policy changes all the time,” she told me, “but I’d rather be here than anywhere else in the world.”

Sanaye has seen a bit of the world, beginning with her early years in Thailand. She was 5 when her mother died. During a visit with a grandmother in Kouk Mon, Cambodia, her family was stranded when the radical communist Khmer Rouge took control of the country. The Khmer Rouge separated boys, girls, and parents.

Sanaye and her sister, then 10 and 11 years old, recall carrying water up the mountain to gardens and working all day in rice fields. But with the help of her new stepmother’s brother, the family devised a plan in February 1979 to escape the Khmer Rouge brutality and return to Thailand.

It was a dangerous trek of three days and two nights over mountain trails to temporary safety in Thailand. At times, Sanaye, then 12, carried her 2-year-old brother and hushed his cries. A bribe to soldiers — her stepmother’s gold necklace — provided safe passage.

Before the family arrived in Iowa, through the generosity of Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI), they survived months at the Ban Mae Surin camp in Thailand and another six months in a refugee camp in the Philippines.

Sanaye and her family arrived in Iowa on August 23, 1980 — a joyous date burned into a 13-year-old’s memory. The family lived briefly in Mechanicsville, east of Cedar Rapids, and Grinnell before she graduated from Oskaloosa High School in 1986. She earned an associate degree at DMACC and later a Bachelor of Arts from William Penn University.

In 1988, Sanaye began her career at the Iowa Refugee Center, which was then part of the Iowa Department of Human Services. Sanaye told me she continues to draw inspiration from her mentor, caseworker Try Tuon, when she started her career.

Sanaye has a long involvement with the Iowa Cambodian Buddhist Society, which shares space with the Watt Iowaram Temple on 19th Street. She recently stepped down as president and handed over leadership to Emily Frimml, a first-generation American of Cambodian descent who serves as a human resources coordinator at Dotdash Meredith. Sanaye estimates that 250 Cambodian families and 2,000 Cambodians live in the Des Moines area.

She beamed when I mentioned that the City’s four other Southeast Asian communities struggle with a handoff to the next generation. “All our board members are in their 30s and 40s,” Emily told me. “We are first-generation Americans. I grew up in Grinnell, where the United Methodist Church sponsored our family. I went to the Buddhist temple on Saturday and to church on Sunday!”

By the way: As we wrapped up our conversation, Emily, Sanaye, and Eang Muom Op, the Angkor Wat monk, discussed plans for an upcoming 100-day ceremony at the temple to honor the successful passing of an individual’s spirit into the new afterlife.

At the Vietnamese American Community Center, from left: Vinh Nguyen, Jennifer Shedd, and Kim Nguyen. The mural behind them depicts North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Saigon (since 1975, Ho Chi Minh City), and Des Moines.

VIETNAMESE

Jennifer Shedd, a bilingual family liaison for Des Moines Public Schools, has supported the Vietnamese community since 1989. Her first job was tutoring Vietnamese students in math, social studies, and English.

Today, she assists families attempting to navigate Medicaid, Medicare, resources for rent assistance, public transit, adult English literacy, and family relationships. She shares an office at Hoover High School with liaison staff who are fluent in Spanish; Swahili; Karenni and Karen, which are spoken in Myanmar; as well as Dari and Pashto, spoken in Afghanistan.

Her parents had their business — sewing mosquito netting — and family possessions stripped when the communists overran their native Saigon, which became Ho Chi Minh City in 1975, with the fall of South Vietnam. The parents paid 10 bars of gold, worth approximately $5,000 in 1979, for Jennifer and a younger sister, Leslie, to escape Vietnam on a Mekong River fishing boat.

The girls were 17 and 15 at the time. Then, they spent eight months at the Cherating refugee camp on one of the Malaysian islands, where the Vietnamese refugee population peaked at 10,000.

The sisters arrived in Des Moines in 1979, sponsored by LSI as unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs). A Grand View College math professor and his wife fostered the girls until Jennifer and Leslie aged out after graduating from North High School in 1981.

Subsequently, on their own, the sisters set up a sparse attic apartment in a home near Grand View. Jennifer worked at a Park Fair alterations shop and did weekend housekeeping shifts at the Savery Hotel while attending Grand View. A bicycle was her only transportation. She graduated in 1986 with a degree in business.

Soon after she graduated, LSI hired her as a social worker for the foster-care program. She joined Des Moines Public Schools in 1989.

When I stopped by the Vietnamese American Community Center on a Saturday morning, Jennifer, part of a crew of five Vietnamese women and one young Anglo (married to a Vietnamese woman), was busy prepping for the Vietnamese food booth at this year’s CelebrAsian Festival, scheduled for May 23–24 in the City’s Western Gateway Park. Kim Nguyen bustled in and out of the conversation while supervising the food prep outside. Kim was a URM from Saigon — ransom for herself and two siblings to come was 10 gold bars — and became part of a Cedar Rapids family connected with LSI. She graduated from Mount Mercy College (now University) with a degree in teaching in 1991 before moving to Des Moines that same year. She is a former president of the Vietnamese American Community Center. She, too, found a job in the Des Moines Public Schools.

Jennifer was president of the Vietnamese Center in 2011, when they scraped together $85,000, including several no-interest loans from members, to purchase their building at 2600 Euclid Avenue.

I also met current Vietnamese Center President Vinh Nguyen (unrelated to Kim), who has served five terms in that capacity, beginning with the community’s initial formation in early 2000. One of the “boat people,” Vinh was rescued and sent to the notorious Songkhla refugee camp in Thailand. He was the ninth and youngest boy of 10 children; his parents paid a ransom of three bars of gold for their youngest son to escape. Vinh, who arrived in Des Moines in late 1982 as a 21-year-old, estimates that today’s local Vietnamese community numbers 5,000–7,000.

Vinh was Jennifer’s supervisor for several years when he served as the English Language Learning (ELL) supervisor for Des Moines Schools. He admitted that since retiring, “I spend most of my time in this community center. Honestly, all I want to do is build our community.” He also works as an LSI education program manager.

“We do a lot of community projects,” he says. “We have meals and activities monthly here at the center for seniors. Arts and dance for children. We sponsored many coat and clothing drives for newly arrived refugees and donated personal care products to the YMCA Supportive Housing residents. Last year, we provided three home-cooked meals for the YMCA residents.

“We are the only ethnic community participating in PrideFest in the last two years and are proud of it.”

Getting the second generation of Vietnamese Americans involved in the community is challenging. To help with language skills, Vinh told me, he started the program Learning Vietnamese with Vinh. “Vietnamese is a tonal language; it’s not easy to master!” he says. “We have language classes for children and adults.” Some adults are non-Vietnamese married to Vietnamese.

By the way: When Vinh Nguyen was a DMPS supervisor, he supervised nearly 90 ELL teachers and 48 bilingual family liaisons.

Vongyasack Manivanh, left, vice president of Watlao Buddhavath, the Laotian Buddhist temple, with President Nouane Sylaloun (center), and Don Khongmaly.

LAOTIAN

Don Khongmaly’s uncle, Thene Khomgmaly, who had served in the U.S. Army, sponsored Don’s parents and five children for their 1978 journey from Laos to the Midwest.

His family’s first stop was Independence, Missouri, where Don graduated from William Chrisman High School as one of only a handful of Asians in his class. He painfully recalls being called a “chink.”

The family moved to Des Moines in 1990. “We came from nothing,” Don recalls. But he says he immediately felt the enormous difference between Independence and Des Moines: the wraparound support of the Laotian community, which, Don estimated, numbers 5,000–6,000.

“My parents worked custodial jobs at Iowa Methodist for their whole lives,” Don related. “We hunted and fished to put food on our table. In our community, it’s not unusual for three generations to live in the same house. We help each other out in any way we can.”

Don graduated from Iowa State in 1994 and received his MBA from Drake in 1998. After 13 years in transportation logistics, he opened his own American Family Insurance agency in 2006.

“What’s interesting about the insurance business,” Don told me, “is that certain communities are underserved. That’s my focus.

“Some policyholders don’t speak English well and will bring in translators. Many times, the translator is their young children or family members. But I tell them, ‘Be patient. We’ll talk slowly.’ And that’s how you build loyalty.”

Along the way, Don mentored his Hmong brother-in-law, Dub Vang, in the insurance business. Now, Dub has his own American Family agency, in Urbandale.

Watlao Buddhavath, the Laotian Buddhist temple at 1804 East Park Avenue, is the center of this community’s life. The Laotian community supports two monks.

“Our community is based around the temple,” Don said. “We celebrate life and death. Our two monks also offer blessings for a child or a new house.”

At the Lao temple, Don introduced me to Vongyasack Manivanh, vice president of the temple, and Nouane Sylaloun, president. While we talked, a steady stream of young girls arrived to rehearse traditional Laotian dances for the temple’s three-day celebration (June 20-22).

As for Don, he acknowledges he’s pretty much Americanized. “I grew up in the Kansas City area,” he reminded. “Of course, I love barbecue! And country music.

“Today, I hunt and fish for a hobby. Our oldest son is named Hunter. We named our younger son Fisher!

“My dad and I go bowhunting for deer nearly every weekend in the fall. Hunting is a great way to spend time with friends and family, as it helps us find our peace and tranquility in nature.”

By the way: Don told me about the Buddhist tradition of blessing a new home: “First, the house is cleaned. After a monk sets up a small shrine, he will offer chants to promote good luck and spirits. And of course, ward off evil spirits.”

Wangmeng Lee, left, and his brother, Lee Khoua C. Sayaxang, stand in a field of potatoes growing at the 120-acre Hmong Cultural Center and farm outside Prairie City.

HMONG

On May 14, I met with Wangmeng Lee and his younger brother, Lee Khoua C. Sayaxang, at the Hmong Cultural Center and farm outside Prairie City. The day holds special meaning for Wangmeng, a former colonel in the Laotian army.

Fifty years ago to the day, Wangmeng boarded one of the last C-130 transport planes evacuating Hmong military leaders and U.S. troops from the storied Long Tieng military base in mountainous Laos. Laotian military leaders instructed the Hmong and Americans to board the plane or face certain death from the Viet Cong, who would gain control of the top-secret facility within hours.

Although Wangmeng escaped, it was two painful years before he reunited with his wife and 10 children in the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand. In 1978, Wangmeng and his family joined his younger brother, Lee Khoua C. Sayaxang, and 15 family members who had settled in the Des Moines area. The local Hmong community, estimated at 500 members, is the smallest of the five Southeast Asian communities.

Lee Khoua was among some of the early Hmong refugees who arrived in the U.S. After living briefly in Sidney, Nebraska, he moved to Des Moines in 1977. By 1987, he had earned his teaching degree from Drake University. He recalls that one of his classmates and early friends was Vinh Nguyen, from the Vietnamese community. Like Vinh, he spent 31 years as an English Language Learner (ELL) teacher with the Des Moines school system, retiring in 2011.

Wangmeng worked for Catholic Social Services, providing refugee services during his Des Moines career.

With the assistance of Bishop Maurice Dingman and Sister Pat Shearer, the Hmong community in 1984 bought a farm in Jasper County. That acreage became the Hmong Cultural Center, which includes a sturdy and spacious events building.

And just as important, in the eyes of the brothers, the farmland provides the Hmong community a place to garden and grow vegetables. “We lost our land,” Wangmeng told me, “and we lost our country. But we now have land here.”

Lee Khoua and his wife, Mao, have operated Mao’s Egg Rolls for 32 years at the Downtown Farmers’ Market at the corner of Court Avenue and Fourth Street. Daughters-in-law and other relatives pitch in for Saturday morning egg rolls and other Southeast Asian specialties.

By the way: Sgt. Lor told me of Hu Plig, a fascinating Hmong blessing to celebrate the arrival of a newborn. On the third day after birth, the family “calls in the spirits” for the infant’s good health and to bless the parents.

Let's Catch Up! April '25

Wade Fowler unearthed pieces of this gravestone in Sims Cemetery at East University. The results are at the end of the article!

MILLENNIAL STONE CLEANER HOOKED ON CEMETERIES

Wade Fowler has spent countless volunteer hours restoring monuments and gravestones in Des Moines cemeteries over the last four years. His dedication to our eight cemeteries earned him Volunteer of the Year recognition by the Des Moines Parks and Recreation this year.

And it’s not just Des Moines that has recognized his work. Wade has nearly 1.3 million social media followers. Yes, cemeteries and gravestone restoration are a thing.

“It’s about doing a good deed,” Wade — a Ruan/Bankers Trust investment and product consultant by day, whose handle is the Millennial Stone Cleaner — told me. “Followers are looking for something of comfort, a sense of warmth. And connecting with audiences who enjoy seeing people care about others.

“We’re a bunch of history nerds, too.”

Wade places his cemetery fascination squarely on his grandfather’s shoulders. “I remember going to family potlucks near a cemetery in rural Minnesota,” he recalled. “We’d cross the road and say ‘Hi’ to our ancestors.

“And I remember my grandfather saying something like, ‘We should think about cleaning our ancestors’ graves.’ I was about 12 at the time. That comment really stuck with me.”

Originally, Wade told me, he was just cleaning gravestones. “But I wanted to learn more, so I enrolled in a class in cemetery preservation.”

Since “going down the rabbit hole” about six years ago, Wade has progressed to assisting with preservation classes in New Orleans cemeteries under the guidance of a professional conservator. He spent a memorable time assisting at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York, the burial site of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass.

“Today, there’s easy access to this information,” Wade said. For example, the National Park Service has a technology group devoted to cemeteries.

Wade is now part of a cadre of local cemetery volunteers, including Mike Rowley, Mary Christopher, Archie Cook, Kristine Bartley, and others.

On his own dime and time, Wade took a Woodland Cemetery headstone to a Kansas City lab specializing in photogrammetry — using two-dimensional images to extrapolate a 3D version — to help decipher eroded marble from the buried gravestone of Sophia Connell Sherman, wife of John Sherman (his brother, Hoyt Sherman, gained local prominence). View Wade’s restoration process.

Wade heaps high praise on Ganesh Ganpat, Parks and Recreation supervisor of cemeteries. “He’s the best I’ve come across while visiting cemeteries across the country,” Wade told me. “Ganesh is excellent at identifying people interested in cemeteries and plugging them in.

“Ganesh and I are planning a free local class this fall. Stay tuned.”

Wade now offers online classes on gravestone restoration.

Register for a Des Moines cemetery tour.

Become a Des Moines cemetery volunteer.

Do you have a relative buried in one of the Des Moines cemeteries? Check here: Cemetery Inquiry System - City of Des Moines, Iowa.

This is Wade’s carefully reassembled gravestone for an unidentified infant.

RAMADAN PRAYERS, THEN DINNER

Salum Shabiby, left, and Hassan Deer serve dinner following March 25 Ramadan services at the Muslim Community Organization mosque on 42nd Street in Des Moines. The daily iftar dinner follows breaking of the fast after services. There are nine mosques in Des Moines and one in Waukee, serving an area Muslim population estimated at 25,000.

LENTEN LAUNDRY DAZE

Instead of “giving up” a favorite food during Lent — chocolate, traditionally for me — I take a different path to “give” something as part of my 40-day routine. For the second consecutive year, I donated 40 laundry kits to the YMCA Supportive Living Campus at 2 Southwest 9th Street. Each kit includes 12 quarters (enough for a wash load and a dryer cycle), a Tide laundry pod, and a Bounce dryer sheet.

Nick Drahozal, community engagement director for the 140 residents at the Y supportive living facility, told me: “Our Laundry Kit program is beloved on campus and used by so many of our residents. It’s incredible how a clean set of clothing can make someone feel.”

LIFE SERVICES CENTER: ‘THIS IS A BLESSING’

Since opening in mid-November 2024, the Polk County Life Services Center, at 1914 Carpenter Avenue, has been making a significant community impact. Steve Johnson, Broadlawns Medical Center’s government liaison, shared some encouraging early numbers:

• Behavioral Health Urgent Care: This service has averaged 12 patients daily and helped more than 1,000 individuals seeking mental health assistance.

• Crisis Observation Center: On average, this program sees two new patients a day and has supported over 210.

• Sobering Center (operated by St. Vincent de Paul): This service averages four admissions a day and has supported more than 450 guests since opening. Steve Havemann, St. Vincent de Paul CEO, noted that in the last month, there has been an uptick in guests using methamphetamine, heroin, hydrocodone, cocaine, and marijuana.

The Sobering Center's initial projections were more modest, but the program has exceeded expectations. Iowa City is the state’s only other community offering a similar service.

Steve Johnson also shared some great news following a March meeting with the King-Irving and Mondamin neighborhood associations: “I’m very happy to say that we’ve had zero complaints. We’ve truly been welcomed as neighbors in the community.”

During the discussion, Erin Richmond-Killam, Broadlawns’ outpatient crisis services manager, highlighted the value of this location: the importance of serving people who might not seek care on a hospital campus. “That’s huge for improving access to services,” Erin said.

One Behavioral Health Urgent Care user said being seen at the center for a change in medication was easier and more personally validating than elsewhere.

“A lot of offices asked me if I was suicidal, and unfortunately, that was the only way for people to take me seriously,” this patient reported. “Broadlawns was completely opposite and such a big help! Thank you so much!”

Shelly Gehrke, Sobering Services manager, spoke glowingly about the benefit of three community services under one roof. “This is a blessing,” she told me. “When a guest arrives who is mentally altered because of substances, it’s hard to address mental health. Once sober, we have a better chance of getting them what they need. It’s all just a few steps away on the other side of the building! And we can refer to case management, transportation, or a food pantry.”

Services don’t end at the door. Community navigator Kat Pitts performs 30-, 60-, and 90-day follow-ups for guests at all three facilities. She connects with guests and families with wrap-around services, including treatment referrals, access to pantries, workforce training programs, prisoner reentry services, and benefits enrollment.

Shelly added a heartwarming story about one inebriated young male who’d bounced between the homes of his mom and dad. And drinking heavily. The family called 911, and DMPD brought him to the Sobering Center. “We worked with him and then got him in a five-day treatment program,” Shelly said with a smile. “We later learned he got his full-time job back and is attending AA meetings.”

The east side of the building is scheduled to become the Polk County Refugee Welcome Center by the end of 2025.

ELECTRIC REFUSE TRUCK GETS MIXED REVIEWS

Public Works employees began putting the City’s first battery-powered refuse truck through the paces this past November. The City purchased the e-truck for $703,000. City Finance Director Nick Schaul told me that a standard diesel-powered refuse truck had a $400,000 price tag.

It’s a beast of a truck. The batteries — two AC motors generating 334 kW, equal to 448 hp — add about 8,000 pounds to the truck, equivalent to the curb weight of two standard U.S. passenger cars. Adding two feet to the truck for batteries requires a tag axle (drops down—like on cement trucks) to distribute the weight and improve the stability of a loaded refuse truck.

I caught up with Aaron Hague, above, on his East Side route near East Madison Avenue and Columbia Street. Aaron, a six-year Public Works employee, told me the new truck is quieter than the traditional ones, but it’s about 10 seconds slower for the arms to pick up a tote, dump the contents, and return the tote to the curb. With an average 600 totes on shorter routes, that’s an extra 90 minutes. Plus, a few seconds slower to accelerate and move on to the next tote.

“Some days, we need help to complete the e-truck route,” Aaron noted.

Jose Marrero, a 13-year employee, added positive reviews. “It’s a beautiful truck,” he told me. “And so quiet. All you hear is the brakes.”

Jose told me Public Works employees “hit their routes hard every day. Some of our routes have 900 to 1,200 totes, but that’s too many for our e-truck. I think the e-truck is better for shorter routes.”

He also noted the truck’s 12-hour overnight full battery charge lasts longer with the arrival of warmer spring days.

Craig Shepherd, public works operations manager, admitted the e-truck doesn’t have the distance to get through some routes. “If it had bigger batteries, this could be a really great truck,” Craig told me. “Most of our routes are about 36 miles; another 10 miles from the e-truck would be great.”

RECYCLING EARNS BIG BUCKS

In 2024, Des Moines Public Works trucks dropped off 8,229 tons of recyclables at the Metro Recycling Facility in Grimes. The value of those products from our blue curbside totes: $872,090.

Here are the categories of recycled products (expressed in tons):

• Cardboard: 1,607

• Mixed paper: 3,334

• Aluminum beverage cans: 158

• Steel, tin: 171

• #1 PET plastic containers with screw tops: 329

• #2 HDPE natural plastic containers with screw tops (detergent bottles): 89

• #3 Colored plastics with screw tops: 82

• Mixed glass containers: 83

Aluminum cans are our highest-value recycled product, earning the City between $0.95 to $1.05 per pound. There are about 35,500 cans in each of the aluminum pallets shown above.

TABLE TENNIS HOTBED

If you stop by Fourmile Community Recreation Center on a Tuesday or Thursday evening, expect to be awed by table tennis enthusiasts who have completely overtaken the basketball court for the evening. Twelve tables are busy from 5:30 to 7:30, and players sometimes wait for their turn to fire their best shots across the net.

You may catch a glimpse of Sydney Devine, left, and Noi Sackpraseuth making wicked serves and returns. Noi has been playing table tennis since 1991. He’s the top-ranked player in the Des Moines Table Tennis Club (DMTTC), and one of the best in Iowa in age-group play. Sydney just started playing in October. Noi told me Sydney has made giant improvements in her game in just a short time.

Des Moines Parks and Recreation organizes DMTTC play; the fee is a moderate $5 per evening session or $240 annually. Newcomers are always welcome! More details: Kevin Ripp.

Other Parks and Recreation spring and summer activities.

WILD LIGHTS RETURNS TO BLANK PARK ZOO

Blank Park Zoo’s Wild Life Festival, presented by MidAmerican Energy, is open Wednesday through Sunday evenings through May 26. This is the fifth year for the popular event, and all displays are new for the Des Moines public. You won’t be disappointed.

Personal favorites: The bison, butterfly tree, sunflower tunnel, crocodile tunnel, Tiger Mountain, and the orchid mantis.

Suggestion: Plan your visit to arrive just before sunset. You’ll need at least an hour to walk around and through all the handcrafted illuminated Asian lanterns. More details.

METRO WASTE RECYCLES CONCRETE AND MORE

Since late 2022, Metro Waste Authority staff have begun putting concrete and other crushable material aside to construct rock roads at landfill facilities.

Since starting this diversion, 16,200 tons of concrete (with or without rebar), asphalt, cinder block, and some bricks have been diverted. Projects have included a new entrance road at Metro Park West Landfill and routine road maintenance at Metro Park East Landfill. This diversion and reuse have resulted in savings upward of $600,000, avoiding the expense of purchasing and hauling rock.

Metro Waste Authority’s Construction and Demolition (C&D) team now inspects rubble truckloads to determine whether they can be diverted. If the load passes inspection, the customer avoids the standard $40/ton ($20 minimum) to dispose of the material. Any load of rubble can be considered, from a DIY home project to large-scale commercial construction.

Wood, including dimensional lumber and pallets, is another material the Metro Waste's C&D program now diverts. Lumber and intact pallets are used for Metro Waste projects, while broken pallets are ground for animal bedding, such as for the Iowa State Fair and other fairground animal shows. In fiscal year 2024, Metro Waste diverted 2,000 tons of wood through this initiative.

If a demolition project is on the horizon, consider connecting with Metro Waste Authority’s C&D recycling team at 515-244-0021.