LET’S GET REGISTERED!
Bella Lewis signs absentee ballot paperwork for the November 5 general election during the Annual Multicultural Fall Festival festivities on September 14 at Evelyn K. Davis Park. Click here for more information about the upcoming election.
Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald told me these are among the top questions from voters:
Am I registered? If you are not registered or need to change your address, Polk County has a page that contains a download, instructions and videos to get this done either hard copy or online.
Where do I vote? Polk County voting locations, petitioned satellite locations with dates/times along with sample ballots can be found here:
Where is my absentee ballot? Check the status of your request and ballot to ensure your ballot will count.
DMPS THREAT ASSESSMENT TEAMS FOR ALL SCHOOLS
A recent Sunday New York Times article, “If a Threat Is Not a Crime, Can the Police Prevent a School Shooting?” got me thinking about how Des Moines schools have upgraded security measures. I sent Matt Smith, the Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) associate superintendent, a link to the article and asked how our schools prepare for a threat. Matt replied with an extensive email detailing DMPS actions. Here’s what he said in a nutshell:
DMPS has threat assessment teams. Also, administrators are in various stages of training for Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG). He also told me DMPS has significantly invested in comprehensive safety and security measures over the last two years, including:
Implementing detailed safety plans for each of the district’s 64 schools, from preschool to high school.
Training DMPS staff with the I Love You Guys Foundation, which has worked with more than 50,000 schools and organizations to standardize protocols for emergency procedures and communications. The training will continue on best practices for responding to a range of hazards or threats.
Installing impact-resistant films at numerous points throughout every school building. Those films are designed to delay unauthorized access by keeping the glass intact, providing valuable time for emergency responses.
Deploying 1,200-plus AI-based cameras.
Improving and enhancing entryways at every DMPS building.
Adding four new members to the DMPS public safety department.
Installing one-touch emergency radios in all schools.
Instituting comprehensive visitor check-in and check-out systems at each school.
“Finally,” Matt concluded, “DMPS works very closely with our local law enforcement agencies, from their presence at sporting and extracurricular events to support in our schools in responding to safety concerns.”
FROM BURGER KING TO BALLET
Supporters of Ballet Des Moines — Iowa’s only professional ballet company — were in a festive mood September 12 for ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the company’s new downtown Des Moines studios and headquarters.
The company moved from a cramped 3,200-square-foot space in a West Des Moines light industrial park to nearly 9,000 square feet at 655 Walnut Street, formerly a Burger King and office.
The company has grown to 21 apprentices and trainees rehearsing in the 2,000-square-foot Prairie Meadows Studio and a smaller, 1,000-square-foot studio. “No pillars in the studios and two showers for the dancers!” artistic director Tom Mattingly told me. Other amenities: six gender-neutral bathrooms, three changing rooms, and a dancers’ lounge.
Another enormous step-up: At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the Lauridsen Family Trust announced a $3 million gift to support ongoing Ballet Des Moines activities and growth.
The company’s 2024–25 season opens with Hoyt Sherman Place performances of Movimiento, October 18–19, and The Nutcracker, December 12–15.
PRINCIPAL PARK UPGRADES UNDERWAY
An ambitious $1.3 million upgrade to Sec Taylor Field at Principal Park is underway, all under the watchful eye of head groundskeeper Chris Schlosser, pictured above left.
Iowa Cubs fans may ask, “What could possibly warrant tearing out the entire field? It looks perfect! And by the way, can I cart off some of the outfield turf for my backyard?” We’ll get back to that in a moment.
The well-manicured infield and outfield appear perfect, but Major League Baseball (MLB) has decreed that all Minor League Baseball fields must have a fall-off of no more than 0.37 percent from the infield crown to the outfield. Our beloved Sec Taylor field has a fall of 0.48 percent. So in 2025 the local boys will play on a wee bit flatter field — even flatter than Wrigley Field. Chris expects that when completed, the infield will be about 3 inches lower and the outfield 1 inch higher.
Fans wouldn’t detect a difference, but players should see the improved overall condition, and grounds crews will notice a big difference, starting with how the field sheds water. “We’ll have to change some of our infield practices,” Chris noted, “especially when removing infield tarps following a rain.”
Chris told me the Principal Park turf hadn’t been replaced in 11 years — a bit longer than the ideal seven but understandable, given a COVID interruption followed by two club sales within eight months. Diamond Baseball Holdings, the current owner, will pay for all the field upgrades.
“We’re seeking perfection,” Chris told me. “Smooth as a putting green!”
I-Cubs president and general manager Sam Bernabe is used to perfection from Chris; the 25-year veteran with the organization is a four-time Minor League Sports Turf Manager of the Year.
“Chris has been with me for 25 years, and he’s the gold standard in turf maintenance in our business,” Sam told me. “He and his two assistants, Brooks Montange and Bridger Claassen, are the best in the business.”
Unlike the dirt-based sod homeowners customarily see, Midwest MLB teams rely on grass carefully manicured at the Central Wisconsin Sod Farm near Coloma. That sand-based sod would perform poorly in your front yard. But the 12 inches of sand over 4 inches of pea gravel is ideal for a well-manicured and good-draining sports field.
Chris also noted the new turf will be a blend of five bluegrass varieties, which greens up fast in the spring, tolerates heat, recovers quickly from play, and highly resists disease. You can’t buy anything similar at your TrueValue or Ace Hardware Store.
Chris expects to be mowing the new sod by November 1, to a height of ⅞ inch — just in case you were wondering. Oh, and he told me the turf being removed is to be ground up and hauled away. Sorry, nothing from Principal Park that would survive in your yard.
The Iowa Cubs open the 2025 home season Friday, March 28. In the words of former I-Cubs owner Michael Gartner, “Good seats are still available.”
SLAM DUNK FOR E. K. DAVIS COURTS
Local artist Jill Wells, right, joins Des Moines Parks and Recreation planner Aaron Graves on the freshly painted basketball courts at Evelyn K. Davis Park. Parks and Recreation invested $550,000 in the new E.K. Davis courts, seating, and lighting in 2023.
Jill created the colorful design for two basketball courts and an adjoining half-court. Project Backboard, a California-based nonprofit, transformed Jill’s design to the courts.
The courts will be officially dedicated Oct. 26 during the Fifth Annual Long Shots 3-on-3 Tournament among local boys’ and girls’ high school teams, and concurrent community celebration.
MORNING GLOW
On a September morning the Des Moines River reflects a rising sun beneath the Scott Avenue Bridge.
QUICK PATH TO REPORT STREETLIGHT OUTAGES
Thanks to my friend Marc Beltrame, a Ward 3 resident, for suggesting an improvement to the somewhat clunky way residents can report streetlight outages. And to David Derong, a City manager’s staff member, who created a handy addition to the myDSMmobile app to report streetlight outages, as shown in the screen capture above.
With a few taps, you can now report a streetlight outage directly to the MidAmerican Energy team that oversees most of the City’s streetlights. There’s also a link on the City website that accomplishes the same task.
The MidAmerican form also works for reporting the purple-glowing LED streetlights that plague utilities across the U.S. I reported three purple lights last week.
Kathryn Kunert, MidAmerican vice president for economic connections and integration, was part of the team pulled together to improve the City’s reporting process. She told me that storms and emergencies can impact streetlight restoration. Here are the MidAmerican timelines for restoring Des Moines streetlights:
Five business days: Investigate the streetlight and get it back on (fuses, bulbs, and routine repair work).
Ten business days: Follow-up repairs (heads and cable repairs; return trip required).
15 business days: Bad cable (includes five days to investigate, 10 days to replace the entire span by boring due to permitting, scheduling, and return trip required).
If you think streetlights are insignificant, ask former mayor Frank Cownie. He successfully campaigned in 2002–2003 against dark streets, where lights were turned off as a budget-saving measure.
I asked City Engineer Steve Naber to dig out a few more details about how our streetlights are maintained:
There are approximately 26,400 streetlights in the City. MidAmerican owns and maintains 97 percent (approximately 25,560); the City owns and maintains about 3% (approximately 840) such as custom lights on the Court Avenue Bridge and Gray’s Lake Park.
As of 2019, MidAmerican Energy converted all its streetlights to energy-saving LEDs. Approximately half the City-owned lights have been converted.
In May the City Council approved an extension to the MidAmerican franchise agreement (effective until June 15, 2035), which includes language to maintain street lighting.
The Iowa Utilities Board approves the MidAmerican fee (tariff) per streetlight. Ranging $7.28–$31.59 per light, the tariff includes electricity, operation, and maintenance. The fee depends on various factors such as the type of pole and service (overhead/underground), fixture wattage, and fixture type (e.g. LED). MidAmerican publishes the streetlight tariffs.
The City paid MidAmerican approximately $2.81 million for street lighting in the fiscal year ending June 30. Approximately $2.75 million went for operation, maintenance, and electricity. The City-owned streetlights cost approximately $60,000.
IMPRESSIVE WORK FOR EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE
The nonprofit IMPACT Community Action Partnership racked up impressive numbers administering the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP).
IMPACT paid property owners directly through the program, which provided up to 18 months of assistance for households at or below 80 percent area median income (AMI) — $83,450 for a family of four — who could show a loss of income or increased expenses due to COVID. The bottom line: fewer COVID-related evictions in Polk County.
IMPACT CEO Anne Bacon reported to the City Council this summer that 10,616 unique Des Moines households received assistance from February 2021 to March 31, 2024, when federal ERAP funds were exhausted. Polk County and Des Moines received more than $14.6 million in the first round of ERAP funding.
With incredible fortune and good timing, the county and City received an additional $65 million in the State of Iowa voluntary reallocations, plus nearly $55.7 million from the U.S. Treasury pool. The second ARPA Plan (ERAP 2) brought another $11.6 million to assist City and county renters. Anne reported a jaw-dropping final tabulation: $134,363,300.02.
Hats off to Anne and her staff, who assembled a crackerjack team to review documents from renters and property managers promptly. Tears of joy flowed nearly every hour from the bare-bones ERAP office in an unused corner of the Polk County Justice Center.
TALKING ENVIRONMENT WITH FRANK COWNIE
Former Mayor Frank Cownie recently completed a three-year term as president of Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI). The NGO consultant was founded in 1990 as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.
President of the organization from 2021–-2024, Frank continues to serve on the ICLEI World Secretariat (ICLEI e.V.) audit group and participate in national and international conferences. In late June, he was among 1,500 attendees at the ICLEI World Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In November he plans to participate in the ICLEI USA Conference in California.
Among the ICLEI topics we talked about:
Indigenous peoples from Brazil’s rainforest — our planet’s largest carbon capture and storage — spoke about the impact of their forest home’s alarming destruction.
Warm ocean water continues to erode the floating Antarctica ice mass, increasing the possibility of rising sea levels by 3 or 4 meters.
Of all living organisms inventoried during the 1970s, two-thirds have disappeared.
IMPROVING OUR URBAN TREE CANOPY
Trees Forever volunteers are in the midst of a 10-week effort to plant 1,114 trees along City streets and in parks. The nonprofit has a City contract to plant nursery stock in the right-of-way (grass area between the curb and sidewalk) in three Des Moines neighborhoods (M. L. King Jr. Park, Fairgrounds, and Capitol East). Megan Schneider, Trees Forever, listed 24 tree species scheduled for one of the 19 tree plantings this fall.
In addition, paid Growing Futures interns (13 this fall) commit to water trees weekly for two growing seasons.
On September 21, I joined TreeKeeper friends John Moreland, Steve Balderson, and Randy Damon, pictured above, for a Saturday morning planting of 37 bare-root nursery trees in the M.L. King Jr. Park Neighborhood. There are plenty of volunteer slots still available for tree plantings up to November 7.
Public Works director Jonathan Gano told me that he expects 2,264 new trees to be planted in parks and the right-of-way this calendar year (spring and fall) with Trees Forever. Another 600 trees will be planted through one-off plantings. The annual Urban Forest Master Plan goal is 3,800 trees that includes trees planted on private property (not currently tracked).
Jonathan told me 2,500 new trees are planned for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Details.
CATCH THE LAST CEMETERY TOUR OF 2024
Cemetery historian Archie Cook, left, will lead this year’s final Woodland Cemetery Tour at 1 p.m. Saturday, October 12. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about our City’s founding families, other notables, and a few rogues. Details here.
In August Susan and I spent an evening with three other couples on Archie’s fabulous two-hour tour that started at the Hubbell family mausoleum, in the background. Did you know five Civil War generals are buried in Woodland? And the original Des Moines Children’s Home (burials often in apple crates) originally was known as the Home for Friendless Children?
Archie weaves interesting historical details into every step. If you miss this tour, pencil one in for 2025.
STILL FLYING: 132nd WING AIR GUARD
While attention on the Des Moines International Airport focuses on its new parking garage and terminal under construction, the 132nd Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard quietly racks up impressive economic numbers from its headquarters north of the commercial activity.
In fiscal year 2023 the wing employed more than 1,000 personnel, including active, enlisted, and contract employees, with a direct payroll of $66.6 million.
The MQ-9 Reaper, a remotely piloted aircraft primarily used for intelligence gathering and strike missions, is now the key player in the wing’s operations. Previous Des Moines-based fighter planes included the A-7 Corsair and the F16c Fighting Falcon or Viper.
FIXING EASTBOUND M.L. KING
My friend Michael Gartner asked about the City crews repairing the eastbound lanes of M.L. King in the past few weeks. “What’s with the bumpy tar?” he asked.
Public Works Director Jonathan Gano supplied an answer. “The joints on eastbound MLK are experiencing what’s known as premature joint degradation,” Jonathan told me. “The concrete in them is crumbling from freeze-thaw cycles and chemical attack from salt,” he continued. “To prolong the life of the pavement, we overband the joint with mastic [the new tar] to keep the water out. The material will flatten out over time and will provide a smoother ride in the future.”
Jonathan told me similar complaints were noted earlier this year when the Iowa DOT crack-sealed I-235. Those bumps also have largely calmed down.
DROP REPORTED IN CATALYTIC CONVERTER THEFTS
Lt. Sone Cam, who heads the Des Moines police’s Crimes Against Property Section, reports a dramatic drop in thefts of auto catalytic converter thefts since July 1, 2023, when a new state law took effect.
In May 2023, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law requiring businesses that buy catalytic converters to require the seller’s identification and the part’s proof of ownership. The catalytic converter buyer faces a $1,000 fine for failing to comply.
“Knocking on wood,” Sone told me, “but we have not seen these thefts in a while.”
Beginning in 2020 local police saw a dramatic uptick in the theft of catalytic converters, an auto emission-control device containing precious metals. The stolen device was worth $125–$500 at scrapyards — but the owner’s replacement cost was north of $1,500. I can relate: In 2022 thieves used a reciprocating saw to cut the catalytic converter from my Honda Element hastily. Ouch!
