Let's Catch Up! December '25

POTHOLES, SNOW & THE ENVIRONMENT

In addition to overseeing nearly 400 employees, Public Works Director Jonathan Gano is stepping up in 2026 to become president of the Iowa Environmental Council (IEC), dovetailing with his City duties and longtime interests. Jonathan and I sat down at Scenic Route Bakery for coffee and a chat about how a leadership role for this nonprofit fits nicely with his City role. But first, a little background.

Jonathan told me that as a teenager growing up in DuPage County, west of Chicago, his family was “aggressively environmental.” He assumed every household also subscribed to Mother Earth News, a top-of-mind coffee table magazine. And he assumed other kids his age got an “atta boy!” for adding a brick to the toilet tank to reduce water consumption.

The West Point-educated and licensed civil engineer began volunteering with the IEC shortly after assuming the City’s Public Works leadership role, in January 2015. Since arriving in Des Moines, his primary IEC focus has been on water quality and water quantity. “I’m a believer in quality measures to reduce water quantity,” Jonathan told me, “and thereby reducing flood risk.”

Reducing flood risk ties directly to Jonathan’s Public Works role. Every April, his department holds its annual Flood Meeting to review everyone’s role during an emergency response, should one of our rivers or creeks overtop its banks. In that case, it’s all hands on deck.

Back to water quality. “I’m a believer that cover crops and no-till are the most effective ways to reduce flooding,” he told me. “The best local examples are the Fourmile Creek Watershed Management Authority and the Beaver Creek Watershed Plan.

“There’s good science on cover crops showing the economic and conservation benefits,” Jonathan told me. “Minnesota has a conservation program that requires permanent vegetation adjacent to waterways. The Minnesota Buffer Law could be a model to replicate.”

Jonathan points to a cooperative program among Polk County, Des Moines Water Works, the City of Des Moines, and the Iowa Department of Agriculture to purchase a Hagie-manufactured cover crop seeder that has shown positive results in the Central Iowa Watershed. In the five years Heartland Co-op has operated the machine, they have spread 32,738 acres of cover crops on more than 100 farms.

GO WITH THE FLOW: NEW WASTEWATER AGREEMENT

Regional communities are in the final stages of agreeing to a 12-year Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority (WRA) operating contract for the treatment plant, plus a separate shared resources contract, commonly known as a 28E agreement. Every community, county, and sewer district—18 in all—have approved the agreement.

What many residents call the sewage treatment plant is located at 3000 Vandalia Road on Des Moines property. The 100-plus WRA employees are city employees.

Des Moines City Attorney Jeff Lester told me that initial work on the new agreement commenced five years ago. Jeff reports activity has ramped up dramatically within the last three years.

Besides extending the contract to 2038, the new agreement shifts community support from population-based (City Council members Joe Gatto, Linda Westergaard, and I represent Des Moines) to “flow” representation; think flushes. With of 41–44 percent of the WRA flow, Des Moines will have approximately two-fifths of the weighted vote representation and the equivalent financial support.

So flush away!

FITTING IN WITH NOCE JAZZ PROS

Alto saxophone player Andrew Whittmer, a Michigan State University sophomore, is one of seven young members of the 18-piece Nate Sparks Big Band performing jazz holiday tunes Saturday, December 20, at Noce Jazz & Cabaret Club, 1326 Walnut Street.

Saturday’s concerts mark Andrew’s third year performing in Nate’s big band holiday show, beginning with a professional gig when he was a Waukee Northwest senior. “When I went to my first rehearsal,” Andrew told me, “I was seated in front of my high school band instructor, Chris Strohmaier, who was playing trumpet. A great memory!

“Playing in Nate’s big band gives young musicians like me an idea of the professional jazz culture,” said Andrew, who plays in a Michigan State jazz big band and “every ensemble I can find. And as a high school student, Nate’s big band prepared us to play at a higher level. When I arrived at Michigan State, I was ready to fit in.”

Nate selected Andrew and six additional former high school Youth Jazz Orchestra musicians he mentored for this year’s big band: Hudson Lybarger, Colin McCann, Ryan Fitch, Ethan Cecil, Grace Aerisolphal, and Jack Deahl.

“We all appreciate Nate pushing us,” Andrew added.

Saturday's performance will be heavy on Nate's arrangements of holiday tunes, as well as Duke Ellington's “Nutcracker Suite.”

Noce schedule and tickets.

LASTING BENEFITS OF PRESCHOOL

Earlier this month, I attended a safety meeting at Woodlawn Education Center on Lower Beaver Avenue, one of four Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) preschools. About a dozen of us gathered around a table to discuss safer crosswalks for schoolchildren, parents, and staff along this busy corridor. Two weeks earlier, a motorist struck a parent and child in a crosswalk. Yes, safety improvements are underway.

During the meeting, Kristin Rourk, director of DMPS Early Childhood programs, mentioned the value of preschool education, which continues to fuel student performance through the seventh grade. I asked Kristin to follow up with the metrics she mentioned. Her email included impressive data that clearly charts student performance in key reading comprehension and math skills, as the charts above demonstrate.

Kristin told me about 950 students attend the four Early Childhood Centers, with about 400 additional preschoolers in satellite classrooms located at 12 elementary schools. Some families qualify for reduced fees, based on income.

• Every $1 invested in preschool returns $17 in the form of reduced costs for special education, welfare, and crime, plus increased earnings and tax revenues from program participants later in life.

• Short- and long-term gains were greatest for low-income children and dual-language learners.

• Research also confirms positive effects in social-emotional behavioral health development, as children were provided access and support in building friendships and participating in learning with peers.

There’s more, of course.

Given the results, preschool for all would deliver an eye-popping return on investment. However, DMPS estimates that fully funding an all-day preschool program for 2,300 students would add about $9 million to the school budget.

Just me, but I think preschool for all is worth a second look.

SUCCESSFUL VOTE RESULTS VIA QR CODE

Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald reported a pilot program successfully reported unofficial results from the November 4 municipal and school board races to the election headquarters. Yes, a first-in-the-nation program!

Unisyn selected Polk County to pilot the secure transmission of precinct results with QR codes via election-only county-provided Microsoft Surface Pro tablets to the election offices, now located at Polk County Riverplace (2309 Euclid Avenue). Election staff assigned a unique QR code to each of the county’s 176 precincts.

Jamie told me the precinct election official scanned the QR code from the ballot machine tally or the machine-generated results tape. He said results began arriving at 8:05 p.m.—just minutes after the polls closed and on the heels of absentee ballot reporting. As prescribed by Iowa law, the unofficial election night results are audited within 20 days of the election to determine official results.

Polk County will use the same process December 30 for the special election to choose a new state senator to replace Claire Celsi, who died October 6.

“The entire process worked really well,” Jamie added. “This is a great, secure way to get unofficial results. The vendor is now trying to make the reporting even easier.”

“The new QR code reporting should provide our voters with a renewed sense of security,” said Jamie Dorrell, a Southside precinct election official. “The closing and transmittal process, while not experienced by the public, was far more efficient and secure.

“Gone are the days of waiting 15 to 30 minutes for a phone call to transmit precinct results. As a precinct captain, I cannot begin to express my appreciation enough for the investment into updating technology and ensuring a fair and secure election.”

Two Unisyn employees were on-site for the November 4 returns; four additional employees worked remotely to support. McDermot Couts, the Unisyn team leader, told me that “Polk County was the inspiration for the project. Together, we were looking for a sustainable solution to communicating results that also met standards for a secure system.

“The willingness of the Polk County team to work with us brought it to reality. Their [Polk County election workers] forward-thinking approach to elections is a gift to a vendor who is willing to listen.

“The system is certified in Iowa, so that will remain our focus. As we certify it in other states, we hope to expand the QR code program. The design is such that previous versions of our system can be upgraded with minimal impact.”

A PEEK AT 2025 HABITAT BUYERS

If you have a preconceived idea who is a typical buyer of a new Habitat for Humanity homebuyer, you might be surprised at the wide variety of occupations.

Danny Akright, director of communications for the Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity, provided a snapshot of the 43 new Habitat buyers in the metro area. Thirty-four homeowners put down roots in new Des Moines homes.

Amazon employee Ray Fitzgerald, above, his wife, Kristina, and their daughters Emma, left, and Kylie, moved into their new Habitat home on the northeast side of Des Moines just days before Thanksgiving.

Here are the occupations of this year’s new homeowners:

• 12 manufacturing employees, making products ranging from tires to frozen foods, to windows and doors

• 9 employees of a local package distributor, with roles including packaging and processing, assembly, quality assurance, and local delivery

• 7 full-time custodians, ranging from food-processing plants, to restaurants, to a school district

• 4 employees at a major meat processor

• 4 retail clerks

• 3 employees of a major household goods manufacturer

• 2 interpreters

• 2 educators

• 2 support staff (a home health care company and a hospital system)

• 2 home health care providers (health care company and Medicaid provider)

• 2 public safety professionals (police department and Iowa National Guard)

• 1 customer service representative at a scientific materials manufacturer

• 1 assistant service manager at a farm implement dealer

• 1 auto mechanic at a local custom car builder

• 1 construction worker building food-service systems

• 1 delivery driver

There are a handful of households with two employed adults.

Danny told me that of the new 2025 homeowners:

• 26 are single-parent households

• 18 households have three or more children

• 13 are households with young adults

• Average household size: four individuals

In 2025, a typical Habitat home was appraised at about $244,000. The Habitat 30-year mortgage, based on 30 percent of household income, is about $191,000. Donations, volunteer hours, and grants—including the Community Block Grant through the City—cover the difference between the appraised cost to build and the Habitat mortgage.

AIRPORT’S NEW DIRT MOUNTAIN

At a recent Southwestern Hills Neighborhood Association meeting, board member Steve Sarcone asked about the towering mound of dirt approaching Fleur Drive that appeared on the airport property over the summer.

Glad you asked, Steve!

Brian Mulcahy, CEO of the Des Moines Airport Authority, reports that contractors have hauled 200,000 cubic yards of dirt—about 20,800 truckloads—for the terminal expansion. The airport is adding six gates to the 13 it operates. The new terminal and additional gates are expected to be operational in early 2027, with five more added in late 2029.

With a tip of the hat to C.W. McCall’s 1975 hit song “Convoy,” a bumper-to-bumper convoy of trucks delivering that much dirt would stretch across 275 miles of I-80 from Council Bluffs to nearly the Walcott exit in eastern Iowa (the Iowa 80 truck stop).

Gina Beltrame, another Southwestern Hills resident, followed up with a question about the trucks pounding the recently resurfaced Fleur Drive.

City Engineer Steve Naber told me Fleur Drive, from McKinley Avenue to north of Bell Avenue, was completely reconstructed from 2019–2024. The pavement was removed down to the dirt and replaced with a new, full-depth pavement, plus a base course and underdrain system to accommodate the 30,000 vehicles that use the street each day.

Steve added that due to impacts from sun rays, freezing and thawing, and surface wearing, full-depth asphalt pavements such as this typically need resurfacing—milling off the couple of inches of surface and replacing it with new asphalt—but only every 15–25 years. So, not to worry, Gina: The City shouldn’t need to fully reconstruct this newly reconstructed stretch of Fleur Drive for several decades.