Let's Catch Up! February '26

KNOCK AND DROP EXPANDS TO 5-DAY PANTRY

What began as one woman’s after-hours effort to deliver food to Latino families on Wednesdays has expanded into a five-day operation. Zuli’s Knock and Drop now operates weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., serving all Des Moines neighbors. This growth shows how one person’s vision and drive can spark community change.

Zuleyma “Zuli” Mendez began the program in her garage on March 4, 2020. As demand outgrew her space, Zuli and her volunteers moved Knock and Drop to Franklin Junior High, expanding it to a food pantry. This month, it was rebranded as the Iowa Multicultural Food Pantry and moved into larger quarters at Polk County’s Northside Community Center, 3010 Sixth Avenue. Zuli estimates that the senior center’s location will serve 300 to 500 families per week.

Zuli knows how to get things done at a breakneck pace. After the Polk County Supervisors approved Knock and Drop for Northside at its February 3 meeting, the expanded service opened its doors to the public just six days later.

When I visited on a recent Monday, I saw pantry shelves stocked with staples such as rice, beans, spices, and flours commonly used in African, Afghan, Asian, and Latino cuisines.

“This work began with a focus on my Latino culture,” said Zuli, who works as a civilian in the Des Moines Police Department’s Crime Scene Investigations section, “but the mission has always been about serving all neighbors.” Volunteers also deliver to about 10 seniors with medical, transportation, or emergency needs.

“As we have grown, we have expanded our reach even further,” Zuli acknowledged. “This has been possible because we now have a strong foundation and the support of incredible and committed partners who share this vision.

“We want the community to know there are people here to help you! You are part of our community—wherever you’re from.”

Police Chief Mike McTaggart serves up high praise for Zuli. “Since she started with the Des Moines Police Department in 2012,” the chief told me, “Zuleyma developed methods to break down barriers to improve the department and create a better city to live in.

“She’s constantly working to improve Des Moines.”

UPTICK IN DM RECYCLING

City Public Works Director Jonathan Gano shared some good news with me about Des Moines’ recycling efforts in 2025. Four of the eight product categories recycled daily at the Metro Waste Authority’s Metro Recycling Facility near Grimes saw significant increases in tonnage. These are, along with the prices they can bring:

*High-density polyethylene containers, including milk jugs.

**High-density polyethylene containers, including detergent bottles.

***Polyethylene terephthalate plastic, including water bottles and food jars.

Jonathan told me that the revenue from recycled products doesn’t cover the full cost of recycling, which includes trucks, mileage, and labor. But they diverted 6,590 tons of waste from the Metro East Landfill in 2025, valued at $777,000. And that’s a good thing.

NEW CARDBOARD DROP-OFF SITES

Jonathan told me that earlier this year, his team set up three new 24/7 cardboard drop-off locations:

• East Side Library, 2559 Hubbell Avenue

• Southside Library, 1111 Porter Avenue

• Franklin Avenue Library, 5000 Franklin Avenue

The existing location at 110 Southeast Sixth Avenue (just south of the Iowa Interstate Railroad tracks) will remain open for the near future, with six lidded containers.

Metro Waste Authority Community Engagement Manager Cassie Riley told me there are now 29 corrugated (brown) cardboard drop-off locations in the metro. “These are heavily utilized by residents and small businesses,” Cassie said.

She also noted you can drop off cardboard at any Metro location; you do not need to reside in the city where the drop-off is located.

Separate cardboard commands a higher price per ton because it contains no embedded glass, metal, plastic, or food waste, making it easier to process than cardboard separated from other products.

NEW CITY BUILDING OPEN TO PUBLIC

City Manager Scott Sanders, left, shakes hands with former Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie at the February 9 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new T.M. Franklin Cownie City Administration Building at 1200 Locust Street. Cownie was the longest-serving mayor in the City’s 176-year history.

The new building, now home to 11 city departments, replaces City Hall at 400 Robert D. Ray Drive. Four departments—police, fire, public works, and parks and recreation—and our six libraries remain in separate buildings.

The new building consolidates staff from four buildings into a single facility. Meetings rooms? Got plenty now! Somewhere between 20 and 30 meeting rooms have been identified.

Next up for the City’s facility staff: Move into the new Fire Station #4 at 1505 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and the Reichardt Community Center at 915 College Avenue. Stay tuned for more ribbon-cuttings.

BROTHER & SISTER ACT AT DMFD

It was smiles all around for the Dishinger family at the Des Moines Fire Department academy graduation ceremonies on Friday, January 16, when Grant joined his sister, Allie, on the force. It is believed the Dishingers are the first brother and sister to serve on the force.

Alexandra, Grant’s wife, holds their daughter, Amelia, born during Grant’s academy training, following the ceremonies for 19 firefighters who also completed paramedic training. Grant previously served in the Altoona department.

MENTAL HEALTH CALLS LOWER IN 2025

Here’s a dose of good news: Fewer mental health calls were logged in 2025 than in 2024.

Sgt. Sean O’Neill, who heads the Des Moines Police Department’s Mobile Crisis Response Team, reports that total calls to Broadlawns Medical Center’s Crisis Advocacy Response Effort (CARE), supported by the Des Moines force, dropped from 3,922 calls in 2024 to 2,722 in 2025.

The CARE team’s Field calls, with no police officer present, dropped to 1,241 last year vs. 1,468 in 2024. CARE calls via telecommunications fell to 1,514 in 2025 from 2,454 the year before.

One clinician shared a memorable story: “I was called out to a business that had a female employee who was intoxicated and requested help for alcoholism. When I arrived, the employee was in tears and reported that she had previously been sober for six months, but just relapsed three days ago when her husband filed for divorce.

“She said that her current job is the best place she's ever worked, and she doesn't want to lose everything she has built. She needed a substance abuse evaluation for court, due to an OWI, but didn't know where to go. She also wanted inpatient alcohol treatment, but was overwhelmed trying to figure out the process and not having access to her health insurance information.

“We called her insurance company to obtain her information. Ultimately, Community and Family Resources had a bed available for the patient. After her evaluation, the patient quickly got back on the path of recovery.”

NEW LEADER FOR ASIAN OUTREACH

SPO Xiaotian “Bill” Lu was recently named Asian Outreach Resource Officer, replacing Sgt. Dua Lor, who led this unit for 20 years. SPO Lu, a 13-year veteran of the Des Moines force, immigrated to the U.S. from China at age 5. He is believed to be the only police officer in Iowa who speaks Mandarin Chinese.

SPO Lu reports there are 19 Asian DMPD officers (including those of mixed race). Proficient languages include Mandarin Chinese, Tai Dam, Lao, Hmong, Thai, Vietnamese, Tagalog (national language of the Philippines), and Telugu (one of India’s regional languages).

“I have assisted on human trafficking rescue operations around the entire state,” SPO Lu told me. “Due to the sensitive nature of these operations, I feel that in these operations, my language skillset is just a small tool that is used for interviews and assisting with safety plans.

“The bigger assistance I provide to these trafficking victims is familiarity—someone who looks like them, from the same country, speaks their language, and knows on some level where they are coming from in life.

“They can open up more than if they were just speaking to a translator over the phone or using a digital translator with an English-speaking individual.”

SPO Lu also shared details about upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations in several of our Asian communities:

• Chin Asian* 10-4 pm on February 21 at Franklin Junior High

• Vietnamese: 3-6 pm February 28 at the United Steelworkers Local 310 Union Hall (125 N.E. Broadway Avenue), followed by 7-11 pm live entertainment

• Tai Dam 4-6 pm dinner on March 14 at the United Steelworkers Local 310 Union Hall (125 N.E. Broadway Avenue)

• Cambodian:  Saturday, April 11, at the Scottish Rite Consistory (hours TBA)

  *a western state in Myanmar, formerly Burma

Nu Huynh, executive director of the Iowa Asian Alliance, believes the Laotian community will host a celebration in late April. No details available at this time about a Hmong celebration.

MAJOR PROMOTION AT DMPD

Fairfield residents Wanda, left, and Doug Bagby, right, attended their son Kirk’s promotion to major on February 9 in the Des Moines Police Department. Major Bagby will lead the department’s Operations Division, which includes the three watches, patrol support, the bomb squad, airport security, Neighborhood Based Delivery Service, and the traffic unit.

BOOK REPORTS: POPULAR TITLES AT LIBRARY

The Des Moines Public Library staff has compiled its list of the most popular books checked out at one of the six branches in 2025.

Most requested title: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (also the top fiction title). Henry’s historical fiction/romance title follows two journalists as they attempt to write a biography of a reclusive Georgia heiress.

Other popular titles by category:

Nonfiction: The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins, a self-help book prioritizing personal goals of happiness and personal peace.

Teen: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, a prequel to the 50th Hunger Games. (Collins also ranked #2 and #5 among the Top 10 teen titles.)

DVDs: A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet.

More details on what Des Moines residents are reading.

• The Library of Things: Your Des Moines Public Library has assembled an inventory of machines and gadgets to check out. A carpet washer is the most popular item, followed by a Yoto Player. (Yes, I had to look that up, too.)|

• This just in: Melissa McCollum, the Des Moines Public Library’s new director, is reading The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, a Kiran Desai novel about two young characters who met on a train in India.

• On my nightstand: The Gales of November by John U. Bacon, an accounting of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. And Think Bigger, Lead Better by Des Moines’ own Rick Tollakson.