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.