Although Des Moines was incorporated as a city in 1851, the very first Historic Preservation Plan was created for Des Moines in 1995. Implementation of the 1995 plan included the maintenance of several brick streets, new zoning rules for infill development in historic neighborhoods, the nomination of several districts into the National Register of Historic […]
Central Iowa Community/News
Posted inCentral Iowa
Contact Buzz: The Iowa League of Heroes cosplays for a cause, cheering up kids facing health challenges
October. Thanks to the flood of modern marketing that assaults our senses, Halloween is pushed with relentless, capitalistic fervor. But sweeping the candy and decoration pitches aside, Halloween is our seasonal excuse to become someone or something else for a day — even a superhero. There is also a notable, noble effort to make the […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Plants, pets, pandas, brews and boos: Halloween festivities for a cause in Des Moines
Back in the Iron Age, the holiday we now celebrate as Halloween was Samhain, a Celtic festival acknowledging the end of summer and marking the turning of the year. The themes of death and rebirth have persisted in our understanding, the notion of the thinning between worlds, the playing of tricks, the appearance of the […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
DMPL and five other Iowa libraries to offer free digital literacy workshops, funded through national program
Des Moines Public Library (DMPL), along with 159 other American libraries will join the Public Library Association’s (PLA) Digital Literacy Workshop Incentive cohort supported by AT&T. DMPL is one of six Iowa libraries that will join the cohort. The others are Letts Public Library in Letts, Ericson Public Library in Boone, Columbus Junction Public Library […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Pieper Lewis case reignites conversations about sex trafficking in Iowa: ‘I think things are going to change’
Pieper Lewis’s case became national news when the 17-year-old was sentenced last month for the June 2020 killing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks, who allegedly bought her from a sex trafficker and repeatedly raped her. Lewis was arrested when she was 15 and spent two years in jail before her sentencing. According to the Des Moines […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Student group demands University of Iowa ensure access to abortion, contraception, gender-affirming care and parental leave
On Thursday, graduate students and undergrads at the University of Iowa joined more than 60 universities and high schools across 29 states for The Day of Student Action for Reproductive Justice, a student-led protest urging governments and educational institutions to ensure access to abortion, contraception, sex education and gender-affirming healthcare. The Campaign to Organize Graduate […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Abortion rights advocates in Iowa City and Des Moines to rally this weekend as part of national day of action
There will be a rally at the Pentacrest on Sunday as part of the National Weekend of Action for Reproductive Rights. The event starts at 4 p.m. A march in downtown Iowa City is scheduled after. “Iowa City Eastside Democrats will be present at the rally to register people to vote. ACLU of Iowa will […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Buy books, support reproductive education at the 60th Planned Parenthood Book Sale
Autumn is here and you may be looking forward to cozying up with a few books as the weather gets colder. But if your bookshelves are in need of an update, you’re in luck. The Planned Parenthood Book Sale at the Iowa State Fairgrounds is back again this fall. The event celebrated its 60th anniversary […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Des Moines City Council member crowdfunds fine for man ticketed while panhandling
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Councilmember Indira Sheumaker raised more than enough money this month to pay a local man’s $95 ticket based on an ordinance she says “criminalizes poverty,” and may violate his First Amendment rights. Driving home on Sept. 17, Sheumaker, representative for Ward 1 on the Des Moines City Council, witnessed an individual being issued a […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Built in 1917, Varsity Cinema is getting a $5 million upgrade thanks to Des Moines film lovers
In the mid-1990s, Ben Godar started making the drive from Ames to Des Moines to go to the Varsity Cinema. “Back then, the Varsity was just one of those places that would get films that nobody else had,” he recalls. Now, as four years of renovations on the Varsity come to a close, Godar, who […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
A beekeeper is born: Kara Kelso harvests honey and explains why Des Moines has ‘some of the healthiest bees around’
“Look at this pollen pocket! Look at this girl!” Kara Kelso, co-owner of The Slow Down Coffee Co., excitedly directs my attention to one of her 210,000 bees who is crawling across the frame with big (relative to her size, of course) yellow pockets bursting with pollen. We are in Kelso’s backyard in the Highland […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Clothing drives begin in Des Moines as temperatures dip
As 80- and 90-degree days grow fewer and temperatures begin to dip into the low 60s, it’s about time to switch out your summer clothes for longer sleeves and layers. The Eastview Community Center is hosting their fall clothing giveaway this weekend. The community center is accepting kids and adult clothing, shoes, outerwear, clothing accessories, […]
