Generations of Des Moines residents have flocked to their neighborhood swimming pools for fun and to find relief from the heat, especially during potentially deadly heat waves. For almost 90 years, destinations have included the historic Birdland Pool at 300 Holcomb Ave in Highland Park, which opened to the general public on May 31, 1936. The […]
Des Moines City Council
Posted inCommunity/News
Street-level aid groups do battle with bulldozers and broken systems as Des Moines’ anti-homeless ordinances encroach
On Sept. 16, the Des Moines City Council passed a pair of ordinances designed to prevent unsheltered citizens from sleeping or living on public property. The first ordinance will make sleeping in public places like sidewalks, streets, doorways, pedestrian and vehicular entrances punishable by a $15 fine, and bans camping under bridges, in parks, and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Final two candidates for DMPD chief weren’t the top-rated candidates for the job
Maj. Lillie Parker has had a history-making career since she joined the Des Moines Police Department in 1999. In 2009, she became the first Black woman promoted to the rank of sergeant in the department’s history. Six years later she became the first Black woman to be a DMPD lieutenant. Two more firsts followed — […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Election roundup: History is made in DSM and CR, an incumbent defeats an incumbent in IC, school board voters send a message, bond votes go both ways
There were some history-making victories in the city and school board elections on Tuesday, as voters in Des Moines elected the city’s first woman mayor and, in Cedar Rapids, a member of the LGBTQ community won a seat on the city council for the first time. But for the most part, Tuesday’s elections followed the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, in office since 2003, will not run for reelection
Frank Cownie announced on Wednesday he will not run for another term as mayor of Des Moines in November’s election. The 75-year-old Cownie is in his fifth term as mayor, and is the longest-serving mayor in Des Moines history. “It has been one of the greatest honors and privileges of my life to serve as […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Special election will decide Sheumaker’s replacement, Des Moines City Council votes — and the first candidate has already declared
The Des Moines City Council voted unanimously on Monday to fill its vacant Ward 1 post by means of a special election. The seat has been officially empty since Aug. 31, when Councilmember Indira Sheumaker resigned after six months of unexplained absences from board meetings. There was no discussion before the vote during the council’s […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Indira Sheumaker steps down from Des Moines City Council with more than two years left on term
Indira Sheumaker has resigned from the Des Moines City Council. According to a statement from Mayor Frank Cownie, Sheumaker’s father Randy hand delivered a resignation letter from the councilmember on Monday. The handwritten letter, dated Aug. 31 and signed by Sheumaker, was one sentence in length. “I resign from my position as councilperson Ward 1 […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
With no word from Indira Sheumaker, Des Moines City Council is officially without a Ward 1 representative
In an Aug. 21 letter to Des Moines City Councilmember Indira Sheumaker, Mayor Frank Cownie asked Sheumaker to explain her “intentions regarding [her] office and the duties of the office at the earliest practicable moment, but in any event, no later than August 28, 2023.” Sheumaker, who represents Ward 1, has not attended any council […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Des Moines mayor gives councilmember, absent since March, a deadline to return or risk removal
Des Moines City Councilmember Indira Sheumaker has not attended any city council meeting or communicated with any city official since March 6. Sheumaker, who represents Ward 1, has also not been in touch with constituents during that time, according to two community groups in the ward. On Monday, Mayor Frank Cownie sent a certified letter […]
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 […]
