Seeing increased park attendance, Des Moines’ Gray’s Lake is reopening its second, beachside concession stand after a decade of vacancy on the northside of the lake. Jennifer Fletcher, spokesperson for the Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department, tells Axios Des Moines that the department has seen a spike in park-goers since the beginning of the […]
Parks and Recreation
Posted inCommunity/News
North Liberty bans smoking and vaping in all city parks
The North Liberty City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to ban the use of nicotine and tobacco products at city parks, trails, ponds and ballfields. North Liberty’s 20 parks include the 50-year-old Beaver Kreek Park, the Gooselake designated wetland area, Red Fern Dog Park and the 37-acre Penn Meadows Park, which features nine softball and […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Invasive species, meet your match: Goats clean trails and charm residents in Clive
Dealing with invasive species is an issue that Iowa parks and recreation departments are all too familiar with, but the City of Clive is engaging in a clever approach to rid the Greenbelt Trail of pesky plants: goats. The Greenbelt Goats were introduced to the city in late 2019 to help minimize garlic mustard and […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
A new natural playscape is coming together in Urbandale, designed for year-round, adaptable recreation
Earlier this month, Jan Herke, director of Parks and Recreation for Urbandale, stepped onto a wooden play structure in Barrett Park. “I can’t wait to climb this today,” she said. Phase I of the city’s Natural Playscape project had just been completed, but Barrett Park, at the southeast corner of 156th Street and Waterford Road […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Beer, caves and medieval fantasy in Maquoketa
“Said Gawain, gay of cheer, ‘Whether fate be foul or fair, Why falter I or fear? What should man do but dare?’” —‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,’ late 14th century poem “The green girdle stays on during sex.” —Sir Gawain (paraphrased), ‘The Green Knight,’ 2021 film When I was a 10-year-old Girl Scout on […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Get Rec’d: A beginner yoga sequence you can do from your backyard
What better practice to turn to in times of turbulence than yoga? Whether it is self-care, solitude or gratitude you’re seeking, both beginner and experienced yogis can find refuge on the mat. Some yoga studios have reopened with COVID-19 mitigation measures, but there is still no more safe and convenient place to get your yoga […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Canoe the Cedar River
There are 18,000 miles of river trails in Iowa, but the Cedar River is easy to access, wide enough to maintain a safe physical distance from anyone else there and can be done in an afternoon. Getting started If you’re new to the canoe, take one on a lake or pond to practice balance, paddle […]
Posted inCommunity/News
A quick guide to birdwatching in eastern Iowa
2020 has been a fraught and fractious year. It seems like every morning we wake to find ourselves beset by a new calamity demanding our full attention. While it is our duty as decent human beings and good citizens to be informed and to put our minds and bodies to the task of creating a […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Hiking Kent Park, home to prairies, ponds and picturesque views
F.W. Kent Park in Oxford is one of eastern Iowa’s most picturesque and diverse parks — 1,052 square acres of forest, lakes and prairie and an ideal spot for hiking, camping, picnicking, birdwatching and (in non-pandemic times) letting your kids loose on the park’s playground or at a youth summer camp. Kent Park’s most popular […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City Public Library hopes you’ll say ‘Knope’ to Penn State, and vote them best library in the U.S.
Leslie Knope may not have been a fan of libraries, but the Iowa City Public Library is up for a local government award named in her honor. Voting for the current round ends today.
