Around Des Moines

Many people have been inquiring about the Valley Junction Spring Art Market, a juried art fair. This year’s event will be held on Sunday, May 18, 2008, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Valley Junction association’s news release states there will be around 100 booths with artists and craftsmen from 8 states. Alas, I cannot review the art before the event but past experience suggests there will be a mix of styles and most of the artists will readily answer your questions. With DART’s Sunday service, you can ride the #1 bus directly to and from West Des Moines and save gas money.

The big event for Saturday is on Des Moines’ east side. The annual Celebrasian will be held on May 17th on the east side of the Capitol complex (approximately East 13th Street between Grand and Walnut). Hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Depending on how late you stay, you can take the #1, #4, #5, or #7 bus to and from the event. Twelve Asian cultures will be represented in a village-style layout. Various cuisines will be available for purchase. In addition, there will be fine arts, dancing, music, and other educational entertainment. I’m still trying to figure out the connection between Asia and the volleyball tournament that’s to be included in the event.

If the idea of sitting down rather than walking around appeals to you, consider the Des Moines Playhouse’s production of Holes. There are matinees on Saturday and Sunday, with an evening performance on Friday.

Free-to-view outdoor movies are also being offered this weekend. On Friday, Parks and Recreation will offer a showing of Hoot at about 8:30 p.m. at the Western Gateway park (approximately 15th between Locust and Grand). At 8:00 p.m. a Polk County naturalist will give a presentation on how owls adapted to life in the wild. The department’s website offers a list of several other fun activities that are upcoming, including using a canoe on Gray’s Lake. On Saturday, in the Beaverdale neighborhood, there will be a showing of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at Ashby Park (38th and Davison) at dusk, say approximately 8:30.

The Polk County Heritage Art Gallery at 2nd and Walnut is wrapping up one of its annual juried shows. I missed the opening for this because the volunteer who had been doing the website is no longer able to maintain the site (hint). The gallery’s openings are held on Sundays but otherwise the gallery is open only from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekdays. Over at the Hentschel Art Gallery in the Shops at Roosevelt is an exhibit of Nancy Purington’s paintings based on the flow of the Mississippi River at her native Davenport. She also was inspired by fellow Iowan Bix Beiderbecke, a 1920’s jazz musician. The Hentschel gallery is open on Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. I have not yet had the time to see the exhibit but what I’ve seen from the wndow is very inticing.

M.R. Field encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com. 

On a post-work run to Suzette Candies ( 2837 Ingersoll Avenue) on May 14, 2008, I took time to capture progress of the street work being done as part of the Ingersoll business district improvement project and at the Dahl’s store. The most important observation in terms of imminent need is that the street-lighting and sidewalk work has moved up Ingersoll to the blocks between 29th and 31st. Currently work is being done only on the north side. Please be considerate of the crews as they work in that area and be especially alert for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vehicles that may be sharing that stretch of road.

Trees and other plants have been added to the planting beds in the block between 28th and 29th. The plants certainly help to soften the harsh cement and artificial attitude of the new street-light posts. The much-hyped benches are nothing more than cement blocks, hard to clean of bird droppings and not comfortable enough to sit in for long, as would be desired in a real pedestrian-friendly business zone. I mention the benches here because some of the new rose bushes and other poking plants will make sitting on the benches even more perilous in a couple months or so.

After the initial rearrangement of store stock and the closing of the north-side parking lot and cafeteria, the Dahl’s at Ingersoll and 35th seems to be in a waiting mode, at least from the perspective of the customer. (I never ate at the Dahl’s cafeteria, but I was talking with friends who said the cooks at the Ingersoll Dahl’s still knew how to prepare certain items. Those friends are concerned that the dishes will become as ordinary as the other stores’ offerings after the remodeling.) Outside the store, there are regular changes taking place on the north-side of the store, where the new building is being constructed.

As for Suzette, in addition to chocolate, the store also offers roasted nuts, greeting cards, and some non-chocolate candy. I refuse to give a review of the chocolate because too often I have walked into the store, eager for a particular item, only to discover it has been sold out. Somehow I need to balance the objective of encouraging enough people to exchange sufficient money for chocolate to keep the store thriving, while simultaneously dissuading just enough people from favoring the items I want so those particular delectable sweets remain in stock when I crave them.

Other streetscape projects in Des Moines include the Roosevelt Cultural District, Beaverdale, and the Drake area. These projects are in various stages of planning.

M.R. Field writes about local happenings for AroundDesMoines.com.

This post is about money, political and economic power, and public transit service. It includes information from the April 22, 2008, meeting of the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) Commission; comparison information from other sources, and personal observations. The writing of the post has been delayed by a few weeks but it is important for it to be finished now. On May 14, 2008, the DART Commission will hold a daytime meeting to hear from city managers and other officials in its region regarding the formula used to calculate each municipality’s financial responsibility to the DART budget.

DART evolved from the Metropolitan Transit Authority at the end of 2006 as recognition of the reality that transportation services were being provided beyond the core Des Moines metropolitan area. Although, the routes were (and are) still heavily targeted towards downtown Des Moines. The old formula calculated how many miles a bus traveled in a city and how many passengers were on the bus. This calculation included buses that merely passed through an area without stopping. With the express bus service from Waukee to Des Moines that was to have started this year, Urbandale officials were concerned that they would be charged for that service even though it made no stops in Urbandale. Similarly, people commuting from Ankeny to Des Moines were charged to the Des Moines contribution even though the consequences were that the property taxes and jobs from those commuters benefitted Ankeny, not Des Moines residents.

At the April DART meeting, General Manager Brad Miller cited numbers he said came from the Ankeny school district. The city’s average age is 32 and the population is 37,000. In two-parent homes, there are 5,000 stay-at-parents but 13,000 parents commute to jobs in Des Moines each day. Miller also gave a presentation that showed possible financial consequences for DART and for commuters if certain communities were to withdraw from DART. Commissioner Steve Van Oort clarified that ridership from Ankeny is up 27% and that “we’re in folks,” meaning that Ankeny was not going to pull out. However, Van Oort represents a district that includes other communities that are re-considering the direction of DART.

Commissioners seemed to be in consensus that the original reworking of the formula from the miles-and-passenger calculation to a more general population-based formula. Commissioner Bob Parks talked about the need to “continue stirring until we get the lumps out” of the formula. Commissioner Angela Connelly, a Polk County supervisor, said, “I have changed my mind on what we did a couple months ago,” indicating the need to revise the funding calculations used. Miller noted that while the base charge was more equal, the actual amount paid by a community would be impacted by the value of housing. Des Moines’ contribution has been subsidized by revenue from city-owned parking garages.

Miller is interested in keeping ridership up because the federal government gives $0.13 per rider to transit agencies. That also explains so much emphasis on the Unlimited Access program. If communities start pulling out of DART and regular routes need to be shortened or eliminated, that would also have an impact upon the Des Moines Public Schools, Miller said. The school district uses DART routes to help transport students to and from school and if those fixed routes disappeared, then the school district would need to spend more for transportation.

At the April DART meeting, it was estimated that the 90th van pool would start operating in May 2008. The monthly System Performance Report Summary for March 2008 showed an increase in ridership from March 2007, except that weekend passengers were fewer in 2008. In addition, approximately 10,000 fewer miles were shown as being operated. Given the fact that Sunday service existed in 2008 but not in 2007, this is interesting. When I asked Miller after the April meeting why there was such a drop, he didn’t have an explanation. I have noticed during May weekend bus trips that ridership seems to continue to be down. This raises questions about people not having money to spend and possibly staying home, but it also raises concerns that DART staff may start questioning the need for weekend service, if the trend continues. These statistics go to the heart of the purpose of DART. Is it to bring out-of-town residents to downtown Des Moines for jobs or is it to serve as a full-life alternative to reduce all of the pollution and financial strain of automobiles?

Even as DART faces the challenge of immediate financial contributions, other political entities are looking at long-term funding. Senate File 2420 requires the state’s Department of Transportation to study public transit funding. The Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is seeking funding to study rapid transit options.

M.R. Field writes about public transportation for AroundDesMoines.com. Unfortunately, she is unable to attend the May 14th DART Commission meeting. 

It’s here!
The Big Dream Gathering
Tonight from 6:30 - 10 p.m.
Polk County Convention Center
501 Grand Avenue, Des Moines

Stop by and say “hi” - I’ll be live-blogging the event. It’s free. Kids are welcome.

Writer: Sandy Renshaw is a self-employed communications consultant. You will also find her blogging at Purple Wren.

Technorati Tags: Iowa, Des Moines, Central Iowa News, Big Dream Gathering

The Democratic challenger for the Iowa House seat now held by Ralph Watts (R-Adel) was in Des Moines on May 3, 2008, to talk about the women’s suffrage movement and to raise money for her campaign. Susan Temere (D-West Des Moines) said she chose to view the documentary, Not for Ourselves Alone, because of the affinity she has with Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt.

Temere’s issues include a world-class education, the environment, affordable and accessible healthcare, and the economy. She currently teaches in the Adel and Waukee school districts and at the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). She spent 15 years at General Motors, working in management-related and union positions.

While working on a rape reform task force to strengthen the sexual assault laws in Michigan, Temere, then 22, decided she would run for office some day. “I saw the caliber of the all-male legislature [and] knew [I} could do better,” she said. Jennifer Temkin in her book Rape and the Legal Process, as excerpted on Google Book Search, notes that 2 years before the Women’s Task Force on Rape worked to help enact “radical and influential legislation in 1974,” 90 people in the entire state of Michigan were convicted of “unlawful carnal knowledge,” as rape was then defined. In contrast, “in Detroit alone, at least 3,370 alleged victims of rape were treated in hospitals and 900 rapes were reported to the police.”

It was at a public hearing on pay equity held by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women that I first met Temere. I was giving testimony as editor of Leading Voices: Iowa and Temere was attending as part of a pay equity committee she headed for an area chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). I told of a woman at an old-line manufacturing business in Boston who expected the company to promote her because she earned a master’s degree, while the company continued to see her only as a secretary. Temere shared that she had similar stories from her time working in Detroit.

District 47 is essentially Dallas County with a sliver of Guthrie County to the east and a square of Boone County to the north. Portions of Dallas County, one in the southwest and one in the north central, are in Districts 73 and 48, respectively. District 47 includes the rapidly growing communities of Dallas County’s eastern half and the rural communities of the western half. The 2000 U.S. Census has a countywide population of 40,750. Perry is the largest town completely in the county with a population approaching 8,000. Approximately three-quarters of the population is in towns or cities. Linden, with a population of 226, is considered part of that statistic. According to the Iowa State University extension office in 2006, 82% of the land in Dallas County is agricultural.

Temere, who supports VOICE legislation for publicly-financed elections, said she was just getting started on her fundraising for the general election. She will not have a primary contest. She has been endorsed by the South Central Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.

Since Temere’s list of issues includes both developing an energy independent Iowa and promoting clean air and water, I asked her how she intended to balance those two items, giving the proposed Marshalltown power plant as an example. The candidate said she did not support coal-fueled power plants. When I then asked her about bio-ethanol, she said she needs to learn more about it but leans toward it. Although, she acknowledged there is concern about food supplies when crops are grown for fuel.

M.R. Field covers local issues for AroundDesMoines.com. 

As I got into my car and noticed the spot on my windshield, I was reminded of that famous old country song:
There was bird poop on my window and my dog just up and died.

But once I got to the Arie den Boer Arboretum at Des Moines Water Works Park, I cheered up. What a beautiful day in Des Moines - about 60 degrees with a nice breeze - and a perfect day to be outside. The Purple Wren and I spent about an hour wandering through the crab apple trees appreciating all of the colors and shapes. The DMWW website tells us there are 300 varieties and that we are at the peak of the flowering season.

Try to find a few minutes to spend time there this week. Take your lunch.

The floods of 1993 put the Arboretum underwater for long enough that most of the crabapples were destroyed and needed to be replaced. At the time I was working in the Drake University Chemistry Department with Carolyn Trepka (now Walling) a Grinnell College graduate. Carolyn suggested that our department chip in and buy a replacement tree so we did. The tree is still there, and it’s tagged with the department’s name.

Anyone can buy and dedicate a tree in honor or memory of whomever or whatever you like. It’s less painful to chip in with a big group since the cost is $200, but you can still be proud to give back to community. Most people honor the memory of a loved one.

Guest Writer: James G. Lindberg (Jim) is the Purple Wren’s sweetie and is a visiting chemistry professor at Grinnell College and retired from Drake University.

Technorati Tags: Iowa, Des Moines, Central Iowa News, Water Works Park

Neither rain nor seasonly-limited produce kept people from the first downtown farmers’ market of the year in Des Moines on May 10, 2008. Rhubarb, a few leaves of spinach, some young garlic, greenhouse tomatoes, and a bit of asparagus from Polk City were the local fruits and vegetables for sale. One vendor clearly labeled out-of-state produce. There were plenty of bakeries, a few wineries, meat producers, and value-added agricultural businesses with booths. Most of the people I saw making purchases were waiting for warm food prepared for immediate consumption.

There are several residents of Des Moines who believe the best economic plan for the city would include no zoning laws. Seeing several signs with rules scattered around the market this year, I kept thinking about the idea that too much legal restriction leads to economic contraction. On the public side of the market, there are instructions on how dogs should behave and times when vendors must start and stop selling. On the business side of the market, there is a new application process that requires vendors to apply online and submit photographs of every type of item to be included with instructions that they cannot depart from that list at all. There may be good reasons for all of these attempts at control; nevertheless, they threaten to squeeze the vitality of experimentation out of the market.

One of the new cottage industries that made it onto this year’s vendor list is Beaverdale Confections Co. You can buy blocks of gourmet marshmallow, lollipops (marshmallows on a stick), and hot cocoa gift boxes. The Kahlua marshmallow was a well-balanced taste but there was competition between the smooth creaminess of the Kahlua and the granular chewiness of the marshmallow. The coconut and marshmallow combination offered uniformity in textures and sweetness. These are not the air-puffed marshmallows sold in most grocery stores.

Often what I find most useful about the downtown market is learning about the many non-profit and political events happening around the city. At the May 10th market, I picked up literature for Walk Now for Autism, talked with Rep. Leonard Boswell’s (D-3rd District) primary challenger, and learned more about Bike to Work Week.

Autism Speaks was founded in 2005 by the grandparents of a child with autism. The organization informs about, funds research into, and advocates on issues related to autism. The Iowa Walk Now for Autism fundraiser will take place June 7, 2008 in Gray’s Lake Park.

Ed Fallon was shaking hands and talking with voters so I took the opportunity for an impromptu interview. I asked him how the campaign was going. He replied, “good,” then talked about Boswell’s refusal to debate and linked that to democratic injustice. I asked Fallon if he thought Boswell’s campaign mailings and his own personal appearances did not satisfy democracy. The challenger said people want to see the two candidates side-by-side, answering the same issues.

Bike to Work Week Project Coordinator Tina Hadden said over 1600 people have registered, which is nearly 300 more than last year. Approximately 70% of the registrants are in the greater Des Moines area. Most of the remaining 30% are in the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids corridor. There are several events being held in Des Moines during the week, which officially runs from May 10th through the 16th. Hadden said the new Johnston trail allowed a bicyclist to miss beating a motorist by only a couple minutes on an annual race from Johnston to downtown Des Moines. Registering helps bicyclist activists to demonstrate support to elected officials for bicycle-friendly polices.

M.R. Field covers local events for AroundDesMoines.com.

Sunday, May 11th, is Mother’s Day. You can celebrate with a brunch at the Botanical Center (909 Robert D. Ray Drive). Cost is $21.95 for adults and $10.95 for children 10 and younger. There will be seatings at 10:00 a.m. and at 1:00 p.m. with reservations required (515-323-6289). If your mother enjoys the Botanical Center but does not care for brunch, she can enjoy the scenery for free when accompanied by a child. Regular adult admission is $4.

If your mother is the type of person who thinks the best way to celebrate is to have fun with the young children, Second Saturday events will be held at the Art Center. Each month on the second Saturday, the Art Center (near 45th and Grand) offers activities for children accompanied by an adult from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. Sessions are free but limited space means reservations are required (515-271-0328). The May 10th program will be on spring flowers for children ages 5-10.

If your mother is elderly or otherwise prefers driving around in a car than doing outside activities, lilacs are blooming around town. It should be a good weekend to visit Ewing Park’s lilac arboretum on the city’s southeast side. Over 300 varieties of crab apples are blooming in the Arie den Boer Arboretum on the eastern side of Water Works Park.

For children who like to cook (and clean up the mess), makings of a meal might be found at the first farmers’ market on Saturday along Court Avenue in downtown Des Moines. Thursday, May 8th, is the second week for the Valley Junction market.

Louis Sachar’s Holes is playing at the Des Moines Playhouse (831 42nd Street) on Friday (7:00 p.m.), Saturday (1:00 p.m.), and Sunday (1:00 and 4:00 p.m.). Adult tickets are $15. It’s good entertainment for both young and old. The Viking Theatre’s (2811 East 14th Street, at Grandview College) performance of The Sunshine Boys ends on May 11th. Show times are Thursday and Friday at 7:30 pm. and Saturday and Sunday at 4:00 p.m. Tickets cost $10 and are available through IowaTix.

On Thursday, May 8, 2008, the Drake Trombone Choir will give a free concert at 8:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Hall of the Harmon Fine Arts Center (25th and Carpenter). David Vining, a professor of trombone at Northern Arizona University is the featured guest.

Friday, May 9th, is the final night in the spring series of astronomy nights at the Drake Municipal Observatory. The topic this week is the future of stars. The event is free and begins at 8:00 p.m. at the observatory in Waveland Park.

On Saturday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the State Historical Society Building (600 East Locust) is a celebration of Tet. This event in honor of the Vietnamese New Year will feature dancing dragons, food demonstrations, and more. It is free and family-oriented.

M.R. Field encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com.

The Thoreau Center (35th Street and Kingman Boulevard) was a good choice for “Walk in Closet,” a display of artwork by Angela Warren and by Rebecca Gehm. The young artists’ bodies of work reflect experimentation in subject matter and in mediums. The layout of the center, formerly a house, allowed the different styles to be kept mostly separate, thereby focusing concentration on each piece during a reception held on May 2, 2008.

The title of the show is intriguing. It could mean a walk-in closet where special items are kept, easily accessible but not on public display. It could refer to the act of walking into or staying within a closet in terms of things a person wants to keep secret. It could also suggest a large space to hide all the detritus that allows a house, or section of a city, to be picture perfect.

In her artist statement, Warren said she wants to “show the time passing in layers, so that there is a sense of travel through every arrival and departure.” She achieves that goal superbly in her oils. “Opt for a Visit?” is a triptych, its scene a row of portable toilets in a muddy field. From the way lined up waiting their turn rest their hands on hips and lean in towards each other it is clear this is the end of a long day. Ghostly figures and a body seemingly trampled into the mud suggest all the people who have been there before. The mud holds the history of each footstep that helped transform the land. The texture of the oil adds a dimension that makes the scene seem more real than a smoother medium could.

Warren’s two-dimensional lithograph, “Overhang,” seems bland in comparison. Yet, there is feeling of suspense as a sole figure stands beneath an arch that could be a cave’s dome or a ledge on a cliff. Is the person safe, protected by the overhang, or in danger of being crushed by falling rocks?

Gehm’s artist statement reveals that she majored in drawing and many of her pieces seem to have been class assignments to showcase different styles of lines and shading. In her series on “The Woman and the Hand,” she uses charcol and gesso as a sculptor might use a rough red clay. The object is more the suggestion of a shape than a delicate recreation of a moment and proportions are not exact. In contrast, “Eye Tube,” in colored pencil and charcol, included many precise circles and proportionate lines. Nevertheless, the drawing still left interpretation to the viewer. The sketch reminded me of olives with pimentos placed as though they were grapes on a stalk, but also of the Martian eyes in War of the Worlds. There was a single figure, suggestive of a female, rising from a pool of water, which turned my thoughts to alien eyes watching humans rise from the oceans. Gehm describes the drawing as “a reaction to the realities of the Internet generation.”

M.R. Field writes reviews for AroundDesMoines.com.

A recommendation by the Des Moines Public Schools’ calendar committee led to a discussion on professional development and student achievement at the May 6, 2008, DMPS School Board meeting.

State law requires 180 days of education each school year. In addition, there must be 5.5 hours of instruction per day or 27.5 hours within a consecutive 5-day period. When the DMPS calendar is prepared, consideration must be given to major holidays. In addition, DMPS breaks need to be coordinated with breaks at local colleges and universities to accommodate student teachers’ schedules. Hot weather is also a concern since some school buildings do not have air conditioning.

One recommendation of the calendar committee was accepted with little discussion. The early dismissals (20 minutes early) on the days before the Thanksgiving and the Winter Holiday breaks will be eliminated starting with the 2008-2009 school year. This is an amendment to the calendar adopted last summer.

The recommendation that faced opposition was a proposal to let all schools out early every Wednesday starting with the 2009-2010 school year. The purpose of the proposal is to allow teachers time for required professional development and class planning. The weekly early release would replace ad hoc schedules created at elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Superintendent Dr. Nancy Sebring described the three levels of professional development. The first occurs at the individual level, when teachers set their own development goals and discuss them with their principals. The building level is next with decisions being made on how graduation ends, No Child Left Behind, and that school’s culture are promoted by all teachers. The district is the final level and it will also set some policies on government mandates and academic programs.

The 90-minute early dismissal would not all come from instruction time. It would be calculated from the time teachers are scheduled to leave. The Wednesday dismissals would replace other early dismissal days already in the schedule for professional development but would not replace full-day sessions, such as the one held on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

District staff sent an electronic survey to teachers and queried parents via parent-teacher conferences on their support for a consistent professional development day. Those who responded were predominantly in favor of a weekly early-release day. However, there was much more support for such a schedule in the elementary grades. Sebring said if only elementary students were released early, the extra demand on buses and drivers would cost $1,000 each Wednesday. The superintendent added that another part of the reasoning for an across-the-board release time was so older siblings could babysit those students too young to be at home by themselves.

Several board members said that nearly everybody who sent them e-mails were opposed to the weekly development schedule. One teacher who spoke during public comments said that the Federal Aviation Authority insists upon a certain number of hours in the aviation program and that the proposal could jeopardize the program’s certification due to lack of instructional hours. Board President Dick Murphy said he had heard from music and art teachers concerned that their lessons would be cut out of instruction time under the plan. Sebring asked the board to request people contacting them to also copy district administration as the opposition was coming somewhat as a surprise, given the results of the teacher and parent surveys. Board members volunteered to forward messages they had already received.

Board Member Jon Narcisse said that $1,000 every Wednesday, for approximately 25 Wednesdays, would be worth the cost if it resulted in improved achievements for students. Murphy agreed with him on that point. Board Member Patty Link was concerned about comparing DMPS early dismissals to those of nearby districts, preferring to see how other urban districts handled professional development and early dismissal. There were frequent comments that teachers had told board members there already is enough professional development and class planning; what is considered more important is face time with the students.

Several board members stressed that the final decision had to be based on student achievement. The board also was insistent on having some way to measure the success of any professional development, both for individual teachers and for students. There was also concerned expressed in public comments and by some board members that not all professional development training is worthwhile. Would there be enough quality development to justify an early release every week?

The board wants to hear from the district’s professional development committee. If a weekly early out is needed, is Wednesday the best day? Board Member Connie Boesen, throwing out ideas, asked if maybe Friday would be better, which would give parents options for early weekends.

Sebring and her staff will gather more information and update the proposal before the board at the May 20th meeting.

M.R. Field reports on school board meetings for AroundDesMoines.com.