Bits and pieces
The Des Moines City Council election is tomorrow. I got mailers over the weekend from Chris Coleman and Frank Cownie, and there was what I would call a puff piece in the Register about Cownie’s opponent. (Link unavailable on Register site, for some reason.) Don’t forget to vote!
In case you missed it, the Holiday Season [...]
The Four Mile Creek Sweep Needs You!
Volunteers are needed to help with clean-up along Four Mile Creek on Saturday, October 20, from 9 a.m. - Noon.
Volunteers may choose to clean up the trail, stream banks or creek in one of four locations in the Four Mile Creek Watershed: Des Moines, Ankeny, Pleasant Hill, Altoona. Participants should dress for the weather, bring work [...]
Downtown adds planters in expansion of beautification program
Additional planters are being added along Third Street and Sixth Avenue in downtown Des Moines in an effort to expand the floral plantings that add color and greenery to the concrete jungle.
Some of my favorite planters are the ones out in front of Walgreens down on Walnut Street, in the middle of the Transit Mall. [...]
YEEOWW!! Injuries and news notes
I skinned my right knee! As an adult it’s easy to forget how much it hurts when you fall and rip the hide off your knee. I fell off my heeled boots onto cement while carrying a lawn chair on Sunday, sprained my left ankle and skinned my right knee. On Monday, I couldn’t even [...]
Katrina second anniversary brings attack on ACOE incompetence; was 1993 an omen?
During the floods here in 1993, there was speculation that the Army Corps of Engineers had purposely allowed the temporary levee at Sixth Avenue to fail, flooding the surrounding working-class neighborhood around North High School and Birdland Park because it would prevent extensive damage in the downtown area. (I’m pretty sure companies like Wells Fargo [...]
The evils of bottled water: it’s not the ‘tap water’ that’s a problem
My family and I have long joked about how the bottled water display in the grocery store is probably hooked up to a regular old tap water faucet, and Aquafina’s recent announcement suggests that we might be on target.
So you can probably imagine a little of what was going through my mind when I read [...]
It’s the lawn mowing mishap season…
… so beware!
Okay it’s actually a little hot and dry right now, so we’re not mowing regularly anymore. But, we’ve recently had the annual re-telling of the story about the time DH’s dad reached under the push mower to dislodge some wet cut grass, while the blade was still spinning. Dad was ultimately okay, but nearly lost [...]
Keep your cool without air conditioning!
I’ll admit it, I’m spoiled. While this year we managed to wait until well into June before turning on the air conditioning, I can’t recall living in a house without it - except for about 8 months back in 1989. And yes, they were the hot months. I remember that one of the ways we used [...]
City sponsors first annual Curb-It Regatta: boats made from recyclables!
Okay, admit it: when you first got your green recycling bin, you put your dog in it and tried to float it, right? Oh woops, maybe that was just me…? Well, no matter, it seems the City of Des Moines has discovered that these things float, too, so now they’ve devised a cool idea to [...]
Green up: tips on living less wastefully
Couple good articles from Sarah these past few days, she’s got loads of tips for living a greener life here in the Metro. From today’s post on simple things you can do to green up in daily living:
Save your waste printer paper and use the other side! (I save all of my waste paper - whether it’s [...]
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