Weekend Pick: Groundhog Tales

By the sun, Monday, February 4th is mid-Winter. Start the celebrations early with groundhog sugar cookies. Bake up a batch Friday night then rise with the sun on Saturday, February 2nd. Hold a cookie, in the shape of a groundhog, up to the sun and see if it casts a shadow. It sure beats standing out in the cold and disturbing a live animal.

     

February appears to be the month when people return to activity, after the food of the year-end holidays and a January recovery. The inaugural Des Moines Winter Games are this weekend, from February 1st through the 3rd. Later in the month are the 23rd annual Skywalk Golf tournament (Feb. 9th) and the 801 Grand Power Climb (Feb. 24th).

Friday, February 1st is the annual day on which women are encouraged to wear red to remind them to care for their hearts. The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease (WomenHeart) has information on women, heart attacks, and coronary disease.

Quilts will be on display at the Polk County Heritage Gallery (111 Court Avenue) starting February 4th, with an opening reception on Sunday, February 3rd, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. In 2007, a series of classes was held to make bed-sized quilts for the C-on Kinshuko Christian family camp in Iwate, Japan. More than 50 quilt makers from 12 area churches participated. A sampling of their work is what will be on display at the gallery.

The fifth Sunday of Blues at the Botanical Center is also February 3rd. Tina Haase-Findlay will be performing from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Cost is $4.

Even though Ballet Des Moines is holding its A Chocolate Affair this Friday night, with chocolate treats at East Village merchants followed by chocolate martinis and salsa dancing at 504 East Locust (cost $40 at door, starting at 5:00 p.m.), I just cannot get excited by anything on my calendar this weekend. I blame it on Enchanted April. The play, now showing at the Des Moines Playhouse, got me daydreaming of romance, warm ocean breezes, and the flavor of the Mediterranean. Then I was forced to confront 40 mph wind gusts, stinging snow pellets, and gray skies over Iowa. As I was complaining about this to a friend, she started telling me about how she used to warm up the men in her family who returned inside after caring for livestock and doing other rural chores in the bitter cold. The cure involved butter, sugar, cocoa, heavy cream, and vanilla. Now that is serious hot chocolate.

The Drake University men’s basketball team is drawing crowds and attention. Now you have the choice of watching the Bulldogs play tennis, too. This Sunday the men’s team will play St. Louis at the Drake Tennis Center at 11:00 a.m. Oh, yeah, Sunday is when the Super Bowl is played.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. She encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com. 

DMPS SB Meeting 01/22/08 – Part 2

Whether the primary role of schools is to support society or to allow individuals to maximize their earning potential, there is a need for educational opportunities to be offered equitably to all students. The Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) district has been dealing with this issue in terms of racial equality for over fifty years. A June 28, 2007, U.S. Supreme Court decision in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, et al. and a subsequent rule change by the Iowa Department of Education (DE) have forced DMPS to revisit its policies on school integration yet again.

The court decision removed race as a primary factor in making school assignments. The DE’s proposed administrative rule change redefines “minority student” so a local school board may choose to implement a diversity plan using any combination of socioeconomic status, ethnicity/national origin, English language learner status, or race, so long as race is not the sole or the determinative factor. Previously, DE defined a minority student as being Black (not of Hispanic origin), Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, or Asian/Pacific Islander. Des Moines, Waterloo, Davenport, West Liberty, and Postville are the only districts in the state affected by this rule. Burlington had a desegregation plan but does not now qualify for a diversity plan.

School boards that had a desegregation plan have until March 1, 2008, to adopt a diversity plan. If there is no plan by that date, the state prohibits the board from having any plan in the future. This demand for a rushed decision was a major point of concern for board members and for the commenting public at the January 22, 2008, DMPS School Board meeting.

The DE’s proposed rules were released in mid-November 2007. The DMPS took time for a legal review and to talk with other districts. The previous DMPS school board meeting was on January 8th, the same date as the DE hearing. The next school board meeting will be on February 5th, one day before the DE’s expected approval. That leaves just the February 19th meeting at which to accept any diversity plan before the state’s deadline.

Superintendent Dr. Nancy Sebring, legal counsel Beth Nigut, and other district staff presented a workshop on the rule to the board. Assisting them was Drew Bracken of the Ahlers Law Firm. A representative from the DE was invited to participate but was unable to attend. The recommendation made to the board was to base a diversity plan on socioeconomic status. Bracken was adamant that any plan including a racial component would be struck down by the courts. The socioeconomic identifier that the staff recommended is eligibility for a free or reduced-price lunch. With approximately 60% of DMPS students so eligible, this standard raised questions about its effectiveness in terms of integrated schools. Since it is possible to modify diversity plans, which must be approved by the state, the school board may choose to adopt a plan that leans heavily towards observing what happens with open enrollment while still allowing itself the option for a more rigid plan in the future.

Current desegregation procedures under open enrollment mean that for every minority student allowed to leave a school, two whites are allowed to leave. Consequently, some students are denied permission to leave their schools. White flight under open enrollment was raised during the discussion, albeit not without rejection of the idea by some people. Open enrollment also allows for students to continue in their old schools when they move out of a district. If a school’s enrollment mix moves more than 15% above the racial balance, then that school is closed to open enrollment.

Desegregation plans, and possibly diversity plans, help control movement of students under open enrollment. Some of the state’s other districts needing to consider diversity plans have surrounding school districts that are short of students. Ellen McGinnis-Smith, working on student and family issues for the DMPS, said that in the Des Moines metropolitan area students are moving westward. This means West Des Moines students may attend Waukee schools and Des Moines students may go to West Des Moines. However, there are a couple elementary grades in West Des Moines that are close to their maximum capacity which would limit the number of Des Moines students who could open enroll there.

Discussion on the diversity plan strayed into talk of neighborhood schools, busing, and students who take some courses in Des Moines but are counted as being out of district. Public comments also noted that diversity extends beyond the few categories permitted by the DE. A few people were concerned that diversity and open enrollment were just a political tactic by outside interests to promote vouchers.

M.R. Field covers the DMPS school board meetings for AroundDesMoines.com. 

Finding groups that help in Des Moines

Have you ever needed to find a support group or helping agency and didn’t know where to start? This list might help.

Iowa 2-1-1 is an extensive searchable information and referral database for health and social service and funded by the Iowa Department of Human Services.

In a list of New Year’s resolutions no one has unplanned pregnancy at the top, but here are some of Des Moines’ options for family planning, pregnancy, and adoption:

Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa provides education and services related to birth control, pregnancy and sexual health.

A New Beginning is a Catholic Charities organization providing free pregnancy options counseling.

Ruth Harbor is a Christ-centered home for young women dealing with unplanned pregnancy.

For a families in varying degrees of distress there are many options.

Children & Families of Iowa provides a variety of services in support of distressed families including foster care and adoptions, family-centered counseling, substance abuse programs for teens, child care programs and referrals, and other therapies.

Lutheran Services in Iowa has services available for adoption, early childhood, home healthcare, refugee resettlement, residential treatment, disability services, and family services. Some of these services are offered jointly with Catholic Charities.

The Family Violence Center provides emergency safe shelter and support for victims of domestic violence and their children.

Polk County Crisis and Advocacy Services offers crisis intervention and ongoing support services to victims of violent crimes.

On a happier note for a families operating with normal stresses there are other options.

Parenting Monthly is a site linking local and national websites for everything from family communication, education, public television, YMCA, Young Women’s Resource Center, Visiting Nurse Services, resources for dads, and many other topics. Contacts but no links for 27 other local groups are found elsewhere.

The La Leche League of Des Moines Iowa helps mothers and mothers-to-be with all aspects of breastfeeding.

Young women in their adolescent transition are supported in particular by the Young Women’s Resource Center.

Everyone loves to eat and the Des Moines area has services for all families and for families with more pressing needs. Everyone can participate in the first of these programs.

WHO-TV has recently run a story on Angel Food Ministries – a Georgia based food ministry dedicated to relief of hunger throughout the United States. The local group works from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and is available to everyone, not just those in need. The Des Moines Register has also provided this story.

For those with greater need the Des Moines Area Religious Council has food pantries at sites all across the metro.

The City of Des Moines has a site linking the food pantries and listing other low-income services.

The stress of a homeless individual or family in Des Moines in the winter would be hard for any of us to imagine. My nephew from the Bay Area of California came to Drake. Twenty-five years ago in his first winter in Des Moines he told my sister, “You could die in the middle of city if you didn’t have shelter.” Des Moines has shelter.

Hope Ministries is a Christ-centered ministry for homeless, hungry, and hurting. They provide food, shelter, clothes and furnishings for men, women and children, as well as an addiction recovery center and transitional living services.

Churches United Shelter provides shelter services for homeless adults.

For families The Home Connections sponsors transitional housing and supportive services for homeless families.

The New Directions Shelter gives emergency shelter for homeless women with children.

St. Joseph Emergency Family Center one of the arms of Catholic Charities provides emergency shelter for up to five homeless families with each family living together.

Youth Emergency Services & Services provides emergency shelter for youths 10-17, crisis nursery and counseling.

In the longer term other groups support families in their quest for stable housing.

Refugee Resettlement Services is a joint venture of Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services with a mission to resettle refugees and their families.

Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity is our branch of the international non-profit Christian housing ministry founded in 1976 and providing home ownership opportunities for qualified low-income families. Habitat for Humanity has an interesting history.

Home, Inc. is a non-profit organization helping low income families improve their housing situations by counseling, advocacy and legal assistance directed toward ownership or renting.

Iowa ACORN was featured on WHO-TV. You can find the national organization, but the local web site has not yet been activated. Nonetheless they are active, and they are located at 2000 Walker St., Suite L and their phone number is 263-4315.

As sincere and well-intentioned as we all might be, sometimes we manage to get into trouble anyway. Imagine! Here are several groups for people dealing with addiction. The following 4 groups are financially self-supporting and decline outside contributions.

Alcoholics Anonymous is a site featuring local contacts and meeting schedules for those desiring a 12 Step approach to recovery from alcoholism.

Al-Anon and Al-Ateen is a site with local contacts and meeting schedules for families desiring a 12 Step approach to dealing with alcoholism in a family member or friend.

Overeaters Anonymous is a site with local contacts, meeting schedules, and information for those desiring a 12 Step approach to recovery from overeating.

Gamblers Anonymous is a site with a meeting schedule for those desiring a 12 Step approach to recovery from gambling addiction.

Other groups and programs assist with addiction problems.

The Iowa Gambling Prevention and Treatment Program is a program for problem gamblers offered through the State of Iowa Department of Public Health.

Teen Challenge of the Midlands is a Christ-based approach to curing additions in those 18 and older. You can see the men’s facility up on the hill as you pass by Colfax on I-80.

House of Mercy is the Mercy Hospital-based transitional housing and clinical services for parenting women with addiction.

In the area of mental health

NAMI, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill has an Iowa Branch with support groups, classes, speakers, and many other resources.

Suicide.org is dedicated to suicide prevention, awareness and support in Iowa and Des Moines while the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is the leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to the issues surrounding suicide.

In case you hadn’t noticed, there is no getting around this aging business.

Be sure to check out Aging Resources of Central Iowa, a comprehensive set of links and lists of resources available to older Iowans. It is a wonderful site. It lists hundreds of resources and activities supporting the normal process of aging. Some may need help searching for services since there are lots of options and drop down menus.

For those encountering difficulty with two common disorders of age there are Alzheimer’s support groups and educational resources are available through the Greater Iowa Chapter of alzheimer’s association and there are Parkinson support groups in Iowa.

Are you looking for a support group or education on a specific disease or condition?

ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease? This support group is for those affect by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and includes links to the national website.

Amanda the Panda works to restore grieving children and families back into the mainstream of their lives supported, validated, encouraged and empowered to go on.

The Source offers support and contacts for families affected by autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and pervasive development disorders.

The Iowa Department for the Blind has a website.

Cancer is behind heart disease as the primary disease of Americans but here is an excellent list of online resources and links about cancer from Mercy Medical.

The American Cancer Society has a local office and phone (8364 Hickman Ste D, (515)253-0147) along with regular activities but has no local website.

This celiac disease site provides on-line support for people with celiac disease and a local support chapter of R.O.C.K. – Raising Our Celia Kids). Des Moines does not have a chapter in the Celiac Disease Foundation.

For cerebral palsy the State of Iowa with its site 4 My Child has resources available to families affected by cerebral palsy and many other disabilites.

Childserve in Johnston serves children with special health needs.

The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America shows Iowa and Des Moines activities and help for patients and families of those with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and is dedicated to finding a cure for both.

The Defeat Diabetes Foundation, Inc. is a health system sponsored site for education, services, and support for diabetics and families.

Up with Down is a Des Moines group affiliated with the National Down Syndrome Society.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome lists resources available in Iowa for families affected by fetal alcohol syndrome.

Unfortunately there are no fibromyalgia support groups with web presence within 100 miles of Des Moines; however, Mercy Medical has an excellent fibromyalgia educational site.

The Huntington’s Disease Society of America seeks to improve the lives of people with Huntington’s disease and their families. They meet locally.

Iowa Lyme Disease Network is an educational resource for medical providers and the public.

American Lung Association of Iowa has support groups and information for those affected by a variety of abnormal lung conditions.

Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. has an email address to the local chapter and access to information about lupus.

You can also find a good list of links to community health charities including many already cited.

Mercy Medical Center has a variety of risk prevention programs available.

The Community Partners of the United Way of Central Iowa provides an interesting list of links to community partners, some of which might be useful.

Don’t forget this site. Iowa 2-1-1 is an extensive searchable information and referral database for health and social service and funded by the Iowa Department of Human Services.

You don’t have to go far in Des Moines to recognize that we understand the meaning of community. Be proud. Take credit for your part. There is a lot of help available in our community.

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.

[tags] Iowa, Des Moines, Central Iowa News, Social Services, Health Education, Support Groups [/tags]

Review: Enchanted April

The year is 1922. The Great War is over but the British Empire still stands. Women are expected to be pillars of their communities and dutiful supporters of their husbands, unless they are rich enough to profess indifference. Under the rainy skies of England, women and men follow their routines and accept their fates. Yet, as rain will soak the ground causing a seed to germinate, so can an idea grow in incessantly damp winter weather. The mere suggestion of wisteria and sunshine can send a visionary willing to take a chance rushing to arrange a trip to the south. Hurry away from feminine duties and household chores. Leave the husbands behind and discover the enchantment of ocean air flowing across an Italian villa in April.

Elisabeth A. Ballstadt cast her charm over the audience with the very first peek-a-boo wave and smile on opening night of Enchanted April at the Des Moines Playhouse. I describe it as a peek-and-boo wave because it appears then disappears quickly. It is the suggestion of timidity, an apology for a tiny interruption.

In the play, it is a small advertisement, a small detail omitted, and a small change in plans that make a difference. All would be for naught, however, were it not for the large, outgoing personality of Ballstadt’s character, Lotty Wilton.

This is a story about women. In addition to Ballstadt, the women in speaking roles include Megan Myhre (Rose Arnott), Megan Walz (Caroline Bramble), Debi Garner (Mrs. Graves), and Becky Scholtec (Costanza). Myhre is new to the Playhouse and to Des Moines but she has acted in commercials and in independent films. She pours emotion into her facial expressions as easily as the English drink tea. Similarly, Jeff Rohrick (Frederick Arnott) uses body language quite nicely to give credibility to the words and the story. Royce Dunbar as Antony Wilding is well focused. Michael Davenport (Mellersh Wilton) rounds out the main cast.

This is a play in which the characters evolve and the audience witnesses the transformations clearly. That clarity is due to the pen of Matthew Barber, who adapted Elizabeth von Arnim’s novel for the stage. Kathy Pingel’s direction keeps the play moving, sometimes too quickly. There was one scene in particular, when the conversations of the Wiltons and the Arnotts were interchanged, that I thought should have allowed more time for the emotions of the characters to settle into the audience.

It was interesting to listen to the audience as it was obvious some people knew what to expect and others did not. A few people laughed before the first hundred words had been spoken, causing a subtle disturbance to flow through the rest of the audience. Had they missed a cue? Bit by bit, more members of the audience joined in the laughter and by the end the group was acting as one. As the curtain rose after intermission, the audience enthusiastically gave approval to Jeff Stander’s scenic design of San Salvatore, the heavenly villa.

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

Stalking Awareness

January is Stalking Awareness Month. This is an educational campaign promoted by the National Center for Victims of Crime and the Stalking Resource Center (NCVC), both supported by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). According to the NCVC, over 1.5 million people, including more than a million women, are stalked each year.

Since July 1, 1994, stalking in Iowa has been defined as a repeated course of conduct intended to cause fear of bodily injury or death, either to the person being stalked or to a member of the immediate household. Depending on the number of offenses and the methods of intimidation, the crime can be an aggravated misdemeanor or a serious felony. If a complaint is filed and probable cause is found, an arrest warrant is issued.

The biography for Bonnie Campbell’s entry into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame notes that she was the first woman to be elected as Iowa’s attorney general. While in office, she authored the state’s anti-stalking law, which was one of the first in the nation. In 1995, she became the first director of the OVW. The web site for Iowa’s current attorney general, Tom Miller, has easy to follow instructions for people who believe they are being stalked. These include contacting law enforcement and keeping a detailed record of stalking incidents.

Stalking can include being followed, monitoring of your electronic communications, receiving unwanted calls or gifts, having somebody search out information on you through public records or with a private investigator, and having your property damaged. Cyberstalking is also a concern, whether someone is hunting down information about you on the Internet or bothering you in a chat room. Earlier this week, according to an article appearing in the Press Citizen, the University of Iowa Rape Victim Advocacy Program distributed literature about stalking in English and in Spanish, as well as safety whistles and other resource items, on the Iowa City campus.

Strangers, estranged partners, and casual acquaintances can all be stalkers. Over three-fourths of female victims know their stalker and while that percentage is lower for male victims it is still high. For this reason, domestic violence is often included in information about stalking. Children & Families of Iowa has a statewide hotline for domestic violence. The telephone number is 1-800-942-0333. In literature promoting this number, CFI notes that 163 Iowans have been killed since 1995 because of domestic violence. Over 200 calls are made every day in Iowa for domestic violence and sexual assault.

In May 2001, the DOJ’s Office of Justice Reform (OJR) presented a report to Congress on domestic violence and stalking. The report notes that violence against women runs a continuum from emotional abuse to homicide and that its pattern is often predictable. Stalking is part of that continuum. The OJR seeks to fund research and to provide community resources that effectively halt the escalation of abuse in its early stages.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. 

Weekend Pick: Indoor Jazz

It will be warm enough to go outside this weekend, but you will want to be indoors at the Botanical Center on Sunday, January 27th for week four of the Botanical Blues. Performing this weekend will be Dewey Cantrell and Jodi Bodley. Cost is $4. Time is from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Location is the Botanical Center (909 Robert D. Ray Drive). Hopefully it will be cold enough to stay on the ice at Easter Lake by Shelter #2 where the Polk County Conservation Board has a lesson on the basics of ice fishing planned for Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Neither of these locations is really convenient to public transportation, but the Botanical Center is only about a 20-30 minute walk from the bus routes that run along East Locust and East Walnut Streets.

Enchanted April starts performances this weekend at the Des Moines Playhouse (831 42nd Street) with opening night on Friday, January 25th, at 8:00 p.m. Can Matthew Barber’s stage adaptation do justice to post-World War I women created by novelist Elizabeth Von Arnim? Marc Cherry hasn’t done poorly with his post-modern desperate housewives. I wonder if this play’s characters will be comparable to that television show’s characters. Tickets are $24-$34. Show times are 8:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, 2:00 p.m. on Sundays, and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays through February 10th.

Turning serious, the American Friends Service Committee is presenting two performances of My Name is Rachel Corrie, with talk-backs on Saturday, January 26th at 2:00 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. The location is Grace United Methodist Church (3700 Cottage Grove). For students, a suggested donation is $10; $20 for adults. This is a play that is based on writings by the late activist. The performance, put on by a troupe from Denver, runs about 100 minutes, so allow at least a couple hours. Afterwards, the performer, Rachel’s father, and members of the community will discuss the current issues of Palestine and Israel with the public. Any money not needed to cover production costs will be given to the Rachel Corrie Foundation.

At 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, the 2nd Avenue Jazz Band is scheduled to play at Ritual Cafe (13th Street between Locust and Grand) for an unspecified donation. On Friday, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Java Joe’s (4th Street between Walnut and Locust) the Urbandale High School Jazz Combo Showcase will perform. From 9:00 to 11:30 p.m. DJ Keelix, from San Francisco, will mix a “smooth jazzy house and downtempo.”

A Chocolate Affair won’t happen until next Friday, February 1st, but tickets are $40 at the door and only $30 in advance so I’ll mention it in this weekend’s picks. This event is a social fundraiser for Ballet Des Moines. The adventure begins at 5:00 p.m. with chocolate samplings at various East Village merchants. Starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Ballet Des Moines building at 504 East Locust there will be chocolate martinis, salsa dancing from Salsa Iowa, and more.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. She encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com. 

DMPS School Board Meeting 01/22/2008

The Des Moines Public Schools and local cable access Channel 12 acquired equipment that allows for remote broadcasts, such as possible live coverage of certain school events. The district’s school board tested the equipment by holding its January 22, 2008, meeting at Merrill Middle School.

Board Member Teree Caldwell-Johnson asked for clarification regarding a demographic study included in the consent agenda. This is a $17,500 contract to Ochsner, Hare & Hare to “review past, present, and potential future enrollment trends. Special emphasis will be on the potential of south and southeast growth including five-year projections,” according to the background description included in the agenda. The district’s chief operating officer, Bill Good, provided some answers. The timing of this study is influenced by the 2010 end of the school option sales tax and a facility review the district will be undertaking in the next six to eight months. The study will include data on projected population growth and on specific statistics such as age, race, and household income. Sources for the data will include the U.S. Census Bureau, vital statistics, and planning entities, including those of the City of Des Moines and Polk and Warren counties.

Board Member Jon Narcisse asked for clarification on a consent agenda item adjusting the Guaranteed Maximum Price for the Schools First program manager, Taylor Ohde Kitchell. The Guaranteed Maximum Price is based on a fee of 2.5% of the total project costs (plus all reimbursable costs). Because the school board decided to forego use of the Pappajohn Center, the remaining expenditure for Schools First has been adjusted downwards. Consequently, the price guarantee also needed to be revised downwards by $863,122 to $19,351,769.

The consent agenda was passed on a vote of 6-1, with Narcisse in the minority. Because of the meeting’s remote location all votes were conducted as roll calls and microphones had to be shared.

The first work session on the Fiscal Year 2009 budget was presented by Chief Financial Officer Patti Schroeder. She reviewed the basic revenue sources and noted which ones can be controlled by the school board. She explained how the budget would relate to requirements under the board’s Policy Governance model. She reminded everybody that school boards may only do what the laws specifically grant to them to do.

Superintendent Dr. Nancy Sebring said she asked principals to base their budgets on how the money will promote the graduation Ends. (I asked Phil Roeder in the district’s communications office where revisions to these Ends stand after the November 2007 public meetings held to discuss them. I am waiting for a reply with details.) There was little board discussion on the budget due to the late hour of the night but several board members made quick statements. Boesen said she would like to recover from recent lean budget years and return to having a principal at every school. Board Member Jeanette Woods expressed concern that enough staff exist at schools to keep the newly-renovated buildings in good condition. Board President Dick Murphy wants to restore arts and libraries. Schroeder reminded the board members that the budget is going to be about balancing, not attitude.

There were a few other matters raised at the meeting. Sebring acknowledged the work of staff and students who organized and presented events for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. A list of committees with public participation, both district- and board-based, may be viewed online. A more detailed list was distributed at the board meeting. Merrill Middle School will install solar panels for solar-based heating. The meeting wrapped up with a few comments from Murphy on legislation before the Iowa General Assembly for a statewide one-cent sales tax for school construction. Discussion surrounding a diversity plan will be reported on in a separate post.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa and covers the DMPS School Board meetings for AroundDesMoines.com. 

Potpourri

Item 1: The meeting of the Des Moines Public Schools School Board for January 22, 2008, will be held in the cafeteria of Merrill Middle School (5301 Grand Avenue) instead of in the regular board room at the Central Campus. The main part of the meeting will be two work sessions.

Item 2: IDAction is an initiative of the Governor’s Developmental Disabilities Council. The goal is to help people with disabilities and their families to participate fully in society. Part of that objective includes voting and running for office. The information provided in their educational outreach is good advice for everyone. One pamphlet I picked up last year notes that fewer than 10% of eligible voters contact their elected officials after an election. The pamphlet goes on to list “The Seven Cs of Change” to remember when advocating with an elected decision-maker for change. These Cs are: (1) be clear when expressing your opinion, (2) be concise and keep it conversational, (3) be credible when telling your story and stay factual, (4) be compelling by showing enthusiasm for your position, (5) be consistent by sticking to the point and telling the decision-maker what you want from him or her, (6) be continual and remember that advocacy is ongoing work, and (7) be courteous and remember to thank the decision-maker or the staff member for taking the time to listen.

Item 3: In December, MinnPost had an article about the declining number of daily posts per blog. According to the article there are now over 112 million blogs. In 2005, 83 out of 1,000 bloggers posted daily. In 2006, the number was 32 out of 1,000. In 2007, it was only 14 out of 1,000. When I was looking through web pages for members of Congress recently, I kept thinking of the MinnPost article because many Congressional offices do not keep their web pages current. For example, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), who is a co-chair of the Congressional Women’s Caucus, notes in her biography that she is expecting her first child, a child that was born in April 2007. It’s not just members of Congress and not just the back pages. I regularly scan official web sites of elected officials at all levels of government. Some of them are very good at keeping the public informed about their actions and positions, as well as educated on issues. There are quite a few, though, that seem to do nothing. Finding your Congressmen’s web pages is very easy, just go to www.House.gov or to www.Senate.gov.

Item 4: The overall theme of the Culver administration is for one Iowa with one unlimited future. The governor’s web page clearly invites Iowans to leave a message on any issue, concern, or idea the constituent may have. Consider submitting your name for one of the numerous boards and commissions to which the governor will be making appointments in March 2008. All such boards and commissions must have gender equity and usually have a diverse geographical representation.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. 

Commentary: MLK, Jr. & Roe v Wade

The person I would most like to interview on this holiday celebrating the life and work of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. is Alma Powell. It was just over a decade ago that her husband, Gen. Colin Powell, declined to run for president because Mrs. Powell feared he would be assassinated. Has there been a change in the country in these past ten years or so that makes it more permissible for an African American to seek the highest political office? Is the change merely a younger generation whose members do not remember King’s death very well, if at all?

The person I would most like to interview tomorrow on the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade is Patricia Schroeder. In the book she wrote after leaving Congress, she voiced the opinion that legal abortions are very much about women’s rights to participate equally in society. In the 1970’s Schroeder literally had to share a chair on the House Armed Services Committee with Ron Dellums because the chairman of the committee thought half a chair was good enough for a woman and for a Black.

Barack Obama is a new type of African American leader. I say this because he did not rise to his position through methods common to older leaders. He did not lead a religious congregation. He did not earn fame as a basketball player. He did not gain experience in the military. Instead, he took an intellectual approach and was able to make that choice because of all the breakthroughs made by other African Americans. Hillary Clinton is not a new type of feminist leader. While she, too, valued an intellectual approach, she gained acceptance through the power of her husband. Interestingly, women’s military experience is starting to appear as a new channel for moving women into political office. Even though Obama and Clinton are getting the nation’s attention as likely nominees of a major political party, I was much more excited by the possibilities of Pat Schroeder and Colin Powell running for president.

 

The first year in which Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday was celebrated as a national Monday holiday was 1986. Iowa has celebrated the day since 1989. While I am more familiar with the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women and the assorted organizations and programs for women in the state, there is just as rich an environment for education, advocacy, and outreach through the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans.

The ICSAA works with several organizations to strengthen African-Americans in Iowa. These include Creative Visions in Des Moines and the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa, located in Cedar Rapids. The latter organization held the second annual “Laying Claim to Our Spirit: Iowa African American Women’s Leadership Conference” in September 2007. The museum is currently hosting a temporary exhibit on George Washington Carver, through August 4, 2008. A virtual tour of the exhibit is available on the museum’s web site.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. 

Commentary: Animal Favoritism

On Christmas Day 2007 some young men, after drinking vodka and smoking marijuana, visited the San Francisco Zoo. Their trip ended when a 17-year-old human and a 4-year-old tiger were killed and two brothers were hospitalized. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that one of the survivors had said he and his companions had taunted the tiger. Eyewitnesses allegedly told of the men standing on the railing of the tiger grotto yelling and waving at the cat(s). A tiger, named Tatiana, reacted with lethal intensity. After the necropsy a veterinarian, noting that the cat’s claws were splintered and broken from the grotto wall, said Tatiana was very determined to get out. Numerous animal experts appearing on national news shows opined that the tiger was merely acting like a tiger.

This past weekend at the Iowa Home Show there was a three-month-old tiger. For $18 people could have their picture taken with the cub but could pet her for free. In past years, full-grown tigers were on display at Valley West Mall. These are just some of the places where Great Cat Adventures takes the animals, claiming to use them as sort of goodwill ambassadors to raise money to care for rescued large cats. The organization’s web site claims to be targeting “preservation through education and entertainment.” I have observed quite a bit of entertainment and no education.

What message are we sending about so-called wild animals and human interaction with them when we put some of the animals in zoos, behind fences and across moats, and take others on tours that feature close-ups with the public? Even zoos are treated as entertainment destinations, though. Indeed, my perception of the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines has been that it cares more about holding events to draw in paying customers than it does about education. For this reason, in addition to limited bus service and lack of sidewalks for pedestrian access, I have not visited the zoo. The zoo’s web site encourages visitors to “[b]ring your family to see more than 1,000 furry, finned, and feathered friends.”

Last year the Great Ape Trust of Iowa sold paintings done by the apes, as though the animals were nothing more than human artists with a unique gimmick. Wouldn’t it have been more educational and a better study of animal behavior to have human artists paint pictures of the apes, capturing their unique personalities and other traits?

Many zoo directors take the attitude that zoo animals should not have names because that makes them seem human. I like to know the names because it makes it easier to discuss observations with other zoo visitors and to gather information about specific animals from zoo volunteers and workers over the years. I am much more disturbed by zoos selling tiger paw prints and ape abstracts, by humans who go to zoos and encourage their grandchildren to laugh at the animals, and by the growing conflicts caused by human encroachment upon animals’ natural territory.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. 

Next Page »