A Day in June: FIWP, Brenton, River, Carousel, Traffic Circle
June 20, 2007 by Sandy Renshaw
Filed under Arts, Community, Events, Fitness, Food & Drink, Fun Finds, Great Places, Guest Writer: Field, M.R., Neighbors
Walking to the monthly meeting of the Friends of Iowa Women Prisoners
(FIWP), I looked down at the Des Moines River from the Locust Street bridge.
My mind pulled up memories of ocean-covered beaches until I realized I was
seeing the sidewalk that runs alongside the river. It has been so long since
the water level was low enough to see the sidewalk that I momentarily forgot
it existed. The weeks of high water have taken their toll on the retaining
walls.
I was looking for something to drink beside the water that I had with me
when I remembered the Brenton Skating Plaza serves lunch. When I stopped to
see what the options were, I learned that the site offers numerous
activities during the summer.
The FIWP meeting featured a woman from Des Moines Area Community College
(DMACC) who talked about an ex-offender re-entry program designed to reduce
recidivism. Also attending the meeting was a person from Iowa Workforce
Development who talked about POETS, which stands for “Providing
Opportunities for Ex-offenders To Succeed.” It meets every Tuesday, from
8:30 to 10:00 a.m. at 430 East Grand. The course curriculum helps
ex-offenders, both those on parole and those who have completed their
sentences, to present their past so employers will hire them, bankers will
give them home loans, and landlords will rent to them. No reservation is
needed to attend the classes. This program helps the community because
employment is a significant deterrent to committing crimes.
After the FIWP meeting, I walked to Union Park to ride the Heritage
Carousel. Along the way, I discovered Des Moines has a traffic circle! It is
located at Buchanan and East 12th Streets.
The Heritage Carousel is now open Tuesdays through Sundays during the
afternoon and evening. It costs 50˘ for children to ride and $1.00 for
adults. The ride lasts long enough to get over the initial disconcerting
motion and to enjoy the view. One rotation lasts 15 seconds. There are
t-shirts, magnets, and posters for sale to help provide for maintenance of
the carousel. The #5 bus goes past Union Park. The #3 bus stop at Birdland
Park is a pleasant 10-15 minute stroll away. The #4 bus along East 14th
Street also is within walking distance of the park.
FIWP meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 12:00 noon at Wesley United
Methodist Church, 800 East 12th Street. Leading Voices: Iowa will have a
write-up of the June meeting in its June 27 issue.
Brenton Plaza mostly offers basic grill food and munchies from 11:00 a.m. to
1:00 p.m. weekdays from May to August. Friday nights in June there are free
movies at 9:00 p.m.. (”Happy Feet” on June 22 and “Flipper” on June 29.)
Friday nights have roller skating, but you must provide your own skates.
Karaoke is offered both Fridays and Sundays. Saturday nights there is
Dancing Under the Stars for $8.00.
Guest Author: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.
Sandy Renshaw is Sandy Renshaw is a self-employed communications consultant. You will also find her blogging at Purple Wren.
Email this author | All posts by Sandy Renshaw
[...] a nice post over at Around Des Moines this week about a walk that included downtown and Union Park on the city’s north side. Since Union Park is our neighborhood park over here by North High [...]
Here is a corrective description about the POETS program from the person who runs it: credit repair, bank loans, renter’s rights, first-home buyer, as well as other barriers offenders being released may have. The program also has guest speakers.