Cities and towns of Central Iowa

Find links below to 78 cities and towns within 50 miles of Des Moines. Most links are to city government sites, some are county sites, a few are Chambers of Commerce sites, seven are Wikipedia, and still fewer are data-only sites. They’re the best I could find.
A, B, C
Adel	Alleman	Altoona	Ames	Ankeny
Baxter	Bevington	Bondurant	Boone	Booneville
Cambridge	Clive	Colfax	Collins	Colo	Cumming
D, E, F, G, H
Dallas Center	Des Moines	De Soto	Dexter	Earlham
Gilbert	Granger	Grimes	Grinnell	Hartford	Huxley
I, J, K, L, M
Indianola	Jewell	Johnston	Kelley	Knoxville	Lake Panorama
Madrid	Marshalltown	Martensdale	Maxwell	McCallsburg	Milo
Minburn	Mingo	Mitchellville	Monroe	Montezuma
N, O, P, Q, R
Nevada	Newton	New Virginia	Norwalk	Ogden	Osceola
Palmyra	Panora	Patterson	Pella	Perry	Pleasant Hill
Pleasantville	Polk City	Prairie City	Prole
Randall	Roland	Runnells
S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Sheldahl	Slater	Spring Hill	St. Charles	St. Marys	Story City
Tama	Toledo	Truro
Urbandale	Waukee	West Des Moines	Windsor Heights	Winterset	Zearing

The metro’s blue recycling carts

Have you seen Des Moines’ new blue recycling carts? Most have been delivered. What can you put in or not put in? Like ‘em?

One big advantage? It’s much easier on the back than hauling the loaded green bins. But… is it a recycling cart or a recycling car? I’d have to collect recycling for 2 months to fill it, and I’m not the only one who thinks the carts are on the large side. Two silly facts: 1) Filled with water, it weighs 800 pounds. 2) Filled with the Purple Wren’s sweetie, it weighs less than 800.

You have to give a lot of credit to someone for the color choice. It matches … um … well …

• my poster of the Blue Man Group
• the Boise State football field
• a Drake t-shirt
• Picasso’s The Tragedy

To tell you the truth it’s big, ugly and doesn’t match anything within 10 blocks of my house. It can hide me, but I can’t hide it.

Oh well. Here are the final advantages:

• add a pillow and it doubles as a spare bedroom for unexpected guests
• still visible after a 42″ snowstorm, and best of all
• add one more wheel, a stool, and a little Saranwrap, and you’ve got an Iso Isetta Turismo!

photo by Purple Wren

Under water mortgages

If you owe more on a property than it is worth, your mortgage is said to be under water. You have negative equity. According to an article in Reuters published on October 31, 2008, across the U. S. about 18% of mortgages are under water, but the problem is very regional. (Note that since some houses are fully owned, the percentages cited below are not of total homes but of total mortgaged homes.

According to a CNN report as far as under water mortgages are concerned in Iowa we are

• not in the10 worst (NV, MI, AZ, FL, CA, GA, OH, CO, NH, TX which range from 48% to 16%) and we are
• not in the 10 best (NJ, NM, WA, OR, AL, CT, MT, PA, HI, or NY which range from 9% to NY’s 4%).

We’re in the middle. But remember any homes that are paid up are not reflected in these numbers, and many older Iowans own their homes.

The negative equity problem is caused by a continuing drop in housing prices in some markets. The expectation is that the decline will continue before it improves. The fraction of mortgages under water is highest in the Southwest which reflect the sharp decline in house prices over the past year through August. Equity evaporates.

• Las Vegas -30.6%
• SanFrancisco -27.2%
• LosAngeles -26.7%
• SanDiego -25.8%

This is in contrast to housing price declines in the Midwest.

• Minneapolis -13.8%
• Chicago -9.8%
• Cleveland -6.6%

A few markets including Des Moines have shown minimal declines in housing prices.

• Charlotte -2.8%
• Dallas -2.7%

While the time frame is not exactly comparable, Des Moines housing prices are said to be similar to Charlotte and Dallas according to WHO-TV.

• Des Moines -3%

Some sources say Des Moines and West Des Moines housing prices are rising (Zillow.com).

• DesMoines +5.1% (November 2007 - November 2008)
• West Des Moines +2.7%

And they are rising even more according to R. Michael Knapp of Iowa Realty who reported in The Des Moines Register an increase of 6% in median Des Moines housing prices for the second quarter (4/1 - 7/1/2008) while the rest of the nation averaged a -7.6% (decline).

Whatever the exact numbers, we are doing relatively well. Lucky us!

The response of JPMorgan Chase & Company to owners faced with negative equity was to offer to modify an estimated $70 billion in mortgages to keep 400,000 customers out of foreclosure. Good idea.

photo by flickr by Jay Galvin

Senior Health Fair 2

The Senior Health Fair was time well spent today at Des Moines University! I expected as much. I walked away from the Fair with a message that I knew, but it was a message that I have been conveniently choosing to ignore for about a year - more on that in a minute.

DMU had a host of golf carts greeting and carrying visitors to their Student Education Center. Once inside there was a welcome area and 40 stations set up throughout the building. The set up was roomy, efficient, and welcoming. I even had the chance to say hi to DMU’s President, former Iowa Governor Terry E. Branstad. I found

• “vendors” of which half were promoting free services such as Aging Resources of Central Iowa, Alzheimer’s Association, SHIIP, Senior Services of Polk County, and DART who provided free transportation to the Health Fair

• health oriented information on cholesterol, infectious disease, Alzheimer’s, heart health, several cancer types, alternative health care, and coal burning effects

• lots of medical screening and testing of blood glucose, cholesterol and lipid levels, body-mass index, blood pressure, bone density, depression, vision, skin cancer reviews, vascular disease, balance, strength, flexibility, and review of medicines.

• the very popular Booth 33 offered demonstrations of osteopathic manipulative medicine

• and finally perhaps most valuable, the check out station (if you wanted).

At the check out station each person had the opportunity to assemble all of the testing information. While there were plenty of opportunities to talk with DMU medical students and budding practitioners backed up by faculty at each of the earlier stations, I for one didn’t need an ear trumpet to hear the final message.

Being a typical American when I hear the words health care, I think about doctors, problems, and disease. In the U. S. we have come to rely on a medical system that will “fix it” for us: an active medical system, a passive us.

In an article on the Center for Disease Control website we can read that chronic, not infectious disease will be the main contributor to a shortening of life. One of the CDC conclusions (1): prevention of chronic disease requires personal responsibility. That means more responsible eating and exercise. OK. OK. I got the message. From what I could see, the DMU Senior Health Fair was full of pretty healthy people looking for feedback, accepting personal responsibility, and getting a message. Messages are pretty individual and each participant got their own.

My message: health care starts with self care.

No one would have gotten any message except for the service of the dedicated medical students and their faculty. Des Moines University is a great resource and provided a great service through their annual Senior Health Fair.

photo by James G. Lindberg

footnote (1) Other conclusions in the article from CDC were also noteworthy. Are healthy, affordable foods available? Are safe, affordable exercise options available? Does the community address social determinants of health such as education, housing, job opportunity, and racism. But that is another story altogether so I’ll skip it.

Senior health fair

If you’re 50 or older, grab your ear trumpet, and listen up!

Des Moines University is holding a Senior Health Fair for those 50 and older. It’s

• Free
• Saturday, November 1
• 8 am until noon
• Student Education Center (Building 4 on the map)
• 3300 Grand Avenue

Des Moines University is a great medical resource that finds many ways in which to serve our city. Founded in 1898 Des Moines University is led by former Governor Terry E. Branstad. DMU has programs in osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, health care administration, public health, and more. Hundreds of their graduates practice in the Des Moines area.

It is not often that you will hear the words philanthropy and medicine in the same sentence, but make no mistake; DMU’s Senior Health Fair is a philanthropic contribution from the institution and the people that make up its community. I will attest. The DMU Senior Health Fair is a rare and valuable opportunity. You will have a chance to sit with current DMU students, their teachers, and other health professionals for

• free screenings of blood pressure, blood glucose, and bone density
• free review of your current medicines
• free osteopathic manipulation
• free foot and ankle screening
• flu shots (free if you can’t afford it, otherwise for a suggested donation)

The people you will meet and talk with are knowledgeable, kind, and generous with their time. I have gone several times, and I’ve always learned something that helps me stay healthier. I’ll be there. Look for me.

photo by flickr by fozzman

WiFi, coffee shops, bookstores

I am sitting in Caribou Coffee in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, using their free internet access, drinking coffee, and writing about Des Moines. I started at Barnes & Noble; internet access is not free at B&N in Sioux Falls! So what about Des Moines? Where will you be given free internet access?

• Barnes & Noble? Nope. Access is not free; you can buy access on site through AT&T.
• Border’s? Nope. Access is not free; access is available to T-Mobile customers.
• Caribou Coffee? Yep. Access is free.
• Panera Bread? Yep. Access is free.

I  buy a lot of books. I think I’ll go to Caribou Coffee and Panera Bread and order a few of them from Amazon.

photos by James Lindberg

What do I do with this?!

We’re all aware that compact fluorescent bulbs save energy and save money. It is less widely known that they should be recycled.

The Home Depot has established a national recycling program for compact fluorescent bulbs, cell phones, and old batteries. I checked it out this afternoon at The Home Depot at 3700 University in West Des Moines, and they make it easy. Just inside the main entrance they keep a cardboard box at the return desk. Place the worn out bulbs in the box, and you’re on your way. The alternative is to drive out to the Metro Waste Authority Regional Collection Center; it’s near Bondurant. See my earlier post. It’s very likely that you will find The Home Depot stores a lot closer to home. They are located all over the Metro. You’ll find some of the the local Home Depots at

• 2335 SE Deleware in Ankeny
• 4900 SE 14th Street in Des Moines
• 5222 NW 62nd in Johnston
• 10850 Plum Drive in Urbandale
• 3700 University Avenue in West Des Moines

The reason that the bulbs should be recycled is that compact fluorescent bulbs sometimes called CFLs contain a small amount of mercury (4 to 5 mg). It would take about 1000 CFLs for enough mercury to weigh as much as a nickel. While that is not a lot of mercury, mercury is toxic and capable of significant environmental harm. As a nation we have been pretty successful in having the money saving, energy efficient CFLs widely used but less successful in recycling them.

A chemist or toxicologist might tell you that mercury (whose chemical symbol is Hg) is a neurotoxin and that the damage accumulates. Mercury is a liquid metal. (Yes, it’s the same stuff that many of us played with when we found it as kids, and that turns out to be not such a good idea.) If the CFLs are discarded in the trash, the mercury will accumulate in the landfill with the potential to enter the air, land, the rivers, and the water supply. It is a lot easier and cheaper to recycle the bulbs now than to clean up the mess in the landfill later. Recycle ‘em.

photos by Jim Lindberg

The Buck Doesn’t Stop Here

What does Des Moines not have in common with Grand Rapids Michigan, Austin, Texas, Portland, Oregon, and Charlotte, North Carolina?

Answer: Being in the test market for the new series of $1 coins honoring the Presidents. They are being released in the order in which the Presidents served. Andrew Jackson was released Thursday August 14. You won’t see Iowan Herbert Hoover until 2014. Forty-two presidents are on the schedule. Take a close look at the designs at the mint website. The site has a great little piece of javascript code that allows you to switch images to show you front and back of each coin.

The program to mint the coins was authorized in 2005 and the first dollars were released in 2007.

Let’s see. If all 300,000,000 Americans collected one each of all 42 presidential dollars, that would be 12.6 billion dollars sitting in a desk drawer.

Well, I’ve gotta run — going to Grand Rapids.

photo by flickr by espanol and jvstin

Is that my garage or the toxic waste center?

If this looks in any way like your basement or garage, follow me because it is a photo of MWA’s Regional Collection Center.

I would guess that we are all quite similar in what we do and say around the house. For example, I say things like

I’d better save that; it matches my ________ (You fill in the blank.)

I’d better save that; I paid $ _____ for it. (You fill in the blank.)

• I’d better save that; it will be useful for ______ (You know the routine.)

There are a couple of concepts that might be applicable here.

• If it matched once, it doesn’t match anymore. One of the items has faded.
• Just because something once cost money, it doesn’t mean it still has value.
• If I haven’t used it yet, I probably won’t.

It’s been hard for some of us (That would be me.) to adjust to the idea of the “just-in-time” business concept, but buying just the right amount of material at just the right time prevents waste and eliminates the need to store the excess. …. Yeah, but we get suckered in. I’m sure you’ve heard this routine at the store.

The first pint is $200, but today we are having a special. You get another 25 gallons for an additional $200.

So we all go home with just over 25 gallons, pleased that we paid less than $8 a gallon. (Then we have to park the car on the street for a few years.)

Unfortunately some of the materials being stored in a basement or garage are toxic, caustic, corrosive, flammable, or otherwise reactive. DNR has some applicable definitions and a great list. Some of the items are more obvious; others might be overlooked. OSHA regulates many of these materials in the workplace, but not in your garage. It’s up to you. Want some technical definitions of toxic? In a nutshell, a hazardous or toxic substance can kill you or make you ill by one of three routes: if you eat or drink it (duh!); if it stays in contact with the skin; or if you breathe it. The same is true for your children, dog, cat, or tropical fish. Read the label. Caustic, corrosive and reactive materials may include drain cleaners, pool chemicals, and a lot more. Toxic materials that you might overlook include fluorescent lights and the new energy efficient lamps. DNR will even tell you about getting rid of eWaste.

If it is time to reduce your collection of pesticides, herbicides, oil base paints, paint thinners, anti-freeze, oil, gasoline, pool chemicals, etc., or even that mystery container that lost its label, head toward Bondurant on Highway 65 just north of Prairie Meadows. Stop at the Metro Waste Authority’s Regional Collection Center (RCC). That’s exit 142B off of I-80. It’s the green roofed building about 1 mile north of I-80 on the west side of Hwy 65 - 1105 Prairie Drive, Bondurant. They’ll greet you at the door and help you unload. (Note: Their workers wear protective gloves. Hmm.) Check the list; the more dangerous stuff seems to be free to dispose. They will charge a small fee for things that you can dispose of, like latex paint. For example, it cost me $5 to get rid of 8 part gallons of latex paint. They go by weight. 

Finally, this could save you some money. They have a Swap Shop where you can pick up usable materials that others have recycled. It’s free.

photos by Jim Lindberg

Science Center of Iowa

and you are sure to find it at the Science Center of Iowa!

Kids will have fun, and they won’t need your help. I went to the Science Center with 4 other kids today, and the 3 of us kids over 40 had as much fun as the 2 kids under 10. As you can see above everyone had fun - toddlers, grandmas, dads, the docents, sisters, grandpas, moms, brothers, and friends. It’s hands-on place; it has presentations, films; discovery, demonstrations, live animals, tv equipment, and food if you’re hungry.

If you’d like some science you can do at home, try this experiment called Dancing Raisins.

Take a tall, clear container. (A bud vase works nicely.) Add a clear, carbonated beverage like 7Up or ginger ale. Put in a few raisins, and sit back and watch. Let the kids discover as much or as little as they like. One of the more important lessons I’ve learned in 41 years of teaching is that the best action I can take in the classroom or lab is to set up the lesson then stand back. The students will learn more than I could ever “teach.” And a little child has an limitless view of the world.

Dancing Raisins comes from Professor Bassam Shakhashiri at the University of Wisconsin. Shakhashiri is world-famous for chemical demonstrations.

Photos by James Lindberg.

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.

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