Des Moines/West Des Moines is in the news again! They are #1 on Forbes In Pictures: America’s Best Places To Raise A Family list. What makes this the best place for you to raise your family? I often read about people who have moved away and are now returning because they know Iowa is where they want their kids to grow up.

While the economy in the Des Moines metro (like the rest of the country) is less than perfect, the Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution reports: Des Moines is doing relatively well.

The Brookings’ MetroMonitor report was released today (6/17/2009), and based on “overall performance” Des Moines is ranked in the top 20 of the 100 largest metropolitan economies in the U. S. where overall performance was based on recent changes in 4 indicators:

• employment
• unemployment
• gross metropolitan product
• housing price index

The full rankings are available.

In employment were are in the top 20% along with Omaha-Council Bluffs and Kansas City. The middle quintile included Denver, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Chicago.

In the rate of increase in unemployment, the report showed that Des Moines was best in the country. We have lost jobs more slowly than any other metropolitan area. This was attributed in part to the relative insulation of the insurance industry to rapid change during a recession. Omaha-Council Bluffs was also in the most favorable 20%.

The question of wages which typically do not drop during a recession, Des Moines did not compare as favorably where we were in the second to the lowest quintile.

In recent changes in the gross metropolitan product, Des Moines was in the middle quintile.

The strength of the real estate markets is reflected by our position in the 2nd most favorable quintile. If you want to sell a house, it is most favorable to live in Houston, Buffalo, or Dallas, but you are in a lot of pain if you are trying to sell in Modesto, CA, Las Vegas, NV, or Stockton, CA. New slogan opportunity for Las Vegas: “If you bought a house in Vegas, your money will stay in Vegas.”

A final category considered in the Brookings report is real estate owned by lending institutions. These are properties that have been foreclosed, that the lender has tried and failed to sell at auction, and that remain in the hands of the lending institution. The Des Moines metro is in the middle. The fewest such properties are in Syracuse and Albany, NY and greatest number in Stockton, CA and Las Vegas, NV.

During the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, while we are suffering individually and collectively as institutions, a city and state, the Des Moines metro is doing relatively well. We couldn’t ask for a lot more.

photos by flickr by recentexposurephotography

With lilacs, timing is important. They bloom in spring and early summer, and they are just beginning.

When I got home on Friday, I saw that our lilacs were beginning to bloom in the backyard, and I knew that it was the perfect weekend to go out to Ewing Park and the Lilac Arboretum. I have been there many times.

From downtown drive out Indianola Road to the southeast; continue southeast past SE 14th St until you reach Easter Lake Drive then turn right (between the Ewing Park pillars) then park. (map) You will immediately see the lilacs and smell them too. You will see a few crab apples too (but not as many as in Water Works Park).

The Lilac Arboretum in Ewing Park is a welcoming place.

• it’s open and expansive
• it’s a good place for a picnic
• dogs are welcome
• kids can run
• grandma can walk
• Jim’s Johns are available

For Ewing Park the Lilac Arboretum is just one event. More happens throughout the year.

• frisbee golf
• the soap box derby
• BMX racing
• shelters and grills
• playground equipment
• playground

Des Moines is a great city. You will get to know another piece of Des Moines when you visit Ewing Park. The timing is right; the lilacs are just starting.

photos by James G. Lindberg

Everything is right for the Iowa Cubs home opener.

• Friday, April 17, 7:05 pm
• Round Rock Express is coming
• Principal Park where the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers meet; it’s a great ballpark!
• check the seating and prices then buy your tickets on-line
• pretty nice weather (It looks like 65 at game time with only a 10% chance of showers and 58 at 10 o’clock.)
• here’s the schedule
• and the 2009 roster

Just remember who you got to see last year, and don’t forget who has played in Des Moines in the past few years: Geovany Soto, the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year; Ryan Theriot; Micah Hoffpauir; Koyie Hill; Felix Pie; Eric Patterson. The Des Moines Register reports 15 returning starters from last season. It looks like we will be seeing Jason DuBois and Jeff Samardzija in Des Moines, at least for a while this year.

If you like baseball, it’s the place to be this weekend!

photos by flickr by Justin Brockie and Tim Patterson

Has anyone ever told you, “Clean up after yourself?” or “Get that thing out of here!”? Lately?

Want to get rid of it free? I have just the information you have been waiting for!

SCRUB Days are times and places that you can drop off stuff that you (or your loved one) want to be gone. It could be

• old furniture
• trash containers
• tires (off the rims)
• TVs, computers
• even old appliances like refrigerators, air-conditioners, stoves, microwaves, furnaces, freezers, water heaters, etc.
• check out the list of what you can and can’t drop off

The eagerly awaited SCRUB days calendar has arrived. The City of Des Moines posted it as of April 3, 2009! I’ve been waiting, and I know you’ve been waiting too so here are the days and locations by neighborhood:

April 18, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Drake University parking lot (24th and Forest – Carpenter and Kirkwood Glen neighborhoods)
• Bell Avenue Business Center (1901 Bell Avenue – Southwestern Hills and downtown neighborhoods)

May 16, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Central Presbyterian Church parking lot (39th & Grand – North of Grand, Arbor Peaks, Greenwood Historic, Sherman Hill, and Woodland Heights neighborhoods)
• Capitol View Elementary parking lot (320 E. 16th – Capitol East and East Village neighborhoods)

June 20, 2009, 7 am until noon

• State Fair parking lot (E. 34th and Dean – Laurel Hill and Valley High Manor neighborhoods)
• Hoover High parking lot (4800 Aurora – Meredith and Merle Hay neighborhoods)

July 18, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Southridge Mall parking lot (1111 E. Army Post – Somerset, Magnolia Park, South Park, Watrous South, Hillsboro, Ewing Woods-Evergreen, and Easter Lake neighborhoods)

August 15, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Prospect Park parking lot (Prospect Road north of Hickman – Mondamin Presidential, Chautauqua Park, Drake Park, and King-Irving neighborhoods)

September 19, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Hy-Vee lot, 3221 SE 14th, east of the building (Indianola Hills, McKinley School-Columbus Park, and Pioneer Park).

October 17, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Polk County Office Building at Oliver Plaza (2339 Euclid – Lower Beaver and Beaverdale neighborhoods)
• north parking lots at Roosevelt High School on Chamberlain St. (Waterbury, Ingersoll Park, Linden Heights, Salisbury Oaks, Waveland Woods, Waveland Park, and Westwood neighborhoods).

Where else and when can you get rid of these nonhazardous materials other than the SCRUB day sites?

You have to haul it to a different site, and it is only open and free to you on those Saturdays listed above from 7 am until 1 pm.

• MWA Transfer Station at 4198 Delaware Avenue

What about yard waste?

Some of you may remember the time when you could drop off yard waste. Well, you can still do that free too but not at the SCRUB days sites. You have to haul it to a different site, and it is only open and free to you on those Saturdays listed above from 7 am until 1 pm.

• MWA Compost Center, 1601 Harriett St (near SE 15th and Harriett)

What about toxic and hazardous materials? I have just the right information for you! Check it out.

• MWA Regional Collection Center. Read about this in Around Des Moines.

There were SCRUB days last year too. You might remember the 2008 post.

photo by flickr by epcrossing and bisonbison

And a good time was had by all.

The State Historical Museum of Iowa is a wonderful place. Visit frequently

• by yourself
• with your children
• with your grandchildren

Use any excuse.

They are quite pleased to tell you that they are open every day of the year except for Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s a credit to them; they serve the public first.

The museum has permanent exhibits and changing exhibits, and they are all very well done. One exhibit that seems to be a sure hit traces the history of people in Iowa and their connections to our natural resources. That’s where the buffalo above is found, along with loons, foxes, raptors, and other Iowa creatures.

When you first enter the museum, you are greeted by a mammoth skeleton. When I was there Tuesday that prompted the question, “Was it really that big?” Mammoths ranged from 9′ to 15′ tall and roamed the Midwest during the Ice Age. Read up at the museum’s site or go see for yourself.

There are also artifacts and modern representations of Native American cultures including a walk through bark shelter. While I went through it four times in both directions, my unofficial 7 year old guide was leading a fast-paced tour, and some of the details have escaped me – a decent docent nonetheless.

If you like local history Patten’s Neighborhood is terrific.

And you can visit a few exhibits on-line.

I went to the museum on Tuesday for the Irish Fest and did something for the first time: I got a green stegosaurus spray painted on my face. I thought it matched my personality.

Keep posted about the goings-on at the State Historical Museum. Until you get there, you won’t know how good it is – so go.

• visit the museum
• visit the gift shop
• use their archives
• use their libraries and special collections
• check out the education resources
• visit their remote historic sites away from Des Moines
• check out their historic preservation program
• read their publications
• volunteer and get involved

You can even rent space!

Or you can read what I said last year.

photos by James Lindberg and the Purple Wren

We saw more bald eagles near Saylorville Lake on Sunday February 22, 2009. These eagles were mature – white heads, white tails, not thrilled with all the attention.

For a first stop we parked and hiked down to the Lake above the dam at one of the closed camp site roads. It is an understatement to say it was cool and breezy on the shore of the lake. No eagles there. Just a couple of frozen “turkeys.”

We headed over to the Saylorville Lake Visitor Center and took in part of a talk by a ranger. He kept all of the little and large kids entertained with his props and facts. (DNR has more information.)

The ranger shared that the eaglets

• start at 3 ounces
• require early imprinting to survive
• weigh 5 pounds at 3 weeks thanks to fish every waking hour

The stages of development include

• branchers
• wingers, and
• the eaglets need their big talons to hang on to the branches in the nest.
• Even then they sometimes fall from the nest and are lost to the fall or once on the ground to predators like raccoons.

Then we were off to the Cottonwood Recreation Area (open Sunday for the Eagle Watch 2009 ). (Watch out because the map is sideways but) Cottonwood is below the dam where the water is open and open water allows the eagles to fish. Folks from the Audubon Society were set up there with spotting telescopes that gave a pretty good view. I pointed my Nikon COOLPIX through a spotter and got the picture to the right. I tried my zoom and got the thumbnail on the mainpage.

Sunday’s Eagle Watch was jointly sponsored with help from

• U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Iowa DNR
• Polk County Conservation Board
• Dallas County Conservation Board
• Des Moines Audubon Society, a branch of Iowa Audubon.

Watch for the next Eagle Watch, but in the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for bald eagles when you are anywhere below the dam and near the Des Moines River. They soar, they’re big, they beat their wings slowly, and you can’t miss their distinctive white head and white tail.

photos by James G. Lindberg

No matter where you live in Des Moines, it’s a short trip to see eagles. They live year round on the Des Moines River just east of Principal Park.

You can park south of the Des Moines River near S. E. Livingston and E. 6th and walk onto the E. 6th bridge. Then look east toward S. E. 14th or look up. They are in the trees, they fish, and they soar (like eagles should). It’s always good to get outside, even or maybe even especially in the winter. It’s your big chance. They are bald eagles.

If you are looking for a bald eagle with a white head, you may or may not see one. Many are immature. (Note: you may not want to call a bald eagle immature to its face. Even the immature subadults make a crow look small.) Wikipedia has a pretty nice article with several more photos.

You won’t see an eagle as close as in the photo on the right (taken by Timothy K. Hamilton in Alaska), but they are still impressive.

• really big, even from a great distance (Adults have a wingspan of 6 to 8 feet.)
• a very slow and powerful flapping of the wings

Eagles are known for their keen vision (as in eagle eye), dive speed (would you believe 200 mph?), and sharp, strong talons. It doesn’t even have to reach up to adjust its binocular vision. Bald eagles don’t like to be in populated areas so we are lucky to have them close enough to watch. And when you check ‘em out, remember that they can see you a lot better than you can see them.

photos by Flickr by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton and by James G. Lindberg

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