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Do grocery stores actually recycle the plastic bags at their stores?

We reached out to Fareway with this question to see what ends up happening to the plastic bags they take in for recycling. Elias Johnson of Fareway replied: “We recycle over 100,000 lbs. of plastic bags a year, which is roughly 6,000,000 bags. The recycled bags are made into parking lot bumpers, benches, and playground equipment.”

What agency is responsible for maintenance dredging of the two rivers that run through Des Moines?

This question was posed to us before the heavy rainfall Des Moines and the state experienced, with Des Moines recording 14.5 inches of rain in September 2026, marking its wettest calendar month in 112 years and the third-wettest month on record. But, before then, the river waters were low. The reader pointed out that fallen trees, junk and sandbars were visible. The reader also wanted to know if the channels should be dredged when the water level is low.

Melissa Walker of Des Moines Water Works responded to our inquiry.

“It would be a variety of entities (as for who is responsible for the dredging). It depends oftentimes on who owns the bridge. Typically it would be a community’s public works department that would clear the debris. I believe the location you are talking about would be the City of West Des Moines.”

As for Des Moines, we reached out to the city and received this response in regard to river dredging:

“DMWW is correct; we won’t be able to answer the question your reader has as that portion is in the City of West Des Moines. DMWW is also correct that many partnerships are involved if dredging occurs, but river dredging doesn’t happen often. The City of Des Moines Public Works Department does a lot of work to keep our waterways clean within the City of Des Moines limits, including removing dead trees and debris when necessary, like the removal of a log jam in Raccoon River at SW First Street Trail Bridge in July.”

We reached out to the City of West Des Moines, and received this response from Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist Janet Wilwerding on behalf of their Public Services Director Paul Tauke.

“Dredging the Raccoon River would be very time-consuming and expensive, and rivers are meant to flow that way. If there is a large amount of debris, crews would clean it up to ensure it doesn’t obstruct water flow. You will often see dredging in smaller lakes or creeks to ensure the water isn’t obstructed, because those areas are quite a bit narrower.” ♦