Posted January 01, 2025in Civic Skinny
Des Moines Police Sergeant Paul Parizek tells CITYVIEW the speed camera story is “challenging,” “long” and “complex.” And he is right. A little background: In 2011, the Des Moines Police Department began its Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) program, which included speed cameras and red light cameras. The legislature passed
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Posted December 04, 2024in Civic Skinny
Political campaign money flowed into the Iowa’s U.S. House of Representatives campaigns this past election season. All four of the House seats were up for grabs in Iowa’s congressional districts. Republicans were aiming to retain their dominance in the state, while Democrats were hoping to flip two of the districts,
Read More →Twelve drummers drumming… …To the anonymous person who is giving $250,000 to match dollar-for-dollar contributions to help the Des Moines Area Religious Council feed the needy this Christmas-time. And to Matt Unger, who runs that oh-so-important operation…and to the not-anonymous donors who helped Drake exceed by $40 million its three-year
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Posted November 06, 2024in Civic Skinny
Nonprofit organizations are aplenty in Iowa, and the paychecks of the CEOs, presidents and other executives who manage them are often astounding. While there is little doubt about the good these varying organizations do through their services, it’s interesting to see how much those in charge are earning running a
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Posted October 02, 2024in Civic Skinny
Earlier this summer, the Evangelical Lutheran Churches Association (ELCA) and the Southeastern Iowa Synod voted to remove the West Des Moines-based Lutheran mega-church, Church of Hope, from its roster of congregations. The Southeastern Iowa Synod is one of 65 synods that make up the ELCA. Bishop Rev. Amy Current said
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Posted September 04, 2024in Civic Skinny
The Des Moines City Council’s proposed ban on camping within city limits, which criminalizes encampments of the city’s homeless, has raised the ire of some citizens and has been delayed and amended several times. To recap, in June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities could ban people from sleeping
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Posted July 31, 2024in Civic Skinny
The salaries of state employees are public information, and, to the surprise of some and the unsurprise of others, coaches from Iowa’s three state universities continue to be some of the highest-paid state employees. The UNI men’s basketball Head Coach Ben Jacobsen has won more than 300 games with the
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Posted July 03, 2024in Civic Skinny
Des Moines’ Parks and Recreation system was ranked among the top 20 in the country, according to the Trust for Public Land’s (TPL) 2023 ParkScore, which compares 100 of the largest cities in the United States. Des Moines Parks and Recreation’s score improved by three points from 2023 to 2024,
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Posted June 05, 2024in Civic Skinny
RSM US LLP released its audit of Polk County for the year ending June 30, 2023. The financial report highlights the County’s revenues, which totaled $476,155,345, a 2% decrease from 2022. The decrease is primarily due to “$26.6 million in charges for services and $17.6 million decrease in operating grants
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Posted May 01, 2024in Civic Skinny
Connie Boesen began her term as mayor of Des Moines on Jan. 2, taking over for the city’s longest serving mayor, Frank Cownie. As a result, Boesen’s at-large seat on the city council needed to be filled. Five candidates — Dr. Claudia Addy, Benjamin Clarke, Justyn Lewis, Mike Simonson and
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