Why is gas cheaper here than in neighboring states? A reader posed us this question because of a visit to Alabama, where gas was 30 to 60 cents higher than in any of the other seven states he had driven through to get there. Gas prices have been rising in
Read More →What are the rules and regulations surrounding e-bikes and electric scooters in Des Moines? You have likely been living under a rock if you haven’t seen a teenager zooming through your neighborhood or side streets on an e-bike or electric scooter. Residents in Des Moines and the metro have seen
Read More →When will the lighting be fixed on the north end of the Coleman Bridge, where walkers/bikers are in the dark after sunset? We forwarded your question to the City of Des Moines. Here is the answer: “The lights on the Coleman Bridge have unfortunately been the target of recurring vandalism
Read More →What will happen to the 55 mph signs now that the speed limit is changing? Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 378 on June 1, increasing the speed limit on most rural, two-lane state highways from 55 miles per hour to 60 miles per hour. This change took effect on
Read More →I am 100% certain I attended a Freddie King concert in the summer of 1976 in a small bar near Drake University. Can any CITYVIEW reader confirm King’s 1976 Des Moines appearance? We are not sure if our readers can confirm it, but we sent ourselves down the rabbit hole
Read More →Is there a way to get notifications for when we should lower our American flags to half-staff? Here is a site you may want to check out: halfstaff.org. The volunteers at Halfstaff.org seem to provide accurate and timely information on properly displaying the flag of the United States of America,
Read More →How far along is the construction of the 515 Walnut Tower? Those who have driven through downtown Des Moines lately have seen the capital city’s latest skyscraper taking shape. We reached out to Beal Derkenne Construction for an update and received this response, along with photos from the director of
Read More →What is the construction happening near Johnston Station, where the Panera Bread is? We asked the city of Johnston about this construction project. Communications Director Janet Wilwerding responded, saying it will be a Chase Bank. The site is on the corner of Merle Hay Road and Pioneer Parkway, and it
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Posted February 04, 2026in Ask Cityview
When was the first CITYVIEW Best of Des Moines poll? The answer doesn’t appear to be as cut and dried as one might think. We dug deep through our archives to find the answer. The oldest complete copy we could find was from 1994. The answer was not spelled out
Read More →To what extent has the decision to allow taxpayer dollars to be used to pay for private school education impacted the rosters of these private school football teams? This question was presumably sparked by the recent IHSAA football state championships, in which six classes had a Catholic team, in other
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