What are the R2D2-shaped green boxes on nearly every West Des Moines residential block? We reached out to the City of West Des Moines to find out the answer. Communications Specialist Lucinda Stephenson responded. “Our Engineering Services Department says these are telecommunication pedestals, and they are used to provide telephone,
Read More →What is the cable and pulley system at the 63rd Street and Grand Avenue intersection used for? CITYVIEW reached out to the city of Des Moines for an explanation and received this response from Communications Specialist Devin Perry. “63rd Street is the dividing road (give or take a bit of
Read More →How long after construction ends does the DOT have to remove road construction signs? We asked Scott Nixon, District Construction Engineer at the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), who said: “Our standard specification on traffic control devices for the Iowa DOT does not give a set time frame for when
Read More →What are some of Iowa’s most interesting ghost towns? With the May edition containing our Summer Arts & Entertainment feature, we compiled many of the area’s most exciting, attractive and thrilling events. One of our readers posed this question that might be more suited for the fall version. Iowa is
Read More →What exactly does Heartland AEA do? The Heartland Area Education Association is the central and partially eastern Iowa “area” under Iowa’s Area Education Association. The counties included in the Heartland area are Carroll, Audubon, Guthrie, Dallas, Boone, Madison, Story, Warren, Marion, Jasper and, of course, Polk. Some of what
Read More →Where and when did green beer start? With March underway and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations taking shape throughout the month, there is one tradition that has become synonymous with the holiday — green beer. Green beer was first “invented” in New York in 1914 by Dr. Thomas Hayes Curtin. He
Read More →Why does the DOT need 12 cranes, some next to each other, for the east mix project? We posed this question to the Iowa DOT, and District Construction Engineer Scott Nixon responded. “The contractor is getting ready to receive the steel girders for the section of the new flyover that
Read More →What’s the maximum capacity of Wells Fargo Arena? Wells Fargo Arena hosts a number of events from the Iowa Wolves, Wild, Barnstormers, countless musical acts, comedians, motocross and more. At most, for any of these events, the venue can hold up to 16,980 for concerts, 16,110 for basketball games, and
Read More →“What is happening with the AMC Cobblestone 9 theater?” In 2016, AMC bought Carmike Cinemas for approximately $1.1 billion. As a result, AMC took over the Southridge 12, AMC Classic Cobblestone 9 and AMC Classic Johnston 16 theaters, the first two of which are now closed. Southridge 12 remains empty
Read More →What are those devices that have popped up all over Des Moines and the suburbs? They are black, like computer tablets, attached to the tops of tall poles, and they are always tilted. Donning the top of large poles, mainly streetlights as of late, are solar panels. According to the
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