Does the city of Des Moines consider ways to improve traffic efficiency? For example, better timing of traffic lights, roundabouts, removing traffic lights, etc.? We reached out to the city of Des Moines with this question and received the following response from Ally MacLean, communications specialist for the city. “Yes,
Read More →Ask CITYVIEW anything by emailing editor@dmcityview.com. What is proper flag etiquette? There are many rules regarding how to fly the American flag. The Federal Flag Code, Public Law 94-344, contains rules for its handling and display. There are no federal penalties for misusing the flag, but some states have their
Read More →Ask CITYVIEW anything by emailing editor@dmcityview.com. How many employees does the Des Moines Performing Arts organization have? According to numbers provided by the DMPA, the answer is 45 full-time and 361 part-time employees. What happened to Hoops and Hops this year? And how many people normally attend? Hoops
Read More →Ask CITYVIEW anything by emailing editor@dmcityview.com. Where can I go fishing in Des Moines? Polk County has a list of public fishing locations on its website, as well as a few tips and reminders on how to best practice the hobby. Before you go fishing, if it is a
Read More →What years had the least and most laws passed in Iowa’s General Assembly? To answer this question, we dug into the online records for the Iowa legislature, which date back to 1915. In those first years with records available, when adding together the number of House Files and Senate Files
Read More →Who pays for the holiday decorations in downtown Des Moines? CITYVIEW contacted Rena Mauk, vice president of Downtown Development at the Greater Des Moines Partnership, to get this answer. Here is her response: “The festive atmosphere is created by various businesses, organizations, property managers and groups who decide to invest
Read More →Where can I donate used books? This question was posed by a reader who used to donate books to Planned Parenthood, which is no longer accepting book donations after ending its annual book sale. The good news for this reader, and those also looking to donate books, is that there
Read More →What are Des Moines’ goat ordinances? According to the city of Des Moines website, which lists the ordinances and laws surrounding all shapes and sizes of livestock within the city limits, goats fall under many of the same rules as chickens. Section 18.4, article a, states, “No horse, cow, calf,
Read More →What are Polk County’s dog ordinances? In Polk County, dog owners are required to annually obtain a dog license for any dog more than 4 months old. According to the ordinance, the license needs to be obtained no later than the first business day of January of each year or
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Remembering Chuck Betts, a nice man
“When someone asks how you’re doing, they don’t really want to know,” Chuck Betts mentioned over coffee a few weeks before he died at age 93 on Sept. 1. “They don’t want to know any depressing details.” “So I just say, ‘I’m doing fine,’ ” he said. He was, and he wasn’t. He
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