Polk County’s ‘true’ homeless rate. Favorite make-out spots. And a win for the rooster
9/4/2024The 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 or camping in public places. In late July, the Des Moines City Council proposed that violators could be fined $120 and be given 24 hours to remove their belongings rather than the original 10 days. Since then, the ordinance has been changed to a fine of $50 and three days to remove belongings and requires the city to store property removed for up to 30 days. Where these items would be stored and how much it would cost to store them remains unclear. With continued pushback, the third reading of the ordinance has been pushed back to the Sept. 16 council meeting.
According to Homeward, Polk County’s homelessness planning organization, its point-in-time count says approximately 715 people are experiencing homelessness, both sheltered and unsheltered, in Polk County. How does this compare to other similar-sized counties? And are those counites proposing similar bans on public space encampments?
Polk County’s population hovers around 500,000. The website of the city of Knoxville in Knox County, Tennessee, says its latest point-in-time count identified 1,178 individuals experiencing homelessness as of February 2022. The city provides a 72-hour notification policy before clearing an encampment. Kane County, Illinois, which includes the city of Aurora, reported its point-in-time count in 2021 was 251. Aurora dropped its panhandling ordinance in 2018, similar to the one Des Moines passed in 2019. Des Moines has recently started placing signs on city medians warning panhandlers of the ordinance. Clark County in Washington reported its point-in-time count at 1,366. It passed an ordinance in 2023 that “bans camping between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. on any county road, street, sidewalk or right-of-way; any entrance to or exit from any county-owned building or parking lot; and any county-owned or maintained buildings and parking lots. Camping in vehicles during that time frame on county property is also banned,” according to The Columbian. …
The Des Moines Area Association of Realtors released its July 2024 housing statistics. Home sales in July rose 0.7% since June with 1,287 homes sold. Pending sales are down 3.02% from June to July and down 6.16% compared to last year. Active listings went up by 4.06% from June to July with a massive jump from the year before at a 21.94% increase. The median sale price is down month over month by 2.6%, dropping from $307,000 to $299,000. However, that’s still an increase from last year, up 4.43% from $296,300. In July, 72.34% of properties sold were financed conventionally, 11.5% were cash purchases and 9.09% were financed with an FHA loan. …
The unemployment rate remained steady for a fourth straight month. The 2.8% rate is 0.2% lower than it was during June of last year and lower than the national unemployment rate, which increased to 4.3% in June. According to Iowa Workforce Development, the total number of working Iowans fell to 1,638,000 in July. This figure is 3,600 fewer than in June and 21,200 fewer than one year ago.
This rate differs from the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), which reports Des Moines’ “true” unemployment rate last year was 23%. The LISEP uses its True Rate of Unemployment to track the percentage of the U.S. labor force that does not have a full-time job (35-plus hours a week) but wants one, has no job, or does not earn a living wage, “conservatively pegged” at $25,000 annually before taxes. It also says the Cedar Rapids area’s true unemployment number is 23.0%, Iowa City’s is 26.5%, Council Bluffs/Omaha’s is 25.2% and the Quad Cities’ is 31.4%. …
The City of Des Moines announced it received a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior for just shy of $5.3 million. The money sent to Des Moines is part of a larger dishing out of $46.7 million in funding through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program, which provides matching grants to cities for park projects in underserved communities.
The money will go to Birdland Park and the Marina Masterplan. The plan is one of 10 community-led park projects across the country selected to provide more equitable access to the outdoors. Pending City Council approval, the western portion of Phase 1 of the project is expected to commence in the spring of 2025. The Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department plan will add playgrounds, a skating ribbon, an ICON water trail, open-air shelters, restrooms, facility rental and concessions, improved parking, stormwater management controls, landscaping, fishing areas, a power boat ramp, a pier and dock, lighting, benches, traffic garden and bike racks to the existing 55-acre park. …
Pucker up. A recent report from datingnews.com shares Iowa’s favorite make-out spot as Maquoketa Caves State Park. The nationwide survey asked 3,000 couples to recommend the ultimate make-out spots based on their own experiences. Yes, that’s correct. Maquoketa Caves State Park ranked No. 37 nationally. The report notes, “The park features unique caves, lush forests, and scenic trails. The natural beauty and secluded environment provide a romantic setting.” Other Iowa locations listed are Ledges State Park (No. 84) and Pikes Peak State Park (No. 96). The top 5 in America are:
No. 1: Hana Highway, Maui, Hawaii
No. 2: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
No. 3: Pikes Peak Highway, Colorado Springs, Colorado
No. 4: Lookout Mountain Parkway, Chattanooga, Tennessee
No. 5: Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. …
Ed Fallon, an advocate for backyard chickens, wrote to CITYVIEW expressing his concern over a Des Moines City Council agenda that addressed the number of birds one could own on their property.
“At least one Des Moines City Council member wants significant changes to the city’s ordinance, with a proposal under consideration that would outlaw roosters and reduce the number of hens allowed from 30 to 12,” Fallon said.
The City Council agreed to move voting on the proposed ordinance to the Aug. 5 meeting, at which Des Moines residents from varying neighborhoods added their comments, saying chickens provide a consistent food source amid surging food prices, are fun to watch, provide companionship, and consume scraps, thus reducing food waste.
In another win for the rooster rooters, the amended resolution was withdrawn during the Aug. 5 meeting and postponed indefinitely. n
