Pay attention, Iowans! Starving artists? Remote workers. Most dangerous day of the week.
3/5/2025Starving artists? Maybe not. The Iowa Cultural Coalition (ICC) released a report on the state of Iowa’s creative sector, which includes nonprofit and for-profit participants ranging from museums, theaters and performing arts centers to independent artists, directors, live music venues, galleries, dance studios, filmmakers and design firms. Venues, event organizers, suppliers, manufacturers and retailers are also included.
As of 2022, almost 42,000 Iowans were employed in the creative sector. Of those jobs, 24,433 support arts and cultural production and related creative industries like retail, manufacturing of goods and support services. A total of 9,169 Iowans work in the core arts and cultural production section. The three most common job categories are arts education and education services with 2,308 jobs; performing arts with 1,848 jobs; and architecture and design with 1,745 jobs. The ICC says the stated value added from these jobs is $885 million. When adding in related creative industries like publishing, film and other visual media, and supporting arts like retail, manufacturing and goods and support services, ICC says the total value added is $4.9 billion.
According to the National Endowment for the Arts National Arts statistics and evidence-based reporting center, Iowa’s artist labor force has increased by 36% over the last decade. It also says Iowa nonprofit arts and cultural organizations have produced $705 million in economic activity, provided $151 million in local, state and federal tax revenue and generated $431 million in personal income for Iowa residents. In greater Des Moines specifically, $310 million in economic activity and $66.9 million in tax revenue were generated.
Other key findings from the report say that Iowa ranks 23rd among all states in arts and cultural employment growth and 26th among all states in value-added growth. …
Food insecurity is a real concern for Iowans. And not just the price of eggs. A new survey from the Iowa Food Bank Association finds food insecurity is a bipartisan concern among the state’s registered voters. More than half said the state is not doing enough to help Iowans facing food insecurity.
“The findings were enlightening,” said Linda Gorkow, executive director of the Iowa Food Bank Association. “The poll results showed 35% ranked groceries and food as their largest monthly household expense, and 39% believe they are worse off financially than last year.” …
Focus less on methodology and more on findings and include more clarity about the findings. Those are the recommendations in the Vulnerable Road User Safety Assessment (VRUSA) Comparison Report, which examines how state departments of transportation are improving efforts to increase the safety of people who bike and roll on streets.
“Engage more directly with community members and advocates, especially with populations from areas that are overrepresented in VRU crashes,” the report stated. “Iowa DOT should identify existing strategies that are barriers to improving VRU safety. The Iowa DOT’s report should focus less on methodology and more on the findings and should include more clarity about the findings. The Iowa DOT should include all classes of VRUs identified in the federal rule.”
The VRUSA report was released by 1,000 Friends of Iowa, a statewide nonprofit organization focused on responsible land use. …
What describes an average remote worker in the Des Moines/West Des Moines area? CoworkingMag, a global coworking magazine, says our metro area has 55,366 teleworkers, which represent 14.1% of the total workforce, slightly above the national average of 13.8%. It also says Des Moines is the only metro area in the Midwest where Gen X dominates the remote workforce with 43.6%. Next are Millennials at 34.3%, which is the lowest share in the Midwest. Baby Boomers are at 12.6% and are the second lowest in the Midwest. Gen Z brings up the rear at 9.1%.
The magazine’s report says 46.5% of the remote workers earn $75,000 or more and have a median income of $71,460. Of Des Moines’ teleworkers, 60.2% have at least a bachelor’s degree, and 4% have less than a high school diploma. …
The greater Des Moines area ranks among the most cost-effective places to do business in the country, according to new data from Moody’s, which provides economic research regarding risk, performance and financial modeling.
The latest Moody’s Analytics Cost of Doing Business Index showed Des Moines’ cost of doing business is 14.6% below the national average, the most competitive level for the area since Moody’s began compiling data in 1990. …
Franklin County in north-central Iowa experienced the biggest drop in single-parent homes in Iowa. BadCredit.org carried out a study of County Health Rankings data to track trends in the number of single-parent households over a four-year period, identifying where levels are rising or falling. The County Health Rankings data they used looked at how the trends have changed since 2021. Overall, they found that, across the majority of states, there has been a modest decline in the percentage of children in single-parent households, with decreases ranging from 1% to 2%.
The percentage of children in single-parent Iowa households has dropped by 1%. However, there are disparities among counties in the state. The top five counties with the greatest decrease in children in single-parent households are Franklin at -9%; Fremont at -9%; Hardin at -8%; Harrison at -6%; and Monroe at -6%.
The 5 counties with the highest growth in single-parent households among children are Ida at 12%; Jones at 10%; Osceola at 10%; Adams at 9%; and Crawford at 6%. …
The median home price in the United States continues to rise, making it more difficult for the average American to afford a home. Market research performed by tradingpedia.com analyzed 2024 and 2025 housing market data obtained by Redfin and personal income statistics sourced by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis for the third quarter of the same year and calculated how many annual incomes it would cost the average American to buy a house in every state. The research found that Iowa residents have the most affordable housing market. It lists the average annual income at $63,496, which is 27% of the cost of a typical home at $234,708. Therefore, Iowans would need to save all their earnings for three years and eight months to buy a home. …
Pay attention, Iowans! Many Iowans are apparently trying to figure out if they have trouble paying attention, at least according to Visme, which analyzed Google search data across all 50 states. The study focused on search terms including “short attention span,” “why am I unable to focus?” and “methods to enhance attention span.”
From 2021-2024, Iowa increased its number of searches by 5.89%, which is fifth highest in the country. On the bright side, if those who were still reading at this point made it here, the total number of searches remains low. The most searched term, “inattentive ADHD,” ranks 30th nationally, while “attention span” ranks 44th and “how to focus” ranks 46th. …
You might want to stay home on Saturdays, as it is the most dangerous day of the week to drive in Iowa, according to injury lawyers at Bader Scott. The firm examined data on fatal motor vehicle crashes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 2018-2022. A total of 16.9% of fatal crashes happened on Saturdays, 15.48% on Mondays and 14.77% on Fridays. ♦
