Ask CITYVIEW

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, cable and internet connections to the home by Mediacom, Lumen, etc.”

Are the large number of construction projects around Des Moines funded by President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” infrastructure program?

President Joe Biden’s major infrastructure plan for improvement to the United States roadways, railways, broadband development, bridges and other projects eventually passed after several changes.

According to Erin Murphy from The Gazette, “A state record of nearly $1.5 billion was invested in Iowa’s roads in the state budget year that ended last month, the Iowa Department of Transportation said Wednesday,” in an article from June 2023. 

“The most recent increase comes on the heels of a boost in federal infrastructure funding passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021.

“Stuart Anderson, director of the Iowa DOT’s transportation development division, said, while determining a precise financial impact is difficult, the department estimates an additional $100 million or more in the 2022-2023 state budget year was the result of increased federal funding through the infrastructure bill,” Murphy added.

While it’s difficult to tell which improvements are directly a result of the increase in federal funding, there are signs of its impact. State-owned bridges, which have ranked poorly among the rest of the country, saw the number of bridges in “poor condition” drop from 256 to 26 from 2006 to 2023. 

When did the Iowa State Fair start, and what was the hottest day ever at the fair?

The original Iowa State Fair was held in Fairfield in 1854. The three-day event ran Oct. 25-27. In 1886, the Iowa State Fair made its move to the fairgrounds we know today on the east side of Des Moines. The event topped one million fairgoers for the first time in 2002 at 1,008,174. The 2023 fair was the second-most-attended fair of all time, with 1,133,958 people walking through the gates. The record is 2019 at 1,170,375. The hottest day on record at the fair happened on Aug. 16, 1983, when the temperature hit a sweltering 108 degrees.