Ask CITYVIEW

How does DART plan its rides to the Iowa State Fair?

We posed questions on the how, what and who regarding public transit services to the Iowa State Fair to Sarah Welch, the senior marketing and communications manager at DART. 

“DART’s Iowa State Fair Park and Ride service is an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ effort within the organization. Every administrative staff member, including the executive leadership team, must sign up for at least 18 hours of work during the state fair. Admin staff sell tickets and help fairgoers board buses — this is on top of their normal work duties. Our operations team, including dispatchers and operations supervisors, work extra hours to coordinate staff and ensure all our services are running smoothly,” Welch said.

“To drive the buses, current DART operators have the option to sign up for additional hours to help with delivering the state fair service. DART also temporarily hires about 15 guest bus operators; many are off-season school bus drivers or retired former DART bus operators.”

Welch added that DART staff members receive in-person or online training specifically for state fair service. Current and guest operators receive an overview of the shuttle routes and boarding procedures.

Welch said DART has a fleet of approximately 140 buses and uses between 16 to 35 of the larger buses for the state fair service. 

“We have been operating three Park and Ride locations for several years, which were selected based on their proximity to a fixed bus route and for having ample parking,” Welch said. “We select a route that allows our buses to get to the fair in a reasonable time, avoiding high-traffic areas, and make sure the roads are appropriate for our vehicles by driving them to test the turns, visibility and pavement conditions.”

Does Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW) have the legal right to ban lawn watering?

Central Iowa Water Works received authority from the state of Iowa in April 2024 to operate as a regional water authority and, with that, is allowed to exercise specific powers pursuant to Iowa law. According to CIWW, that approved structure gives them the ability “to take any actions — including enacting the water shortage plan — necessary to provide safe drinking water to its member agencies.” CIWW also confirmed that the member agencies, not CIWW, enforce the lawn watering ban and apply the set penalty for violating it according to their individual rules and regulations. This could range from warnings to fines to water service termination, depending upon the member agencies’ rules and regulations.

Does the boiling of water remove nitrates?

Due to the increase in nitrate levels found in Des Moines’ rivers and streams, some metro residents are boiling their water in order to remove nitrates. This does not work and makes the problem worse. According to the EPA, “Boiling water will NOT reduce nitrate levels. In fact, it will make the level of nitrate worse because some of the water will evaporate, but the nitrate will not. This increases the concentration of nitrate in the water.” This apparently happens because nitrate is a dissolved chemical and not a microorganism — like bacteria, which can be destroyed by boiling water. n