Ask CITYVIEW

Is there a way to get notifications for when we should lower our American flags to half-staff?

Here is a site you may want to check out: halfstaff.org. The volunteers at Halfstaff.org seem to provide accurate and timely information on properly displaying the flag of the United States of America, listed out by state. Their website says, “The United States flag represents all the people of America as does our organization. We do not support any political candidate, nor do we endorse any religious organization. This website was created out of a need. Over the years patriotic Americans have desired to show the proper respect for their American Flags. The problem has been in the inability to obtain timely information on when and how to fly their American flags. We base our notices on the Flag Code of the United States of America.”

Is it true that there is an ape preserve on the south side of the city?

Yes, it is true. The Ape Cognition and Conservation Initiative was renamed to the Ape Initiative in December 2013. The Initiative earned its first apes in 2005 as the Great Ape Trust, which was launched in part by the primatologist Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and Des Moines businessman Ted Townsend. 

The Great Ape Trust turned over the care of its bonobos to the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary. In 2013, the Ape Initiative then assumed responsibility and care of the bonobos. The bonobos’ names are Maisha, Teco, Nyota, Clara, Mali, Elikya and Kanzi. Kanzi unfortunately passed away in March 2025 at 44 years old. 

The Ape Initiative has a 230-acre property. The bonobos help the research scientists uncover the origins of human language, cognition and behavior, as bonobos are the closets living relative to humans. Bonobos are an endangered species of Great Ape with as few as 15-20,000 living in the wild. n