1 big thing: Ingersoll theater tenant backs out

2. A development bonus: 515 Euclid Ave.

Des Moines weekend plans: Dec. 1-3

3. Your weekend plans

A photo of a Christmas celebration at Living History Farms in Urbandale.

1 upgrade to go: Meals on Wheels


⛄️ Weather: Slight chance of snow with a high of 38°.

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Des Moines member Tiffany Allison! And an early happy birthday to member Diana Deibler!

📡 Situational awareness: Iowa's first Best Buy Teen Tech Center has a soft opening today during Mainframe Studios' First Friday event, from 5-8pm.

Today's Smart Brevity™ count is 679 words — a 2.5-minute read.

🎷 Jason is catching a holiday show at Noce.

🇯🇵 Linh returns from a vacation to Japan!

Today's newsletter was edited by Everett Cook and copy edited by Lucia Maher.

Des Moines

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Get smarter, faster about what’s happening in your backyard with local reporters Jason Clayworth and Linh Ta.

Axios Des Moines

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City's new stink detectors use science over subjectivity

1 big thing: DSM's new stink detectors

2. Hawkeyes kick off conference play

3. The Ear: Cornfed, Iowa bred

Illustration of a pig wearing glasses and reading the news on its phone.

Des Moines' Spotify Wrapped: Taylor Swift tops streaming charts

4. Our most-streamed songs on Spotify

Illustration of a sun listening to headphones and smiling. 

🌤 Weather: Mostly cloudy with a high of 42°.

🌉 Situational awareness: Walnut Street Bridge would be replaced under a nearly $20 million plan that goes before DSM City Council today.

Some council members have questioned whether the bridge is needed anymore.

Today's Smart Brevity™ count is 827 words — a 3-minute read.

🍎 Jackie Norris and Marie Alonzo-Diaz preside over their first regular meeting tomorrow as chair and vice chairperson of the DSM School Board.

Norris is the owner of SPPG consulting and former chief of staff for first lady Michelle Obama.

Alonzo-Diaz, a crisis counselor, is the first Latina to serve as vice chair.

1 big thing: Shortages still plague classrooms

Illustration of a help wanted sign as a chalkboard

2. Events Center to expand use of metal detectors

Illustration of a gun with a "no" symbol for a trigger

3. All eyes on Hawkeye women

4. The Ear: This silage is highly news-trient

Animated illustration of a giant ear of corn rolling down a city street.

Take your career to the next level

5. Pic du jour: Teacher of the year

Ann Micks walks across the Hoover gym as cheerleaders lineup

🌤 Weather: Partly sunny with a high of 38°.

🎂 Happy belated birthday to our Axios Des Moines member Mark Schoeberl!

🤓 Connie Boesen is going to Harvard University.

The DSM mayor-elect will participate in a program for new mayors, tomorrow through Friday.

Today's Smart Brevity™ count is 904 words — a 3.5-minute read.

1 big thing: Metro homeless program to close

Illustration of a no entry sign on a cement sidewalk. 

New jobs to check out

2. Mapped: Nursing home vaccinations

3. The Ear: Right to the pith

Illustration of the Axios logo made out of corn.

4. 🕵️ Where's Jason?

🌤 Weather: Partly sunny with a high of 44°.

🎈 Happy birthday to our Axios Des Moines member John Pietila!

🤞 Third time's the charm: Two previous attempts to launch this season's activities at Brenton Skating Plaza were foiled by warm weather.

Today's Smart Brevity™ count is 659 words — a 2.5-minute read.

🥶 Survivor Iowa: A NY Times reporter who is a lifelong California resident seeks winter survival tips for his two-month assignment in the Hawkeye state.

Hit reply. We'll publish a few tips in an upcoming newsletter.

Brazen rash of ATM burglaries reported in Des Moines, multiple states

1 big thing: Bold ATM burglaries on the rise

2. Morning Routine: Wini Moranville

3. The Ear: Tassels and highlights

1 fun thing to go: "Authentic" DSM-isms

☀️ Weather: Sunny with a high of 47°.

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Des Moines members Mary Riche and Maggie Douglas!

😱 Oh my: Zoomers will overtake boomers in the workforce next year.

Today's Smart Brevity™ count is 721 words — a 3-minute read.

👀 For political watchers: "An evening with Charlie Cook" is at Drake University’s Sheslow Auditorim tonight at 7:30pm.

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Taylor Swift was DSM's most streamed artist on Spotify this year, according to the Wrapped list the service released last week.

Morgan Wallen, Drake, Zach Bryan and Juice WRLD rounded out our top five.

3. "Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan

Pro tip: Open the Spotify app, click "Search" and then click "2023 Wrapped" to get your own 2023 music roundup.

Plus: Check out the most-streamed artists nationally

Morgan Wallen, Drake, Zach Bryan and Juice WRLD rounded out the top five.

Spotify

Taylor Swift was DSM&#x27;s most streamed artist on Spotify this year, according to the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Wrapped list" data-vars-click-url="https://www.spotify.com/us/wrapped/?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=sendto_localnewslettertest&amp;stream=top" data-vars-content-id="19f33cba-4fd2-4a2c-802e-d18834a71a80" data-vars-headline="Des Moines&#x27; Spotify Wrapped: Taylor Swift tops streaming charts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.spotify.com/us/wrapped/?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=sendto_localnewslettertest&amp;stream=top" target="_blank">Wrapped list</a> the service released last week.<ul><li>Morgan Wallen, Drake, Zach Bryan and Juice WRLD rounded out our top five.</li></ul>

Music

Axios Des Moines, anchored by Jason Clayworth and Linh Ta, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard.

Metal detectors will be in place at nearly all Iowa Events Center events in coming months, general manager Chris Connolly tells Axios.

Why it matters: They've been used for years at Wells Fargo Arena's entrances as a screen for weapons— but other areas of the complex, like its convention center space where hundreds of thousands of people visit each year, have not had them.

"It'll make us a lot more safe. It's a big deal," Connolly told Polk County Supervisors during a meeting last week.

Details: The equipment and security upgrades will cost around $375,000.

A grant from the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will cover most of the expenses.

State of play: The center is owned by Polk County but leased to Oak View Group, an international live entertainment management company whose rules restrict weapons in their facilities.

More than 800,000 people attended events at the Iowa Events Center in the fiscal year that ended in June 2022, according to the facility's most recent annual report.

Flashback: An Iowa Wild scoring official resigned last year after arena managers refused to allow him to bring a gun into the building.

Iowa Events Center to expand use of metal detectors

Nearly all events will soon include weapons screenings.

Metal detectors will be in place at nearly all Iowa Events Center events in coming months, general manager Chris Connolly tells Axios.Why it matters: They&#x27;ve been used for years at Wells Fargo Arena&#x27;s entrances as a screen for weapons— but other areas of the complex, like its convention center space where hundreds of thousands of people visit each year, have not had them.

News

An odor tracking system that collects scientific data linked with smells in the air is now in place in multiple Des Moines industrial sites, Dalton Jacobus, the city's neighborhood inspections administrator, tells Axios.

Why it matters: The system provides scientific data that can help determine when, where and what is causing foul odors that have plagued the city for decades.

Catch up fast: DSM is home to facilities like animal processing plants that can emit what city officials have previously described as a "putrid rotting smell."

For decades, the city used a system that required 10 or more Odor Hotline complaints within six hours before staffers tried to identify the cause.

It resulted in no mitigation plans from suspected odor violators in at least the past 20 years.

Driving the news: The City Council in August hired Environsuite, an international company that uses its eNose system to collect scientific data measuring chemicals that cause smell, like ammonia.

Monitors and a weather station began collecting odor data about six weeks ago near three businesses named in a study commissioned by the city as possible odor offenders — Darling Ingredients, Wiechman Pig Company and a Pine Ridge Farms pork packing plant.

Data will be collected for at least six months before city staff returns to the council with recommendations for new compliance requirements, Jacobus says.

The intrigue: Wiechman recently added more equipment and staff to help monitor and reduce odors, district manager Todd Burgett tells Axios.

DSM's initial data indicates the company is not a major source linked with recent smell events, Jacobus says.

Meanwhile, Pine Ridge, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods Inc., invested $2 million in a system that eliminates most odors.

The company does not believe recent odors are linked to its facility, Jim Monroe, a spokesperson for the company, tells Axios.

Separately, Darling spokesperson Jillian Fleming told Axios in June that the company was evaluating its odor control technology.

What they're saying: Councilperson Carl Voss says the issue is embarrassing and finding solutions can improve the quality of life here.

Plus, resolving the problem could make the city's available industrial space more attractive to other businesses that may be hesitant to locate near sites with frequent foul odors, he tells Axios.

Of note: There's a moratorium on the city's odor enforcement while the initial data is collected, Jacobus says.

Citizens are encouraged to continue making complaints via the hotline or online because the information is being used to help develop the city's data tracking.

Officials hope data will resolve what's behind DSM's "putrid rotting smell."

One of 10 of Des Moines' odor monitors installed in October: Photo: Courtesy of the city of DSM

An odor tracking system that collects scientific data linked with smells in the air is now in place in multiple Des Moines industrial sites, Dalton Jacobus, the city&#x27;s neighborhood inspections administrator, tells Axios.Why it matters: The system provides scientific data that can help determine when, where and what is causing foul odors that have plagued the city for decades.

Meals on Wheels' (MOW) new Des Moines headquarters officially opens today.

Why it matters: The group's local program serves low- or no-cost meals to about 1,000 military veterans or people older than 60 every day.

There were warnings the service would end if the headquarters project was not successful.

Plus, the new location will include a new restaurant from Lynn Pritchard, owner of 503 Cocktail Lab and Table 128, in coming months.

Hugo's Wood Fired Kitchen will serve "trans-Mediterranean" foods like pizzas, flatbreads, fish and salads, reports local food reviewer Wini Moranville. It'll have its own dining space when open.

Catch up fast: MOW's local operations are run by WesleyLife Community Services, largely throug volunteers and donations.

It had outgrown its longtime site in the Sherman Hill neighborhood, which supporters at the time said jeopardized its ability to continue operating.

A campaign was launched about two years ago, resulting in a $13 million project to relocate and renovate Drake University's former education building.

A hydroponic garden in the basement will produce an estimated 20,000 pounds of salad greens and herbs a year, which will be used in its meals and sold to restaurants, including Hugo's. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios

Details: The site is more than 17,000 square feet and has a commercial kitchen, allowing it to triple the number of meals it serves.

The building also includes rental space for community events that can be catered by Hugo's or the MOW kitchen, spokesperson Shannon Draayer tells Axios.

Check it out: Gov. Kim Reynolds provides remarks about the new campus during a ceremony at 3:30pm today, 3206 University Ave.

Free public tours of the site are from 4-5pm.

Meals on Wheels launches hydroponics farming at new Des Moines campus

It includes a public restaurant and a hydroponic garden.

Meals on Wheels' new location at 3206 University Ave. in DSM was the answer to yesterday's "Where's Jason" question. Axios Des Moines reader Mona Gude won one of our shirts. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios

Meals on Wheels&#x27; (MOW) new Des Moines headquarters officially opens today.Why it matters: The group&#x27;s local program serves low- or no-cost meals to about 1,000 military veterans or people older than 60 every day.

A tentative deal to occupy the longtime vacant Ingersoll Dinner Theater recently fell through, building owner Connor Delaney tells Axios.

Why it matters: It means progress on interior renovations and the ultimate reopening of the historic site are now back on pause.

Catch up fast: The building has been vacant for about a decade and faced possible demolition prior to Delaney purchasing it last year for $550,000, according to the Polk County Assessor.

A new roof was recently completed to stabilize the structure, plus inside demolition has taken place to create a customized remodel for a new tenant.

What's happening: Unforeseen circumstances led to the prospective tenant opting out of the project, Delaney says.

He declined to provide specifics about why the deal was not completed or name the prospective tenant, but said it was with a local entertainment venue business.

Flashback: The nearly 85-year-old building was originally a single-screen theater, one of the first in central Iowa to be fitted for movies with sound.

It became a live theater venue in the 1970s and operated as the dinner theater, restaurant or club space for decades before shuttering.

A photo of the inside of the Ingersoll theater and an artists' rendering of what it might look like after renovation.

The inside of the Ingersoll theater (left) has been demoed so it can be customized for a future tenant such as a live music venue as envisioned (right) by the building's owner. Photo: Courtesy of Connor Delaney; Rendering: Sequel Architecture. Courtesy: Delaney

Zoom in: Delaney says the $4.2 million restoration has already been awarded federal tax credits for historic renovations while additional state and local incentives are in the works.

Those would help make leasing the space more affordable.

The bottom line: Delaney is again searching to find an entertainment venue and/or food and beverage operator — but says other types of uses or businesses may be considered at some point "in the near future."

Potential Ingersoll Dinner Theater tenant backs out

The decision places renovation of the historic building on pause.

Rendering: Sequel Architecture, courtesy of Connor Delaney

A tentative deal to occupy the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="longtime vacant Ingersoll Dinner Theater" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2023/09/26/ingersoll-dinner-theater-historic-stabilized-rehab" data-vars-content-id="dd5b733c-ef5e-41ec-959b-6af6af243d6d" data-vars-headline="Potential Ingersoll Dinner Theater tenant backs out" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2023/09/26/ingersoll-dinner-theater-historic-stabilized-rehab" target="_self">longtime vacant Ingersoll Dinner Theater</a> recently fell through, building owner <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Connor Delaney" data-vars-click-url="https://www.loopnet.com/commercial-real-estate-brokers/profile/connor-delaney/she3wd5b" data-vars-content-id="dd5b733c-ef5e-41ec-959b-6af6af243d6d" data-vars-headline="Potential Ingersoll Dinner Theater tenant backs out" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.loopnet.com/commercial-real-estate-brokers/profile/connor-delaney/she3wd5b" target="_blank">Connor Delaney</a> tells Axios.Why it matters: It means progress on interior renovations and the ultimate reopening of the historic site are now back on pause.

Latest news on Wall Street, Corporate America and financial regulation.

Jason Clayworth

Stories

Iowa Events Center to expand use of metal detectors

City's new stink detectors use science over subjectivity

Des Moines' Spotify Wrapped: Taylor Swift tops streaming charts

Meals on Wheels launches hydroponics farming at new Des Moines campus

Potential Ingersoll Dinner Theater tenant backs out

Newsletter editions

⛔️ More metal detectors

💩 Stink detection

🎭 Ingersoll theater drama

🚨 Family shelter shutters

🏧 Brazen cash burglaries