Hinterland is back this summer with new features, including a permanent stage and an eclectic four-day lineup, July 30-Aug. 2.

Why it matters: No one really expects to see Lorde out among farm fields, and we get to proudly say they're our farm fields.

How it started: Booking artists for this year's lineup started in 2025, beginning with getting Lorde as the headliner for Friday, Hinterland founder Sam Summers tells Axios.

• Summers decided to make the festival four days this year after finding out girl group Katseye was available for Thursday.
• "I have an 8-year-old daughter, so I'm very familiar with that scene, and it's one of her favorites," Summers says.
• Mumford & Sons, playing Saturday, is a folk nod back to Hinterland's early days. Summers also wanted to book a Latin artist and got Kali Uchis for Sunday.

There are several new features this year, including:

🎤 A permanent stage: Hinterland is on Summers' farmland in St. Charles, and the new massive stage is visible from the interstate, he says.

🌾 More room: He added 130 acres to expand car camping, which has become increasingly popular. There will also be trail improvements and easier access to the campfire stage, a late-night intimate concert space for campers.

• Summers, who's also a gardener, is planting a sunflower field for festivalgoers, and he's growing a cornfield for "secret" and more intimate performances in the future, a la "Field of Dreams."

🚗 New traffic flow: After last year's slow drive home for festivalgoers leaving after Lana Del Rey's set, Hinterland has set up a new route with Iowa State Patrol to use the Bevington exit and reduce interstate backups.

Friction point: In the festival's early days, about 80% of attendees were Iowans. Now, half come from out of state, a shift Summers attributes partly to the pop lineup. He's still working to win back longtime locals who've drifted away.

• "I haven't solved that," he says.
• Local food has also taken a hit. Three years ago, Summers outsourced food and bar operations due to the high stress of handling them, but higher vendor rates drove away local trucks, a problem he wants to fix.

If you go: Hinterland runs July 30-Aug. 2. Tickets start at $155 for one-day admission or $390 for four days.

Go deeper

New developments are in the works along George Flagg Parkway — where projects had been blocked by persistent flooding — including an expansion of Jasper Winery and a proposed $2 million "flex office" building.

Why it matters: Des Moines has spent tens of millions of dollars in recent years to improve its levees, prompting federal flood officials to lift restrictions on property buyouts.

Driving the news: The City Council this week set a May 18 public hearing to sell a 1.6-acre city-owned site near the parkway and Southwest 28th Street to West Des Moines-based developer Justin Randall of South by Southwest for $155,000, the fair market value.

• He's proposing a 16,000-square-foot building with office and warehouse-style space for up to eight tenants.

Flashback: Much of the vacant area had homes or businesses before it became city-owned in 1994, following federal flood buyouts.

• Building restrictions were lifted in 2017, and in recent years, the city has added the parcels to its list of surplus properties available for redevelopment.

The big picture: Jasper Winery recently filed for a city permit to build a commercial event venue and cider house on another nearby property along Southwest 23rd Street, which it purchased from the city.

• Midwest Quality Wholesale, a Fareway Stores subsidiary, purchased a site along Sunset Road for future expansion of its nearby operations.
• Several other parcels remain for sale.

What's next: If the council approves the sale to South by Southwest later this month, the project could be considered by the Urban Design Review Board by early next year.

1 fun thing to go: George Flagg Parkway was the answer to yesterday's "Where's Jason?"

• Axios DSM reader Jim Olson won four tickets to "Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical," which premieres tonight, courtesy of the Des Moines Playhouse.

Read more: Another business wanted the property

Linh here. I'm growing a giant pumpkin named Hope to enter at the Iowa State Fair, and this weekend, I'm finally planting Hope (and Hope #2, just in case.)

Why it matters: They are not happy with me.

How it started: Everything seemed fine at the beginning of this week! I pumped them full of Miracle Gro! (Listen, I highly doubt any giant pumpkin is very organic.)

Yes, but: The gentle, tender love I've given them inside my home's walls is not enough. My grow lights are too small. And even the smooth, plastic comforts of a gallon bucket can't hold in a gourd that is meant to be free.

Zoom in: While I was trying to help hold up one of Hope's leaves with takeout chopsticks, my heart sank when I heard what sounded like a chomp into celery.

• I accidentally broke a stem holding up a leaf.

The bottom line: Happy graduation, Hope. I hope you find happiness out there.

Countdown: 98 days until judgment day.

Friday

📚 DMPL Big Book Sale | Browse thousands of used books, movies and music, while supporting library programs and services. | 10am–5:30pm, plus open through Monday | Des Moines Central Library | Free!

Saturday

🦋 Mother's Day Plant.Grow.Fly | Learn about monarchs and pollinators while decorating and planting a flowerpot to take home with DSM Parks and Rec. | 10am | 1553 Maury St. | Tickets: $12

🎮 Social Saturday: Toons and Tunes | Enjoy animation screenings, gamer music performances and art activities. | 11am–2pm | Des Moines Art Center | Free!

👶 Monsoon Baby Gear Swap | Pick up free baby and toddler items during this community swap supporting families and caregivers. | 11am–2pm | Franklin Event Center | Free!

Sunday

💐 Petite Bouquet Bar | Create a custom mini bouquet during this relaxed, self-guided floral activity perfect for Mother's Day weekend. | 10am-2pm | Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden | $12 per bouquet