An annual community report released by United Way of Central Iowa last week shows hundreds of kids in some metro neighborhoods experienced homelessness as of the start of the school year.

Why it matters: That's only one of nearly two dozen troubling data points highlighted by the group.

• Evictions were up last year compared to 2021, child care availability was down and a third of adults in need of mental health treatment were unable to receive care, according to the report.

Catch up fast: United Way announced "United to Thrive" two years ago, a new focus intended to better respond to community needs.

• The group uses five elements to track inequities — education, early childhood development, economic opportunity, health and essential needs.
• The annual report highlights some of the most critical challenges.

Zoom in: Citing eviction data from Iowa Legal Aid, the report shows that affordable housing continues to be one of our state's biggest problems.

• There were 18,330 Iowa evictions in 2022, a record that followed several years of lower rates associated with federal pandemic assistance, Iowa Public Radio reports.

Meanwhile, students experiencing homelessness is "perhaps most concerning" with children of color disproportionately affected, United Way CEO Mary Sellers said during an event where the report was unveiled last week.

Context: There are more than 6,000 homeless students in the state, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

• Most live with another family but hundreds are in shelters or live in places like cars and abandoned buildings.

What they're saying: Many of the problems are interconnected, Sellers says.

• The report is intended to inform and "marshal forces to take these things on," a United Way spokesperson tells Axios.

Between the lines: There's "a whole constellation" of recent changes making being poor more difficult, Eric Burmeister, director of the Polk County Housing Trust Fund, tells Axios.

• Reductions in food assistance and Iowa's rejection of federal assistance are among them, he notes.
• “It's going to take a change from almost vilification of poor people from our political leadership to one of empathy," he says.

The big picture: The metro's problems are not isolated.

• National homelessness rates last year, for example, increased 6% from a low in 2016, according to a federal assessment.

Of note: United Way of Central Iowa collaborates with dozens of other charities in Polk, Dallas and Warren counties.

• It allocated about $20 million in contributions and grants during the tax year that ended in June 2022, according to the group's latest federal tax filing.

Read the report

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The Iowa Cubs have a loose vision to transform Principal Park and its surrounding areas into something like Wrigley Field in Chicago, GM Sam Bernabe told "The Iowa Podcast" last week.

Why it matters: The plan would expand the area's use into a year-round entertainment district which podcast producers dubbed "Cubbie Village."

• The larger plan could cost about $65 million, Bernabe said on the podcast, but the money hasn't been budgeted or raised and the work is years off.

Catch up fast: The city of Des Moines owns the stadium, which was constructed in 1992 and is leased to Iowa Cubs owner Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), a company started in 2021 that owns more than a dozen minor league teams.

What's happening: New Minor League Baseball (MiLB) facility standards require stadiums meet upgrade and improvement benchmarks in order to keep the city's team

• An ongoing $10 million project to improve the park's locker and training facilities will be completed by next spring.

State of play: The city hired DLR Group in 2021 to help develop a master plan for park improvements.

• The resulting five-phase plan calls for a new main entry, parking garage, mezzanine suites, play area with water features and public art.

⚾️ The bottom line: The Cubs could be working toward their own field of dreams.

😉 Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia did some political flirting with about 170 members of the Greater Des Moines Partnership who were in Washington, D.C., last week. (Axios)

🕳 A collapsed mine caused the large sinkhole that shut down a Marion County road last month. (KCCI)

💵 The Iowa Supreme Court declined to weigh in on whether a state rule banning Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming surgery is unconstitutional because the state has already paid for the transition surgeries of two transgender Iowans, rendering the appeal moot. (Des Moines Register)

🌪️ Former President Trump cancelled his Saturday rally at Water Works Park in DSM due to a tornado threat. (The Hill)

⭐️ Today's headline maker: Cheryl Benson of Oskaloosa.

The Free Little Art Mart (FLAM) recently opened in West Des Moines' Peony Park.

Zoom in: Its contents are free for the taking and anyone can contribute — but donations must be suitable for all ages.

• The city's parks department oversees the program.

Of note: The Des Moines Art Center also has a free lil' gallery.