Axios Des Moines

December 23, 2024
🎅 It's Monday, just a few days until Christmas — a good time to behave!
🌤️ Weather: Partly sunny with a high of 44°.
🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Des Moines members Mary Rose Stone, Jan Knock and Jim Cossitt!
🍫 Situational awareness: Chocolate Crinkle is our state's most popular Xmas cookie.
This newsletter is 613 words, a 2.5-minute read.
1 big thing: 🎵 Des Moines' Spotify Wrapped
Spotify analyzed Des Moines' most-loved songs and no surprises here: Taylor Swift and country music reigned supreme.
The big picture: Swift was also Spotify's most-listened to artist globally for the second year in a row.
- Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Drake and Kanye West also made the state's top five.
👀 The bottom line: It seems like Des Moines is not #TeamKendrick.
Des Moines' top songs:
- "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey
- "I Had Some Help (feat. Morgan Wallen)" by Post Malone
- "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone
- "Stick Season" by Noah Kahan
- "I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves)" by Zach Bryan
Des Moines' top albums:
- "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology" by Taylor Swift
- "Stick Season" by Noah Kahan
- "One Thing At A Time" by Morgan Wallen
- "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" by Chappell Roan
- "Short n' Sweet" by Sabrina Carpenter
2. Des Moines sobering center staying busy
A Des Moines center for substance abuse and mental health treatment has admitted over 30 people since opening last month, exceeding operators' expectations.
Why it matters: Until recently, metro law enforcement had few places to take people facing addiction for help other than emergency rooms or jails.
- Polk County supervisors and other metro officials modeled the location on "sobering centers" in other states credited with saving taxpayer money and reducing homelessness.
Zoom in: Two connected buildings previously used for human services in the 1900 block of Carpenter Avenue are part of a $5 million renovation that began about a year ago.
- The Life Services Center side opened Nov. 18 and provides substance abuse and mental health treatment.
- The other side, with an immigrant and refugee center, is expected to be completed in about a year.
State of play: The DSM center already averages two people helped per day, about the same as one in Iowa City.
- It's a level operators thought would take months longer to reach, Annie Uetz, CEO of Polk County Behavioral Health & Disability Services, tells Axios.
Yes, but: The center has five regular spots and can accommodate up to 10 people if needed.
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3. The Ear: I'm dreaming of a corn Christmas
🍽️ More than 150 groups are urging Gov. Kim Reynolds to accept help from a federal summer food assistance program for kids after rejecting more than $29 million for this year's program. (KCCI)
🚫 New local government revenue restrictions have resulted with Altoona beginning a process to stop its $600,000 annual contribution to Bravo of Greater DSM, an arts advocacy group. (Business Record)
👿 Satanic Temple of Iowa officials contend the state government's decision to cancel their holiday event at the Capitol violates its members' freedom of speech and they plan to sue. (WHO-13)
⭐️ Today's headline maker: Christine Marchand of Cumming
4. 📽 A Wicked holiday sing-along in the metro
Interactive sing-along screenings of "Wicked" are coming to major movie theaters — including in the metro.
Why it matters: Some musical-loving moviegoers yearn to belt out their favorite songs alongside the stars on screen, while others prefer to leave the gravity-defying scales to the pros.
Driving the news: Tickets for the special showings, which begin on Dec. 25 and run through Jan. 2, are now available via the film's official website.
- Cinemark Century Jordan Creek 20 and XD in West Des Moines is among the roughly 1,000 theaters nationwide offering the option.
The intrigue: AMC and other big chains had previously warned customers to stay quiet until the sing-along version was released.
5. 🥂 Our cheers to you!
We and our respective partners got together for dinner at Bar Nico last week to celebrate another year of local journalism.
By the numbers: Next February marks our newsletter's fourth year!
- In 2024, we sent about 250 newsletters to your inboxes.
- Our thanks to each of our 72,000+ subscribers.
Cheers to you and all the newsletters to come in 2025!
🗓️ Looking ahead: How to maximize your 2025 vacation days.
This newsletter was edited by Tyler Buchanan.
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