Aug 21, 2015

I was hesitant about moving to Des Moines. I was offered a job and had one question to answer: “Is Des Moines better than my current town?” The answer was yes. So I took the job with the plan to spend 2-3 years here. I’ve now lived in the metro for 5.5 years and have no plans of moving. Many things have sold me on Des Moines including affordable living,...

Jul 8, 2015

I like to think I know a thing or two about the metro – like great restaurants, cool bars and fun events. Yet somehow, this being my sixth summer in Des Moines, I had never heard of the Clive Festival until randomly this last week. I can’t even blame it on being a new event; this year marks the 40th anniversary. Central Iowans will descend upon the...

Jun 17, 2015

When it comes to doing fun things around town, anything cheap – or better yet, free – tops my list. Summertime in Des Moines brings lots of free things to do, including music. Here’s your guide to free concerts this summer. This is the 33rd annual Jazz in July festival. The month-long series consists of 17 free jazz concerts performed at 17 locations...

Jun 3, 2015

There are a lot of ways you can spend any given Saturday morning. Sleeping in, visiting family and binge watching my TV show du jour are the usual suspects. However, one Saturday morning in June of last year was different; I pulled a UPS airplane. 

 You may be thinking: “Why in the world would you do that?” For the same reason I rappelled...

May 13, 2015

Before moving to Des Moines, I thought I was an active person. I enjoyed working out, playing rec sports and ate (somewhat) healthy. I didn’t pay much attention to the overall health of my entire community. When I moved to the metro, I was blown away by how active everyone was and how encouraging local organizations, businesses and cities were. That being...