Des Moines

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26348156

Police have shot and killed six people in Des Moines in the last seven months

Three incidents happened in 2024, starting in July, and three have happened so far in 2025. In two of the cases, three officers were injured by gunfire.

The number of police killings has risen sharply — Des Moines police killed five people between 2015 and 2022

UnityPoint Health nurses in Des Moines have filed complaints with federal labor officials against the health system, accusing hospital administrators of trying to illegally discourage their union efforts.

The accusations say the health system maintained illegal and overwrought work rules, intimidated workers and removed and destroyed union materials, said Tanner Fischer, president and business agent for Teamsters Local 90.

Nurses are still collecting the signatures required to trigger a vote to form the union. If collective bargaining with the health system is ultimately successful, organizers say the union would represent about 1,550 nurses at Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Blank Children’s Hospital, Methodist West Hospital and Iowa Lutheran Hospital.

nurses described instances of union organizing posters in staff breakrooms being taken down, and even torn up, by management.

They say staff who attempt to set up tables in public spaces of the hospital to spread the word about the union are met by arbitrary rules from leadership meant to infringe on that effort

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/32076472

In a first since 1938, Des Moines, Iowa, kids will trick-or-treat on Halloween

According to the Iowa DOT, the lights aren't intended to appear blue. The department installed LED lights with a white coating "a while ago," Iowa DOT said in a Facebook post.

Now, that coating is flaking off, causing the lights to appear more blue or purple

Winter is generally so bleak in Iowa anymore. Brown, grey, and cold. I wouldn't be heartbroken to see this snow hang around a good while longer. Could do without the slippery roads, though. Doesn't seem like they're salting/sanding the major roads, though. I was slipping up and down Fleur the other day. Never have mostly clear roads been so slippery.

The recommendation — which is among the 46 outlined in a new report by the Chicago-based firm 21st Century Policing Solutions (21CP) — reinforces numerous calls from social justice groups

Changes made to state law prohibit the city from creating an investigatory review board

Des Moines City Council members have been split on whether they favor setting up a review board. During the recent mayor and council campaign, Mayor-elect Connie Boesen and councilmembers Josh Mandelbaum and Carl Voss expressed support; councilmembers Joe Gatto and Linda Westergaard and councilmember-elect Chris Coleman voiced opposition.

21CP Solutions' 76-page report also pointed out the department's need to diversify its staff and strengthen its relationships with the city's immigrant communities

21CP Solutions also encouraged the department to partner with university researchers to better track and analyze the calls made to the Mobile Health Crisis Team or Crisis Advocacy Response Effort program, which allows a mental health practitioner to respond to some calls with police

The report, also available through the link

That time of year is coming again! August 25-27th, downtown, by the library.

I hope the weather turns out tolerable. Forecast looks like rain the whole weekend but hopefully that brings the pollen down a bit and it's not so hot. Some years its like walking around in a furnace. I don't know how the artists deal with it inside those tents.

There's no need for context here, this has been the sentiment since the advent of broadband.

I feel like we should choose our mayor based on who can ACTUALLY open these in the manner that is expected.