Let's Catch Up! April '25
- Carl Voss
- Apr 15
- 8 min read
MILLENNIAL STONE CLEANER HOOKED ON CEMETERIES
Wade Fowler has spent countless volunteer hours restoring monuments and gravestones in Des Moines cemeteries over the last four years. His dedication to our eight cemeteries earned him Volunteer of the Year recognition by the Des Moines Parks and Recreation this year.
And it’s not just Des Moines that has recognized his work. Wade has nearly 1.3 million social media followers. Yes, cemeteries and gravestone restoration are a thing.
“It’s about doing a good deed,” Wade — a Ruan/Bankers Trust investment and product consultant by day, whose handle is the Millennial Stone Cleaner — told me. “Followers are looking for something of comfort, a sense of warmth. And connecting with audiences who enjoy seeing people care about others.
“We’re a bunch of history nerds, too.”
Wade places his cemetery fascination squarely on his grandfather’s shoulders. “I remember going to family potlucks near a cemetery in rural Minnesota,” he recalled. “We’d cross the road and say ‘Hi’ to our ancestors.
“And I remember my grandfather saying something like, ‘We should think about cleaning our ancestors’ graves.’ I was about 12 at the time. That comment really stuck with me.”
Originally, Wade told me, he was just cleaning gravestones. “But I wanted to learn more, so I enrolled in a class in cemetery preservation.”
Since “going down the rabbit hole” about six years ago, Wade has progressed to assisting with preservation classes in New Orleans cemeteries under the guidance of a professional conservator. He spent a memorable time assisting at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York, the burial site of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass.
“Today, there’s easy access to this information,” Wade said. For example, the National Park Service has a technology group devoted to cemeteries.
Wade is now part of a cadre of local cemetery volunteers, including Mike Rowley, Mary Christopher, Archie Cook, Kristine Bartley, and others.
On his own dime and time, Wade took a Woodland Cemetery headstone to a Kansas City lab specializing in photogrammetry — using two-dimensional images to extrapolate a 3D version — to help decipher eroded marble from the buried gravestone of Sophia Connell Sherman, wife of John Sherman (his brother, Hoyt Sherman, gained local prominence). View Wade’s restoration process.
Wade heaps high praise on Ganesh Ganpat, Parks and Recreation supervisor of cemeteries. “He’s the best I’ve come across while visiting cemeteries across the country,” Wade told me. “Ganesh is excellent at identifying people interested in cemeteries and plugging them in.
“Ganesh and I are planning a free local class this fall. Stay tuned.”
Wade now offers online classes on gravestone restoration.
Do you have a relative buried in one of the Des Moines cemeteries? Check here: Cemetery Inquiry System - City of Des Moines, Iowa.
RAMADAN PRAYERS, THEN DINNER
Salum Shabiby, left, and Hassan Deer serve dinner following March 25 Ramadan services at the Muslim Community Organization mosque on 42nd Street in Des Moines. The daily iftar dinner follows breaking of the fast after services. There are nine mosques in Des Moines and one in Waukee, serving an area Muslim population estimated at 25,000.
LENTEN LAUNDRY DAZE
Instead of “giving up” a favorite food during Lent — chocolate, traditionally for me — I take a different path to “give” something as part of my 40-day routine. For the second consecutive year, I donated 40 laundry kits to the YMCA Supportive Living Campus at 2 Southwest 9th Street. Each kit includes 12 quarters (enough for a wash load and a dryer cycle), a Tide laundry pod, and a Bounce dryer sheet.
Nick Drahozal, community engagement director for the 140 residents at the Y supportive living facility, told me: “Our Laundry Kit program is beloved on campus and used by so many of our residents. It’s incredible how a clean set of clothing can make someone feel.”
LIFE SERVICES CENTER: ‘THIS IS A BLESSING’
Since opening in mid-November 2024, the Polk County Life Services Center, at 1914 Carpenter Avenue, has been making a significant community impact. Steve Johnson, Broadlawns Medical Center’s government liaison, shared some encouraging early numbers:
Behavioral Health Urgent Care: This service has averaged 12 patients daily and helped more than 1,000 individuals seeking mental health assistance.
Crisis Observation Center: On average, this program sees two new patients a day and has supported over 210.
Sobering Center (operated by St. Vincent de Paul): This service averages four admissions a day and has supported more than 450 guests since opening. Steve Havemann, St. Vincent de Paul CEO, noted that in the last month, there has been an uptick in guests using methamphetamine, heroin, hydrocodone, cocaine, and marijuana.
The Sobering Center's initial projections were more modest, but the program has exceeded expectations. Iowa City is the state’s only other community offering a similar service.
Steve Johnson also shared some great news following a March meeting with the King-Irving and Mondamin neighborhood associations: “I’m very happy to say that we’ve had zero complaints. We’ve truly been welcomed as neighbors in the community.”
During the discussion, Erin Richmond-Killam, Broadlawns’ outpatient crisis services manager, highlighted the value of this location: the importance of serving people who might not seek care on a hospital campus. “That’s huge for improving access to services,” Erin said.
One Behavioral Health Urgent Care user said being seen at the center for a change in medication was easier and more personally validating than elsewhere.
“A lot of offices asked me if I was suicidal, and unfortunately, that was the only way for people to take me seriously,” this patient reported. “Broadlawns was completely opposite and such a big help! Thank you so much!”
Shelly Gehrke, Sobering Services manager, spoke glowingly about the benefit of three community services under one roof. “This is a blessing,” she told me. “When a guest arrives who is mentally altered because of substances, it’s hard to address mental health. Once sober, we have a better chance of getting them what they need. It’s all just a few steps away on the other side of the building! And we can refer to case management, transportation, or a food pantry.”
Services don’t end at the door. Community navigator Kat Pitts performs 30-, 60-, and 90-day follow-ups for guests at all three facilities. She connects with guests and families with wrap-around services, including treatment referrals, access to pantries, workforce training programs, prisoner reentry services, and benefits enrollment.
Shelly added a heartwarming story about one inebriated young male who’d bounced between the homes of his mom and dad. And drinking heavily. The family called 911, and DMPD brought him to the Sobering Center. “We worked with him and then got him in a five-day treatment program,” Shelly said with a smile. “We later learned he got his full-time job back and is attending AA meetings.”
The east side of the building is scheduled to become the Polk County Refugee Welcome Center by the end of 2025.
ELECTRIC REFUSE TRUCK GETS MIXED REVIEWS
Public Works employees began putting the City’s first battery-powered refuse truck through the paces this past November. The City purchased the e-truck for $703,000. City Finance Director Nick Schaul told me that a standard diesel-powered refuse truck had a $400,000 price tag.
It’s a beast of a truck. The batteries — two AC motors generating 334 kW, equal to 448 hp — add about 8,000 pounds to the truck, equivalent to the curb weight of two standard U.S. passenger cars. Adding two feet to the truck for batteries requires a tag axle (drops down—like on cement trucks) to distribute the weight and improve the stability of a loaded refuse truck.
I caught up with Aaron Hague, above, on his East Side route near East Madison Avenue and Columbia Street. Aaron, a six-year Public Works employee, told me the new truck is quieter than the traditional ones, but it’s about 10 seconds slower for the arms to pick up a tote, dump the contents, and return the tote to the curb. With an average 600 totes on shorter routes, that’s an extra 90 minutes. Plus, a few seconds slower to accelerate and move on to the next tote.
“Some days, we need help to complete the e-truck route,” Aaron noted.
Jose Marrero, a 13-year employee, added positive reviews. “It’s a beautiful truck,” he told me. “And so quiet. All you hear is the brakes.”
Jose told me Public Works employees “hit their routes hard every day. Some of our routes have 900 to 1,200 totes, but that’s too many for our e-truck. I think the e-truck is better for shorter routes.”
He also noted the truck’s 12-hour overnight full battery charge lasts longer with the arrival of warmer spring days.
Craig Shepherd, public works operations manager, admitted the e-truck doesn’t have the distance to get through some routes. “If it had bigger batteries, this could be a really great truck,” Craig told me. “Most of our routes are about 36 miles; another 10 miles from the e-truck would be great.”
RECYCLING EARNS BIG BUCKS
In 2024, Des Moines Public Works trucks dropped off 8,229 tons of recyclables at the Metro Recycling Facility in Grimes. The value of those products from our blue curbside totes: $872,090.
Here are the categories of recycled products (expressed in tons):
Aluminum cans are our highest-value recycled product, earning the City between $0.95 to $1.05 per pound. There are about 35,500 cans in each of the aluminum pallets shown above.
TABLE TENNIS HOTBED
If you stop by Fourmile Community Recreation Center on a Tuesday or Thursday evening, expect to be awed by table tennis enthusiasts who have completely overtaken the basketball court for the evening. Twelve tables are busy from 5:30 to 7:30, and players sometimes wait for their turn to fire their best shots across the net.
You may catch a glimpse of Sydney Devine, left, and Noi Sackpraseuth making wicked serves and returns. Noi has been playing table tennis since 1991. He’s the top-ranked player in the Des Moines Table Tennis Club (DMTTC), and one of the best in Iowa in age-group play. Sydney just started playing in October. Noi told me Sydney has made giant improvements in her game in just a short time.
Des Moines Parks and Recreation organizes DMTTC play; the fee is a moderate $5 per evening session or $240 annually. Newcomers are always welcome! More details: Kevin Ripp.
Other Parks and Recreation spring and summer activities.
WILD LIGHTS RETURNS TO BLANK PARK ZOO
Blank Park Zoo’s Wild Life Festival, presented by MidAmerican Energy, is open Wednesday through Sunday evenings through May 26. This is the fifth year for the popular event, and all displays are new for the Des Moines public. You won’t be disappointed.
Personal favorites: The bison, butterfly tree, sunflower tunnel, crocodile tunnel, Tiger Mountain, and the orchid mantis.
Suggestion: Plan your visit to arrive just before sunset. You’ll need at least an hour to walk around and through all the handcrafted illuminated Asian lanterns. More details.
METRO WASTE RECYCLES CONCRETE AND MORE
Since late 2022, Metro Waste Authority staff have begun putting concrete and other crushable material aside to construct rock roads at landfill facilities.
Since starting this diversion, 16,200 tons of concrete (with or without rebar), asphalt, cinder block, and some bricks have been diverted. Projects have included a new entrance road at Metro Park West Landfill and routine road maintenance at Metro Park East Landfill. This diversion and reuse have resulted in savings upward of $600,000, avoiding the expense of purchasing and hauling rock.
Metro Waste Authority’s Construction and Demolition (C&D) team now inspects rubble truckloads to determine whether they can be diverted. If the load passes inspection, the customer avoids the standard $40/ton ($20 minimum) to dispose of the material. Any load of rubble can be considered, from a DIY home project to large-scale commercial construction.
Wood, including dimensional lumber and pallets, is another material the Metro Waste's C&D program now diverts. Lumber and intact pallets are used for Metro Waste projects, while broken pallets are ground for animal bedding, such as for the Iowa State Fair and other fairground animal shows. In fiscal year 2024, Metro Waste diverted 2,000 tons of wood through this initiative.
If a demolition project is on the horizon, consider connecting with Metro Waste Authority’s C&D recycling team at 515-244-0021.
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