These facilities are great! Our family came here for a hockey tournament and were taken back by how…read morespacious and clean the facilities were. They have ample parking, inside and outside turf and two well maintained ice rinks. I would seek out another tournament in this area.

You need more Dedicated pickleball courts!…read more There is a law suit waiting to happen here, senior discrimination you have all these activities for younger and middle aged but you only have 2 pickleball courts which 90% are the seniors playing. They have a list of 20 people that can sign up for 2 courts, yet we have come week after week and even during the weekdays NO-ONE is on the 3 extra pickleball courts! But they refuse to let the pickleball players play on them ‍ they chain up the extra nets and the courts sit empty. From a financial side point this is just stupid, every time they turn people away! Sometimes it's myself other times it's other people. You obviously have the need and want in the community yet they'd rather those courts sit empty. It would help if the front desk lady Kerry was a little nicer too. She is extremely rude and has outright lied and refused to let us rent out those courts for pickleball. It would be nice to see someone a little more kind and helpful there but she seems to always have a sour taste in her mouth.

Gayle and I returned to the Iowa State fair yesterday. It was a hot Tuesday (even in the morning)…read moreand we spend maybe 3 hours on the grounds. I'm sure I've been here since my last review was posted, but the years do seem to flow and run together. High Points: - The Butter Cow! - Chair Lift ride over part of the Fair Grounds. - Varied Industry, Walnut Center, and Arts Building Exhibits - Seeing Governor Reynolds walk down the main thoroughfare. - Visiting the University of Iowa Booth and touching the trophies. - Watching Families Groom Their Steers for Competition in the Barn. - Enjoying the Pig competition in one of the arenas. - Having a nice Lunch at Stockman's. We also walked around a lot and just watched the diversity of our fellow attendees. There were also a lot of huge baby strollers on one end life's spectrum and many senior scooters on the other. We also appreciated the DART park-and-ride option from the State Capital. It was only $1 each for folks like us that are over 65.

Always a fun time when the weather is behaving itself. Got an early start to avoid long lines and…read moregiant crowds. It was a little sprinkly at first but that stopped and it was decent most of the day. Little clouds and a light breeze. Had a decent breakfast at the Methodist Church. Nothing to write home about. Just a start to our day. Then off to the Beer Tent for hydration. Lots of new sips to be sipping. Nerds beer. Cotton candy beer. Lots of ciders and my all time favorite the spiked fair lemonade. Tried the 3 Little Pigs from Whatcha Smokin and was very let down. Little flavor other than the sauce and super dense for a meatball. The jalapeno dog on a stick was much better but it had the Waukee meat. Tried the bacon chicken ranch egg roll and it was great. One of the best new foods in the history of new foods. We even had a group cut in line lol Enjoyed seeing the doll houses and various crafts. The paintings. The photography. The livestock. Going back a 2nd time because you can't see everything in one day. Recommend for anyone to go at least once a year.

DMMC Music University is a festival type conference held once a year in Des Moines! As well as…read morequarterly events around town! It features speakers from around the globe talking all things music... Touring, Press, Booking, On-line Presence, and so much more! They have big name artist come to do presentations, work shops, and key note speeches! There is also films at the Varsity Theater, and concerts around town in many of the music venues! Last year I got the opportunity to Interview Nels Cline of Wilco after he did a workshop with 20 local guitar players! It was amazing! I also go to speak on a panel about touring with an Iowa Rock N Roll Hero Dave Diebler from the band House of Large Sizes! This past year I got to speak on working with a Booking Agent! And booking tours DIY style! It was a blast! I also went and saw Panel's on working with a Publicist, Music in Film, and a Recording workshop at the Sonic Factory! All were very well attended and super interesting! If you are interested in the Music Biz, like music, or social media, or just want to learn how to be a great Do-It-Yourselfer this a fabo event to be a part of!

Fun AAA ballpark WHERE I CAUGHT MY FIRST BALL EVER!!! Beyond that, we had a 250 person event and it…read morewent flawlessly. We had the entire right field bleachers to ourselves. Shade for those who wanted it, sit anywhere to watch the game. Food was in good supply pregame. Supposedly pulled with first pitch but they did what I would hope: put all the remaining food out so we can take from it. (But seriously guys, if you read this? Keep serving through the first inning or so. Please.) Also a second note: Audio didn't really carry to the outfield. No secondary video screen to supplement the one directly behind us. For that fifth star, please beef that up a bit!

2 weeks ago I was visiting Des Moines, IA for 4 days visiting a friend. When planning the trip,…read moreshe wanted me to look for things I wanted to do. I did some searching and found out Des Moines was home to Iowa Cubs, AAA affiliate, of Chicago Cubs. My friend somehow got a coupon for a buy 1 ticket get 1 ticket free. I think total was $20. It was on 3rd baseline on second tier level of seats. They don't accept cash at concession stands. You have fo get a card to load or you can use a credit card. I tried to load the card my friend had but it didn't work. So we got a new card and loaded that up. I went to one stand to get beer for myself. I also got an order of steak fries. It seemed like a small portion for the price but whatever. The stadium is definitely smaller than major league ball parks. Worcester Red Sox were playing the Iowa Cubs. 6 hits Final Score 0-1 Cubs Winning. The stadium was clean, signs easy to follow.

Want to learn more about this amazing state? Then plan your trip to take a tour of the exhibits at…read morethe Historical Building. Conveniently located near a free parking ramp and the State Capitol building (while you're at it, take a tour there too!). This building also hosts events. I have attended a roof top wedding reception and a day long symposium is the auditorium.

There are an excellent array of exhibits here! Ranging from early Iowa settler history, to civil…read morerights war, and everything in between until present day! It's free, and there's a good amount of info in short blurbs so it's all easy to read. There's interactive exhibits and it's all very clean. Definitely check this out to learn a lot about Iowa and US history in the context of Iowa. It's very kid friendly as well.

Great place to work out and have fun at the same time. Fun for competitive laser tag or you can…read morerelax and play some video games. Different game modes, an amazing staff, and different video games to chose from.. I suggest this place for anyone to try out

This place is good for kids to play video games and laser tag. They take reservations for parties…read morebut be warned that the place is not a restaurant so there isn't anywhere to sit and serve birthday cake or anything. The kids have fun here though!

Great trip for a day with kids. Our group had four boys ranging from 2 to 7, and they all enjoyed…read moreit. There were about 5 different areas to play in focused on different themes: nature, physics, space, etc. There was a planetarium with regular shows. Nice for a sweltering hot day.

Nice, family friendly museum located in downtown Des Moines, but there are way too many screaming…read morekids running around. Why do people bring children under 8 to these types of places? It's not like they will even know or comprehend any of these things, much less be able to sit still during demonstrations or when viewing exhibits. It was nice to see that all science demonstrations and shows in the planetarium are included in your ticket price. If you check out a few of those, then it is well worth the admission even as an adult!

Let me first start by saying, everyone is so nice in Iowa. Having said that, Margie takes the cake…read moreon sweet. In fact, I think after meeting her my wife and I have to see the dentist because we might have cavities. When we walked in, we explained we just wanted to make a penny from the penny machine. Margie asked if we had a shiny enough penny for our collection. We told her no. Margie then dug through all the pennies in the drawer to find my wife and I's future penny. Margie found the chosen one and gave it to us. We made our penny. On top of which, the museum was going to close shortly, so Margie allowed us to just check out the museum. Iowa takes great pride in their state and people. My wife and I were in and out in 10 minutes, but we left with a life time of memories. Thank you very much again Margie.

I was able to stop in to this unique and very nice museum of local High School sports and…read moreactivities features. There are interactive exibits along with a lot of items to read and become immersed in. There is a nice meeting space for presentations, etc. The staff were quite friendly and they support the community well. Features all the regular sports like basketball, football, baseball, etc. but also sports and activities such as dance, bowling, agriculture and more. So many of the things that make the state of Iowa a great place. Worth a stop in to see it all. Take your time and enjoy.