Madeleine King
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Iowa Public Radio
What’s a leafy green that’s packed with protein? It’s not spinach — it’s lenga lenga! The vegetable is a staple ingredient in many central and eastern African recipes. This harvest season, you can try the superfood at Global Greens’ International Market in Des Moines.
Maura Curran
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Iowa Public Radio
Madeleine Charis King
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Iowa Public Radio
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On this episode, we listen back to some of our favorite state fair interviews. We talk with Iowa State Fair butter sculptor Sarah Pratt and her apprentices, her twin daughters Hannah and Grace, about working together and making buttery artwork. Then, we travel to the fairgrounds to take a ride on the Sky Glider with Tracy Shedd. Shedd has worked on the Sky Glider in some capacity for the last 50 years. (Portions of this episode were originally produced August 2025 and August 2024.) -
In many U.S. cities, even those without camping bans, officials are more aggressive with removing encampments from public spaces. People experiencing homelessness say they’re moving frequently and experiencing anxiety. -
Harvest Academy in Indianola helps its participants overcome challenges after leaving jail. The program wants to relocate its campus to help more people, and just broke ground on a bigger location in Des Moines.
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A history of murder, prostitution and police corruption have been buried for a century in Des Moines. On today's episode, we hear the true story of Erastus Wallace Scott, the saloon keeper the 'Des Moines Register' called 'the wickedest man in the wickedest part of town.' He was a killer, a con man and the head of a crime family that terrorized East Des Moines for a decade. We talk with Dave and Rose Donovan about their new book 'The Nastiest Saloon in Iowa: Murder, Prostitution, and Corruption in the Heartland.' The book uncovers century-old murder and corruption hiding in downtown Des Moines, and in Rose's own family tree. -
Iowa sees its first measles case of the year. On today's Newsbuzz edition episode, we talk with Polk County Public Health director Juliann Van Liew about how Polk County is guarding against the highly contagious virus. We talk with Luke Nozicka of NPR's Midwest Newsroom about the rise in dementia cases and lack of specialists to keep up. We hear how Iowa's drinking water nitrate violations more than doubled last year from Cami Koons of the Iowa Capital Dispatch. IPR's Rachel Kramer shares how Iowa volunteers are racing to track the state's disappearing bumblebees, and we talk with Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders about the budget gap created by the new property tax law. Then, IPR's Cece Mitchell grooves us into the weekend.
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Des Moines Public Schools and Lutheran Services in Iowa’s Global Greens program are collaborating on a new community garden. The space was created to revitalize the school's agriscience program, which shut down in 2025 due to low enrollment.
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The Des Moines Gay Men's Chorus sings music with a message. On this episode of Talk of Iowa, we hear from two members as the chorus turns 25 years old. Then, we hear from the founder of 'The Healing Obituary.' She teaches how to write obituaries and makes the case for why they should be done by humans.
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Researchers presented their findings from the Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot in Des Moines. Their study looked at how participants used monthly $500 payments, and how it affected their well-being and goals. -
Central Iowa Water Works — the regional water authority that serves one in five Iowans — has issued a lawn watering ban in the Des Moines area. It’s the result of a demand spike and consistently high nitrate levels in the rivers and other sources that provide water for the system.
