Month: March 2026

Plant strawberries!

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In 2018, City of Des Moines staff did something bold and unique. They planted strawberries all around City Hall. Then they planted them at another city building on the east side of Des Moines, and at Gray’s Lake on the City’s south side.

Thousands of plants. Probably millions of strawberries. Hugely popular. Each year has seen more and more Des Moines residents picking, eating, and preserving.

Oh, and strawberries are an excellent ground cover — a delicious alternative to grass. They also provide pollen and nectar for bees. And the color-combo of red berries and green leaves makes it feel like Christmas in June. 

Sadly, some City officials in Des Moines are citing budget constraints as a reason not to establish new plantings, and to ignore maintenance needs at existing plantings. Continue Reading →

Building arks

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Mary Reynolds is a renowned Irish landscape designer, author, and nature activist. She advocates for re-wilding gardens, encouraging biodiversity, and returning land to its native state. She calls these places arks — nooks and crannies where life can continue to flourish despite the tumult in the world around us.

Here’s a beautiful and inspiring clip from Reynolds work that I share on this week’s program.

With so much damage being done to local ecosystems and the planet itself, Reynolds argues that creating safe spaces for plants and animals is crucial.

Kathy and I try to do that at Birds & Bees Urban Farm. We raise half the food we eat, yet leave plenty of room for wildlife to flourish in and around our space. Sure, we don’t want insects, birds, and small mammals gobbling up everything we grow. But we don’t mind sharing a bit of our chemical-free bounty with other creatures. Continue Reading →

An Irish-American’s brush with sainthood

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Kevin’s my guest during the first segment of this week’s program. We touch on the shared experience of being doused with mosquito spray by a truck, in his case, and by a helicopter, in my case — both in small towns on opposite sides of Massachusetts.

Yes, back in the day, they indiscriminately sprayed DDT! During the day! When kids were out playing! I remember feeling the sticky stuff on my skin. Kevin and his friends would actually run after the spray truck, breathing in the fumes until they felt light-headed.

It’s kind of shocking that we’re still alive.

Most of my conversation with Kevin is about his brush with sainthood as a ten-year-old boy. It’s a delightful story. Continue Reading →

Protest is not enough

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We’re going bullet-point style this week, starting with:

PEACE AND JUSTICE AWARD
For my Iowa audience, the Bishop Dingman Award Celebration is this Saturday, March 7 at 6:00 p.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 2926 Beaver Ave in Des Moines. This year’s award goes to Humanitarian Operations and Public Education Foundation, a non-profit focused on human rights and providing aide to Gaza. Suggested ticket price is $50. Contact catholicpeaceministry@gmail.com for details.

(RELATED: Check out my conversations with DMACC poli-sci prof Jeffrey Weiss about Iran and building a new peace movement.

THE SEAGULL
Again, if you’re in central Iowa, the Iowa Stage Theater’s production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull runs from March 13 – 22. Director Alex Wendel and I discuss the play’s edgy political commentary when it was first released in Russia in the late 1800s, and its relevance for the mess we find ourselves in today. Details and tickets here.
Continue Reading →