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Community Spotlight: Waukee Arts Festival

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For the fifth year in a row, the Waukee Area Arts Council is putting on the city’s largest and best-attended summer event. The Waukee Arts Festival will be held in Centennial Park on Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13.

Residents can look forward to more than 100 artist exhibits, kids’ activities, craft beer from Barn Town Brewery, food truck vendors and live music all day Saturday. As part of the Arts Council July concert series, there will be special evening performances during the festival featuring local artists The Brazilian 2wins and The Nadas.  

Cody Kilgore, President of the Waukee Area Arts Council, said the festival will feature an even wider variety of artists than previous years, including artists from around the Des Moines metro and across the country. 

“We had so many quality artists apply that we had to add spaces under a festival tent for more exhibition space,” he explained.  

Kilgore estimates nearly 4,000 people attended the festival last year, and said this year’s festival will offer something for everyone. 

“We’ll have art from across the country and along the price spectrum. There will be food and music you don’t often find in Waukee. The student art on exhibit from the Waukee schools is reason enough to attend— the students are incredibly talented,” said Kilgore. “Plus, there’s always a chance you might meet our mascot, Tucker.”  (Tucker is Kilgore’s five-year-old dog.)

Festival-goers can also expect more selection for various dietary needs this year as well.

“Our food vendors will have vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free fare,” explained Kilgore.  “And you have to check out the tables in the food court that the high school art classes created for us.” 

“In short, we’ve really upped our game this year,” he added.  “We’ll have more artists, more art, more music, more food and more time to enjoy it all.”

For more information on the Waukee Arts Festival, visit waukeearts.org.

Community Spotlight: Eric Kress

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Eric Kress, Executive Director of the Waukee YMCA and long-time community organizer and volunteer, has been named Waukee’s 2018 Citizen of the Year by Mayor Bill Peard.

Kress began working at the Waukee YMCA in 2002 as the Youth Program Director. Several years and positions later within the Y, he moved to Waukee in 2007 with his family. In 2019, he became the Executive Director.

Local photographer Terry Snyder, Executive Director of the Waukee Leadership Institute and 2014 Waukee Citizen of the Year, nominated Kress, whom she’s known for 15 years.

“Eric is a very easy-going person,” said Snyder. “He can get along with anyone. And he’s fun, even though he’s a Cubs fan,” she joked. (Snyder is a diehard Cardinals fan.)

“Eric is the type of person where if you need something, he’ll be there for you if he can,” she said. “He’s always there to volunteer and works well with others. He’s very involved in coaching his girls’ basketball and softball leagues and does Girls on the Run, a YMCA sponsored event, with his daughter.”

In addition to his community work through the YMCA, Kress served on the Waukee Area Chamber of Commerce Board for several years and currently sits on the Waukee Betterment Foundation Board. He’s given his time as a Sunday school teacher, volunteered as a youth sports coach, packed meals for Meals from the Heartland and helped with the Blank Children’s Hospital Festival of Trees and Lights.

Kress said the accomplishment of which he is most proud is watching the youth he’s worked with grow into young adults.

“I think of the families I’ve gotten to know, and it’s so rewarding to see those kids prospering as adults, contributing to our community or being successful elsewhere. You don’t always know the outcome when you work with youth—whether you made a difference or not,” he said. “When you know it pays off, or when they look back on their childhood and remember you, that feels awesome. It makes me proud to have had a part in that.” 

Kress and his wife, Danielle, a kindergarten teacher at Grant Ragan Elementary, have two daughters—Lilah, 10, and Jillian, 8. In their free time, they like to stay active. Kress said some of their favorites include watching baseball together (especially the Chicago Cubs), riding their bikes to get ice cream, and playing sports. 

His advice for others who feel called to make an impact in the community? Don’t wait to be asked. 

“Keep your eyes and ears open and take the initiative,” he said. “Recognize your skill sets, whatever they may be—from gardening to accounting skills for a non-profit. There are so many great organizations in our community. There’s a place for you.”

Kress was presented with a Key to the City during a public open house reception on Wednesday, April 24 at the Waukee Community Center. He will also be recognized as Citizen of the Year while riding in Waukee’s Fourth of July parade.

Caring Cops

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The Waukee Police Department is very active in the community it serves, taking part in over a dozen community outreach programs. From Safety City courses for incoming kindergarten students to supplying a drug drop box for unwanted and/or expired medications, the department provides a wide range of services and fun opportunities for Waukee residents.

The holiday season provides a special occasion for the department to bring joy to residents who might otherwise not have an all-that-jolly holiday, through their “Thanksgiving Basket” and “Shop with a Cop” programs.

The Thanksgiving Basket program enables the department to provide traditional Thanksgiving dinners for families in need. Each fall, donations from community businesses and individuals are used to create gift baskets packed full of ingredients for hearty Thanksgiving meals. Counselors from Waukee schools nominate recipients, focusing on families who are facing particularly challenging situations, such as financial difficulty or a loss in the family.

Each gift basket costs approximately $30 to put together and is prepared by Fareway in Waukee. The number of families the department is able to help is dependent on donated funds, so the more they receive, the more people they can help.

The baskets are delivered the Saturday before Thanksgiving, ensuring that each recipient family gets all the turkey and stuffing they can eat in time for the holiday.

The Shop with a Cop program carries this idea through to the Christmas season. Each December, the police department raises money through community donations to provide children in the school district with the opportunity to buy holiday gifts for their families. Recipient students are nominated by student counselors, focusing on families with a need for economic assistance.

The participating children begin their day with breakfast cooked by the Waukee Fire Department, after which they get to ride in a squad car to stores like Walmart to purchase gifts for their family members. After their shopping spree, the children get to enjoy a pizza lunch and a gift-wrapping session at the Waukee Public Safety Building.

The Waukee Police Department gratefully accepts donations throughout the season to facilitate both programs. Donations may be mailed or dropped off in-person at the Waukee Public Safety Building at 1300 SE LA Grant Parkway. Call the department’s non-emergency phone number at 515-978-7979 or email police@waukee.org for more information about either program.

 

Miss NiNi’s Desserterie

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Finding a good cup of coffee in the Metro isn’t difficult. Nor is it hard to hunt down tasty desserts. But finding both in one spot, with that certain hard-to-define element that accompanies homemade items, can be a little more challenging. That’s where Miss NiNi’s Desserterie comes in.

Janine Knop, whose longtime nickname gives the store its name, has had a passion for baking her entire life. Raised on a farm in North Dakota, she “would sit on our three-legged, wobbly kitchen stool observing Mom as she made dozens of loaves of bread, pies, cakes and cinnamon rolls.” Knop continued to bake all through school, participating in 4-H for a decade and earning her college degree in home economics education and food and nutrition.

After years of farming near Atlantic, Iowa, with her husband Fred, Knop began to enter her baked creations in food exhibits and competitions at the Iowa State Fair (the largest of their kind in the country). Before long, she wasn’t just participating—she was bringing home numerous championship ribbons. According to Knop, this was when she decided to challenge herself by baking professionally.

Knop’s desserts could soon be found at Friedrich’s Coffee locations around the Des Moines Metro and at Zanzibar’s Coffee Adventure, where they have been featured for over 10 years. The menu at Des Moines Golf and Country Club also regularly features Knop’s signature creations. The clamor for the desserts increased with time, and in January of 2017, Miss NiNi’s Desserterie opened for business in the Hawthorne Center on University Avenue.

Miss NiNi’s menu features a diverse array of goodies, many of which were awarded championship ribbons at the state fair. “I create recipes based on unique flavor combinations and design,” says Knop.

It’s difficult to imagine a sweet tooth that couldn’t be satisfied at Miss NiNi’s. If cheesecake isn’t your speed—of which there are 11 varieties on the menu, from Chocolate Raspberry Swirl to Italian Tiramisu—there are also layer cakes, brownies, dessert breads, cookies and coffee cakes available. One highly popular item, the Cupcake-A-Jar, “solves the problem of messy cupcake eating,” according to Knop. Cake and frosting are layered in small glass canning jars, which allows the consumer to eat a few bites now and save the rest for later. The jars are shelf-stable for five to seven days, so you can take your sweet time enjoying them.

In addition to the dessert options, Knop says customers tell them their coffee—made with locally-roasted Zanzibar’s beans and a sophisticated water filtration system—is the best-tasting in town.

With the holiday season just around the corner, seasonal additions have begun to appear in the dessert case at Miss NiNi’s. Among the offerings are pumpkin praline cheesecake, three-layer pumpkin cake with cranberry filling and cinnamon buttercream frosting, decadent flourless chocolate torte with chocolate ganache, and apricot rum cheesecake.

New this year is Miss NiNi’s 8-inch Bundt cake, which comes in pumpkin spice, chocolate chunk, and coconut bliss. One seasonal hit from last year, make-them-yourself Christmas cookie kits, will be offered again this season, along with cookie gift trays, which would undoubtedly go over well at any holiday office party or family gathering.

Knop and her baking team focus on creating beautiful, handcrafted desserts with impeccable homemade flavor and texture—qualities that are often absent in the commercial baking industry, Knop notes. Locally owned and operated, Knop says Miss NiNi’s “would be incomplete without the tremendous support and dedication of my family and talented baking team!”

Customers who visit the desserterie, located at 9500 University Avenue, Suite 1204, in West Des Moines, have the option of enjoying their dessert on-site or taking it to-go. Hours and menu items may be found at missnini.com.

So if you’re in the market for a great cup of joe and a sweet, homemade treat to go with it—and really, who isn’t?—Miss NiNi’s has you covered.

Waukee Ten & 5K

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By Kellyn Pappas

Historically, most of the more well-known races in the metro area have taken place in and around downtown Des Moines. However, Waukee is now home to its own race event—the Waukee Ten. This will be the second year for the event, which is scheduled for Sept. 15.

“Waukee is an amazing community that’s growing rapidly and is home to many people that participate in running events throughout the year,” said Pasha Korsakov of Just Go Faster, which produces the Waukee Ten. “We wanted all runners from the western suburbs and surrounding areas to have a chance to race closer to home.”

Korsakov also pointed out that this time of year, many area runners are gearing up for the Des Moines Marathon and Half Marathon in October. The Waukee Ten, as a double-digit distance race, serves as a great training race for those events.

Given that many people use the Waukee Ten as a barometer for their training for longer distances, it’s an added bonus that the course is certified by USA Track and Field (USATF). According to Korsakov, a USATF-certified course is most important for runners who are aiming to qualify for events that require a specific caliber of result from an official distance race (in other words, running a certain distance at or under a certain time). However, a certified course is also great for those who want to compare themselves to others’ times at that distance.

Certification is done via official measurement by a USATF-approved certifier. Those measurements are used to mark the course and place mile markers for race day.

According to Korsakov, not much is changing from last year’s inaugural Waukee Ten. Runners can tackle the ten-mile race or elect to do the 5K (3.1 miles) instead. Both groups of runners will share part of the course, which traverses the historic Waukee Triangle. The ten-mile runners will be treated to a scenic tour of Waukee as they travel through the rest of the course, winding along trails, back roads and growing neighborhoods. All runners will finish their races where they started—on the track inside Waukee Stadium.

Runners will be well-supported with seven water stations along the course. Three of those will serve Gatorade, one will have gels and four locations will have restrooms.

This year’s Waukee Ten is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 15, beginning at 7:00 AM. (The 5K begins one hour later at 8:00 AM.) There’s still time to register—visit www.waukeeten.com for details. Fees begin at $40 through Aug. 21 for the 5K and $55 through the same date for the ten-mile race. Fees for both will increase by $5 beginning Aug. 22.

Participants can look forward to a great post-race experience as well, which will feature music, games, snacks, drinks and the CrossFit FlyOver podium.

Approximately 400 people registered last year, and organizers are hoping for over 500 this year. “We’re looking forward to another great event,” said Korsakov. “We hope even more people from Waukee and surrounding communities join us to continue growing the tradition and conquering the distance!”

 

 

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Second High School Coming To Waukee

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Waukee area students in graduating classes 2022-25 could be the first to attend the area’s second high school, which is set to open in 2021.

The fast-growing Waukee Community School District was ready to burst at the seams with Waukee High School nearing capacity. Total districtwide enrollment increased from 2,198 students in September 1999 to more than 10,000 this year with a projection of nearly 13,000 in five years.

Meanwhile, the city of Waukee had grown from 5,180 in 2000 to 20,649 last year. Its recent one-year increase of 9 percent was the highest of any city in the Des Moines area.

The Waukee City Council and the Waukee school district took action in May 2016 to deal with the influx. They approved the joint use of 160 acres of green space for a new high school and a city-owned sports complex. The yet-to-be-named 395,000-square-foot, 1,800-student capacity high school will reside just north of Hickman Road near the Waukee Family YMCA.

Most of the land will be used for the school and its amenities with the remaining space slated for 12 softball/baseball fields and a parking lot.

Voters had to approve a referendum for $117 million in general obligation bonds for the new high school in February to make the project a reality. It required 60 percent for passage. It got 90.27 percent.

Meeting Short-Term Needs

The Waukee Innovation and Learning Center—a facility for innovative partnerships between local businesses, the community and high school students—may be used to house additional Waukee High School programs until the second high school opens. Details are still being worked out.

Ten Elementary Schools by 2022

The district is also adding two elementary schools to accommodate growth. Radiant Elementary, at 5050 170th St. in Urbandale, is under construction and expected to open in the fall of 2019.

Land has been purchased for a tenth elementary school off Ashworth Road, west of Ute Avenue and Highway R22. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2020 and it’s expected to open in 2022. A name for the elementary school has not been determined.

In the meantime, Nicole Lawrence, Communications Coordinator with Waukee Community School District, said the district is closely monitoring enrollment and bringing on new teachers to ensure classrooms stay at an appropriate size.

News about the district’s progress on the elementary and high school fronts has sparked questions about the middle schools as well. The district’s website dedicated to providing information about the second high school addressed the issue by stating it will monitor updated enrollment data and then make plans for how to accommodate students at the middle level.

The New High School’s Design

The concept for the new high school was developed through a six-month immersive design process between FRK Architects & Engineers, district administration and a visioning committee comprised of parents, students, staff and community members.

“In a series of three visioning sessions, the committee learned about current standards and trends in high schools around the country, reviewed multiple layouts from newer high schools and then created building layouts to reflect district values,” said Lawrence.

Feedback from the committee was used to create the building’s three-story layout, which includes a rooftop terrace, a media center with a second-floor mezzanine, an auditorium with a second-floor balcony and orchestra pit, a commons area for students and several individual and group learning areas for students and staff.

There will also be a single, secure entrance for staff, students and visitors during school hours.

“Open, light-filled spaces that promote collaboration and student development were high priorities for the committee, with student safety being a top priority,” said David Briden, Senior Project Architect and Principal with FRK Architects & Engineers.

Incorporating a pond on to the campus was also an important and notable feature when designing the school’s layout.

“A natural drainage channel through the center of the site allowed a pond to be placed as a focal point around which the city and school district facilities could be developed,” said Briden. “Placing the building adjacent to the pond allows it to take advantage of views over the pond to the north. The natural slope of the terrain creates a structure that tucks into the hillside, helping to marry the large scale of the building with the site.”

As instructional methods and learning styles continue to evolve, Briden said each classroom space would be adaptable and future-ready for students.

The school parking lot will be ready for newly licensed drivers, too, with enough room for 1,360 stalls.

Athletic Facilities

Lawrence said that while the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union (IGHSAU) ultimately determine sports classifications, the district anticipates each high school to compete at the 4A – IHSAA and 5A – IGHSAU level.

“Both high schools will offer similar programming and opportunities to students,” she added.

The second high school’s outdoor athletic facilities will feature a football stadium with a field and track, four practice fields, 12 tennis courts, and baseball and softball competition and practice fields. Additional amenities such as concession stands and team rooms are also included in plans.

The stadium will be built in a bowl-type setting into the ground. Inside, the school will have a gymnasium seating 2,500, an auxiliary gymnasium, and a three-lane track.

Parents Embrace the Second High School

Abby Jones, a Waukee parent whose fifth-grade son could be attending the second high school said the addition was a definite need for the community.

“It’s amazing to think how this area has grown in such a short period,” said Jones. “When I attended the University of Iowa, I remember some of my classmates from the Chicago suburbs said they graduated with a class of 1,000. That seemed huge, but we’re not far behind those numbers anymore.”

“I really think so much of our growth can be attributed to the school district’s commitment to offering students a truly high-quality education,” she added.

During the 2015-2016 school year, 855 kindergarten students enrolled in the district—a sign of even larger classes to come.

 

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Community Spotlight: Waukee Rotary Club

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Who They Are

The Waukee Rotary Club was chartered in May 1999 with 26 members. According to Drew Strube, president elect of Waukee Rotary, the club now has close to 70 members.

Many of its members are under the age of 40. “We are lively and thoroughly enjoy the fellowship with each other,” said Strube.

What They Do

The focus of the Waukee Rotary Club is to give back to the local community and to donate time and money to regional and international projects, as well.

Its current endeavors include:

  • Partnering with other metro Rotary clubs and the Iowa Wolves organization to raise funds for the Rotary Foundation’s international campaign, Polio Plus. The Rotary Foundation has partnered with the Gates Foundation to work to eradicate polio worldwide.
  • Working with Waukee Christian Services during the holidays to adopt a number of local underprivileged children and provide gifts, as well as donating to Operation Warm to purchase winter clothes for children in the school district who could not otherwise afford them.
  • Organizing the first annual Bar-B-Kee Bash, scheduled for Sept. 15 of this year. The club will put on a barbecue competition and concert to raise funds for their service projects. A portion of the proceeds will also go towards Major’s Army, a team of family and friends raising money for a local child living with cystic fibrosis.
  • Sponsoring inbound and outbound exchange students each year.
  • Taking on various environmental projects, such as sponsoring the new trail head on the Raccoon River bike trail, roadside clean-ups on a section of Ashworth Road, and planting a tree for every member of the club.

What’s Coming Up

The Waukee Rotary Club sponsors the student art exhibit at the Waukee Arts Festival, which will be held this year on July 13-14. The exhibit provides students with space to display (and in some cases, sell) their artwork to the public. This year’s exhibit will be especially exciting, as it will be the first year that the Waukee Area Arts Council will fund and present scholarships to two Waukee High School students to help further their education in the arts.

According to Cody Kilgore, President of the Arts Council, the organization began discussing the possibility of offering scholarships a couple years ago. The plan is to offer the scholarships on an annual basis going forward. The students who applied for the scholarships underwent an application process that included a submitted essay and an in-person interview and portfolio review with the board of the Arts Council.

Kilgore commented that there were five candidates this inaugural year, and selecting who would receive the two scholarships was extremely difficult.

Had we the resources, we wish we could have awarded everyone we interviewed,” he said. “They are all tremendously talented and wonderful individuals. They have bright futures ahead of them.

Be sure to stop by the Waukee Arts Festival this July to check out the artwork at the student exhibit. As always, there will also be food vendors, kids’ entertainment, and live music—including a Friday evening concert by The Nadas. It’s sure to be a great time!

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