🌱 NYE Traffic Enforcement Ramps Up + Fire Crews See Record Calls

Good morning, Des Moines! Like many of you, the Patch team is taking some time off to celebrate the New Year, so there will not be a newsletter in your inbox tomorrow. We appreciate your understanding of this slight pause in our schedule, and I will be back on Monday with the next edition of the Des Moines Daily! Now, here's everything happening around town today.

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First, today's weather:

Times of sun and clouds. High: 35 Low: 6.

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Here are the top 3 stories in Des Moines today:

1. A new traffic enforcement effort is targeting West Des Moines streets. Police will collaborate with the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau to conduct a special traffic enforcement effort from Friday through Sunday. The special effort will focus on seatbelt usage and impaired driving over the New Year's holiday, and police say residents should expect an increase in officer presence and enforcement throughout the city. (KCCI Des Moines)
2. The Des Moines Fire Department announced that they responded to a record number of calls in 2021. Crews this year handled around 31,000 calls in total, equalling roughly 2,500 more calls compared to last year. The department says there is no one reason for the uptick in calls, but new recruit classes are helping to alleviate some of the burden. (Local 5 - weareiowa.com)
3. A Des Moines man is making his own snow this winter. John Custis began manufacturing flakes Tuesday night before real snow arrived in the city on Wednesday, hoping to achieve a total accumulation of at least three inches. Custis says the goal of the project is to "bring joy to others." (KCCI Des Moines)

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Today's Des Moines Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Verizon. They're building the fastest 5G network in the country. To learn how 5G is going to change life for you and your community — and to get access to this amazing technology — click here. And thank you Verizon for sponsoring this community resource in Des Moines!

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Today in Des Moines:

• Craft Party Drop-In At Urbandale Public Library (9:30 AM)

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From my notebook:

• The Des Moines Public Library announced its 2022 Reading Challenge, which includes the opportunity to win prizes for reading 12 books in 12 months. (Instagram)
• A man who claimed he was on his way to kill the president was arrested after Iowa law enforcement saw him driving aggressively on Interstate 80. (Facebook)
• The Iowa Department of Natural Resources found traces of long-lasting chemicals in treated West Des Moines water samples but said the levels detected do not pose a threat to public health. (Facebook)

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You're officially in the loop for today! I'll see you soon.

— Katarina Betterton

About me: Katarina loves to read and write. Her hobbies include cooking her grandmother's recipes, learning new languages, and crafting. She and her husband live with their mutt, Ledger, and Shiba Inu, Mikasa, who are both way too cute for their own good.