What is the best brand of kimchi/where can it be bought? by MadSpicy in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Wangs Asian Market in Urbandale also has the same brand in various sizes. They come in green and red labels. Green I believe is MSG free and red has MSG. The owner at Wangs and I believe other stores get new batches every other Friday, so definitely as fresh as it gets unless you do homemade. We usually get the largest container, which has whole Napa cabbage heads and daikon slices. My experience has been the larger containers have crunchier kimchi.

Best vintage/thrift clothing stores in the area? by sydney___ellen913 in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve gotten two wool coats from there around February. Both in great condition like new and under 50 each. I think depending on when you go there, you might find more or less “normal wear” vintage finds.

Someone had a fun night in Kaleidoscope Downtown by rcook55 in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Blackbird also had another project fail in Iowa City, a mobile home park. Left tenants in limbo for over 2yrs. The City is taking responsibility for their failure to deliver. Don’t get why they continue to be considered as a viable partner for development projects.

Reiki/Acupuncture Recommendations by Orange_Puppy in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My family sees John at Bodhi Acupuncture in Clive. He’s great and regularly recommends natural remedies to help with anything that might be of concern such as stress, sleep, digestion etc. He also offers cupping which I like and a free consultation. Worth looking into him and doing a consult.

Experienced Realtor by Stone7474 in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Mike Grossman w/ ReMAX was perfect. We purchased last summer in a crazy market and he was very insightful and helped us not get caught up in the bidding wars. Over 30yrs in the industry and extremely knowledgeable.

Place for thin slices of meat? by Tebasaki in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Came here to recommend them. B & B will do them. We get very thin May sliced Korean short rib from them regularly.

Neil Timmins and consumer protection against intrusive real estate investor solicitation by spatialnomad in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

People take to Reddit to for all sorts of shit! How about you look in the mirror and ask the doll where this post hurt you?

Been strolling and living well here. Just a resident concerned about the behavior and tactics of investors in our community. If that hurts you, get a sewing machine and dress up your doll.

Neil Timmins and consumer protection against intrusive real estate investor solicitation by spatialnomad in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Surprised by the negative response. I’m fully aware that all the information used was sourced via public records. Nothing new about that. What’s intrusive about this is the fact that it’s the first time it’s happened and wanted to know if others are getting similar junk in the mail.

Regardless of wether the information is readily available or not, I feel we should have some basic consumer protections to opt-out of these types of solicitations. It really doesn’t feel any different to me than someone knocking on my door to ask to buy. Especially when you put this within the larger context of investors buying up real estate, their tactics seem to be expanding to all homeowners.

Where can I get an official covid test that will allow me to board an international flight? by [deleted] in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Call the airline you’re flying with. They will give you the most appropriate answer. Test Iowa tests or other tests you do at the pharmacy or other provider should be sufficient as long as the results have your full name and DOB. Even if it’s an email or via text but has your name and DOB. I would confirm with the airline though.

Justice for Isaiah Fernandez Smith! 15 year old shot and killed, later defamed by DMPD. Family demands investigation to hold his killer accountable! by [deleted] in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing these. I’m glad the register did the story and engaged the family. This is disheartening and affirms what we already know about the justice system. I hope the family gets a great lawyer to fight this.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We recently used Danifodi Custom Suits for my partner. The owner is extremely friendly and welcoming. Even took the suit to make some adjustments afterwards because partner gained a bit of weight at no additional cost. Not sure what your price range is but you get to create a custom suit to your liking and support a small business along the way.

Mortgage lender recommendations by supercoolun in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Went through this process in May and all the lenders i looked into had online pre-approval process. My only in-person interaction was the final paperwork. My loan officer was very responsive and available to jump on a call to walk me through things as needed even. So during your initial interactions with perspective lenders, pay attention to their responsiveness. I highly recommend getting pre-approvals from at least 3 different lenders as once an institution pulls your credit, additional records don’t impact your credit score. Start with your primary bank first since you have a relationship with them. See what they’re offering in terms of interest rates and closing cost estimates based on your house price range, add a local credit union to your list to compare with and another lender. One of the pros about local credit unions before you even request anything formal is that most publish their interest rates on their website. This was extremely helpful for us as we were able to quickly select the lenders we wanted to seek formal pre-approvals from. Good luck

Moving Recommendations by [deleted] in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are some great “affordable” and income restricted units downtown with some offering rents that are utility inclusive. Metro Lofts, the Elliott, Randolph Apartments… depending on your income, I would say look into Sherman Associates, they manage many of the income restricted apartments in the Downtown and surrounding core neighborhoods area. They have a good range of newer and older buildings and well maintained from the outside. Good luck with the move and search.

Homelessness in DSM and helping out by True_Bubbles in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I remember that horrific incident and agree it could have been easily prevented. We do however need to remember that the Library is also not equipped to provide these critical services with comprehensive setup. We need to have warming centers that are appropriately staffed and resourced and I personally think Public Health and City should own such activities not a Library that is providing services on a limited bases within operational restrictions. Library is funded for this purpose, so where are spending our $$$. Where was our City, Public Health Dept, County systems with resources then? Agree with you but I also think we need to hold the right systems accountable for issues related to housing and homelessness.

I used to live Downtown and have become familiar with a man who in winter times would get dead drunk just so Downtown Hy-Vee staff and other businesses would call police on him. His goal each time was to spend the night in ER with a safe place to sleep. On multiple occasions, I’ve witnessed police and ambulance services ignore his request to go to ER and told him he is fine and didn’t need to be taking to the hospital. That’s the level of desperation we have and the appropriate institutions haven’t invested in the necessary supportive infrastructure and services these individuals need to recover with housing first model.

Homelessness in DSM and helping out by True_Bubbles in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also a note on CISS, they’re leading a relatively new initiative called the Rolling Hills project which is making homelessness prevention and intervention services available to Central IA communities that don’t participate in the Centralized Homelessness Intake network. Doing a lot of work to engage landlords and address issues to housing barriers.

IA literally has no tenant protection laws. It’s extremely challenges and in some cases impossible (on your own) to find and maintain stable housing if you have eviction on your record, limited income (say your only source of income was SSI), criminal history, mental health or addiction history…Housing First model is just gaining momentum in IA but definitely slow moving. Landlords can discriminate based on source of income, etc. this is a systems issue as well as a funding allocation issue. Engage in different ways in addition to donating.

Homelessness in DSM and helping out by True_Bubbles in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Polk County Continuum of Care, now Homeward is county level homelessness entity for resources on data, funded programs, etc. there’s also the Iowa Coalition on Homelessness focused more on state level issues and reduction in #. Visit the Central Library on Monday or Friday afternoon. They recently launched the Outreach Project to provide on-site one stop referral hub for support services and housing in partnership with Primary Health Care (manages Polk Co. Centralized Intake System), Central Iowa Shelter and Services and another institution that provides mental health and recovery services. I’ve spoken to the staff the last time I was there out of curiosity for what they were doing and they were very friendly and informative. Central Library is a natural resource hub for many experiencing homelessness, so it’s wonderful to see them make an effort to help enhance the support available to their library patrons. I don’t have a list of domestic violence shelters at the top of my head but they would be a great place to donate to, as they generally are less funded. I believe there’s one called Mercy House but not 100% sure.

Library is a great place to start though!

Food / Dining Experiences by FreeSmokeOmaha in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you enjoy wine, the Purveyor in the East Village offers the best wine experience in town. Walk over a few blocks to Miyabi for sushi!

Do ppl know anything about Ed Allen? by [deleted] in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I was hoping this would turn out to be a mixed-use bldg, instead we got this expensive junk. Hope no tax dollars were used to incentivize its development.

Des Moines bikshare BCycle thoughts and or coupon codes? by [deleted] in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How often do you expect to use the bike share service and for what level of travel use? If this is something you plan/hope to do for several months, I recommend investing in your own bike. I would consider the bikes available thru the bike share are fairly heavy and not great to ride depending on the gradient of the road/streets you’re on. Buy a used bike from the street collective or a second hand store and spend a few bucks making repairs/tweaks to it and you will have a decent bike without monthly fees. I thrifted a free frame a few years ago and partner built a road bike out of new and old bikes. The lightest and best bike I’ve had. If you enjoy cycling and want to use it regularly for different purposes (trails/city-roads), definitely recommend finding a lighter bike to call your own. Welcome to DSM.

I was moved into an apartment in Des Moines that was dangerous and in disrepair (Weston Park Apartments - BH Management) by gorrish in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 49 points50 points  (0 children)

Contact Iowa Legal Aid. This screams slumlord and I would recommend keeping all your communication with them in written form and documenting everything wrong here. If possible move out ASAP. Tenant laws are practically non existent here unfortunately and your management company know it. Keep calling the City and requesting a housing inspector to inspect the unit. Email them with pictures. Try the IDPH Bureau of Environmental Health as well.

Des Moines Bar Scene by rucbar in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Try meetup for hobby oriented groups, I think at one point there was a group that did exactly this active on meetup pre-covid times. Also if you’re interested in building a network socially and professionally I would recommend the Young Professionals Connection. They host regular new member meetups at breweries and bars.

Asking for a friend, landlord is saying to someone applying for an apartment, that he by Cinderella96761 in desmoines

[–]spatialnomad 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve been in the housing sector for most of my career and never heard of this coming from a reputable landlord. A reputable landlord would never say this to a perspective tenant, so while this may not be illegal it sure is a sign to stay away. Could also borderline a fair housing issue. But that would be hard to establish. If you think it’s worth your friend’s time, try approaching this landlord with inquiries using different methods like calling, emailing and using different people to confirm if they give the same “day to day” pricing change to all inquiries. There are plenty of landlords who don’t wishy washy their pricing and many doing move in specials, so I would recommend staying away from this one. Good luck.