dsmWeekly - June 25, 2025

By Dave Elbert

Des Moines was already a leader in air travel when Charles Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis airplane here in 1927, three months after his historic solo flight across the Atlantic.

Two years earlier on July 1, 1925 — a century ago — Des Moines was a stop on one of the earliest transcontinental airmail routes. Temperatures hit 104 degrees that day, and they were still in the sticky 90s when an evening crowd of more than 40,000 gathered at the city’s first airfield, a pasture just beyond the city limits off Vandalia Road at Southeast 30th Street.

“A single engine plane from Chicago dropped out of a darkening sky” at 9:50 p.m. into the beams of giant searchlights before landing on grass, the Des Moines Tribune reported.

When the airmail pilot Reuben Wagner stepped out of the plane, the first to greet him was 94-year-old James Carss, who had arrived in Des Moines in 1866, riding on the cowcatcher of the first railroad train to reach Iowa’s new capital. Officials gave Wagner an engraved cigarette case. (Photo: Des Moines Tribune)

While the post office band played “The Iowa Corn Song,” a crew unloaded the mail and loaded 10,000 local letters onto two different airplanes, which took off at 10:02 and 10:08 p.m. for Omaha and the West Coast. Later that night, those airplanes crossed paths with eastbound airmail, which arrived in Des Moines at 3 a.m.

Unfortunately, that first landing field was low and prone to fog and flooding. Two years later a second landing strip was carved from farmland near Altoona, where Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino stands today.

On Aug. 19, 1927, Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis circled the Iowa State Fairgrounds before landing in Altoona, where he dedicated Des Moines’ first official “flying field.” More than 50,000 were on hand for the landing. The enormous crowd followed Lindbergh’s car 10 miles to the Hotel Fort Des Moines, forming what was described as “the longest parade in Iowa history.”

A hangar was built at the Altoona field, but it and the airport were moved in 1931 to a more easily accessible location four miles south of downtown. City leaders considered as many as 80 sites before choosing 160 acres along Fleur Drive, where the airport remains. (Pictured: The first passenger terminal at the current location.)

The chamber of commerce was a driving force behind all three of Des Moines’ airfields. In addition to helping with site selection and financing, business leaders lobbied the Legislature for laws, approved in 1929, that allowed cities to spend tax dollars on airports.

Des Moines’ first municipal airport director was Arthur Thomas, who served from 1925 until he retired in 1965.

“All the time I was out there at Altoona,” he later told the Des Moines Tribune, “I felt sure that wasn’t going to be the Des Moines airport.” While he waited for the relocation, he said, “I wrote letters to every airport in the world I could think of. I would slip a dollar bill in the envelope and ask them to send me all the literature they had.”

Thomas received responses from all over the country, as well as England, France and Germany. Much of the correspondence had to be translated, but the suggestions became the basis for rules and procedures that were copied by airfields across the country and world.

Read more of Elbert's Backstories online at dsmmagazine.com.

During the national festival, the Des Moines Playhouse plans to reprise "Men on Boats" at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Playhouse. (Photo: Steve Gibbons)

BEST BET

Des Moines hosts national theater festival

Theater buffs, take a seat: The Des Moines Playhouse is hosting the biennial festival of the American Association of Community Theatre this week, with dozens of public performances from companies across the country. AACTFest and a corresponding festival for youth offer a bustling week of workshops, shows and socializing at both the Playhouse and Hoyt Sherman Place.

Festival participants can attend workshops that cover many aspects of theater, from choreography, writing and directing to tech, licensing and even artificial intelligence. They can also pop into Broadway game nights, jukebox musical karaoke and more.

Free public performances, including a monologue competition, are scheduled throughout the week, and keynote address Leslie Kimbell is calling "From Waffle House to the World Stage" begins at 11 a.m. Friday.

Local spotlights

Two Iowans — Virgil Kleinhesselink from the Des Moines Playhouse and Jackie VanOosbree from Emmetsburg's Mainstreet Community Theatre — will receive awards for their years of volunteering.

Corteva Agriscience, the Playhouse's corporate sponsor since 2009, will receive an award for its longtime support for the arts.

More than a dozen local theater professionals will present workshops, including playwright Karen Schaeffer, Playhouse executive director David Kilpatrick and Playhouse costume designer Angela Lampe, who recently wrote about her annual fabric-shopping trips to Los Angeles in dsm magazine.

The Week Ahead

Des Moines Arts Festival, Friday-Sunday, Western Gateway Park. Hundreds of artists from across the country exhibit their creative work, turning Des Moines into an urban gallery. Wander the streets surrounded by live music, hands-on activities and more.

The Grand Marquis, 7 p.m. Friday, Noce. With their versatile brand of American roots, blues and Prohibition-era jazz, the Kansas City band is in high demand.

Sleepy Hollow Music & Makers, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, Sleepy Hollow Sports Park. Stop by on Saturday to see local makers showcasing handcrafted goods, boutique foods and more, and stick around for live music. The park’s amenities — a tubing hill, mini-golf and fire pits — add to the fun at this free event.

Wine on the Prairie, 6-8 p.m. Saturday, Brenton Arboretum. Enjoy a glass of wine and light appetizers while taking in the arboretum's natural evening beauty.

Des Moines Metro Opera, Blank Performing Arts Center in Indianola. The company’s festival season opens with “The Flying Dutchman” on Friday and Sunday and “The Cunning Little Vixen” on Saturday, followed by “The Rake’s Progress” on July 5. Many performances are sold out, but a few tickets are up for grab throughout the festival, which continues through July 20.

By Emmett McMenamy

At nearly 80 years old, local television personality Mike Pace has jumped to the big screen. He stars in a new short film called “Outro,” which premiered this spring at the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival and recently picked up five awards at the annual Iowa Motion Picture Awards, where Pace himself received an award for lifetime achievement.

For Pace, those accolades suggest he can do more than host a TV or radio show: He can act.

The setup

Born and raised in Norwalk, Pace stayed in Des Moines for most of his career. He spent more than 40 years on camera for the “Iowa Realty Home Show,” hosted the Iowa Lottery drawings for 23 years and appeared on countless corporate videos and commercials.

Many Iowans recognize Pace from TV, but fewer have seen him on the big screen. He’s participated in a few 48-Hour Film Festivals, but his work on “Outro” means more to him because he filled it with bits and pieces of his own life story.

He worked with local director Wes Worthing to co-write the script, which is loosely based on Pace’s own life. He plays a radio host named Roger on his last day before retirement. After he signs off for the last time, he starts to feel career regrets. He wonders whether he should continue working or simply hang up his hat.

The action

When Pace was 16, he dreamed of becoming a professional musician, baseball player or writer. But as he grew up, those dreams gave way to more practical realities.

In “Outro,” Roger faces a similar dilemma. He’s had a long and a successful career in radio, but his last day on the job brings a flurry of what-if thoughts. After a conversation with his alter ego, he reconsiders his outlook and realizes that not everyone is meant to be a prodigy or a famous star — and that’s all right.

Not all of Pace’s dreams came true either, but he has no regrets about how his career and family turned out.

The resolution

Pace said he’s 90% retired but might not be done yet. “I’m still vertical,” he said, in his familiar baritone. “I’m able to do some things, so I’m going to dabble.”

He still has other aspirations in film. He’s written a few short stories and would like to direct a short film one day.

For now, he is happy with the success of “Outro,” which will likely make the rounds at other film festivals and was nominated for a few Iowa Motion Picture Awards. “I just had such a great time, honestly,” Pace said. “It was just such a kick.