But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he thunders, the waters in heaven roar; he makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. (NIV) (Jeremiah 10: 12,13)

Looking back: August 19, 2017, I was driving down Beaverdale Avenue and discovered my favorite local artist, Ben Schuh, putting the finishing touches on this magnificent mural on the north wall of the Uptempo Music Building. This beautiful scene-scape was designed to recognizes the 100th anniversary of the Beaverdale Neighborhood.

Breaking News! April-2019---Des Moines was ranked fifth in the annual "Best Place to Live" rating by the U.S. News and World Report. When I read that article I tried to decide how I could highlight some of our Des Moines great places in a unique way. Then I decided to take you around town by featuring some of the art work by a local Des Moines guy, Ben Schuh. I think all of these places will be familiar to you because they all seem to be favorites of mine.

My View for the Month: Now let's put this all together! After I discovered U.S.News and World Report rated Des Moines # 5 as "Best Places to Live" I thought this deserved a special tribute. I have been close to home these past couple of months so I had to work with what I found in my archive photos. I could not think of anyone better qualified to represent the beauty of Des Moines than local artist, Ben Schuh, I think his art captivates the beauty and history of our community. Of course, in my opinion, U.S.News missed big time on this one!!! I think five is just an arbitrary number and Des Moines should be rated number one. That is why I chose the title, "A High Five to Des Moines."

Next, I am showing you some photos of Ben's art exhibit at the Heritage Gallery (September, 2018). I think Ben's Des Moines must be my Des Moines--these are all places I have visited many times. I think they are presented in such a beautiful and unique way and that is such a great compliment to Des Moines and all of Iowa.

Coming Soon: Today, May 23. 2019, it was good to see Ben Schuh painting a new mural at 5th and Locust in downtown Des Moines. This beautiful work of art recognizes 50 years of service of an organization that is near and dear to my heart--the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines. This is just a preview--I will show you the finished project next month.