Polk County, Iowa

19 river gauges reading now, shown against their usual but not yet judged.

Official Warnings

No official warning is in effect here right now.

• Raccoon River At Fleur Drive At Des Moines, IA: water level 4.65 ft · above the highest October monthly average on record for this gauge (0.63 ft) · U.S. Geological Survey · 49 min ago
• Fourmile Creek At Des Moines, IA: flow 144 ft³/s · this gauge’s October monthly average is usually below 134 ft³/s · U.S. Geological Survey · 1 h ago
• Beaver Creek Near Grimes, IA: flow 442 ft³/s · this gauge’s October monthly average is usually below 378 ft³/s · U.S. Geological Survey · 1 h ago
• Fourmile Creek Near Ankeny, Ia Ds1: flow 70.8 ft³/s · this gauge’s October monthly average is usually below 70.4 ft³/s · U.S. Geological Survey · 1 h ago
• Walnut Creek At Des Moines, IA: flow 81.4 ft³/s · within the usual October monthly average for this gauge · U.S. Geological Survey · 49 min ago

River levels are shown against their usual, but not yet judged. A gauge’s usual here is its range of October monthly averages; the reading is the latest 15-minute value, which a passing rain or dry spell can carry outside that range. So no river gauge makes this county Unusual For Here until we compare each day with the same day’s history.

A gauge’s usual is its range of October monthly averages over its record (USGS).

• USGS daily mean streamflow and gage height - Iowa: 20 entries for this county · U.S. Geological Survey · read 10 h ago

Entries are what each state or utility feed lists for this county: incidents, closures or outage areas. We count them; we do not reproduce them.

126 entries from Iowa WZDx Feed and 82 from Iowa 511 events (Iowa Department of Transportation) for this county, in their latest reads.

• Iowa WZDx Feed: 126 entries for this county · Iowa Department of Transportation · read 5 min ago
• Iowa 511 events: 82 entries for this county · Iowa Department of Transportation · read 10 min ago

Entries are what each state or utility feed lists for this county: incidents, closures or outage areas. We count them; we do not reproduce them.

1 report in the last 24 hours, none published as an event.

Coming Up

No meeting is on an agenda we read for the next seven days.

• City Council 10-27-2026 Regular Session · Pleasant Hill city · 19 h ago Not Yet Confirmed

2 reports in the last 6 hours, none published as an event.

• Ag-Tech Stories: How Distynct is bringing data in AI era into the barn · Business Record · 3 h ago Not Yet Confirmed
• ENTREFest announces Cedar Rapids as host city for 2027 event · Business Record · 3 h ago Not Yet Confirmed
• 46.3 million Iowa visitors generated $1.2 billion last year · Business Record · 18 h ago Not Yet Confirmed
• Lean TECHniques reaches Select Partner Status in Claude Partner Network · Business Record · 18 h ago Not Yet Confirmed
• Borlaug Dialogue brings together international leaders · Business Record · 18 h ago Not Yet Confirmed

Wastewater site 2634: COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) level 2.37, within the usual weekly level for this site.

• Wastewater site 2634: COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) level 2.37 · within the usual weekly level for this site · CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System · Oct 17, 7:00 PM CDT
• Wastewater site 2634: influenza A level 1 · within the usual weekly level for this site · CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System · Oct 17, 7:00 PM CDT
• Wastewater site 2634: RSV level 1 · within the usual weekly level for this site · CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System · Oct 17, 7:00 PM CDT

• CDC wastewater data for viral activity level (SARS-CoV-2, influenza A, RSV): 6 entries for this county · CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System · read 14 h ago
• CDC wastewater data for SARS-CoV-2: 1 entry for this county · CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System · read 15 h ago
• CDC wastewater data for RSV: 1 entry for this county · CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System · read 14 h ago
• CDC wastewater data for influenza A: 1 entry for this county · CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System · read 14 h ago

Entries are what each state or utility feed lists for this county: incidents, closures or outage areas. We count them; we do not reproduce them.

Des Moines: AQI 33, within the usual daily AQI in October for this county.

• Des Moines: AQI 33 · within the usual daily AQI in October for this county · U.S. EPA AirNow · 1 h ago

• USGS latest streamflow and gage height - Iowa: 22 entries for this county · U.S. Geological Survey · read 29 min ago
• AirNow reporting-area AQI (current and forecast): 10 entries for this county · U.S. EPA AirNow · read 52 min ago

Entries are what each state or utility feed lists for this county: incidents, closures or outage areas. We count them; we do not reproduce them.

12341: 65 customers out, within the usual daily peak in October for this county.

• 12341: 65 customers out · within the usual daily peak in October for this county · U.S. Department of Energy / Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ODIN) · 20 min ago

• U.S. Department of Energy / Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ODIN) outage map (utility-built): 4 entries for this county · U.S. Department of Energy / Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ODIN) · read 20 min ago

Entries are what each state or utility feed lists for this county: incidents, closures or outage areas. We count them; we do not reproduce them.

No source here for this.

Matters Now

• Layoff and closure notices (WARN)
  Wells Fargo, 800 S Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines: Amendment - Additional Employees, 86 workers; starts 2026-12-26. Iowa Workforce Development
• Layoff and closure notices (WARN)
  Wells Fargo, 800 S Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines: Amendment - Additional Employees, 2 workers; starts 2026-12-12. Iowa Workforce Development
• Layoff and closure notices (WARN)
  Milestone Technologies, 300 Share Way, Altoona: layoff, 99 workers; starts 2026-12-13. Iowa Workforce Development

Quiet

• Rail accidents and crossings (FRA): No reported accident or crossing collision here with a release, evacuation, injury or death in the latest data · Federal Railroad Administration · read Oct 26, 8:27 AM CDT
• Gasoline prices (EIA): No weekly move of 10 cents or more · U.S. Energy Information Administration · read Oct 26, 8:27 AM CDT

Background

• Gasoline prices (EIA)
  Regular gasoline, Midwest (PADD 2), week of 2026-10-19: $4.145 a gallon, up 0 cents from the week before. U.S. Energy Information Administration
• Layoff and closure notices (WARN)
  Wells Fargo, 800 S Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines: Amendment - Additional Employees, 10 workers; starts 2026-11-28. Iowa Workforce Development
• Layoff and closure notices (WARN)
  Wells Fargo, 800 S Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines: Amendment - Additional Employees, 35 workers; starts 2026-11-14. Iowa Workforce Development
• Layoff and closure notices (WARN)
  Wells Fargo, 800 S Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines: Amendment - Additional Employees, 5 workers; starts 2026-10-31. Iowa Workforce Development
• Layoff and closure notices (WARN)
  Wells Fargo, 800 S Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines: Amendment - Additional Employees, 14 workers; starts 2026-10-17. Iowa Workforce Development
• Layoff and closure notices (WARN)
  Wells Fargo, 800 S Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines: Amendment - Additional Employees, 7 workers; starts 2026-10-03. Iowa Workforce Development
• Layoff and closure notices (WARN)
  UnityPoint Health, 1776 West Lakes Pkwy Ste 400, West Des Moines: layoff, 229 workers; starts 2027-02-28. Iowa Workforce Development
• Layoff and closure notices (WARN)
  Wells Fargo, 800 S Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines: Amendment - Additional Employees, 20 workers; starts 2026-09-19. Iowa Workforce Development
• Layoff and closure notices (WARN)
  Wells Fargo, 800 S Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines: Amendment - Additional Employees, 20 workers; starts 2026-09-05. Iowa Workforce Development
• Rail accidents and crossings (FRA)
  Grade-crossing collision, Union Pacific Railroad Company, WEST DES MOINES, ASHWORTH, 2026-06-04. Reported by FRA with the June 2026 data. Federal Railroad Administration
• Employment and wages (QCEW)
  Q1 2026: 312,929 jobs (310,109 a year earlier); $1,604 average weekly wage ($1,559 a year earlier). BLS (QCEW)

Each line is the source's own fields, linked to the source. Unusual is this county against its own history, never against other counties. FRA posts about three months after an accident, so its lines are reported, not breaking. Last read: BLS (QCEW) Oct 12, 8:25 AM CDT; U.S. Energy Information Administration Oct 26, 8:27 AM CDT; Federal Railroad Administration Oct 26, 8:27 AM CDT; Iowa Workforce Development Oct 29, 9:00 AM CDT.

Matters Now

• Bird flu in wild birds (APHIS)
  USDA APHIS reports highly pathogenic avian influenza detected in wild birds in Polk County, Iowa (2 detections, the newest 2026-10-01). This is the first detection in wild birds here this season. USDA APHIS

Quiet

• Non-native species (USGS NAS): No new non-native species alert here in the last 30 days · USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) · read Oct 12, 7:04 PM CDT
• Introduced species (iNaturalist): No introduced species newly recorded here · iNaturalist · read 1 h ago

Background

• Introduced species (iNaturalist)
  1 research-grade observation of introduced species here in the last 30 days. iNaturalist

Each line is the source's own fields, linked to the source. Unusual is this county against its own history, never against other counties. Bird flu detections are reported in our words with a link to USDA APHIS; its records are not reproduced. iNaturalist observations are shown only under CC0 or CC-BY, with the observer credited; others are counted. Observations with an obscured location are never placed on a county. Last read: USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Oct 12, 7:04 PM CDT; iNaturalist Oct 29, 9:26 AM CDT; USDA APHIS Oct 26, 8:27 AM CDT.

Quiet

• Historic places in harm’s way: No listed place here inside an active wildfire perimeter, warning area or flood zone · National Weather Service · read 6 min ago
• National Register nominations (Federal Register): No nomination here under review · National Park Service (Federal Register) · read 1 h ago
• National Register listings (NPS): No listing or removal here in the last 30 days · National Park Service · read Oct 12, 8:25 AM CDT

Background

• National Register nominations (Federal Register)
  Carpenter Paper Company Warehouse, 106 SW 7th Street, Des Moines (Polk County, Iowa), reference SG100013546: nominated, comments due 2026-10-15. National Park Service (Federal Register)
• National Register listings (NPS)
  165 properties on the National Register in this county, 1 of them a National Historic Landmark. National Park Service

Each line is the source's own fields, linked to the source. Sites whose location is restricted are never shown. A place inside a hazard area is our overlay of open maps, as of the hazard’s own time; it says nothing of damage. Last read: National Park Service Oct 12, 8:25 AM CDT; National Park Service (Federal Register) Oct 29, 9:00 AM CDT; National Weather Service Oct 29, 10:27 AM CDT.