PRESENTED BY

Good morning, Des Moines! 🌅 This is DSM at Dawn.

Happy Holidays from all of us at The Dawn. This Christmas morning, I’m thankful for my family, my health, and for all of you. Can’t wait for 2026.

Keeping this edition short and simple. Just a few things worth knowing for the weekend.

In todays issue:

• 🌇 Downtown getting a facelift

• 💰️ Ludacris makes donation

• 🎫 Des Moines’ best events

And we’re off.

— Nick Rivas

THE 515 REPORT 📱📰 

Downtown Development

The City of Des Moines approved a redevelopment agreement with an Indiana developer for the county-owned parking lot at Fifth & Cherry streets in downtown. The plan calls for a six-story mixed-use building with housing, commercial space, and structured parking — a notable step in transforming underused space in the heart of the city.

Story →

PRESENTED BY: Springer Brothers Real Estate Team

Looking to make a move? The Springer Brothers Real Estate Team is comprised of third generation real estate professionals, born and raised right here in Central Iowa. We’re deeply rooted in this community. When it comes to finding that place to grow your roots here, the Springer Brothers are experienced at guiding you home.

If you’re in the market to buy, the Springer Brothers work hard to find that house that just feels like home. Whether it’s the first home we see or the 30^th , we encourage our homebuyers to always trust their gut. There’s no greater feeling in what we do than that feeling of finding “the one”.

If you’re the market to sell, our team will work with you to put together a plan that maximizes your homes value. We tailor every situation, using our suite of services, so that homeowners can feel confident when they list their home that they’ll get maximum exposure for their greatest, most-tangible asset.

No matter your situation, we’re ready to get to work FOR YOU so that you can achieve your real estate goals.

Call us at (515) 371-9396, email us at [email protected], or visit our website to learn more about us.

Community Spotlight ❤️ 

Des Moines’ Secret Santa

Rapper and actor Ludacris made a meaningful holiday gesture for Iowa families, donating $100,000 to ChildServe, an organization that supports children with special healthcare needs.

The donation will help expand services and support families across the state — a timely reminder of how far generosity can go, especially this time of year.

👉 KCCI

WEEKEND PLANS 🚨🏁

Want a Featured Event with a poster,
reach out and say hi.

🍸 Holiday Cocktail Pop-Up (more)
📆 Friday–Saturday | ⏰ 5–8 PM
📍 Brightside Aleworks
Brightside’s festive cocktail pop-up returns with specialty drinks, food trucks, and live music on Saturday.

🛍️ Annual Year End Sale (more)
📆 Friday–Sunday
📍 The Farmstand
The once-a-year clearance event — get there early for the best selection.

🧩 Puzzlepalooza! (more)
📆 Saturday–Wednesday
📍 Clive Public Library
Grab a team and race the clock with timed puzzles for adults and families, with prizes for the fastest builds.

🤼 3X Wrestling (more)
📆 Saturday | ⏰ 8 PM
📍 Wooly's
Live, high-energy wrestling action at Wooly’s — all ages welcome, doors open at 7 PM.

🎉 Yellow Chair Project (more)
📆 Sunday | ⏰ 7 PM
📍 xBk Annex
A community storytelling night built around real, personal stories. This week’s holiday-timed theme is “Gifted.”

NOW SHOWING  🎭

❄️ Disney’s Frozen
📆 Dec 5-27
📍 Des Moines Playhouse
A perfect holiday-season show for children and families alike.

WEATHER 🌞🌡️

Thursday

High 45 🌡️ Low 40 | ☁️ | 💧 24%
Weather Beacon: 🟢 No change foreseen

Friday

High 48 🌡️ Low 36 | 🌤️ | 💧 13%
Weather Beacon: 🟢 No change foreseen

Saturday

High 52 🌡️ Low 33 | ☁️ | 💧 12%
Weather Beacon: 🟢 No change foreseen

Sunday

High 37 🌡️ Low 12 | 🌬️ | 💧 23%
Weather Beacon: ⚪️ Colder weather in sight

THE SETLIST 🎶🎤

Friday

Brittany Sword | 6 | Iowa Distilling Co
Jesse & The Medicine Men | 6 | Lake Robbins Ballroom
Claudia Coltrain | 6 | Firetrucker Brewing
Grain Powered Duo | 7 | Kelly’s Little Nipper
Robbie Michael | 7 | Shotgun Betty’s
Bryan Schumaker | 7:30 | The New Northwestern
Jesse Villalobos Group | 8 | The Cave
Jordan Beem | 8 | Prairie Meadows
Randy Burk | 8 | Kenny’s Garage
Dick Danger Band | 8 | Doc’s Lounge
A NOLA Christmas! | 9 | Noce
The Other Brothers | 9 | Greenwood Lounge

Saturday

80 Grit | 12 | Prairie Meadows
Jordan Messerole | 4 | Revelton Distilling
Hold On | 6 | Lake Robbins Ballroom
Royce Johns | 6 | Brightside Aleworks
The Tanner Taylor Trio | 7 & 9 | Noce
The Hors D’oeuvres | 7 | Shirley’s
The Ripoffs | 7 | Doc’s Lounge
Not Quite Brothers | 8 | Val Air Ballroom
Aviana Gedler Group | 8 | The Cave
Night Like This | 8 | Prairie Meadows
Joshua Sinclair | 8 | Lakeside Casino
JJ and the Boys | 8 | Kenny’s Garage
Sons of Sara | 8 | Down Under
Jordan Beem | 8:30 | Mickey’s Irish Pub
Dave Zollo w/ Brian Cooper | 9 | Greenwood Lounge

Sunday

Choro Moingona | 3 | The Cave
Christian Ertl-Spence Paulsen Duo | 5 | Louie’s Wine Dive
Sentimental Swing | 5 | Lake Robbins Ballroom
Chris Avey Band w Matt Woods Band | 6 | xBk Live
Recoil | 8 | Prairie Meadows

SPORTS 🏈🏅

Football 🏈

The Hawks are the last team standing.

• Iowa 🦅 vs Vanderbilt | Record: 8-4 (6-3)
  📆 12/31 | 🕛️ 11
  🏆 ReliaQuest Bowl 📍Tampa, FL

College Basketball 🏀 

College basketball season is in full swing. March Madness will be here before we know it. Here’s a quick snapshot on each local program along with their next game.

Men

• Drake 🐶 vs Ill St | Record: 7-6 (1-1)
  📆 12/29 | 🕛️ 8

• #25 Iowa 🦅 vs UMass Lowell | Record: 10-2 (1-1)
  📆 12/29 | 🕛️ 4

• #3 ISU 🌪️ vs Hou Christian | Record: 12-0
  📆 12/29 | 🕛️ 7

• UNI 🐆 vs Valpo | Record: 9-3 (1-0)
  📆 12/29 | 🕛️ 7

Women

• Drake 🐶 @ UIC | Record: 2-9 (1-0)
  📆 12/29 | 🕛️ 12

• #14 Iowa 🦅 vs Penn St | Record: 10-2 (1-0)
  📆 12/28 | 🕛️ 3

• #10 ISU 🌪️ @ Houston | Record: 13-0 (1-0)
  📆 12/31 | 🕛️ 1

• UNI 🐆 @ Valpo | Record: 5-6 (1-0)
  📆 12/29 | 🕛️ 1

Hockey 🏒 

Bucs
9-11-2-4 | 6th place | Western Conference

• vs Tri-City Storm
  📆 12/27 | 🕛️ 7:05

• @ Waterloo Black Hawks
  📆 12/31 | 🕛️ 6:35

Iowa Wild
8-20-0-1 | 7th place | Central Division

• vs Chicago Wolves
  📆 12/27 | 🕛️ 6
  🎄 Christmas Vacation Night

• vs Texas Stars
  📆 12/30 | 🕛️ 7

• vs Texas Stars
  📆 12/31 | 🕛️ 5
  🎆 New Year’s Eve Bash

G League 🏀 

Iowa Wolves
2-0 | 3rd place | Western Conference

• @ Greensboro Swarm
  📆 12/27 | 🕛️ 5

• @ Delaware Blue Coats
  📆 12/29 | 🕛️ 6

• @ Delaware Blue Coats
  📆 12/31 | 🕛️ 11

THANK YOU! 🙌 

Thank you for reading DSM at Dawn.

I would love your feedback! Reply here or email me anytime!

Want to sponsor a future edition of The Dawn? Let’s chat! [email protected].