A rent increase, unexpected bill, or tough month can make it hard to keep up with housing and utilities — and knowing where to turn isn't always obvious.

There are local programs and resources that may help with rent, utility bills, housing costs, and emergency assistance across the Des Moines metro.

We pulled the key options into one guide so you don't have to search through a dozen different websites.

👉 See the full guide:
https://desmoinesdigest.com/guide/rent-utilities-help-des-moines-metro/

Save this one. It could be useful for you, a friend, or a neighbor when they need it.

Years from now, nobody in your house is going to remember what you spent on the weekend — they're going to remember the pile of leaves, the blanket fort, and the time everyone got way too competitive about apples. Here's this week's lineup, rain-or-shine included, since Mother Nature's a little indecisive this weekend.

🍂 The Great Leaf Pile Championship They're not falling fast enough yet everywhere, but wherever you've got a head start, rake it into one enormous pile and let the jumping commence. Bonus points for a running leap.

🧁 Rainy Day Baking Marathon With Friday and Saturday looking soggy, turn the kitchen into command central. Pick something nobody's made before — snickerdoodles, banana bread, a wildly ambitious cake — and let the flour fly.

🕯️ Flashlight Fort Movie Night Blankets over the couch cushions, flashlights instead of lamps, popcorn in the biggest bowl you own. Doesn't matter what's on the screen — the fort is the point.

🚲 Last Bike Ride Before Sweater Weather Sunday's sunshine and 74 degrees might be the last real bike-riding day for a while. Take the long way. Stop for ice cream if it's still out.

🎨 Sidewalk Chalk Send-Off to Summer Grab the chalk before it disappears into a drawer until spring and give the driveway one last summer mural. Let the little ones draw whatever they want — even if it's just scribbles.

🍎 Apple Taste-Test Tournament Grab three or four different apple varieties from the store, slice them up, and run a blind taste test bracket. Somebody in your house has strong Honeycrisp opinions and doesn't know it yet.

✨ If everyone is smiling but nobody knows exactly what the plan is, you're probably doing the weekend right. ❤️

Dinner's one of the few times the whole family lands in the same room — here's a question to open things up each night this week.

Struggling with more than study tips can solve? Camp Homework offers affordable K–12 tutoring with real human tutors — not AI — starting at just $150/month. camphomework.com →

Real talk: the last few weeks of school matter. If your child is struggling, Camp Homework connects K–12 students with real human tutors — not AI — starting at just $150/month. Affordable, personal, and actually effective. Don't wait until summer to course-correct. camphomework.com →

Friday, Sept. 25 (3 p.m.–midnight) & Saturday, Sept. 26 (noon–midnight) | The District at Prairie Trail, Ankeny | Tickets at oktoberfestdsm.com

Two full days of German beer, bratwurst, and polka out at The District at Prairie Trail — this is the kind of festival that goes all in on the theme. Expect the ceremonial Tapping of the Golden Keg to kick things off, a stein-holding contest for the truly stubborn, and a communal shotski attempt that always draws a crowd.

Once the sun goes down, Rocktoberfest takes over with live music and a packed dance floor, so plan for a late one if you're going Saturday. Lawn games, an arcade, and local vendors make it easy to stretch the visit into a full afternoon, even if you're not much of a beer drinker.

Thank you so much for reading — we hope you found something fun, helpful, and inspiring in today's edition! If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with your friends and family so they can be part of the fun too. The more the merrier! We'll see you back here on Monday for our next edition. Have a wonderful weekend, Des Moines! 🎉

— Alex | Des Moines Digest
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