Greater Des Moines Sister Cities

As the weather cools, warm up at JASI's Night at Izakaya! Step into the lively yokocho (alleyway) for an unforgettable evening of sake, delicious food, and fun surprises. From sizzling yakitori to the ever-popular Taiko drumming, there’s something for everyone—including a few surprises you won’t want to miss. Come for the food, stay for the friends, and discover a treasure or two at our silent auction. It’s the perfect night out—don’t miss it!

Tickets: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=6C54P3CVP5YQQ&source=qr

Congratulations to our sister city, Ville de Saint-Étienne, for kicking off a wonderful economic fair!

Several of our commissioners attended this event. We are so incredibly proud of and thankful for our partnership with Kosova.

Sister Cities International is leading the recruitment of Ambassadors (Applicants MUST be US Citizens between the ages of 19-27 during their work period in Osaka) who will serve as guides and cultural ambassadors at the USA Pavilion at World Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. Learn more by visiting https://sistercities.org.

Commissioners Joe Nolte, Ricki King and Georgia Martin recently attended a welcome dinner hosted by DMACC for students who are part of the Yamanashi Dental Hygiene Exchange. Cool Kofu（En）

Congratulations to the Blank Park Zoo on the birth of a baby Japanese macaque! Last summer, we were pleased to introduce Mayor Higuchi and the delegation from our Sister City, Cool Kofu（En）, to our colony of Japanese macaques in Des Moines!

Exciting news! Tonight, the City of Grimes voted to become the 8th member city of the Greater Des Moines Sister Cities Commission! The council also appointed Stefanie Wager as the city's representative to the commission. This begins a process where our member cities approve their membership. We are excited to promote even more of our metro through our work. Welcome, Grimes, and Commissioner-Elect Wager!

Thank you to Ambassador Charles Larson and the LS2group for inviting Commission leadership to a breakfast to say farewell to outgoing Chinese Consul General Zhao Jian this morning. Consul General Zhao has been a frequent visitor to Des Moines and a great help in fostering our long-standing relationship with Shijiazhuang. Pictured are Commission Chair Joe Nolte, Consul General Zhao, and Commission Vice Chair Kelly Simmons.

The Greater Des Moines Sister Cities Commission welcomed Her Excellency Oksana Markarova, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, and Heather Conley, President of The German Marshall Fund of the United States, to Des Moines on Tuesday, August 13.

The visit to Iowa is part of the Whistlestops for Ukraine tour - organized in part by the German Marshall Fund - to foster conversations across America on how the war in Ukraine affects local, national and global communities.

The event was attended by mayors, city council members and sister city commissioners from the Greater Des Moines area. Attendees were part of an open discussion with Markarova and Conley centered around why a free and sovereign Ukraine matters to America’s own security and prosperity.

This weekend, we were delighted to be a part of the first Iowa visit of Japan's new Consul General in the Chicago Consulate, Jun Yanagi, and Consul Rie Arai. On Friday, Commission Chair Joe Nolte joined several community members at a lunch for the delegation. On Saturday, Mayor Connie Boesen and Vice Chair Kelly Simmons greeted them at the Iowa State Fair. Special thanks to Peggy Kerr, Honorary Consul of Japan, for the invitation to participate. A topic at both meetings was our long-standing sister city relationship with Cool Kofu in Japan, as well as the Mayor's recent trip to Kofu.

At Bastille Day Celebration!

Make sure to check out our event listing for the Bastille Day Celebration this Friday! We celebrate with Alliance Francaise of Central Iowa in honor of our long sister city relationship with Ville de Saint-Étienne in France.

A lot happened at the Commission final meeting of the fiscal year! Great reports on activities from all of our cities and looking ahead to more events! Also, we elected Joe Nolte as our Commission Chair, and Kelly Simmons as our Commission Vice Chair. Joe and Kelly had been elected to fill partial terms earlier this year, and tonight the Commission unanimously elected them to a full two-year term. Thank you to all of our Commission members for representing the city and metro areas so well!

Check out Mayor Connie Boesen and several Commissioners on Kofu TV! Cool Kofu（En）

「思ったより難しかった」アメリカ・デモイン市長が姉妹都市の甲府市訪問　小学校で書道に挑戦 | 山梨のニュース | ＵＴＹテレビ山梨 甲府市の姉妹都市アメリカ・アイオワ州、デモイン市の市長が来県し、甲府市の小学校の授業で毛筆に挑戦しました。23日に甲府市の湯田小学校を訪問したのは、アイオワ州デモイン市のコニー・ボーゼン市長です。デモ…

[Sport] Une course exceptionnelle au milieu des Gorges de la Loire ! Venez vous mesurer à Arthur Forissier, champion du monde de cross triathlon, à l'occasion du Triathlon Gorges de la Loire le 25 mai 2024 ! Les inscriptions se terminent bientôt. ➡️ https://www.triathlon-gorges-de-la-loire.fr/levenement/ 📸 Pao Photographie

Mayor Connie Boesen and several Greater Des Moines Sister Cities commissioners welcomed a delegation from Shijiazhuang, China, to Des Moines May 19-21. Des Moines and Shijiazhuang have been sister cities since August 1985.

Our Greater Des Moines Sister City of Kofu, Japan welcomes our delegation in Tokyo after their 24-hour trek across the world! Friends forever!

And they're off! A delegation of the Greater Des Moines Sister Cities, led by Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen, left early this morning for a goodwill trip to visit our Sister City of Kofu, Japan!

And we are off to Kofu! Thank you Mayor Boesen for coming with us to spread the good word about Des Moines! Your commission and guests from three metro cities are taking over 300 gifts, speaking with business, government, and education leaders, and promoting doing business, visiting, and studying in Des Moines! Most importantly, we can learn about our wonderful friends in this great city. Follow us for more photos as we see our oldest sister city relationship, Cool Kofu!

It’s time for Sister Cities International’s Young Artists and Authors Showcase! The showcase is an annual contest that encourages youth worldwide to express the mission of Sister Cities International through original artwork, literature, photography and music.

YAAS 2024 – Young Artists and Authors Showcase 2024 Get ready to embark on an artistic journey that envisions a resilient and sustainable urban future! We are thrilled to announce that the 2024 Young Artists and Authors Showcase theme will be “ClimateScape: Resilient Cities for Tomorrow’s Climate.” This theme not only aligns with the United Nat...

Have any plans for the Memorial Day weekend? How about catching the Samurai show at CelebrAsian 2024 in Des Moines? It's the first-ever live Samurai performance in the Midwest. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity for fun!

The Greater Des Moines Sister Cities Commission hosted several guests from our Sister City, Pristina, Kosovo, today. Thank you to Johnston Mayor (and Commissioner) Paula Dierenfeld and City of Norwalk, Iowa Mayor Tom Phillips for joining in the conversation on foreign policy, local government, and sister city relationships! Commission Chair Joseph Nolte, Vice Chair (and Southeast Polk School Board member) Kelly Simmons, and Pristina Committee Chair Todd Jacobus joined as well. Our guests were Eugen Cakoli, Project Manager/Lead Researcher at the Kosovo Democratic Institute; Aurora Popova, Senior Officer for Energy Efficiency, Department of Energy, Republic of Kosovo; Arrita Gjakova, Senior Official for Bilateral Relations, Division for North America, Department of the Americas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora; and Demush Shasha, Executive Director, European Policy Institute of Kosovo. Thank you to the Iowa International Center and International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) for bringing these esteemed guests to Des Moines!

Last August, Mayor Higuchi from our Sister City Cool Kofu had a high-level meeting with Barnaby, the Aldabra tortoise who is the Mayor of our own Blank Park Zoo. This winter, Barnaby went through rehab on his shoulder. We are grateful for the dedicated and innovative staff at the zoo, and excited Barnaby is on the mend! Here's a story about Barnaby and his shoulder: https://kcci.com/article/blank-park-zoo-barnaby-aldabra-tortoise-scooter-physical-therapy/60322553