Page 8 - Catch Des News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Summer events in Des Moines reach pre-pandemic highs Despite events returning, the number of business travelers and conventions hasn't gone back up. However, hotel occupancy is up 25% from last year. Author: Local 5 News Updated: 9:33 PM CDT July 22, 2021 DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa's capital city is finally feeling some sense of normalcy after a year full of shutdowns and uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.  Catch Des Moines says Des Moines is finally started to turn the corner with a summer of events that rivals pre-pandemic levels.  Despite events...

The country's only Olympic qualifying skateboarding competition is underway in downtown Des Moines.

The country's only Olympic qualifying skateboarding competition is underway in downtown Des Moines.

By Trent Rice May 20, 2021 DES MOINES, Iowa -- The travel and event business in Des Moines is slowly coming back from the COVID-19 pandemic. "The core of the travel business is people travelling on business trips, going to meetings, holding conventions and things like that. We're starting to see a little bit of brightness in that market, particularly in the next six to eight months" says Greg Edwards with Catch Des Moines. The Des Moines metro area is seeing a return of big spring and summer events this after losing them for a year during the COVID pandemic, starting with next week's Dew To...

Business in the evenings and on weekends helps, but "their bread and butter" comes from the day-to-day foot traffic of workers over the noon hour, said Greg Edwards, CEO of Catch Des Moines. And that has yet to return in a substantial way. To see the stark effect of the pandemic, visit Local Bites on a weekday at lunch. At its peak, the counter-service food court at 700 Locust St. saw 1,200 people come through each day, patronizing vendors offering options ranging from Chinese to Mexican to burgers.  Today, it's lucky to see 120, said Jesse Bunney, director of operations. "It's abysmal...