All programs are scheduled for 3pm-4pm.

The Iowa Files, an educational history lecture series, returns for its eighth year in 2026/2027. This joint WDMHS-WDM Public Library program is free and open to the public, thanks to the generosity of West Des Moines Historical Society members, Bravo Greater Des Moines, Polk County and the Friends Foundation of the West Des Moines Library.

Each program begins at 3pm and runs for one hour in the Community Room of the West Des Moines Public Library, 4000 Mills Civic Parkway. All programs are livestreamed on the WDMHS Facebook page and YouTube channel.

To see recordings of previous Iowa Files, please click on the year below:

September 20: Professor Jody Swilky: Diversity in Iowa: The Case of Perry, Iowa
This lecture will capture the effects of demographic change on a once predominantly white rural community in Iowa beginning in the 1980s and still having impact today. The presentation will examine the evolving character of Perry, Iowa, prior to , during, and after the making of A Little Salsa on the Prairie: The Changing Character of Perry, Iowa , an award-winning documentary Swilky wrote and co-produced that captures what happens when a community changes dramatically because of rapid ethnic diversification. The lecture will focus on the challenges, benefits, and accomplishments residents of Perry had to recognize and work through to sustain the community, and connects this culture change to national socioeconomic circumstances that led to such transformation. Footage from the aforementioned documentary will be part of the presentation which will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

This program made possible by Humanities Iowa.

To watch an edited recording, please click here.

 

October 18: Iowa Weird
Cedar Falls-based independent publisher Hayseed Press is pleased to introduce Iowa Weird Vol. 2. This year’s collection of creepy short stories once again features a variety of “true” ghost stories, fictional pieces based off Iowa mythology, and truly weird tales straight from the writers’ warped imaginations.

Meet four contributors to Iowa Weird Volumes 1 and 2, including Aaron Narigon, co-founder of Hayseed Press. Also on hand sharing their stories are Amana-based writer Melinda Wichmann, author of How to Live with a Ghost, Indianola-based journalist Jenny Fee, who contributed a story about the eerie St. Mary’s ghost light, and Marcea Seible, a local historian and professor of English and History at Hawkeye Community College.

November 22: This is Iowa With Eric Hanson
KCCI anchor & reporter Eric Hanson loves to share the stories about fellow Iowans in his “This is Iowa” segments. Hear about some of his all time favorite characters!

January 17: Behind the Bustle
Join professional textile conservator Nickole Swensen (Heritage Textile Conservation) for a discussion of the history and realities of the extensive, structured layers of Victorian women’s undergarments and the complex process of getting dressed.

February 21: Rachelle Chase- First in Civil Rights; Iowa’s Clark Family
The Alexander Clark family of Muscatine, Iowa, was one of the most influential African-American families of the 19th century, pioneering landmark achievements in civil rights, education, and international diplomacy. Long before the national civil rights movement gained momentum, this extraordinary family successfully dismantled institutional segregation in Iowa and broke major racial barriers in higher education and government service.

Our presenter, Rachelle Chase, is a podcaster, columnist, and author of eight published books and novellas (two nonfiction, and six fiction).

March 21: The History of the Wallace family
The Wallaces were not simply farmers. They were innovators, scientists, and public servants who shaped modern American agriculture. Henry A. Wallace was born at the Wallace Farm in Orient, Iowa, went on to serve as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and then Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt, and founded Pioneer Hi-Bred, the company that revolutionized hybrid seed corn.

Presenter Rebecca Stavick is a nonprofit and library executive with more than 15 years of experience building bold, community-centered organizations. She serves as Executive Director of Wallace Centers of Iowa, stewarding two National Register of Historic Places properties in Iowa.

April 18:  Professor Kevin Mason: Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa
Join historian Kevin Mason for an immersive journey along the 1835 First U.S. Dragoon Expedition route in Iowa. Drawing from his new book, Retracing the Dragoon Trail in Iowa, Mason uncovers how the state’s prairies and wetlands evolved into the farms, towns, and highways we know today. Blending environmental history, Indigenous perspectives, and the spirit of firsthand travel, this engaging presentation reveals how Iowa’s landscape still echoes with the stories of its past.

 

May 23: Darcy Maulsby: The Secret History of the KKK in Iowa
White hoods and robes. Cross burnings. Parades of Ku Klux Klan members on the streets and fairgrounds of Iowa’s small towns and cities. It all seems improbable—and yet it happened repeatedly in countless rural and urban communities across Iowa in the mid-1920s.  While much of this history is shrouded in mystery, and some has been lost, a surprising number of stories, photos and news clippings still exist, when you know where to look. This powerful program takes you back in time to better understand why the “second coming” of the KKK occurred at this point in American history, how the secretive group gained traction in Iowa, why the KKK faded into history (at least in Iowa) prior to the Great Depression, and what this history means for us today.

This program is made possible by Humanities Iowa.