Adventure Pass Changes in 2025

Due to software issues affecting all libraries using the service, the Des Moines Public Library’s Iowa Adventure Pass program will no longer be available in 2025. Any reservation already made for 2025 will be honored, but we encourage anyone with a current reservation to print those passes immediately. Customers can make new reservations for passes that must be used by December 31, 2024. We hope to reintroduce the service at a later time, and we apologize for the inconvenience. 

DMPL Podcast: Solving the Villisca Axe Murders with Rachel McCarthy James

REGISTER for Rachel McCarthy James' author event on Saturday, June 12, at 2:00 PM. The event will also be available online beginning Monday, June 14, and will be available through Sunday, July 11.


In the early 20th century, a series of families were murdered over the course of nearly two decades, including the infamous Villisca Axe Murders. Many theories have abounded over the years, but a 2017 true crime book connects the dots - and proposes a theory that the murders were all committed by one person, making this man one of the most prolific serial killers in history.

Rachel McCarthy James, co-author of The Man From the Trainjoins The DMPL Podcast today. Together with her father Bill James (of baseball analytics fame), they researched this century-old mystery, connecting dots on the string of gruesome crimes. She talks about how her father roped her into becoming a researcher for the novel, the points of agreement and contention they had, and how she tracked down stories and information from rural newspapers that were more than a century old. 

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Published on June 08, 2021
Last Modified November 23, 2024