The public is invited to a pair of history tours on the Des Moines River this month to learn how residents have interacted with this natural resource over the past 150 years. A paddling tour will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on July 23. The tour will start at Birdland Park and shuttles will take participants to the boat launch site at Prospect Park. Registration is available here. A pontoon tour will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. July 30. Registration for the pontoon tour is currently full, but interested individuals can be added to a waiting list here. John Wenck of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will narrate the tours, which include a stop for refreshments and a tour of the Curt Sytsma and Ellen King Huntoon House, a restored Victorian house with a beach on the river. The tours are part of an effort to engage the public in a community conversation about the future of approximately 150 miles of creeks and rivers in central Iowa.