What's New This Week on Urbandale Patch

Spring is a great time for new things and Urbandale Patch has some great new things for you this week.

Tuesday: Welcome our newest blogger,, co-owner of . If you have a dog, want a dog, or just want to know what to tell your neighbor about their barking do, you will love her blog — Canine Culture — which debuts tomorrow.

Would you like to blog on Patch? It's easy to do, just click here to sign up.

Wednesday: Have you caught any of our recent features in April? You'll definitely want to check out the one that will launch on Wednesday. It will feature dog trainer Jetter and Urbandale veterinarian Linda Stroh, owner of . Both will be online Wednesday through Friday to answer questions about your pet's health or problem behaviors.

Thursday: Funeral services for Urbandale Caring Corps volunteer Marianne J. Bishop are Thursday. You'll find on Urbandale Patch. Iles Funeral Homes are posting the obituaries of Urbandale residents, former residents or people whose survivors live in Urbandale on Patch.com.

Readers consistently tell us they want obituary information, so we're happy that Iles' seven funeral homes, which includes Westover Funeral Home, 6337 Hickman Road, are posting obituaries on Patch. If that's one of the things you like to keep up on, sign up for Patch's daily email newsletter because the previous day's obituaries will always be announced there.

In fact, anyone can post an Urbandale announcement and get it published on Urbandale Patch.

There's so much great stuff going on in Urbandale, it's impossible for us to hear and write about all of it, so Patch made it super easy for readers to share their news.

Want to get the word out about your organization's local fundraiser? Have an honor roll student? Are you announcing your engagement or wedding? We want all this news on Patch.

Any user (that would be you as soon as you click the word "Join" on the upper right-hand corner of the home page) can post an announcement by clicking on the News tab at the top of the home page and then clicking on Announcements in the drop down menu. Here you'll find a box that says "Add my Announcement" — all you have to do is fill in the boxes and click the box at the bottom to submit. 

Saturday: It's Urbandale High School prom — a peak photo opp in a child's life. And who doesn't love to see photos of these young people, all dressed up and ready to make a very special high school memory?

Urbandale Patch wants you to share those photos. Whether you're a student or a parent, you can upload your prom photos to our photo gallery beginning Saturday and continuing for the next week. In the end, we'll randomly select one photo and the person who submitted it wins $100.  Look for the Urbandale Prom Photo 2012 Sweepstakes article beginning Saturdy and upload your photos.