M. - Check out meetup.com for the Des Moines area. I live in Des Moines and am involved in a couple of meetup groups here in Des Moines. One is a mom's group (there are at least 5 or 6 different ones in the area) and one is for one of my hobbies. There are 2 "hip mama's" groups in DSM, 2-4 different stay at home mom groups, and a couple others that I am not sure what they are called. I am in one of the hip mamas groups, and although some of the activities on the bullitin board involve going out, we also have many others - monthly coffee meetups, music exchange meetups, "Starbucks & Strollers" at Jordan Creek, book club nights, recipe swaps, cookie exchanges, etc...you name it. Last year some of us went to see Cirque d'Soliel together. There are many different activities always going on, and you can rsvp to as many or as few as you want. Every group is different, but meetup.com is definitely the way to go :)
Hope that helps!