Des Moines  is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, owing its name to the Des Moines River (French: Rivière Des Moines, literally meaning "River of the Monks," but in the 18th century designating "River of the Moingwena," an Illinois Indian subtribe; the French voyagers often abbreviated tribal names, and in this case "River of the Moingwena" became "River of the Moines"), until it was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857.^[3] It is also the county seat of Polk County. The five-county metropolitan area is ranked 92nd in terms of population in the United States according to 2006 estimates with 534,230 residents according to United States Census Bureau.^[4] The population was 198,682 at the 2000 census.

Des Moines is a major center for the insurance industry and also has a sizeable financial services and publishing business base. The city is the headquarters for the Principal Financial Group, the Meredith Corporation, and Ruan Transportation. Other major corporations such as Wells Fargo, ING Group, Marsh, and Pioneer Hi-Bred have large operations in or near the metro area. Forbes Magazine ranked Des Moines as the fourth "Best Place for Business" in 2007.^[5]

Recently, Des Moines has been experiencing rapid growth in the western and southern suburbs.

Interstate 235 cuts through the city, and Interstate 35 and Interstate 80 both pass through the Des Moines metropolitan area.

Des Moines was founded in May 1843 when Captain James Allen built a fort on the site where the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers merge. Allen wanted to use the name Fort Raccoon, however the American War Department told him to name it Fort Des Moines. The origin of the name Des Moines is uncertain. The French "Des Moines" translates literally to "Of The Monks." "Rivière Des Moines" translates to "river of the monks," known today under the anglicized name of Des Moines River. It could have referred to the river of the Moingonas, named after an Indian tribe that resided in the area and built burial mounds. Others see it as referring to French Trappist monks, some of whom lived in huts at the mouth of the river, or connected to the phrase de moyen in French, meaning middle, because of its location between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.^[6]

Settlers came and lived near the fort, and on May 25, 1846, Fort Des Moines became the seat of Polk County. On September 22, 1851, it was incorporated as a city with its own charter approved in a vote on October 18. In 1857, the name Fort Des Moines was shortened to Des Moines alone and the state capital was moved from Iowa City. By 1900, Des Moines was Iowa's largest city with a population of 62,139.

Fort Des Moines memorial is north of Principal Park

In 1907, the city adopted a city commission government known as the Des Moines Plan, comprising an elected mayor and four commissioners who were responsible for public works, public property, public safety, and finance. This form of government was scrapped in 1950 in favor of a council-manager government, and tweaked in 1967 so that four of the six city council members were elected by ward rather than at-large.

As with other major urban areas, the city core began losing population to the suburbs in the 1960s (the peak population of 208,982 was recorded in 1960). However, the growth of the outlying suburbs has been a constant and the overall metro area population is over 534,230 today.

Skyline

The skyline of downtown Des Moines changed during the 1970s and 1980s as several new skyscrapers were built. Until then, the 19-story Equitable Building, dating from 1924, was the tallest building in the city and, at that time, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. That changed as the 25-story Financial Center was completed in 1972 and the 36-story Ruan Center was completed in 1974. They were later joined by the 33-story Marriott hotel (1981), the 25-story Hub Tower (1985), and Iowa's tallest building, Principal Financial Group's 45-story tower at 801 Grand (1990). This time period also saw the opening of the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines (1979), the Des Moines Botanical Center (1979), the Polk County Convention Complex (1985), and the State of Iowa Historical Building (1987). The Des Moines skywalk system also began to take shape during the 1980s. By the beginning of 2006, the skywalk system was more than three miles (5 km) long and connected most main downtown buildings.

^[7]

Des Moines made national headlines during the Great Flood of 1993. Heavy rains throughout June and early July caused the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers to rise above flood stage levels. The Des Moines Water Works was submerged by floodwaters during the early morning hours of July 11, 1993, leaving an estimated 250,000 people without running water for 12 days and without drinking water for 20 days.

The city is in the midst of major construction in the downtown area. The new Science Center of Iowa and the Iowa Events Center opened in 2005, while the new central branch of the Des Moines Public Library, designed by David Chipperfield, opened on April 8, 2006. The World Food Prize Foundation, which is based in Des Moines, announced in 2001 that it will restore the former Des Moines Public Library building as the Dr Norman Borlaug/World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. In 2002 the Principal Financial Group and the city announced plans for the Principal Riverwalk, which will feature trails, pedestrian bridges across the river, a fountain and skating plaza, and a "civic garden" in front of the City Hall. Several existing downtown buildings are being converted to loft apartments and condominiums. This trend is highlighted by the success of the East Village district of shops, studios, and housing between the capitol district and the Des Moines River.

The Des Moines metro area is also experiencing a boom, in particular the western suburbs. West Des Moines, in particular, now has over 52,000 people and is home to the Jordan Creek Town Center, the largest shopping center in Iowa, as well as several Wells Fargo office complexes, including a new operations campus that was completed by early 2007. Nearby Dallas County was the 33rd fastest-growing county in the United States between 2000 and 2006 with a growth rate of 33 percent, according to the United States Census Bureau.^[8}

Geography and Climate

The State Capitol of Iowa, featuring its golden dome.

Des Moines is located at 41°35′27″N, 93°37′15″W (41.590939, -93.620866).^GR1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 200.1 km² (77.2 mi²). 196.3 km² (75.8 mi²) of it is land and 3.8 km² (1.5 mi²) of it (1.88%) is water.

In November 2005, Des Moines voters approved a measure that allowed the city to annex certain parcels of land in the northeast, southeast, and southern corners of Des Moines, particularly areas bordering the Iowa Highway 5/U.S. 65 bypass.

Metropolitan area

The Des Moines-West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of five central Iowa counties: Polk, Dallas, Warren, Madison, and Guthrie. The area had a 2000 census population of 481,394 and an estimated 2006 population of 534,230.^[2] The Des Moines-Newton-Pella Combined Statistical Area consists of those five counties plus Jasper and Marion counties; the 2000 census population of this area was 550,659, and the estimated 2006 population was 604,626.^[9]

Suburbs

Des Moines's suburbs include Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Grimes, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines, and Windsor Heights.

Climate

Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 198,682 people, 80,504 households, and 48,704 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,012.0/km² (2,621.3/mi²). There were 85,067 housing units at an average density of 433.3/km² (1,122.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.29% White, 8.07% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 3.50% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.52% from other races, and 2.23% from two or more races. 6.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 80,504 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,408, and the median income for a family was $46,590. Males had a median income of $31,712 versus $25,832 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,467. About 7.9% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those ages 65 or over.

Economy

Many insurance companies are headquartered in Des Moines, including the Principal Financial Group, KVI (Now part of Marsh), EMC Insurance Group, Allied Insurance (now part of Nationwide), AmerUs Group (now part of Aviva), Holmes Murphy, and American Republic Insurance Company. Des Moines has been referred to as the "Hartford of the West" because of this. Principal is the only Fortune 500 company to have its headquarters in Iowa, ranking 261st on the magazine's list in 2006.^[11] As a center of financial and insurance services, other major corporations headquartered outside of Iowa have established a presence in the Des Moines Metro area, including, Wells Fargo, ING Group, and Electronic Data Systems. The Meredith Corporation, a leading publishing and marketing company, is also based in Des Moines. Other major employers in the area (with more than 1,000 local employees) include Mercy Medical Center, Iowa Health System, MidAmerican Energy Company, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Firestone Agricultural Tire Company, UPS, FBL Financial Group, Citigroup's Citi Cards division, Qwest, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa, Hy-Vee supermarkets, John Deere Des Moines Works, John Deere Credit, and Communications Data Services.^[12]

In 2007, Forbes magazine ranked the Des Moines metropolitan area 4th on its list of "Best Places For Business And Careers," based on factors such as the cost of doing business, cost of living, educational attainment, and crime rate.^[5]

Government

Des Moines Municipal Building

Des Moines currently operates under a council-manager form of government. The council consists of a mayor (who, as of 2005, is Frank Cownie), two at-large members, and four members representing each of the city's four wards.

A plan to merge the governments of Des Moines and Polk County was rejected by voters during the November 2, 2004, election. The consolidated city-county government would have had a full-time mayor and a 15-member council that would have been divided among the city and its suburbs. Each suburb would have still retained its individual government but had the option to join the consolidated government at any time. Although a full merger was soundly rejected, many city and county departments and programs have been consolidated.

Transportation

The Des Moines skyline as seen through the Edna M. Griffin Memorial Pedestrian Bridge over Interstate 235.

Most residents of Des Moines get around the region by car. Interstate 235 cuts through the city, and Interstate 35 and Interstate 80 both pass through the Des Moines metropolitan area. Interstate 235 is currently in the final stages of expansion. The freeway will be six lanes throughout the entire length and expands to eight and ten lanes near the downtown area, yet still experiences congestion due to Des Moines' rapid growth. U.S. Route 65 and Iowa Highway 5 form a freeway loop to the east and south of the city. U.S. Routes 6 and 69 and Iowa Highway 28, 141, Iowa Highway 163, and 415 are also important routes to and within the city. A new northern beltway is being planned to help with northside congestion in growing suburbs such as Grimes and Ankeny.

Des Moines's public transit system, operated by DART (Des Moines Area Regional Transit), which was the Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority until October 2006, consists entirely of buses, including regular in-city routes and express and commuter buses to outlying suburban areas.

Downtown Des Moines features a 3.5 mile-long (5.6 km) skywalk system, allowing people to move between buildings without going out of doors.

Greyhound Bus Lines and Jefferson Lines run long-distance, inter-city bus routes to Des Moines. The nearest Amtrak train station is in Osceola, about 40 miles (64 km) south of Des Moines. Trains on the route that passes through Osceola, the California Zephyr, go east to Chicago, Illinois and as far west as Oakland, California.

The Des Moines International Airport (DSM), located in the southern part of Des Moines, on Fleur Drive, offers non-stop service to destinations within the United States, including to major hub airports such as Chicago O'Hare, Atlanta Hartsfield, Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport, New York's LaGuardia Airport, and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Recent growth in the usage of the airport has led to a spike in the number of routes, with three new destinations coming entering the market in the past year, including Cleveland International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.

Colleges and universities

• AIB College of Business
• Des Moines University
• Des Moines Area Community College - main campus in Ankeny; branches in downtown Des Moines and West Des Moines
• Drake University
• Grand View College
• Hamilton College - in Urbandale
• Mercy College of Health Sciences
• Simpson College - classrooms in Ankeny and West Des Moines
• Upper Iowa University - classrooms in Ankeny and West Des Moines
• University of Phoenix - Des Moines Campus
• William Penn University - College for Working Adults in West Des Moines

Culture

Media

AM radio stations

• WOI 640, NPR affiliate, generally talk
• KPSZ 940, Christian music and programming
• WHO 1040, news, talk radio, University of Iowa sports
• KWKY 1150, Christian talk, music, University of Northern Iowa sports
• KRNT 1350 "Great Songs, Great Memories"
• KXNO 1460, sports talk
• KBGG AM 1700 "La Indomable", Spanish music and Des Moines Buccaneers hockey

FM radio stations

• KDPS 88.1 "Edge 88", student-run urban contemporary
• KWDM 88.7 "The Point", modern rock
• KJMC 89.3 "K-Jam", urban contemporary
• WOI-FM 90.1, NPR affiliate, classical, jazz, public broadcasting
• KJJY 92.5, country music
• KIOA "Oldies 93.3", oldies
• KDRA 94.1 "The Dog", college alternative
• KGGO 94.9, classic rock
• KHKI 97.3 "The Hawk", country music
• KWQW 98.3 "Wow FM", talk radio (formerly KRKQ "98 Rock")
• KFMG 99.1 variety, low-power community radio station
• KZZQ 99.5 "Q99.5", positive hits, Christian CHR
• KDRB 100.3 "The Bus", adult hits/"Jack FM" format, Iowa State University sports
• KSTZ 102.5 "Star 102.5", hot adult contemporary
• KAZR 103.3 "Lazer 103.3", active rock
• KLTI 104.1 "Lite 104.1", soft adult contemporary
• KCCQ 105.1 "Channel Q", modern rock
• KPTL 106.3 "Capital 106.3", adult album alternative
• KNWI 107.1 "Life 107.1", Christian music
• KKDM 107.5 "Kiss 107 FM", Top 40/CHR

Television stations

• WOI 5, local ABC affiliate
• KCCI 8, local CBS affiliate
• KDIN 11, local PBS member station, Iowa Public Television network flagship
• WHO 13, local NBC affiliate
• KDSM 17, local Fox affiliate
• KCWI 23, local CW affiliate
• KFPX 39, local i affiliate
• KDMI 56, local MyNetworkTV and A1 affiliate (digital signal and cable only)

Print

• Des Moines Register, newspaper
• Cityview, an alternative weekly newspaper
• Des Moines Business Record
• Juice, a weekly publication from the Register targeted toward the 25- to 34-year-old demographic
• Central Iowa Business

Points of interest

The East Village

• Iowa State Fair and Grounds
• Downtown Attractions
  • Iowa State Capitol, featuring a genuine gold-covered dome
  • The Iowa Events Center
  • East Village Shopping Area
  • Science Center of Iowa and IMAX theatre Court Ave
  • Des Moines Botanical Center
  • Downtown Farmers' Market
  • Principal Riverwalk
  • Des Moines Art Festival
  • Des Moines Civic Center
  • Hoyt Sherman Place
  • Des Moines Playhouse
  • Sherman Hill Neighborhood, historic district just north of downtown
• Des Moines Art Center, designed by I.M. Pei and other international architects
• The Blank Park Zoo
• Arie den Boer Arboretum
• Lilac Arboretum and Children's Forest

Kruidenier Trail bridge across Gray's Lake

• Living History Farms A living/working farm & restaurant related to the history of agriculture in Iowa
• Merle Hay Mall, one of Iowa's oldest and largest shopping malls
• Terrace Hill, home of the governor of Iowa
• Jordan Creek Town Center, super-regional shopping mall; over 2 million sq ft. (180,000 m²)
• Adventureland, a regional theme park
• Prairie Meadows, a casino and thoroughbred raceway in Altoona
• Valley West Mall
• Southridge Mall
• Recreational Trail System
• Gray's Lake Park and the Kruidenier Trail
• Saylorville Lake
• Fort Des Moines Museum, The museum and education center honors the U.S. Army's first officer candidate class for African American men in 1917, and the establishment of the first Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC's) in 1942.

Sports

• The Iowa Cubs baseball team of the Pacific Coast League, the Class AAA affiliate of the major-league Chicago Cubs. They play their home games at Principal Park (formerly Sec Taylor Stadium).
• The Iowa Energy basketball team of the NBA Development League will begin play in 2007-08 at the Wells Fargo Arena at the Iowa Events Center. The Des Moines Dragons played in the IBL from 1997-98 until 2000-01 at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
• The Des Moines Menace soccer team plays in Waukee.
• The Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League play at 95KGGO Arena (formerly the Metro Ice Sports Arena and Buccaneer Arena) in neighboring Urbandale.
• The Iowa Stars of the American Hockey League play at Wells Fargo Arena (part of the Iowa Events Center).
• The Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League moved to New York in 2000 and are now the New York Dragons. The same nickname, colors and uniforms were used for the Iowa Barnstormers of the arenafootball2 league in 2001. That team folded after one season. The team is expected to play again in 2008 as an af2 team. Size restrictions for Des Moines have been removed, paving the way for the AFL to re-enter.
• The Drake Relays are held annually at Drake University each April.
• Des Moines is also home to the state tournaments for baseball, basketball, and wrestling.

Notable natives

• Steve Bartkowski, former NFL quarterback
• Ross Verba, NFL lineman
• Casey Blake, Major League Baseball player (from nearby Indianola)
• Bill Bryson, author
• Scott Clemmensen, National Hockey League player
• Stephen Collins, actor
• Bill Daily, actor best known as Colonel Roger Healey on I Dream of Jeanie.
• Thomas M. Disch, author
• Simon Estes, Internationally acclaimed bass baritone (from nearby Centerville).
• Rory Freeman, star on television show Survivor: Vanuatu
• Dr. Stephen Gleason, advisor to President Clinton and Governor Vilsack
• Tana Goertz, star on television show The Apprentice 3
• Edna Griffin, civil rights activist.
• Peter Hedges, writer of movies "What's Eating Gilbert Grape and "About a Boy." Also the director of the movie "Pieces of April."
• David Anthony Higgins, actor, Malcolm in the Middle
• Steve Higgins, producer of Saturday Night Live
• Joy Hodges, actress and singer
• Frank Jenks, actor
• Shawn Johnson, gymnast - 2007 world and U.S. women's all-around champion
• Zach Johnson, Masters Champion PGA
• Lolo Jones, American track and field athlete
• Cloris Leachman, actress
• Kevin Love - NASCAR driver
• The McCaughey septuplets, the first surviving set of septuplets, were born in Des Moines to a couple from nearby Carlisle.
• Kyle Orton, Chicago Bears quarterback (from nearby Altoona)
• Chris Pirillo, television personality and technology figure
• Ronald Reagan worked as a disc jockey (radio d.j.) in Des Moines.
• Shawna Robinson, NASCAR driver
• Brandon Routh, star of the film Superman Returns (from nearby Norwalk)
• Members of Slipknot:
  • Shawn "Clown" Crahan, percussionist
  • Chris Fehn, percussionist
  • Craig Jones, keyboardist/sampler
  • James Root, rhythm guitarist; also with Stone Sour.
  • Corey Taylor, rock/metal musician, vocalist; also with Stone Sour.
  • Mick Thompson, lead guitarist
  • Sid Wilson, DJ a.k.a DJ Starscream
  • Joey Jordison, drummer
• Bill Stewart, well known jazz drummer, who has worked with Pat Metheny.
• Stephen Stucker, actor, best known for his role as the air traffic controller in the 1980 movie, Airplane!
• Kevin Tapani, Major League Baseball player
• Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating
• Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, member of the singing group TLC

Bands

• The Nadas, the band that Playboy magazine called the "Best College Band You've Never Heard Of" is based in Des Moines.
• Eight of the nine members of the band Slipknot were born in Des Moines. (Paul Gray was born in Los Angeles.)
• Jim Roth, guitarist with rock band Built to Spill, is from West Des Moines.
• The metal band Stone Sour began their music career in Des Moines. Both Slipknot and Stone Sour feature vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist James Root.
• The band Index Case originated in Indianola, a Des Moines exurb.

Sister cities

• Kofu, Japan
• Naucalpan, Mexico
• Saint-Etienne, France
• Shijiazhuang, the People's Republic of China
• Stavropol, Russia
• Provincia di Catanzaro, Italy

References

• City of Des Moines Action Center Historical Guide
• Henning, Barbara Beving Long, and Patrice K. Beam, Des Moines and Polk County: Flag on the Prairie (ISBN 1-892724-34-0). Sun Valley, California: American Historical Press, 2003.

Categories: Cities in Iowa | Des Moines, Iowa | County seats in Iowa | Settlements established in 1843