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DesMoines1.ogg in French) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Iowa. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, until it was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857.* It is also the county seat of Polk County. According to the 2000 census, the population of the city was 198,682. The 2005 census estimate for the city of Des Moines indicates the population of the city proper has fallen slightly to 194,163. * Like many other major U.S. cities, Des Moines has been steadily losing citizens to its suburbs since the 1950's.

Des Moines is a very prosperous, rapidly growing, metropolitan area. Des Moines has grown considerably in recent years, and can now be compared to cities such as, Boise, Madison, Tacoma, and Hartford to name a few. U.S. Interstates 35 and 80 pass through the city of Des Moines. Des Moines was in the running to host the 2006 Special Olympics along with Omaha, Nebraska and St. Louis, Missouri, but was trumped by the neighboring city of Ames, Iowa. Located just north of Des Moines, Ames is a college town and home to Iowa State University. The city earned a local nickname as DSM after its airport's IATA code.

Many insurance companies are headquartered in Des Moines, including the Principal Financial Group, Equitable of Iowa, Allied Insurance (Nationwide), ARAG Legal Insurance, and American Republic Insurance Company. Long known as the "Hartford of the West," Des Moines is the world's 3rd largest insurance center behind London and Hartford. 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. As a result, greater Des Moines seems well poised for continued growth in the 21st Century. Forbes Magazine ranked Des Moines as the 4th best city to start a business, behind, Oklahoma City, Boston, and Seattle.

Des Moines should not be confused with Des Moines County, Iowa. Des Moines County is located in the southeast corner of Iowa along the Mississippi River, and has the city of Burlington, Iowa as its county seat.

History

Des Moines was founded in May 1843 when Captain James Allen built a garrison (fort) on the site where the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers merge. Allen wanted to use the name Fort Raccoon, but the American War Department told him to name it Fort Des Moines. The original origin of the name Des Moines is uncertain. 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 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.

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, and its town charter was approved in a vote on October 18. In 1857, the name Fort Des Moines was shortened to Des Moines alone and it was made the capital of Iowa. (The capital was in Iowa City before that.) By 1900, Des Moines was Iowa's largest city with a population of 62,139. In 1907, the city adopted a city commission government known as the "Des Moines Plan," consisting of 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.

Like many cities, Des Moines began losing people to its suburbs after reaching a peak population of 208,982 in 1960. Construction of the Interstate Highway System during the late 1950s and 1960s, capped off with the completion of Interstate 235 in 1968, made access to the suburbs easier.

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 back to 1924, was the tallest building in the city. 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 30-story Marriott hotel (1981), the 18-story Hub Tower (1985), and Iowa's tallest building, Principal Financial Group's 44-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 over three miles (5 km) long and connected most major downtown buildings.

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 extensive redevelopment of the downtown area has continued in recent years. 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 headquartered 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 of Des Moines announced plans for the Principal Riverwalk, which will run along both sides of the Des Moines and feature new trails, pedestrian bridges across the river, a fountain and skating plaza, and a "civic garden" in front of the Des Moines City Hall. Several existing downtown buildings have either been converted or are being converted to loft apartments and condominiums in an effort to attract more residents to the downtown area. 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 50,000 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 corporate campus that is scheduled for completion in 2007 and which holds the title for second largest construction project in the country, passed only by Donald Trump's Chicago project. Nearby Dallas County is one of the nations fastest growing counties according to the U.S. census bureau.

Geography

Des Moines is located at (41.590939, -93.620866).

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.

Metropolitan area

The 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 2005 population of 522,454 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 2005 population was 593,112 [http://data.iowadatacenter.org/datatables/MetroArea/csaestpop20002005.pdf. (Before metropolitan areas were redefined in 2003, the Des Moines metropolitan area only consisted of Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties.) Recently, Des Moines annexed certain parcels of land in the northeast, southeast, and southern corners of Des Moines, particularly areas bordering the Hwy.5/Hwy 65 bypass

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.

In 2003, Forbes magazine ranked the Des Moines metropolitan area 8th on its list of "Best Places For Business And Careers," based on the cost of doing business, housing affordability, educational attainment, crime rate, and the number of Ph.D.'s per 100,000 residents. *

Demographics

City of Des Moines
Population by year *
1880 22,408
1890 50,093
1900 62,139
1910 86,368
1920 126,468
1930 142,559
1940 159,819
1950 177,965
1960 208,982
1970 200,587
1980 191,003
1990 193,187
2000 198,682
2005 194,163
As of the census 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.

Government

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

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. 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 Highways 28, 141, 163, and 415 are also important routes to and within the city.

Des Moines's public transit system, operated by the Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority, 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 and Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport. Despite its name, there are no direct commercial passenger flights, as of 2005, between the airport and destinations outside of the United States. International air-freight flights regularly travel to and from Des Moines International.

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Des Moines, Iowa".

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