Des Moines, Iowa
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Des Moines (pronounced in English, Missing image
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[[Media:DesMoines1.ogg|]] in French) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Iowa, which was incorporated on September 22, 1851 as Fort Des Moines.
Originally, the capital of Iowa was in Iowa City until after it was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. [1] (http://www.ci.des-moines.ia.us/departments/AC/Information/AChistoricalinfo.htm)
It is the county seat of Polk County. According to the 2000 census, the population of the city is 198,682.
Des Moines is located in the south central part of the state. The Des Moines River (from French Rivi貥 des Moines, i.e. "River of the Monks") and Raccoon River meet just south of the downtown and serve as the city's primary water supply.
Many insurance companies are headquartered in Des Moines, including the Principal Financial Group, Equitable of Iowa, Allied Insurance, and American Republic Insurance Company.
The capitol building is one of only a few U.S. state capitol buildings with a genuine gold-covered dome.
Downtown Des Moines features a 3.5 mile-long (5.6 km) skywalk system, allowing people to travel between buildings without going out of doors.
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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.
Geography
Des Moines is located at 41°35'27" North, 93°37'15" West (41.590939, -93.620866)Template:GR.
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 is water. The total area is 1.88% water.
Metropolitan area
The Des Moines metropolitan area consists of five central Iowa counties: Polk, Dallas, Warren, Madison, and Guthrie. The area had a 2000 census population of 481,394. 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. (Before metropolitan areas were redefined in 2003, the Des Moines metropolitan area only consisted of Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties.)
Suburbs
Des Moines's suburbs include:
- Altoona
- Ankeny
- Bondurant
- Carlisle
- Clive
- Grimes
- Johnston
- Norwalk
- Pleasant Hill
- Polk City
- Urbandale
- Waukee
- West Des Moines
- Windsor Heights
Demographics
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As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 198,682 people, 80,504 households, and 48,704 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,012.0/km² (2,621.3/mi²). There are 85,067 housing units at an average density of 433.3/km² (1,122.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 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 are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 80,504 households out of which 29.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% are married couples living together, 12.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% are non-families. 31.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.39 and the average family size is 3.04.
In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $38,408, and the median income for a family is $46,590. Males have a median income of $31,712 versus $25,832 for females. The per capita income for the city is $19,467. 11.4% of the population and 7.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.9% of those under the age of 18 and 7.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
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. Highway 65 and Iowa Highway 5 form a freeway loop to the east and south of the city. U.S. Highways 6 and 69 and Iowa Highways 28, 141, and 163 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.
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 and as far west as Oakland, California.
The Des Moines International Airport, 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 flights, as of 2005, between the airport and destinations outside of the United States.
Media
Radio stations
AM
- WOI-AM 640, NPR affiliate (generally talk)
- KPSZ (http://www.praise940.com) 940, christian music and programming
- WHO-AM 1040, news, talk radio, University of Iowa sports
- KWKY (http://www.kwky.com/welcome.htm) 1150, christian talk, music
- KRNT (http://www.1350krnt.com) 1350, "Great Songs, Great Memories"
- KXNO 1460, sports talk, Iowa State University sports
FM
- WOI-FM 90.1, NPR Affilate (Generally music) Classical, Jazz, Public Broadcasting
- KJJY 92.5, country music
- KIOA "Oldies 93.3", oldies
- KGGO 94.9, classic rock
- KHKI 97.3 "The Hawk", country music
- KWQW 98.3 "Wow FM", talk radio (Formerly KRKQ 98 Rock)
- KMXD 100.3 "My 100", mixture of 1980s, 1990s, and current hits
- KSTZ "Star 102.5," hot adult contemporary
- KAZR "Lazer 103.3," hard rock music
- KLTI "Lite 104.1," soft adult contemporary
- KDRB "106.3 the Bus," blend of classic hits, similar to Jack FM (changed from its previous hip-hop and R&B format on April 1, 2005)
- KKDM 107.5 "Kiss 107 FM," current popular music
- KZZQ Positive Hits "Q99.5 KZZQ" Christian CHR
Television stations
- WOI 5, local ABC affiliate
- KCCI 8, local CBS affiliate
- KDIN 11, local PBS affiliate, Iowa Public Television network flagship
- WHO 13, local NBC affiliate
- KDSM 17 local Fox affiliate
- KPWB 23 local WB affiliate
- KFPX 39 local PAX affiliate
- 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
Sports franchises
- 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 Des Moines Dragons basketball team played in Des Moines , Iowa. They played in the IBL from 1997-1998 season untill the end of the 2000-2001 season. They played at Veterans Auditorium.
- The Des Moines Menace soccer team plays in Waukee.
- The Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League plays at Buccaneer Arena in neighboring Urbandale.
- The Iowa Stars of the American Hockey League will begin play at Wells Fargo Arena (part of the Iowa Events Center) in 2005.
- The Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League moved to New York in 2000 and are now the New York Dragons.
Colleges and universities
- AIB College of Business
- College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery
- Des Moines Area Community College
- Drake University
- Grand View College
- Hamilton College
- Simpson College
- Des Moines University and College of Osteopathic Medicine
Notable natives
- Bill Bryson, author
- Stephen Collins, actor
- Thomas M. Disch, author
- Simon Estes, opera singer
- Rory Freeman, star on television show Survivor: Vanuatu
- Tana Goertz, star on television show The Apprentice 3
- Cloris Leachman, actress
- The McCaughey septuplets, the first surviving set of septuplets, were born in Des Moines to a couple from nearby Carlisle.
- Chris Pirillo, television personality and technology figure
- All of the members of Slipknot, a heavy metal music band
- Stephen Stucker, actor, best known for his role as the air traffic controller in the 1980 movie, Airplane!
- Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, member of the singing group, TLC.
Points of interest
- Des Moines Botanical Center
- Terrace Hill (home to the governor of Iowa)
- The Blank Park Zoo
External links
Civic and cultural links
- City of Des Moines (http://www.ci.des-moines.ia.us)
- Des Moines Public Schools (http://www.dmps.k12.ia.us)
- Blank Park Zoo (http://www.blankparkzoo.com/)
- Civic Center of Greater Des Moines (http://www.civiccenter.org/)
- Des Moines Symphony (http://www.dmsymphony.org/)
- Des Moines Art Center (http://www.desmoinesartcenter.org/)
- Des Moines Art Festival (http://www.desmoinesartsfestival.org/)
- Science Center of Iowa (http://www.sciowa.org/)
- Living History Farms (http://www.lhf.org/)
- Des Moines Metro Opera (http://www.dmmo.org/)
- Greater Des Moines Partnership (http://www.desmoinesmetro.com/)
- Iowa State Fair (http://www.iowastatefair.com/)
Other links
- absoluteDSM.com (http://www.absolutedsm.com/)
