Des Moines, Iowa
From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.
Des Moines (pronounced "de Moyne") is the capital city of the U.S. state of Iowa. Founded in 1846, the population of the city of Des Moines was 198,682 according to the census of 2000. Des Moines is the county seat of Polk County.
It is in the south central part of the state. The Des Moines River and Raccoon River meet south of downtown and serve as the city's primary water supply.
Many insurance companies have their headquarters there, including 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.
The major interstates going to Des Moines are I-35 and I-80.
Its downtown has a 3.5 mile-long (5.6 km) skywalk system, allowing people to travel between buildings without going outside.
| Contents |
Geography
Des Moines is located at 41°35'27" North, 93°37'15" West (41.590939, -93.620866)1.
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.
Suburbs
Des Moines' suburbs include:
- Altoona
- Ankeny
- Bondurant
- Carlisle
- Clive
- Grimes
- Johnston
- Norwalk
- Pleasant Hill
- Polk City
- Urbandale
- Waukee
- West Des Moines
- Windsor Heights
Demographics
As of the census2 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.
Media
Radio Stations
AM
- WOI-AM 640, NPR Affiliate (Generally Talk)
- WHO-AM 1040, News, Talk Radio
- KXNO 1460, Sports
FM
- WOI-FM 90.1, NPR Affilate (Generally music) Classical, Jazz, Public Broadcasting
- KGGO 94.9, Classic Rock
Television Stations
- WOI 5 Local ABC affiliate
- KCCI 8 Local CBS affiliate
- WHO 13 Local NBC affiliate
- KDSM 17 Local Fox affiliate
- Cityview, an independent weekly newspaper
- Des Moines Business Record
- Des Moines Register, the primary daily newspaper
- pointblank, an independent weekly newspaper
Sports Franchises
- The Iowa Cubs baseball team of the Pacific Coast League is the Class AAA affiliate of the major-league Chicago Cubs. They play their home games at Principal Park.
- The Des Moines Menace soccer team plays at Cara McGrane Stadium at Hoover High School.
- The former Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League moved to New York in 2000 and is now the New York Dragons.
- 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.
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
Civic and Cultural Organizations
- DAWN - Des Moines Area Writers Network -- http://www.desmoineswriters.org
- Iowa Dance Theatre -- http://www.iowadancetheatre.com
- IPA - Iowa Poetry Association
- 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/home.html
- Art Scene -- http://www.artsceneiowa.com/
- 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/
- Central Iowa Linux Users Group -- http://www.cialug.org/
Notable natives
- Bill Bryson, author
- Thomas M. Disch, author
- Simon Estes, opera singer
- Rory Freeman, Survivor: Vanuatu
- Cloris Leachman, actress
- All of the members of Slipknot, a heavy metal music band
- The McCaughey septuplets, the first surviving set of septuplets, were born in Des Moines to a couple from nearby Carlisle.
External links
3D map: http://www.downtowndsm.info/pdfs/downtown_map.pdf (also showing skywalks, in blue)
- Greater Des Moines Partnership -- http://www.desmoinesmetro.com/
- Iowa State Fair -- http://www.iowastatefair.com/
| State Capitals of the United States |
|---|
|
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming |
da:Des Moines de:Des Moines eo:Des Moines, Iovao fr:Des Moines nl:Des Moines sv:Des Moines, Iowa
