Des Moines travel guide

Des Moines (in English, in French) 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. 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. 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.
Recently, Des Moines has been experiencing rapid growth in the western and southern suburbs. Downtown Des Moines has been undergoing many new developments as well.
Des Moines is an important city in presidential politics as the capital of Iowa, which is home to the Iowa Caucus. The Iowa Caucus has been the first major electoral event in nominating the President of the United States since 1972; therefore many presidential candidates set up headquarters in Des Moines. A 2007 article in the New York Times stated "if you have any desire to witness presidential candidates in the most close-up and intimate of settings, there is arguably no better place to go than Des Moines." The article also added "I'm not sure I would go so far as to say that Des Moines has become a vacation destination. But it most certainly has become cool." (...) more....

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