Des Moines, Iowa

DES MOINES, IOWA NO BETTER PLACE TO GO D es Moines, Iowa, the county seat of Polk County, is also the capital and the most populous city in the Hawkeye State. Des Moines was named after the Des Moines River, French for “River of the Monks.” The city traces its origins to May 1843, when Captain James Allen supervised the construction of a fort on the site where the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers merge. It was incorporated in 1851, with a population of about 500, as Fort Des Moines, the name of which was shortened to Des Moines in 1857. Today, Des Moines’ population is approximately 215,000 within a greater metro area of half a million. The city has 52 neighborhoods, 76 city parks, three golf courses, three family aquatic centers, five community centers, three swimming pools, and 81 miles of trails. It is a major center of the U.S. insurance industry,