Business View Magazine | August 2019

269 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019 2017, Des Moines was ranked as the #1 Minor League sports city in the U.S. by Sports Business Journal. It is home to the Iowa Cubs, an AAA team of the major league Chicago Cubs; the Iowa Barnstormers of the Indoor Football League; the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League; and the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. “We are also devoted to arts and culture,” Olson- Douglas adds. “We have an outstanding Arts Center with a very strong collection in it, and the Pappajohn Sculpture Park has a world-renowned collection of outdoor sculptures.” The Des Moines Art Center, with a wing designed by architect I. M. Pei, presents art exhibitions and educational programs as well as studio art classes. The Center houses a collection of artwork from the 19th century to the present. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park features artwork by 24 of the world’s most celebrated artists, with many of the works donated by the Pappajohns, themselves. “On the performing arts front, our Civic Center attracts some of the first-run, travelling tours of Broadway shows, when they hit the road out of New York,” Olson-Douglas continues. The city is also home to the Des Moines Metro Opera, the Des Moines Symphony, the annual Des Moines Art Festival every June, and the Iowa State Fair in August. “We also have a very nice, and new, support for local artists, the Mainframe Studio, which is home to 70-plus local artists.” “Des Moines is a city that, in almost all measures and aspects, punches above its weight class,” Anderson declares. “I would say that from a business, culture, sports, entertainment, and philanthropy standpoint, we can go toe to toe with cities twice our size and fare really well, comparably.” Anderson further believes that those amenities, in addition to a very productive local workforce, help make Des Moines a choice location for new businesses and business expansion. “We don’t have to do a whole lot of deal-chasing around here; the deals come to us,” he states. “A lot of other cities are desperate for deals and job DES MOINES , IOWA SHOPPING • DINING • ENTERTAINMENT • EVENTS 3800 MERLE HAY ROAD, DES MOINES, IA 50310 WWW.MERLEHAYMALL.COM The Original Shopping Experience