The topography of the state is gently rolling plains. Loess hills lie along the western border of the state. Some of these are several hundred feet thick. In the northeast along the Mississippi River is a section of the Driftless Zone, which in Iowa consists of low rugged hills covered with conifers-a landscape not usually associated with this state.

The point of lowest elevation (146 m) is Keokuk in southeastern Iowa. The point of highest elevation (509 m) is Hawkeye Point, located in a feedlot north of Sibley in northwest Iowa. The mean elevation of the state is 335 m. Considering the size of the state (145,743 km²), there is very little elevation difference. Iowa has 99 counties. The state capital, Des Moines, is located in Polk County.

Des Moines (pronounced /d?’m??n/ in English, /demwan/ in French) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Iowa. (Originally, the capital of Iowa was in Iowa City) It was incorporated on September 22, 1851 as Fort Des Moines, until it was shortened to “Des Moines” in 1857.[1] 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 and the 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. In 2004, it replaced Hartford, CT, as the number one city for insurance in the United States. As a center of financial and insurance services, the metro area appears to be well poised for continued growth.

History

Des Moines was founded in May 1843 when Captain James Allen built a garrison (fort) on the site where the Des Moines and Raccoon River merge. Allen wanted to use the name Fort Raccoon, but the American War Department told him to name it Fort Des Moines. The original origin of the name Des Moines is uncertain. It could have referred to the river of the Moingonas, named after an Indian tribe that resided in the area and built burial mounds. Others see it as referring to Trappist monks, some of whom lived in huts at the mouth of the river, or connected to the phrase de moyen in French, meaning middle, because of its location between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

Settlers came and lived near the fort, and on September 22, 1851, it was incorporated as a city after its town charter was approved in a vote on October 18. In 1857, the name Fort Des Moines was shortened to Des Moines alone and it was made the capital of Iowa.

Geography

Des Moines is located at 41°35′27″ North, 93°37′15″ West (41.590939, -93.620866)GR1.

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.

The state capital is Des Moines. The current Governor is Tom Vilsack (Democrat) and the two U.S. Senators:
Chuck Grassley (R)
Tom Harkin (D)

The five U.S. Congressmen:
Jim Leach (R)
Jim Nussle (R)
Steve King (R)
Tom Latham (R)
Leonard Boswell (D)

The Code of Iowa contains the statutory laws of the State of Iowa. The Iowa Legislative Service Bureau is a non-partisan governmental agency that is responsible for organizing, updating and publishing the Iowa Code. The Iowa Code is republished in full in odd years (i.e., 1999, 2001, 2003, etc..) and is supplemented in even years.

Iowa has a liberal populist tradition but now is fairly evenly divided between the two major political parties. The state supported Democrats in the presidential contests from 1988 through 2000. It was one of only two states that supported Democrat Al Gore that switched to supporting George W. Bush in 2004. Bush narrowly won the state’s 7 electoral votes by a margin of 0.7 percentage points with 49.9% of the vote. Democratic strength is concentrated in the eastern region of the state and in Des Moines.

Iowa caucus

The state gets considerable attention every four years because of its first in the nation presidential caucus, a gathering of voters which, along with the New Hampshire primary a week later, has become the starting gun for choosing the two major-party candidates for U.S. president. The caucus, held in January of the election year, involves people gathering in homes or public places and choosing their candidate, rather than casting secret ballots, as is done in a primary election.

Iowa has a strong emphasis on education, which is shown in standardized testing scores. In 2003, Iowa had the second highest average SAT scores by state, and tied for second highest average ACT scores in states where more than 20% of graduates were tested. The national office of ACT is in Iowa City, and the ITBS and ITED testing programs used in many states are provided by the University of Iowa.

An overhaul of the current education system is being discussed. One of the suggested ideas is switching from 180 days to a year-round school system. [2]

State universities
Iowa State University
University of Iowa
University of Northern Iowa

Independent colleges and universities
Ashford University
Briar Cliff University
Buena Vista University
Central College
Clarke College
Coe College
Cornell College
Divine Word College
Dordt College
Drake University
Emmaus Bible College
Faith Baptist Bible College
Graceland University
Grand View College
Grinnell College
Iowa Wesleyan College
Loras College
Luther College
Maharishi University of Management
Morningside College
Mount Mercy College
Northwestern College
Simpson College
Saint Ambrose University
University of Dubuque
Upper Iowa University
Vennard College
Waldorf College
Wartburg College
William Penn University

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2004, Iowa’s population was estimated to be 2,954,451 people. This includes about 97,000 foreign-born (3.3%).

The racial makeup of the state is:
92.6% White non-Hispanic
2.1% Black
2.8% Hispanic
1.3% Asian
0.3% Native American
1.1% Mixed race

The five largest ancestry groups in Iowa are: German (35.7%), Irish (13.5%), English (9.5%), American (6.6%), Norwegian (5.7%).

Iowans are mostly of Northern European origin. There are large numbers of German-Americans in the state (1 in 3 Iowans answered that they were of German ancestry on the 2000 Census), as well as people of British, Scandinavian, and Dutch ancestry, among others.

6.4% of Iowa’s population were reported as under 5, 25.1% under 18, and 14.9% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.9% of the population.

“Rural flight”

Iowa, in common with other Great Plains states (especially Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota), is feeling the brunt of falling populations. 89% of the total number of cities in those states have fewer than 3000 people; hundreds have fewer than 1000. Between 1996 and 2004, almost half a million people, nearly half with college degrees, left the six states. “Rural flight” as it is called has led to offers of free land and tax breaks as enticements to newcomers.