Iowa is divided into 99 counties and has 943 cities. Every incorporated place in Iowa is called a "city", regardless of population. Incorporated cities can choose one of six forms of municipal government that differ primarily on how the legislative and administrative responsibilities are separated: mayor-council, mayor-council with an appointed manager, council-manager-at-large, commission, council-manager-ward, home rule charter or special charter. Most operate as mayor–council.[2]
According to the 2020 Census, 2,014,831 of Iowa's 3,190,369 residents lived in urban areas, accounting for 63.1% of the population.[1] The first city to incorporate was Farmington on January 11, 1841, while the most recent was Maharishi Vedic City on July 25, 2001.[3] The largest city by population and by land area is Des Moines with 214,133 residents and 90.65 square miles (234.8 km2).[4] The smallest city by population is Le Roy with 11 residents.[1]
Des Moines is a major center for the insurance industry and also has a sizable financial services and publishing business base. In fact, Des Moines was credited with the "number one spot for U.S. insurance companies" in a Business Wire article. The city is the headquarters for the Principal Financial Group, the Meredith Corporation, Ruan Transportation, EMC Insurance Companies, and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Forbes magazine ranked Des Moines as the "Best Place for Business" in 2010.
Located approximately halfway between Chicago and Des Moines, Davenport is on the border of Iowa and Illinois within the area known as the Quad Cities. The city is prone to occasional flooding due to its location on the Mississippi River. There are two main universities: Saint Ambrose University and Palmer College of Chiropractic, which is where the first chiropractic adjustment took place. The city has a Class A minor league baseball team, the Quad Cities River Bandits and hosts the Quad City Air Show, Iowa's largest airshow.
Sioux City is at the navigational head of the Missouri River, about 95 miles north of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Sioux City and the surrounding areas of northwestern Iowa, northeastern Nebraska and southeastern South Dakota are sometimes referred to as Siouxland, especially by the local media. The city is home to several cultural points of interest including the Sioux City Public Museum, Sioux City Art Center and Sergeant Floyd Monument, which is a National Historical Landmark.
Iowa City was the second capital of the Iowa Territory and the first capital city of the State of Iowa. The Old Capitol building is a National Historic Landmark, and it is a tourist attraction in the center of the campus of the University of Iowa, as well as being an integral part of the university. The University of Iowa Art Museum and Plum Grove, the home of the first Governor of Iowa, are other landmarks. In 2008, Forbes magazine named Iowa City the second-best small metropolitan area for doing business in the United States.[5]
The West Des Moines area used to be home to the Sac and Fox tribes. West Des Moines is the second-largest city in the Des Moines metropolitan area and the sixth-largest city in Iowa. It ranked 94th in Money magazine's list of the "100 Best Places to Live and Launch" in 2008.[6] It is one of Iowa's largest and wealthiest cities and one of Des Moines'srichest suburbs.
A 2015 Special Census count conducted from December 2014 through March 2015 has the population at 54,598, a population growth of nearly 20% in the past 5 years.[7] The population was 45,562 in the 2010 census, an increase of 68% from the 27,117 population in the 2000 census.[8][9] It is part of the Des Moines–West Des MoinesMetropolitan Statistical Area.
The name "Waterloo" supplanted the original name, "Prairie Rapids Crossing" shortly after Charles Mullan petitioned for a post office in the town. Since the signed petition did not include the name of the proposed post office location, Mullan was charged with selecting the name when he submitted the petition. Tradition has it that as he flipped through a list of other post offices in the United States, he came upon the current name. The city is part of the Waterloo–Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Ames is the home of the Iowa State University, a public research institution, and Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine.[10][11] Ames hosts a national site for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health and Inspection Service (APHIS) which comprises the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) and the Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB),[12] and the Agricultural Research Service's National Animal Disease Center (NADC).[13]
Council Bluffs, until 1852, was Kanesville—the historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trails. It is the county seat of Pottawattamie County,[14] and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across from what is now the much larger city of Omaha, Nebraska.
The city lies at the junction of three states: Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region locally known as the Tri-State Area. It serves as the main commercial, industrial, educational, and cultural center for the area. Geographically, it is part of the Driftless Area, a portion of North America that escaped all three phases of the Wisconsinian Glaciation. It is one of the few large cities in Iowa with hills, and is home to a large tourist industry, driven by the city's unique architecture, and river location. Also, it is home to five institutions of higher education, making it a center for culture and learning.
Marion is part of the Cedar RapidsMetropolitan Statistical Area. The town was named after Francis Marion, a hero of the Revolutionary War. The site was selected in 1839 to be the first county seat of the newly organized Linn County. After years of debate over moving the county seat to Cedar Rapids, it was put to a vote in 1919. The vote was 9,960 in favor of moving the seat and 4,823 not in favor.
Cedar Falls is home to one of Iowa's three public universities, the University of Northern Iowa. Cedar Falls was first settled in March 1845 by brothers-in-law William Sturgis and Erasmus D. Adams. Initially, the city was named Sturgis Falls. The city is part of the Waterloo–Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Bettendorf is the fourth largest city in the Quad Cities. The first modern-day riverboat casinos in the United States were launched in Bettendorf on April 1, 1991, by local businessman Bernard Goldstein. He went on to found the Isle of Capri Casinos. Goldstein and his family members also operate Alter Companies, which is a scrap metal, barge and towboat company operating on the river waterfront.[16] The Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center opened by the casino and hotel in 2009.[17] It is owned by the city and operated by the Isle of Capri.
Mason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County. Mason City has a very diverse employment base covering multiple sectors of the economy including manufacturing, health, financial services, technology, and education, with no one sector or employer dominating the market.
Burlington is the county seat of Des Moines County. It was the first capital of the Iowa Territory and also one of the oldest towns in Iowa. Burlington is the home of Snake Alley, once labelled the crookedest alley in the world.
Waukee is part of the Des Moines – West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,790 at the 2010 U.S. Census; a fast growth has been measured since as it is estimated there were 19,284 people living in Waukee in 2016.
The North Liberty area was first settled in 1838 by John Gaylor and Alonzo C. Dennison. It was originally known as "Big Bottom" or "North Bend" (in reference to its location near the bend of the Iowa River) by its earliest settlers and was later known as "Squash Bend" before the city was platted as North Liberty in 1857.
Clive is known for its Greenbelt Trail system running through the entire community. Clive serves as the axis of the western Des Moines suburbs, being located between Urbandale, Waukee and West Des Moines along the major transportation corridors of I-35, I-80 and I-235. The City of Urbandale is to the north to northwest, the City of West Des Moines is to the southeast to southwest, the City of Waukee in Dallas County is to the west.
Indianola is the county seat of Warren County.[18]Simpson College, a liberal arts college of the United Methodist Church, is in Indianola. It is also the home of the National Balloon Classic and National Balloon Museum.
Newton, established in 1846 and incorporated in 1856, serves as the county seat of Jasper County.[18] The community is located on Interstate 80, just 30 minutes east of the Des Moines metro. It is the home of Iowa Speedway, Maytag Dairy Farms, the historic Capitol II Theatre and Valle Drive-In. F.L. Maytag started the Maytag Corporation in Newton.
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