It keeps Pouring In

[hawk61401]

Whew!, what has happened to Des Moines, Iowa? The praise, compliments and accolades keep pouring in.

The latest for 2011: http://onforb.es/poCCFz

2011 Rankings

•U.S. News Says Des Moines is Richest Metro Area (June 2, U.S. News & World Report)
•Greater Des Moines ranks #2 in the Midwest and #16 nationwide for small business and population growth. (April 14, The Business Journals)
•Des Moines #5 Best Midwest Food Town. (March, Midwest Living)
•Des Moines named the best place to live on the Silicon Prairie, and one of 18 “coolest places to live in America.” (March 8, Men's Journal)
•Des Moines ranked in the top 100 socially networked cities. (March 8, Men's Journal)
•Des Moines Arts Festival #7 on list of Top 10 Fairs and Festivals (February 2011, AmericanStyle Magazine)
•Des Moines metro ranks well on Farmers Insurance “most secure” list (February 11, Farmers Insurance Group)
•Wells Fargo Arena Receives Highest Ranking in Venue History (January 25, Pollstar Top 100 Worldwide Arena Venues)

2010 Rankings

•Des Moines placed No. 35 out of the 200 largest metro areas in the United States in national brainpower rankings (December 23, compiled by Portfolio.com and American City Business Journals Inc.)
•Des Moines fourth in ranking of best business cities (December 20, Marketwatch)
•Des Moines ranks in the top 10 best cities for doing business for the second year in a row (December 20, Market Watch).
•Des Moines metro economy again rated in top tier (December 16, desmoinesregister.com)
•Des Moines among the top 10 American cities best situated for recovery (November 8, newsweek.com)
•Des Moines/West Des Moines rank #6 best cities to move to in America (October 27, Bestplaces.net)
•Iowa ranks 3rd as best run state in the country (October 4, 24/7 Wall St.)
•Des Moines is #14 among most attractive metros (Aug/Sept, Area Development)
•Iowa ranks 5th best state for retirement in 2010 (MoneyRates.com)
•Iowa ranks 6th in survey of healthiest states for kids (July 27, Annie E. Casey Foundation)
•Iowa ranks 6th in the top ten for Top States for Business in 2010 (CNBC Special Report)
•Des Moines is No. 2 on the economic performance list (June, Brookings Institution)
•Des Moines receives its fifth All-America City award (June, National Civic League)
•Iowa ranks 2nd in most volunteered hours in the nation. Des Moines is the 6th most volunteered city in Iowa (June 16, Corporation for National and Community Service)
•Des Moines is #1 place to raise a family (June, Forbes)
•The #7 pick in Kiplinger's Best Cities 2010 is fertile ground for new jobs (July, Kiplinger)
•Des Moines is rated the #1 place for business and careers by Forbes after ranking 7th last year (April 13, Forbes)
•Des Moines-West Des Moines Metro Area in Top 25 U.S. Cities with the Most Energy Efficient Buildings (March 23, EPA)
•Iowa ranks 5th happiest state (February 16, Yahoo)
•Iowa ranks as a top 10 state for wellness (February 15, Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index)
•Des Moines #26 on list of happiest, healthiest people (February, Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index)
•Oprah included Iowa on her list of “100 Things That are Getting Better.” Iowa was the only state to make the list. (January 27)
•Des Moines: John & Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park listed as one of the 45 Best New Midwest Spots to Play, Eat & Stay (January, Midwest Living)
•Civic Center of Greater Des Moines ranks 17th in ticket sales in the Jan. 11, 2010 edition of Pollstar magazine’s annual list of the top 100 worldwide theater venues - ahead of other Midwestern venues including St. Louis’ Fabulous Fox Theatre (#23), Chicago’s Chicago Theatre (#28) and Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre (#38)! (January)

2009 Rankings

•Des Moines Ranks #2 as Most Secure Place to Live
•Des Moines was named the best city for business in 2009 by MarketWatch.
•Des Moines was ranked the 17th Strongest U.S. Metro Economy by Business Week
•Des Moines was ranked by Forbes.com as the 4th Best City in America where you can get the "Best Bang-for-the-Buck."
•Forbes.com ranked Iowa the 15th Healthiest State in America
•The League of American Bicyclists ranks Iowa #6 in the nation for bike-friendliness.
•In 2009, Iowa moved to #2 in wind energy among the 50 states, according to the American Wind Association. Iowa produces 2,883 megawatts of wind energy - enough to power roughly 670,000 homes.
•Des Moines is the highest-rated Midwest city for small market vitality according to an America City Business Journals, Inc. study. Des Moines is ranked 22 out of 100 largest metropolitan areas nationwide.
•Des Moines was recently ranked the #10 mid-sized metro with the best quality of life by BizJournals due to low traffic, strong homeownership and an educated workforce.
•In April 2009, Forbes.com ranked Des Moines as the #3 most livable city. Cities on the list were chosen due to quality of life measures in the nation's largest continental U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, including income growth per household, cost of living, crime data, leisure index and annual unemployment statistics.
•AmericanWay Magazine named the Downtown Farmers' Market a "Must-Visit Market" along with Union Square Market in New Your City, Portland, Oregon's Farmers' Market and Cincinnat, Ohio's Farmer's Market.
•The Des Moines Metro economy was rated the 14th-strongest in the nation in the first quarter of 2009, based on factors like employment, wages, home prices and foreclosures, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution.
•Forbes ranked Greater Des Moines as the 7th best place for Business and Careers. This ranking is based on multiple factors, including the cost of doing business, education, income, employment and housing indicators. This is the third year the region has been in Forbes Top 10.
•Greater Des Moines was ranked 5th in Site Selection magazine's list of "Top Metros" for populations of 200,000 - 1 million. This ranking is based on new construction and expansion projects.
•West Des Moines was ranked eighth in Business Week’s “Best Affordable Suburbs” in the U.S., citing its low unemployment rate (3%), and violent crime index (21). The article also boasted of West Des Moines’ highly-educated population and 16-minute average commutes.
•A New York Times column titled “Demi in Des Moines?” by Maureen Dowd described Iowa as “flyover country that’s starting high-flying trends” and suggested Iowa may be the new California. Dowd also suggested that “The Dream Factory is being left in the dust by the Field of Dreams.”
•Des Moines drivers rank 20th on America’s Best Drivers Report. The list contains America’s 200 largest cities in terms of car collision frequency.
•Urbandale ranks # 42 and Ankeny # 62 out of 100 best small towns in America, according to CNN Money's list.
•Ankeny is one of 22 cities around the country noted as a Playful City USA community for the third consecutive year.
•Greater Des Moines was named a city on the verge in Fast Company's High-Tech Hot Spots List. Only five cities were chosen to be included in this international listing.
Grinnell, Iowa was named the 3rd Coolest Small Town in America by Budget Travel magazine.
•Ragbrai #7 of 50 Best American Adventures in National Geographic Adventure.
•The famous Garbage Burger at Hickory Park Restaurant Co. was listed as one of the 50 best burgers in the country by Food Network Magazine.
•According to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Iowa ranked 8th on the Council's Energy Cost Index. The index factors electricity cost and gas prices.
•CNBC ranks Iowa 4th in America's Top States for Business 2009. The rankings were based off categories such as cost of doing business, education and the cost of living.
•Iowa rated 8th in the nation for economic growth in 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Iowa’s gross domestic product increased 2.1 percent, boosted primarily by farming. Overall, gross domestic product for all 50 states grew just 0.7 percent last year, down from 2 percent growth in 2007.
•Iowa is the second-happiest state when it comes to money matters, according to a 2009 MainStreet.com.



Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/city-vs- ... z1RuZqaV2x

[DMRyan]

Don't leave out the latest announcement about Des Moines being the best city for young professionals according to Forbes Magazine.


From the Register:

Forbes magazine today said the Des Moines metro is the best city in the nation for young professionals. This is the first time the area has been ranked No. 1 on the list, said the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

Raleigh, N.C., placed second on the list followed by Madison, Wis., No. 3; Salt Lake City, Utah, No. 4; and Omaha, No. 5.

“With the unemployment rate stuck above 9 percent, recent college graduates are facing fierce competition for white-collar work: More than 2 million college-educated workers 25 and older are unemployed,” said Forbes. “But prospects are much brighter in some cities than others, most notably Des Moines, Iowa, which ranks No. 1 on our list of Best Cities For Young Professionals.”

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/ ... essionals/

[mistertwister]

We're just the girl with the curl at the moment. We've definitely improved but we are no where near where we should be.

[hawk61401]

We're just the girl with the curl at the moment. We've definitely improved but we are no where near where we should be.

As Hillary Brown said ..

I’m a little concerned about all of the shouting from rooftops about how “great” our great city is. I too I’m guilty of this (as demonstrated), but only because it’s extremely contagious, which is why I fear it will result in some form of ego-induced identity crisis causing Des Moines to forget that there’s still room for improvement and growth. I’d like to see a little less talk and a little more walk from our creative community surrounding this topic. It’s time to shift the Des Moines motto from awesomeness by osmosis, to transformation by achievement. http://bit.ly/lyBmZk

agree, twister. Heck, there isn't even a movie theater downtown. In many ways, the downtown pics of the 1930's and 1940's look like a bigger and more vibrant city. Lots of work left to do.

[Mastermind]

And dont postpone demolition on a building because someone might have to walk on the street for a block.

[econboy]

Excellent article! Way to go Des Moines!

I also agree, we need to keep chugging along. The cities that make it and become world class places never stop. I certainly think Des Moines will keep moving. The good thing here now is that people are not satisfied until they go above and beyond to help make the city better.

It all goes back to what I have always touted all along and that is JOBS. Economic Development is key. Keep the jobs and companies coming and then keep them here. Kudos to the legislature this session for keeping the values fund money going (under a different name) and providing a new tax credit program for start-ups to help bridge that critical financing gap. That is one nice thing that occured and helped restore confidence from alot of the newbie businesses around the state and here in Des Moines.

As the jobs and opportunities stay around and keep coming it provides the engine that builds up a community and gives it the quality of life and social atmosphere that attracts people, thus making the city even better.

[hawk61401]

Exactly, econoboy, and we ain't stoppin'. I don't think I'm being too delusional when I say that I think that downtown Des Moines is on the cusp of a mini renaissance. If Younkers residential conversion happens with the conversion of the Crane building and Des Moines building, and, the YWCA site becomes a new gem for downtown, look out.

[cat]

I love love love Tim Paluch's response to this: http://dmjuice.desmoinesregister.com/ar ... /107200314

[Ex-Chicago]

CNN-Money names Johnston as the 13th best place to live in the U.S. (small towns).

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/snapshots/PL1939765.html

I'm not sure on some of their distances....14 miles to Des Moines? 10 miles to Saylorville? The description made it sound like a small town close to Des Moines, rather than a suburb of Des Moines.

[DMRyan]

I think Johnston is my favorite DSM area suburb, with the trees, proximity to Saylorville/Jester Park/Big Creek, and higher quality design standards. The only negative is of course the access to the rest of the metro.

[1999]

Des Moines references in the media are not as rare as once was, but I still pricked up my ears and appreciated during yesterday's NPR Art and Design news segment where Claus Oldenberg mentioned three examples of cities that display his work, starting with Des Moines (then Dallas and San Francisco). While by no means an accolade to me it was apropos to include Des Moines first of all the many cities that are home to his works. Perhaps Des Moines is more on his mind with their support for art and design such as the sculpture garden. The segment was based on his latest work to be unveiled today at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

[hawk61401]

Des Moines references in the media are not as rare as once was, but I still pricked up my ears and appreciated during yesterday's NPR Art and Design news segment where Claus Oldenberg mentioned three examples of cities that display his work, starting with Des Moines (then Dallas and San Francisco). While by no means an accolade to me it was apropos to include Des Moines first of all the many cities that are home to his works. Perhaps Des Moines is more on his mind with their support for art and design such as the sculpture garden. The segment was based on his latest work to be unveiled today at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

We always gave a lecture in connection with the work, if we did it in say Des Moines, or Dallas, or San Francisco and so on," Oldenburg remembers. "We like the idea that the sculptures are not all in, say, New York or someplace — that they're scattered around the cities of America and Europe. ... There's a lot of people you're never going to reach. But we have reached I think quite a few people, in all parts of the country."

http://n.pr/pKO72A

[hawk61401]

The American Planning Association awarded Grays Lake as Great Places in America: Public Spaces. Scroll down to #4. http://bit.ly/mSfblO

[DMRyan]

Hopefully the Riverwalk can become a special enough public place to be listed under this designation someday as well.

[Ingersoll1978]

The American Planning Association awarded Grays Lake as Great Places in America: Public Spaces. Scroll down to #4. http://bit.ly/mSfblO

Thanks for sharing! Love some of the other spaces on that list, including Rice Park in St. Paul, Monument Circle in Indianapolis and the Milwaukee Riverwalk. This is quite an honor for Gray's Lake!

[hawk61401]

The American Planning Association awarded Grays Lake as Great Places in America: Public Spaces. Scroll down to #4. http://bit.ly/mSfblO

Thanks for sharing! Love some of the other spaces on that list, including Rice Park in St. Paul, Monument Circle in Indianapolis and the Milwaukee Riverwalk. This is quite an honor for Gray's Lake!

Grays Lake is also one of the best testaments in America to corporate citizenship. The Weitz Company owned about one-third of the lake and because of them, Des Moines acquired the final portion of the lake.

Kudos to you! http://bit.ly/nUlcSR

[dogbo]

Forgive me if I missed this being posted somewhere else, but Beaverdale picked up a nice honor for being named one for Forbes' "Prettiest Neighborhoods:



http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngiuffo/ ... hborhoods/

[hawk61401]

Forgive me if I missed this being posted somewhere else, but Beaverdale picked up a nice honor for being named one for Forbes' "Prettiest Neighborhoods:



http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngiuffo/ ... hborhoods/

Forgot about Beaverdale, dogbo, glad you mentioned it. Des Moines and it's suburbs have received many awards that are not even mentioned here. It's not only the sexy things like Grays Lake being one of the most recent awards.

The Technology Association of Iowa (TAI) honored Iowa’s one of a kind facility, Phoenix Recycling of Des Moines, with the Prometheus Award in April, 2010. http://bit.ly/oHmODh

The Des Moines landfill was recently named a top workplace. Yes, you read that right.
http://bit.ly/ronNgV


Yes, in Des Moines Iowa, even our garbage is sexy ..

[hawk61401]

If you want to work in healthcare in Des Moines, Des Moines is one of the best places to be. Becker's ASC Review list of the "100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare."

Iowa Health System (Des Moines, Iowa)
Type of facility: Hospital/health system
What makes it a Best Place to Work: Iowa Health System entities employ the state's largest non-profit workforce, with nearly 20,000 employees. Iowa Health System president and CEO Bill Leaver likes to say the system is working on creating 20,000 scientists, citing Iowa Health’s commitment to training its employees to eliminate waste and remove variability. Employees have the opportunity to develop skills through the system's Management Leadership Academy and Physician Leadership Academy; upon completion of the latter, graduation physicians will be close to earning their master's degree. The system also organizes and hosts an annual leadership symposium that brings together more than 800 managers, directors and clinicians, giving employees the chance to share best practices with leaders across the country. The system remains focused on creating a healthy workforce: The employee health plan includes annual health risk appraisals, and employees can take advantage of an internal mail order pharmacy. Iowa Health System employees are currently participating in a statewide 100-day wellness challenge called Live Health Iowa, an initiative that provides a team-based physician activity, nutrition and weight loss program to staff. The system covers the $20 participation fee for each interested employee and also serves as one of the event’s long-term sponsors.

http://bit.ly/ps9x6G

http://www.ihs.org/

[dogbo]

Very nice! DM just name #2 in the nation for Best City for Jobs in 2012!

Forbes ranks Des Moines second on list of best cities for jobs

It was the combination of raw job growth, low unemployment and high wages that advanced Des Moines to second place. Job growth isn’t all coming from state government or the John Deere factory in nearby Ankeny, which has grown 36% to 1,900 jobs in the last few years. Des Moines also has a bustling ag/biotech industry thanks to operations like DuPont’s Pioneer seed business, which is based in the northern suburb of Johnston and employs about 1,000. And closely held Kemin Industries, started in the early 1960s to produce a better grade of pig feed, has grown 50% in the past five years to about 390 employees in Des Moines by expanding into a broad range of animal and human nutrients. Kemin’s a leading producer of lutein used in human vitamins and antioxidants used in food production.

Unlike many Midwestern cities, Des Moines has also managed to maintain its biggest downtown employers including Principal Financial Group, Wells Fargo and Better Homes & Gardens publisher Meredith Publishing. Downtown employment has grown from 45,000 in 1980 to 75,000 today, Howard said.

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/ ... -for-jobs/

[econboy]

Very nice! DM just name #2 in the nation for Best City for Jobs in 2012!

Forbes ranks Des Moines second on list of best cities for jobs

It was the combination of raw job growth, low unemployment and high wages that advanced Des Moines to second place. Job growth isn’t all coming from state government or the John Deere factory in nearby Ankeny, which has grown 36% to 1,900 jobs in the last few years. Des Moines also has a bustling ag/biotech industry thanks to operations like DuPont’s Pioneer seed business, which is based in the northern suburb of Johnston and employs about 1,000. And closely held Kemin Industries, started in the early 1960s to produce a better grade of pig feed, has grown 50% in the past five years to about 390 employees in Des Moines by expanding into a broad range of animal and human nutrients. Kemin’s a leading producer of lutein used in human vitamins and antioxidants used in food production.

Unlike many Midwestern cities, Des Moines has also managed to maintain its biggest downtown employers including Principal Financial Group, Wells Fargo and Better Homes & Gardens publisher Meredith Publishing. Downtown employment has grown from 45,000 in 1980 to 75,000 today, Howard said.

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/ ... -for-jobs/

Good exposure once again!
I am glad they also mentioned our bio-tech base and touched on the large manufacturer still in the area who is adding jobs right now(John Deere). Not to mention our massive financial services sector.

Adding 36,000 jobs in the next 4 years??? Whew!!! That actually seems a little steep, but if you factor in all jobs across the board in every sector of every type....then maybe.

If you consider eventually getting upwards of a total number of 461,000 jobs in the metro....you can extrapolate that into population estimates and get quite a nice number.

[DMRyan]

one more of note:

Des Moines in top 10 for educated young workers

A comparison of the nation’s 100 largest metro populations puts Des Moines’ young professional workforce in the top 10 in terms of educational accomplishment. According to Business Journals, U.S. Census Bureau figures show nearly 31 percent of the metro’s adults between 18 and 34 have a bachelor’s degree or better, helping the city land at No. 10 on the list. Boston, at more than 39 percent, tops the rankings.

Although there is more than a 20-point gap between the percentage of college-educated young professionals in Des Moines and the cities at the bottom of the list, there also is more than an eight-point gap between Des Moines and Boston, the list’s champion. Washington, D.C.; San Francisco-Oakland; San Jose, Calif.; and Madison, Wis., round out the top five.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/articl ... ng-workers

[DMRyan]

Des Moines shows up highly ranked with another source analyzing the local economy. Forbes has DSM has the 2nd best economy in an article back in February, now an indepedent economics research firm also states that DSM has the second strongest local economy in the nation.

A new annual survey ranks the Des Moines, West Des Moines metro area as the second strongest local economy in the U.S.

Des Moines has steadily rose to the top of the list from 28th place in 2008 to sixth place last year and now into second place.

POLICOM said Washington, D.C., ranked No. 1 this year.

The survey found growth in the financial and insurance industry helped the Des Moines metro market.

Des Moines ranked just above Seattle, Nashville and Austin, Texas, in the rankings that included 366 metropolitan areas.

"The rankings do not reflect the latest ‘hotspot’ or boom town, but the areas which have the best economic foundation," said William Fruth, president of POLICOM. "While most communities have slowed or declined

during this recession, the strongest areas have been able to weather the storm."

POLICOM Corporation is an independent economics research firm based in Florida that specializes in analyzing local and state economies and economic development.

Read more: http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/D ... z1wVRYlCVb
http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/D ... z1wTGBuzLc

[DMRyan]

[hawk61401]

Give me your tech startups, your entrepreneurs,
Your gays, yearning to breath free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming less progressive states,
Send these, the Dwollas, the Ashton Kuchners,
I lift my lamp beside the golden corn door.

http://on-msn.com/L5h2Vq

[casbern]

Forbes has ranked Des Moines the 4th best city in the nation for business and careers.

Des Moines also was ranked by Forbes as No. 37 in cost of doing business; No. 35 in job growth; and No. 54 in education.

Link:http://www.forbes.com/best-places-for-business/

[iowacountyite]

I hate to complain; but I thought we were a little higher on the job growth list?

[econboy]

I hate to complain; but I thought we were a little higher on the job growth list?

Thats probably the national overall, which still isn't too bad. Depends what particular job growth list you look at.

[iowacountyite]

I hate to complain; but I thought we were a little higher on the job growth list?

Thats probably the national overall, which still isn't too bad. Depends what particular job growth list you look at.

Thats true, and since we are 88th in overall population that really isnt too bad.

[hawk61401]

I forgot to post this months ago. Mayor Cownie knows how to sell Des Moines. I don't know of another Mayor in my lifetime that has done such an excellent job as he has for the city. Listen to the interview ..

How Des Moines Keeps Winning:

What’s so special about Des Moines, Iowa that has elicited so much praise?

One of the things that emerged in the course of the conversation was that, while so many cities have been focused on looking for the newest, coolest, highest tech solution to modern challenges, the answers often reside in the least trendy of places. Not high tech, but low tech; not sophisticated, but fundamental; not novel or innovative, but instead, the familiar and fundamental. A lot of what is working in Des Moines is a modern approach to leveraging traditional products and services, using long-lived core competencies, and creating new business models from within the heart of bedrock industries that have been here forever and yet are as essential and valuable today as they were in the early 19th century

http://tinyurl.com/7w83294