Destination: Iowa

Iowa: Life Changing

Located in the center of the United States and North America, with a geographical area of approximately 56,875 square miles (147,000 square kilometers) Iowa is the 26th largest state in the United States.

Although Iowa produces a tenth of the United States food supply, the value of Iowa's manufactured products is twice that of its agriculture. Major industries are food and associated products, nonelectrical machinery, electrical equipment, printing and publishing, and fabricated products.

Iowa stands in a class by itself as an agricultural state. Its farms sell more than $10 billion worth of crops and livestock annually. Iowa leads the nation in all corn, soybean and hog production, and comes in third in total livestock sales. Iowa's forests produce hardwood lumber, particularly walnut, and its mineral products include cement, limestone, sand, gravel, gypsum, and coal.

Iowa stands as a leader in the production of renewable energy; being number one in the production of fuel ethanol and number two in the production of wind energy in the United States. By the end of 2009, 15 percent of Iowa’s electricity generation will be from wind power.

For more information visit:

The State of Iowa Tourism Web site at www.traveliowa.com
The Iowa Department of Economic Development Web site at www.iowalifechanging.com

Des Moines: Do More

More than $2.85 billion in new development has occurred over the past eight years. The growth and expansion has created a 17,000-seat arena and a 10,000 square-foot exhibition hall, as well as a beautiful river walk, innovative science center and great new restaurants and entertainment options. With more development in the works, there is something new around every corner.

For more information visit:

The Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau Web site at SeeDesMoines.com

Look Who’s Talking about Iowa

Moody’s Economy

2009
Des Moines is 15 percent below the national average for cost of doing business.

MarketWatch

December 2009
Ranked Des Moines #1 City in the U.S. for doing business.

Farmer’s Insurance Group

December 2009
Ranked Des Moines #2 as the "Most Secure City to Live."

MSN.com

November 2009
Last fall, Des Moines was ranked first in the nation for real estate as the "Most Livable Bargain Market."

Forbes

December 2009
Des Moines ranks #5 city in the nation where “Americans Are Getting Richer”. This ranking is based on income and education levels of the workforce, especially young workers and recent college graduates.

Corporation for National and Community Service

December 2009
Iowa ranks 5th in the nation for volunteer service; Iowa City, Waterloo and Des Moines are among the top 10 cities in the report. Iowa was the only state to have three cities in the top ten overall rankings.

MSNBC.com

November 2009
Des Moines is one of 100 metro areas in the nation that have started to recover from the recession.

CNBC.com

August 2009
The metro area was named one of American’s 15 most "recession resistant" cities by CNBC.com. The online slide show, that featured an urban photo of downtown as its cover image, said some cities have been hit much harder than others, and touted Des Moines in its coverage of cities that have fared well through the recession. It cited Des Moines' employment, unemployment, change in GMP, and change in housing prices.

The Brookings Institute

June 2009
Greater Des Moines was included among the 20 strongest performing metro areas in its tracking of the recession and recovery in America’s cities. The report said Des Moines experienced very modest job losses and has performed relatively well on most other economic indicators. Des Moines’s metro also had the smallest change in unemployment between March of 2008 and March of 2009.

Moneywatch.com/CBS News

April 2009
Greater Des Moines was identified as a "Job Haven" where bigger is not always better. Des Moines was one of three small to midsized markets identified as well positioned to weather the economic crisis and provide professional employment.

The New York Times

April 2009
Op-Ed Columnist Maureen Dowd described Iowa as "flyover country that’s starting high-flying trends" in a column titled "Demi in Des Moines?" that suggested Iowa may be the new California. In the article published in the New York Times' April 12, 2009 issue, Dowd also suggested that "The Dream Factory is being left in the dust by the Field of Dreams."

Forbes

April 2009
Forbes ranked Greater Des Moines as the seventh 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.

Forbes.com

April 2009
Forbes ranked Greater Des Moines third among "America's Most Livable Cities", using five key quality of life metrics including income growth (4.2 percent), cost of living index (90.2), culture index (68), crime per 100,000 (3,854), and unemployment (5 percent). Forbes ranked Des Moines fourth among the "Best Place for Business and Careers" in 2008.

Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council

April 2009
Iowa ranked eighth on the Council's Energy Cost Index. The index factors electricity cost and gas prices.