Urbandale, Iowa
Encyclopedia : U : UR : URB : Urbandale, Iowa
Urbandale is a city in Polk County, and partially in Dallas County, in the state of Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 29,072; a special census taken by the city in 2005 counted 35,904 residents.
History
Urbandale incorporated as a city on April 16, 1917. In its early days Urbandale served as a streetcar suburb of Des Moines with four coal mines. Urbandale served as the end of the "Urbandale Line" after plans to build a railroad from Des Moines to Woodward were abandoned because of right-of-way issues. The coal mines had closed by the end of the 1940s while streetcar service ended in 1951.In 1920, shortly after the city incorporated, Urbandale had 298 people. Its population in 1950 was 1,777, but the city grew rapidly after that along with the rest of Des Moines' suburbs. By 1970 Urbandale had 14,434 people, and in 2000 it had 29,072. Although most of the city's developed area is in Polk County, Urbandale has expanded westward into Dallas County in recent years.
While Urbandale is primarily a residential city, commercial and industrial development has increased in recent years, particularly in industrial parks along I-35/80. Urbandale also features 850 acres (3.4 km²) of parks and 33 miles (53 km) of recreational trails that connect to other trails in the Des Moines area.
Urbandale is also the home of Living History Farms, where Pope John Paul II spoke to a crowd estimated at 400,000 on October 4, 1979; 95KGGO Arena, home to the Des Moines Buccaneers hockey team; and the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which oversees operations for the Powerball multi-state lottery.
In July of 2005, Money magazine ranked Urbandale 53rd on its list of the "100 Best Places to Live" in the United States.
Government
Urbandale uses the council-manager form of government. The city council consists of the mayor and five council members, all of which are elected to four-year terms.Geography
Urbandale is located at (41.636421, -93.736121)[Geographic references#1GR1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 53.7 km² (20.7 mi²). 53.6 km² (20.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.10%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 29,072 people, 11,484 households, and 8,038 families residing in the city. The population density was 542.5/km² (1,404.9/mi²). There were 11,869 housing units at an average density of 221.5/km² (573.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.18% White, 1.53% African American, 0.09% Native American, 1.73% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.60% of the population.There were 11,484 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $59,744, and the median income for a family was $70,548. Males had a median income of $45,470 versus $32,631 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,021. About 2.5% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The Urbandale Community School District consists of five elementary schools (Jensen, Karen Arces, Olmestead, Rolling Green, Valerius and the newest school Webster), one middle school, and one high school. Portions of Urbandale are also in the Dallas Center-Grimes, Des Moines, Johnston, Waukee, and West Des Moines school districts.Urbandale students aren't just academically involved, they participate in many extra ciricular activities such as sports (Basketball, Football, Track, Cross-Country, Soccer), music (Show Choir, Jazz Band, Marching Band), and drama. There are also many clubs that students can participate in that help the school, community and environment.
The depth of Urbandale's band program was demonstrated in 2006 when the Urbandale Wind Ensemble, directed by Myron Peterson, was chosen to perform at the annual IBA (Iowa Bandmaster's Association) conference in Des Moines. Only one 4A school from the entire state is chosen each year.
References
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