Local Culture Corner September 2017 This month, it’s all about… Des Moines, the state capitol of Iowa, is a picturesque city that is named for the river it sits on, the Des Moines River. The name Des Moines was adapted from its French Colonial name, Rivière des Moines, or “River of the Monks”. With the Des Moines River flowing through the city, many beautiful bridges have been built to connect the east and west sides of town, which have created a majestic and modern aesthetic for this historic city. In 2017, U.S. News & World Report ranked Des Moines the ninth best place to live. Like with many rankings and best-of lists, Des Moines performed well thanks to its cheap cost of living and relatively high wages. Des Moines also ranked high, at number 6, on the 2016 Forbes list of best places in the U.S. for Business and Careers The majority of the businesses headquartered in Des Moines are insurance companies, which includes Fidelity & Guaranty Life. Rand Worldwide is proud to have an office located about 13 miles outside of the city of Des Moines. Based out of this office we have a nice mix of IMAGINiT Sales and Service folks, listed below, and The Center Street Foot Bridge in Downtown Des pictured on the next page: Moines • Angie Schultz- Order Management Representative • Bill Mayfield- Account Executive, AEC • Brian Tuffin- Solutions Consultant, BSD • John Dow- Sr. Project Manager, MSD • Karen Carnine- Manager of Training and Resource Coordination • Megan Dunton- Director of Strategic Accounts, MSD • Ryan Levine- Account Executive, MSD • Scott Hale- Vice President of Consulting Solutions . The High Trestle Trail Bridge over the Des Moines River Valley. Local Culture Corner September 2017 Everyone in the Des Moines office has something in common: We all love cereal! Our love for the classic breakfast staple inspired us to begin a new annual tradition - The Cereal Bowl! For this fun and delicious event everyone brings in a box of their favorite cereal for all to enjoy together. We make sure that we come into work hungry that day! Ironically, the Quaker Oats company was founded in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and General Mills has a plant in Cedar Rapids as well, which is about 2 hours away from Des Moines. Our love for cereal must be in our Iowegian blood! A Famous Des Moines Delicacy Speaking of food, one of our favorite lunch spots, Smokey D’s BBQ, was featured on Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives! Smokey D’s BBQ is Central Iowa's place for Championship BBQ, and has won over 75 State BBQ Championships and over 800 local, regional, and National BBQ Awards. Next time you visit us, you must check out this BBQ treasure. Local Culture Corner September 2017 The World Food Prize Hall of Laureates Des Moines has a deep connection to food that goes beyond cereal and BBQ - it is home to the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. The world Food Prize is the foremost international honor recognizing - without regard to race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs - the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. The $250,000 annual award recognizes contributions in any field involved in the world food supply including, but not limited to: plant, animal and soil science; food science and technology; nutrition; rural development; marketing; food processing and packaging; water and the environment; natural resource conservation; physical infrastructure; transportation, storage and distribution; special or extraordinary feeding programs; social organization and poverty elimination; economics and finance; policy analysis; and public advocacy. Fun Things to do in Des Moines The Iowa State Fair One of the things that Iowa is best known for is our annual State Fair. In 2017, a total of 1,130,071 people attended the fair over the course of the 11 days that it was opened. The fair includes thrilling rides, top notch concert performers, amazing food, art, animals, and legendary fun! In 2017 the band Paramore was one of the performers, and in 2018, Reba McIntyre will be performing. The state fair is also home to the famous “Butter Cow”. Since 1911, there has been a cow sculpted from Butter has been on display at the Iowa State Fair. With all there is to see and do at the fair, who feels like taking time to sit down and eat? Fortunately, the Iowa State fair has you covered. They are famous for their mobile food on a stick. There are 83 dishes that are served on sticks at the fair including: apple pie, caprese salad, chocolate covered chunky bacon maple nougat, deep fried brownies, fried peanut butter and jelly, turkey sausage wrapped in a pancake, lamb sausage, shrimp corndog, and teriyaki beef. Local Culture Corner September 2017 Sports in Des Moines While there are no major league sports teams in Iowa, here in Des Moines we enthusiastically cheer for our four fantastic minor league teams - The Iowa Barnstormers, Iowa Cubs, Iowa Wild and Iowa Wolves. Football Baseball Ice Hockey Basketball In September of 2017 Greater Des Moines was named the #1 Minor League Sports Market by Sports Business Journal. Des Moines topped 219 markets that were included in the ranking. The ranking was calculated from three category - specific measures: tenure rank, attendance rank and economic rank. Des Moines benefited from the four teams measured in the ranking having a consistent presence in the region and drawing strong attendance numbers. Des Moines is the first No. 1 market in the study’s history to have a team in four sports. The article credits a thriving economy, a young population, low crime and plentiful restaurant and entertainment options to contributing to the region’s success. The Pappajohn Sculpture Park The John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, located within a major crossroads of the urban grid, creates a pedestrian-friendly entryway to downtown Des Moines. It features 28 works by 22 of the world's most celebrated artists. Local Culture Corner September 2017 The park is open to the public to walk though, or just hang out, and have a picnic! Guided tours are also offered for those who want to learn more about the artwork. Tours fill up quickly, and need to be booked three weeks in advanced of your visit. “Nomade” by Jaume Plensa Left: “Air Gets into Everything, Even Nothing” Right: “Moonrise” by Ugo Rondinone. “White Ghost” by “Back of Snowman (White)” & Yoshitomo Nara “Back of Snowman (Black)” by Gary Hume “78” by Mark di Suvero The Iowa State Capitol Building The Iowa State Capitol building, built between 1871 and 1886, is another beautiful site in Des Moines. It features distinct types and colors of marble, works of art, fixtures and carvings in both wood and stone. Copper-covered domes are located on every corner of the building, with smaller golden lanterns attached to all four domes. Paintings, statues, and a collection of war flags are exhibited inside the building. Tours are given of this magnificent building. Local Culture Corner September 2017 Celebrities from Des Moines Des Moines is the hometown to a few notable famous people including: • Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins from the record-setting girl group TLC • Legendary television actress Cloris Leachman, who is best known for starring in Lassie, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Phyllis, The Love Boat, The Facts of Life, Touched by an Angel, Malcolm in the Middle, and countless others • Steve Higgins, from the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Also, that infamous Ozzy Osbourne bat bite incident happened in Des Moines during a 1982 concert at Veterans Memorial Auditorium! Climate in Des Moines Those living in Des Moines get to experience the best of all 4 seasons. On average, there are 204 sunny days per year in Des Moines, Iowa. The July high is around 85 degrees. The January low is 13. Here is now the average climate in Des Moines compares to the average climate in the rest of the U.S. CLIMATE Des Moines, Iowa United States Rainfall (in.) 35.5696 39.2 Snowfall (in.) 33.348 25.8 Precipitation Days 65.2467 102 Sunny Days 204 205 Avg. July High 85.2152 86.1 Avg. Jan. Low 12.9961 22.6 Comfort Index (higher=better) 37 54 UV Index 4 4.3 Elevation ft. 832 1,443 Come visit Des Moines to experience majestic views, unique sites, fun times, and unbeatable food!! .