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Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is named after the Des Moines River, which may have been adapted from the French ''Rivière des Moines'', meaning "River of the Monks". The city's population was 203,433 as of the 2010 census. The five-county metropolitan area is ranked 91st in terms of population in the United States with 599,789 residents according to the 2013 estimate by the United States Census Bureau.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011 )〕 Des Moines is a major center of the U.S. insurance industry and has a sizable financial services and publishing business base. In fact, Des Moines was credited as the "number one spot for U.S. insurance companies" in a Business Wire article and named the third largest "insurance capital" of the world. The city is the headquarters for the Principal Financial Group, Athene USA insurance, the Meredith Corporation, Ruan Transportation, EMC Insurance Companies, and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Other major corporations such as Wells Fargo, Voya Financial, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, ACE Limited, Marsh, Monsanto and Pioneer Hi-Bred have large operations in or near the metro area. In recent years Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and Facebook have established data processing and logistical facilities in the Des Moines metro. ''Forbes'' magazine ranked Des Moines as the "Best Place for Business" in both 2010 and 2013. In 2014, NBC ranked Des Moines as the "Wealthiest City in America" according to its criteria.〔http://www.today.com/money/des-moines-where-regular-folks-can-live-rich-life-2D11965288〕 Des Moines is an important city in U.S. presidential politics because it is the capital of Iowa, which is home to the first caucuses of the presidential primary cycle. Hence, many presidential candidates set up campaign headquarters in Des Moines. A 2007 article in ''The New York Times'' stated "if you have any desire to witness presidential candidates in the most close-up and intimate of settings, there is arguably no better place to go than Des Moines". ==Etymology== Des Moines takes its name from Fort Des Moines (1843–46), which was named for the Des Moines River. The French ''"des Moines"'' (pronounced ) translates literally to either "from the monks" or "of the monks". The historian Virgil Vogel claimed that "Moingona" was derived from the Algonquian clan name "Loon".〔Vogel, Virgil (1983) ''Iowa Place Names of Indian Origin'' University of Iowa Press, Iowa City.〕 Some historians and researchers lacking linguistic or Algonquianist training concluded that ''Moingona'' meant "people by the portage" or something similar, a reference to the Des Moines Rapids, where the earliest meetings between the Moingona and European explorers took place. One popular interpretation of "Des Moines" ignores Vogel's research, and concludes that "Des Moines" refers to French Trappist monks, who lived in huts on top of what is now known as Monks Mound near St. Louis some from the Des Moines River.〔"(Defining 'Des Moines' )", ''Des Moines Register'', September 14, 2003.〕 A controversial recent hypothesis using a study of Miami-Illinois tribal names concludes the word ''Moingona'' comes from ''mooyiiinkweena'', a derogatory name which translates roughly to "the excrement-faces". The name was apparently given to Marquette and Joliet by a tribal leader to dissuade them from doing business with a neighboring tribe.〔"(Is 'Des Moines' just some dirty joke? )", ''Des Moines Register'', September 14, 2003.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Des Moines, Iowa」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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