des moines is becoming very, very cool

photo by liz brown (obviously!)

Have you noticed our city is popping up more and more online?

It all started last June with this article in Food & Wine, then last month I noticed Eater published this piece, and this past week there was this in the Washington Post and it’s arguably the most complimentary of them all.

The secret is out: Des Moines is cool.

Slowly, our Midwestern pride is becoming less and less of a mystery to people on the outside. As more people visit our Hawkeye state and its capital, they’re beginning to understand why we enjoy living, working, and playing in “flyover country”.

There’s a slew of reasons that I can think of: the low cost of living, manageable traffic, restaurants without insane waits, and a local art scene that continues to thrive, with little national recognition. Until now, of course.

Let’s be thankful for what we’ve had thus far. We’ve been happy and content quite while and maybe things are about to change. Maybe the beauty of this city is going to become more apparent to those who don’t call it home. For better or for worse, we were here before the clarion call went out and we’re ready to show people why this is the place to be.