WDM Only City Featured in New Products Listing

West Des Moines was recently the only city credited by Better Roads magazine with one of the Top 20 rollouts for new products in the highway and bridge industries.

Better Roads selects the top 20 new products of the year based on their significance and whether they "change the way work gets done or bring new standards to an industry."

The City of West Des Moines and Monroe Snow & Ice Control were recognized for developing a roller mill system salt slurry spreader, which we call the Salt Slurry Generator. The excerpt from Better Roads:

"The city is blending a liquid de-icer product that contains 80 percent salt brine, 10 percent Fusion or GeoMelt and 10 percent calcium chloride. The system is a look into the future: more liquid and reduced granular usage to lessen the overall chloride load on the environment."

Take a look at the article for all twenty new products.

2010 Census Video

Watch the video below for an introduction to the 2010 Census. To learn more, visit the Census page on our website or the official page 2010census.gov.

Forbes.com Ranking

More good news for our metro area - on November 30, Forbes.com named Des Moines - West Des Moines in its Top 5 "Best Bang for the Buck" cities. Forbes looked at the country's 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas for foreclosures as a percentage of home prices; vacancies; unemployment rates; a three-year job-growth forecast; a three-year home-price forecast; housing affordability; median real estate taxes; and median travel time to work. See the article or the complete list.

Veterans Recognition Ceremony

Below, you can view highlights from our Veteran Recognition Ceremony held in the City Hall Council Chambers on November 16. We were honored to have several veterans in attendance, many of whom were willing to share stories of their service with us. This was a small "thank you" for them.

At the City Council meeting after the ceremony, the City Council issued the proclamation below:

vetsproclamation_signed.pdf

Tweets and Fans

In an attempt to communicate in new and different ways (for us, at least) the City now has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. The two are linked, so you will see many of the same messages and updates on both.

You can follow us on Twitter by visiting www.twitter.com/cityofwdm and/or become a fan of West Des Moines on Facebook.

We will use these tools much the same way we use our text messaging service - to publicize events, promote new city services, and provide important notices. The Facebook Fan Page will feature easy access to relevant information about the City. It may be opened up as a discussion board for specific issues as appropriate, but will always be maintained and monitored to ensure all content is respectful and constructive. If residents wish to contact City Council or staff, or to request City services, please use the Staff Directory on our website for phone/email info or the Citizen Service Desk.