Grimes, Iowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grimes is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,098 at the 2000 census; a special census in 2004 counted 5,862 residents. ^[1] Grimes is a part of the Des Moines metropolitan area.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 School system
5 Parks
6 Miscellaneous
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

Grimes incorporated as a city on May 7, 1894. It is named for former Iowa Governor and United States Senator James W. Grimes. ^[2]

[edit] Geography

Grimes is located at 41°40′59″N, 93°47′4″W (41.682939, -93.784438)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.3 km² (9.0 mi²). 23.2 km² (8.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.33%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 5,098 people, 1,887 households, and 1,437 families residing in the city. The population density was 219.9/km² (569.4/mi²). There were 1,958 housing units at an average density of 84.5/km² (218.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.19% White, 0.33% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.27% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.08% of the population. 2005 population estimate was 6,175 (Des Moines Register, July 12, 2006)

There were 1,887 households out of which 47.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.7% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 39.2% from 25 to 44, 15.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $56,275, and the median income for a family was $60,847. Males had a median income of $40,118 versus $31,588 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,712. About 2.4% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over

[edit] School system

Grimes, along with Dallas Center, forms the Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District system which draws students form both Polk and Dallas County. There is one high school (grades 9 through 12) located outside Grimes, one middle school (grades 6 through 8) in Dallas Center, and two elementary schools, one in each city. The school mascot is the Mustangs. The school is one of the best in Iowa with high scores in every subject.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Parks

Grimes has several attractive parks. The main park is Water Works Park, where the public library is also located. A relatively new sports park is now located at the south end of Grimes. It includes a skate park, soccer fields, and baseball fields. Another park in Grimes is Lions Park.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Grimes has several fast food and fine dining restaurants. These include the Corn Patch, the Homefront, the newly renamed Fat Boyz, Breadeaux, and McDonald's . The town has an annual festival called Funtastic Days featuring a parade, food, and games.

Grimes' city council meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month.

[edit] References

^ United States Census Bureau (2004). Special Census Certified Counts for Governmental Units in Iowa. Retrieved on August 10, 2006.
^ Henning, Barbara Beving Long; Patrice K. Beam (2003). Des Moines and Polk County: Flag on the Prairie. Sun Valley, California: American Historical Press. ISBN 1-892724-34-0.