About Drake University

Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake’s law researcher is in the midst of the 25 oldest in the United States.

Des Moines (/dɪˈmɔɪn/ (listen)) is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is along with the county chair of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated upon September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, which was abbreviated to “Des Moines” in 1857. It is located on, and named after, the Des Moines River, which likely was adapted from the in front French name, Rivière des Moines, meaning “River of the Monks”. The city’s population was 214,237 as of the 2019 population estimate. The six-county metropolitan area is ranked 83rd in terms of population in the United States taking into consideration 699,292 residents according to the 2019 estimate by the United States Census Bureau, and is the largest metropolitan Place fully located within the state.

Des Moines is a major center of the US insurance industry and has a sizable financial services and publishing situation base. The city was recognized 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, the Meredith Corporation, Ruan Transportation, TMC 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 Corteva have large operations in or near the metropolitan area. In recent years, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Facebook have built data-processing and logistical facilities in the Des Moines area.

Des Moines is an important city in U.S. presidential politics; as the state’s capital, it is the site of the first caucuses of the presidential primary cycle. Many presidential candidates set going on campaign headquarters in Des Moines. A 2007 article in The New York Times said, “If you have any desire to witness presidential candidates in the most close-up and intimate of settings, there is arguably no improved place to go than Des Moines.”