Ankeny (, ) is a city in

Polk County, Iowa Polk County is located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 492,401. making it the List of counties in Iowa, most populous county in Iowa, and was estimated to be 505,255 in 2023. It is ...

, United States and a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of the state capital of

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, as part of the

Des Moines metropolitan area The Des Moines metropolitan area, officially known as the Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is located at the confluence of the Des Moines River and the Raccoon River. Des Moines serves as the capital and larges ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population of Ankeny was 67,887, making it the seventh most populous city in the state. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Iowa. Currently, the city's incorporated area totals 29.14 square miles.

History

Ankeny was founded as an agrarian community on April 22, 1875, by John Fletcher Ankeny and Sarah "Sally" Ankeny ( Wolgamot) on eighty acres purchased on July 11, 1874, for US$1,600. The town, a single square mile, was formally incorporated on February 28, 1903. The railroad was eventually laid from

Ames AMES, short Air Ministry Experimental Station, was the name given to the British Air Ministry's radar development team at Bawdsey Manor (afterwards RAF Bawdsey) in the immediate pre-World War II era. The team was forced to move on three occasion ...

, via Ankeny. This rail was completed in 1874 and passenger service established on July 11, 1880, for 33 cents. In the 19th century, the city's industry was primarily agriculture — specifically

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

and

swine Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine. Suina includes the family Suidae, termed suids, known in ...

production. The former was processed at a nearby mill, while the latter were driven to the market at

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk people, Sauk chief K ...

20th century

A local newspaper, the ''Ankeny Times'', began publication on May 17, 1902. Utilities continued to slowly develop with telephone service in 1903 and sparse electricity in 1907. Standard residential electricity only became widespread in 1919 after the Central Light and Power Company was authorized to construct a power plant and operate in the city. Ankeny's first fire department, a volunteer department, was established in 1907 and sparsely outfitted. Four significant fires ravaged the

business district Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessar ...

(locally known as ''uptown'') between 1932 and 1940, but businesses rebuilt. In the early 20th century,

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

became significant as many companies opened shafts and mines near the city in 1903, 1907, and 1908. The Enterprise Coal Company utilized Ankeny as a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

and went on to produce over 100,000 tons of coal in 1914, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state. In 1912,

United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American Labor history of the United States, labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing work ...

Local 2476 in Ankeny had 246 members, over half of the total population at the time, and Local 2511 in Enterprise had 395 members. Ankeny 1958

World War II and Post-War

Prior to the 1930s, most of the land in Ankeny found agricultural use: however, manufacturing became increasingly significant. In the 1940s, amidst

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

US federal government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

vacated and seized farms via

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

in 1941 for the construction of a military ordnance plant. The plant was fully operational from 1942 until being put on standby on V.E. Day, 1945 and officially closed immediately prior to VP day. Post-World War II,

Deere & Company Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment an ...

purchased the factory in 1947, which began to manufacture agricultural equipment under the new name ''John Deere Des Moines Works''. The rest of the land surrounding the plant was purchased by

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

for agricultural research. In 1958, mail delivery to residences began. The same year, a second local newspaper, the ''Ankeny Press-Citizen'', began publication on October 1. The city's status was upgraded in 1961 from town to city by the state and federal government. In 1966, the ''Ankeny Times'' stopped publication.

Later 20th century

In August 1967,

Des Moines Area Community College Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in central Iowa. The college served 35,488 credit students and 29,021 noncredit students in 200 programs in 2019. Hi ...

purchased 240 acres on the southeast of the Iowa State University plot: construction began in 1968 on a new main campus ( Ankeny Campus). Construction on main facilities continued through the 1970s. Also in the summer of 1967,

Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary is a private Christian college and seminary in Ankeny, Iowa, United States. History Early Omaha years At the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, William H. Jordan heard Dwight L. Moody speak about t ...

was established in Ankeny. The college was formerly based in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

and known as Omaha Bible Institute (OBI) and Omaha Baptist Bible College (OBBC). An F4

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

struck the city in June 1974, along with Des Moines, Pleasant Hill, Runnells, Boundurant, and

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

. Casualties totaled two dead and fifty injured. Local Ankeny stores offered discounts in the wake of the tornado. In 1989, public and private interests began planning for a local airport in northeast Polk County. Ankeny Regional Airport, the result of the project, opened in February 1994, with the first flight being a Cessna 182 Skylane.

21st century

In 2003, changes in Iowa state law allowed Iowa State University to sell off its research plot near Ankeny, which it did to the city in June 2005 for $23.6 million. The year prior, in 2004, the city government requested proposals for a new district called ''Prairie Trail'' to be created on the plot. Later in September 2005, the city sold the land to Dennis Albaugh, whose company submitted the chosen proposal, for the same price. The city agreed to invest up to $20 million in basic infrastructure for the district, which Albaugh's company agreed to match and enter into a Civic Trust Fund to be used for public facilities. In 2008, Ankeny was recognized as one of the top ten towns for families by ''

Family Circle ''Family Circle'' was an American women's magazine that covered topics such as homemaking, recipes and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a grou ...

''. In 2009, Ankeny was ranked No. 62 in MONEY Magazine's top 100 places to live list. In May 2017, an $8.5 million bond referendum was successfully held to create a new, modern library. The project, having an overall budget of $25 million, broke ground on July 1, 2018. The old Kirkendall Public Library had been used since 1996 and had while the new library has of space. The new Kirkendall Public Library opened in February 2020.

Geography

Ankeny is located in north-central Polk County. It is bordered on the east by

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

, with U.S. Route 69 running through the center of the town. Most of the area of Ankeny is

dry land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surface ...

with a small number of park ponds and streams. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land. The City itself states that of that land is incorporated. Like most of Polk County, Ankeny exists at the bottom area of the Des Moines Lobe, a topographical landscape area, in an area known as the Bemis Advance. The Lobe was formed during the

Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin glaciation, also called the Wisconsin glacial episode, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex, peaking more than 20,000 years ago. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated ...

leaving significant

deposits A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below. ...

resulting in an area with low

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

. The upper sediments Ankeny sits upon are primarily a variable mixture of silt, sand, gravel, and loam types less than eight meters in depth. The water table is seasonally elevated. The bedrock the city sits on is part of the Cherokee Group and composed of primarily grey

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

and

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, with secondary

black shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

, and

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from ''shale'' by its lack of fissility.Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology.'' New York, New York, ...

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Ankeny has a

hot-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

Since the city's first census results in 1910 of 445 inhabitants, Ankeny's population has grown to an estimated 67,887 people in 2020, an increase of 48% from the 45,562 of the 2010 census, which itself was a 68.1% increase from

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Ankeny has been noted multiple times in recent years by the Census Bureau for rapid population growth, being listed as the fourth fastest growing city July 2016 – 2017 with a growth rate of 6.4% and the tenth fastest growing July 2017 – 2018 with a growth rate of 4.6%.Census Bureau Reveals Fastest-Growing Large Cities

. May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2019. To keep pace with growing population numbers, the city has requested a special census every decade since the 1970s in 1975, 1985, 1994, 2005, and 2014. High growth rates have led to nearly 80% of Ankeny residents surveyed in 2018 to agree the city's population growth was "somewhat too fast" or "much too fast". The growth has also led to infrastructure strain and challenges.

2020 census

As of th
2020 United States Census
there were 67,887 people and 24,532 households residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 93.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.4%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.1% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.8% of the population. There were 24,532 households, of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.61. Regarding household income, the median household income was $89,484 while per capita income was $41,784. Poverty affected 4.6% of families.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 45,582 people, 17,433 households, and 12,087 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 18,339 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.7%

, 1.2%

, 0.1% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.6% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.3% of the population. There were 17,433 households, of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.7% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.08. The median age in the city was 31.9 years. 27.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 33.7% were from 25 to 44; 21.1% were from 45 to 64; and 8.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female. Regarding household income, the median income was $51,914 while average income was $70,883. Family income had a median of $62,982 and average of $82,446. Among full-time, year-round workers, the median earnings were $46,478 for men and $36,040 for women. Poverty affecting families was present at a 10.1% general rate with a 28.9% rate of families run by single mothers. Poverty affected 13.8% of inhabitants, 19.2% of minor inhabitants, and 12.1% of those 18 years old and older.

2014 special census

In 2014, a special census was performed by decision of the city, on which it spent $825,000. This census was completed on December 12, 2014, and listed a new official population count of 54,598 inhabitants and 21,918 households, an increase of 19.7% and 25.7%, respectively, to the 2010 decennial census. Documenting the increased population numbers allowed the city to accrue an estimated $4.5 million more in allocated state funding for road construction and repairs.

Economy

The Ankeny city government's fiscal year 2020 budget listed total property values of $779 million in commercial, $177 million in industrial, $56 million in utilities, $113 million in multi-residential, and $4.64 billion in residential property. The median home value is $197,500. In 2018, the budget reads, Ankeny "saw one of its best years for construction activity" with commercial construction valued $71 million and residential construction valued $173 million. The number of businesses in Ankeny for the year totaled 5,089 with $972 million in taxable retail sales. The largest businesses by highest taxable valuation are as follows:

($42.6 million), DRA Properties, LC ($36 million), Mid-American Energy ($27.4 million), DLE Seven, LLC ($24 million),

Casey's General Stores Casey's Retail Company (doing business as Casey's) is a chain of convenience stores in the Midwestern and Southern United States. The company is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. As of October 1, 2023, Casey's had 2,500 sto ...

($23.3 million), Hurd Fleet, LLC ($21.7 million), Denny Elwell Family, LC ($20.8 million), B&G Foods North America ($19.9 million), Woodland Reserve Apartments, LC ($19.9 million), and Perishable Distributors of Iowa, Ltd. (a Hy-Vee subsidiary) ($17.3 million). The largest employers by number of employees are as follows: Ankeny Community Schools (1,965),

(1,900),

(1,260), the City of Ankeny (786), Perishable Distributors of Iowa, Ltd. (687),

(611), Baker Group (560), Purfoods (517), B&G Foods North America (400), and Accumold (350). Industry-wise, the largest percentages of industry occupation are as follows: education and health care services (23.34%), finance, insurance, and real estate (14.07%), retail (11.99%), professional services (9.03%), entertainment and recreation (7.81%), manufacturing (7.77%), construction (5.59%), other services (5.13%), public administration (4.81%), transportation, warehousing, and utilities (3.71%), wholesale (3.68%), agriculture (1.78%), information and data (1.29%). The

estimates that between 2013 and 2017 that 78.7% of the population 16 years old and older were part of the civilian labor force with 73.4% specifically for women. Previously in 2012, the Census Bureau's Survey of Business Owners (SBO) reported that 4,388 businesses called Ankeny home with a total reported $8.081 billion in business and $748 million in annual payroll. Of those businesses, the reported industries were 619 construction, 143 wholesale, 547 retail, 198 transportation and warehousing, 93 data and information technology, 279 finance and insurance, 491 real estate and rental, 478 professional, scientific, and technical services, and 248 administrative, supportive, waste management, and remediation.

Parks and recreation

There was previously a

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

in Ankeny, of the YMCA of Greater Des Moines. On March 1, 2019, that YMCA closed due to problems with funding and a decline in the number of members.

Public and private parks

Ankeny currently has "60 parks covering over 800 acres with a mixture of recreational facilities" which include athletic facilities, playgrounds, green spaces, picnic shelters, two aquatic centers, two community centers, a

dog park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a fence, separate double-gated entry an ...

bandshell In theatre, a shell (also known as an acoustical shell, choral shell or bandshell) is a curved, hard surface designed to reflect sound towards an audience. Often shells are designed to be removable, either rolling away on wheels or lifting into ...

skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, quarter pipe ...

, disc golf course, and more. Ankeny has many

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

areas in the city totaling over 100 miles of length. The city has two sports complexes. The larger Prairie Ridge Sports Complex comprises 124 acres and provides well-maintained fields for a variety of

ball sports This is a list of ball games and ball sports that include a ball as a key element in the activity, usually for scoring points. Games that include balls Ball sports fall within many sport categories, some sports within multiple categories, inclu ...

. Many public and private sports organizations and teams base themselves at the complex which serves over 6,500 youth athletes. The smaller Hawkeye Park Sports Complex features a handful of fields typically used for adult leagues and individual recreational use. In addition, the city operates Otter Creek Golf Course, a 200.6 acre facility, as a public golf venue. The city puts on a variety of recreational programs year-round, sometimes involving school district facilities, which range from all-ages athletic teams and training, senior citizen activities, seasonal/holiday events, dances, first aid and CPR training, arts and crafts, public yoga, charter bus expeditions, and basic skills. Artistic and cultural organizations also exist within the city such as the Ankeny Area Historical Society, Ankeny Art Center, Ankeny Community Band, Ankeny Community Chorus, Ankeny Community Theatre, and Art for Ankeny. Miracle Park, a playground, is an "all-inclusive" facility specifically designed to accommodate special needs youth. Designed in 2015, the Park adjoins the nearby Ankeny Miracle League baseball field, which provides a location for a local special needs baseball league. In 2019, the city estimates 160,000 attendees to the two aquatic centers during the summer season, over 14,000 sports events held at the two complexes, over 36,000 participants in public programming (with about 7,600 of those in senior citizen programs), and 29,300 rounds of golf played at Otter Creek.

Government

The city code of Ankeny specifies the municipal governance is in the form of a

Mayor–council government A mayor–council government is a system of local government in which a mayor who is directly elected by the voters acts as chief executive, while a separately elected city council constitutes the legislative body. It is one of the two most comm ...

while the description in city documents describes the city as "Mayor/Council/Manager". The Mayor and City Council officers are elected for four year terms with Council terms overlapping. Any elected positions in the city fall under Chapter 376 of the Code of Iowa.

Mayor

The current mayor of Ankeny is Mark Holm. Holm, a former City Council member, was elected in November 2021 and took office in January 2022. The office of mayor, as listed in the city code, acts as the city

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and supervises the whole of city governance, representing the city, working as President of the City Council, and appointing officers and officials. The baseline mayoral salary is $10,000 yearly plus expense reimbursement. In regards to Council legislation, the Mayor may only approve, veto, or disregard, never voting on the legislation. The Mayor also appoints one of the members of the council as Mayor Pro Tem.

City council

The city council consists of five members. The current members are Bobbi Bentz (Mayor Pro Tem), Kelly Whiting, Jeff Perry, Todd Shafer, and Joe Ruddy. The council maintains local legal, economic, civic, and public authority over the city, as well as appointing city officers. One member of the council is appointed by the Mayor as Mayor Pro-Tem whom also serves as vice-president of the council and discharges the Mayor's duties if absent or unable. Mayor veto of Council decisions can be overridden by

supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...

. Councilor salaries are $7,000 yearly.

Education

Primary and secondary

Ankeny features both public and private institutions for primary and secondary education.

Ankeny Community School District

Ankeny's public school district is the sixth largest district of its kind in the state with an approximate $190 million yearly budget. It currently educates nearly 12,000 students and employs over 1,500. It serves most of the city limits. The district encompasses sixteen school buildings and has two feeder systems with corresponding institutions. In 2013, the community school district split into the current two high school system. The district slowly split incoming students into separate systems until the full split was made in 2013. Prior to the split, Ankeny's universal mascot was the Hawk, with the Jaguar being introduced with the new secondary system based around

Ankeny Centennial High School Ankeny Centennial High School (ACHS) is a state school, public high school in Ankeny, Iowa, United States, serving grades 10 through 12 and opened in 2013. It is one of two high schools in the Ankeny Community School District. History Ankeny Cen ...

Other public schools

A portion of southern Ankeny on the edge of the city limits is in the Saydel Community School District. An expanding portion of northern Ankeny, (Northgate, Northgate East, Harvest Ridge) is in the North Polk Community School District, located in Alleman.

Private

Ankeny Christian Academy Ankeny Christian Academy (ACA) is a private school, private Christian school located in Ankeny, Iowa, Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa. It is an independent, non-denominational school serving students from preschool through 12th grade. The school is ...

( ACA) is a private, accredited, and non-denominational Christian school that offers both

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and secondary schooling, as well as

preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

. The school was established in February 1992 and opened its doors in August 1993, moving to its current 1604 West 1st Street location in early 2000. St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic School was opened in August 2015 by the

Diocese of Des Moines The Diocese of Des Moines () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southwestern Iowa in the United States. It is a suffragan see in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque. ...

on the western side of the city at 1102 NW Weigel The initial school and church building had a cost of $8.2 million. Dr. The school initially housed K-3rd grade students. Each year following, a new grade is added until it serves K-8th grade students in 2020. On October 21, 2021, a groundbreaking was held for an expansion with a cost of $3.5 million, with $3.2 million paid through cash and gifts. The area Catholic high school is

Dowling Catholic High School Dowling Catholic High School is a Catholic secondary school in West Des Moines, Iowa, within the Diocese of Des Moines. As of the 2013–14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,431 students and 94.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basi ...

in West Des Moines.

Post-secondary

Ankeny hosts a variety of public and private post-secondary education institutions. ; Public

( DMACC) has been based in the city since creation of the Ankeny Campus in the summer of 1967. The Campus currently educates over 15,000 students on their 304-acre plot and offers a large variety of degree, diploma, and certificate programs. Since its inception, the college has been undergoing near-constant additions and renovations. Many other campuses exist across the state under the direction of the Ankeny Campus.

formerly operated a research farm in south Ankeny. However, that land was sold off in 2005 and is now being developed as the ''Prairie Trail'' district. ; Private

, the oldest private college in Ankeny, has been an institution in the city since 1967. Originally founded as the Omaha Bible Institute in 1921, the college changed names to the Omaha Baptist Bible College in 1960, before moving from

to Ankeny in the summer of 1967. The graduate-level

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

was added in January 1986.

Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University (UIU) is a private university in Fayette, Iowa, United States. It enrolls around 3,000 students and offers distance education programs that include centers in the U.S., an online program, an independent study program, an ...

, based in

Fayette, Iowa Fayette is a city in Fayette County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,256. It was named after the Marquis de la Fayette, French hero of the American Revolutionary War. Fayette is the home of Upper Iowa U ...

, operates an extension facility in the city at 1535 SE Delaware Ave.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The city of Ankeny lists, as of 2018, 543 miles of

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

, 369 cul-de-sacs, 6,238

street light A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, streetlamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution b ...

s, and 72

traffic signals Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...

on city roadways. Ankeny Regional Airport, a public, non-commercial airport, provides air access to Ankeny and has since 1994. The airport currently claims to be the state's third-busiest and allows corporate, individual, and freight use. It is a

relief airport A relief airport or reliever airport is an airport that is built or designated to provide relief or additional capacity to an area when the primary commercial airport(s) requires additional capacity, on a long-term or temporary basis. Reliever ...

for Des Moines International Airport. Des Moines Area Regional Transit ( DART), a public transit agency, operates an express bus route between Ankeny and Des Moines. The route includes stops at DMACC's Ankeny Campus and the High Trestle Trail trailhead in the city. Additionally, the agency operates on-call shuttle services in the city as well.

Notable people

* Dennis Albaugh (born 1949) Owner, CEO of Albaugh Inc. * Carmine Boal (born 1956), former Republican Iowa State Representative *

Chris Fehn Christopher Fehn (born February 24, 1973) is an American musician. He was a percussionist and backing vocalist for the heavy metal band Slipknot from 1998 to 2019, in which he was designated #3. He was also the bassist for Will Haven from 20 ...

(born 1972), musician and member of Slipknot, a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning heavy metal band * Jeff Lamberti (born 1962), former Republican Iowa Senator and State Representative * Joel Lanning, former football linebacker and quarterback, Iowa State University alumni * Riley Moss, professional football cornerback for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

* Larry Noble, former Republican Iowa Senator * Justin Phongsavanh,

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

javelin thrower *

Paul Rhoads Paul Robert Rhoads (born February 2, 1967) is an American football coach. He is currently a Defensive Analyst at Mississippi State University. A long-time major conference assistant coach and head coach, he is best-known for his seven-year tenu ...

(born 1967),

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach at

. *

James Root James Donald Root (born October 2, 1971) is an American guitarist. He is one of two guitarists for heavy metal music, heavy metal band Slipknot (band), Slipknot, in which he is designated #4, as well as the former lead guitarist for Rock music ...

(born 1971), musician and rhythm guitarist * Connie Yori (born 1963), former head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball team

References

External links

Official Ankeny City Website

Ankeny Chamber of Commerce

Ankeny Economic Development Corporation
{{authority control 1903 establishments in Iowa Cities in Iowa Cities in Polk County, Iowa Company towns in Iowa Des Moines metropolitan area Populated places established in 1874 1874 establishments in Iowa