Iowa Cities Shrinking, Suburbs ExpandingThe U.S. Census Bureau released population estimates for Iowa towns and muncipalities, as reported in the Des Moines Register.
While these are estimates, they do indicate that the Des Moines Metro, at least, is undergoing a population shift from the city to the suburban areas. The population numbers themselves can be argued (as this is merely an estimate) - but the estimate does include factors like school enrollment, number of people with water service, etc.
Nearly all of Iowa's municipalities have seen population losses - Mason City is estimated to have lost about 1,000 people over the last four years. (An interesting note for John Drury: the population of Swaledale has an error of "Plus or Minus One Person"...)
These estimates are interesting in and of themselves, but they also point out the political challenge in engaging people to be interested in rural/urban policies, particuarly as they relate to crime and school quality. After all - how do you mobilize people who have already voted with their feet?
An aside for today: The Democratic Party released a new version of the Democratic Party website. A very sharp new design (don't tell anyone that the designer is evidently a Macintosh user), with an added emphasis on state parties.
Medicaid Crisis Generates Pilot Project in Iowa
