Word of the Day
Ames (aymz)
A city of central Iowa
Common clues: Iowa city; Iowa State city; City north of Des Moines
Crossword puzzle frequency: 4 times a year
Frequency in English language: 23253 / 86800
Ames is a city located in Story County, Iowa. As of the 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 50,731. The city was named after 19th century U.S. congressman Oakes Ames of Massachusetts, who was influential in the building of the transcontinental railroad. Ames was founded near a location that was deemed favorable for a railroad crossing of the Skunk River. It is located roughly 30 miles north of the state capital Des Moines. Two small rivers run through the town: the Skunk River and Squaw Creek.
Ames is home of Iowa State University of Science & Technology, a space-grant university, at its founding, the state's (Morrill Act) land-grant university, formerly known as the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. Ames is the home of the closely allied U.S Department of Agriculture's National Animal Disease Center, and the main offices of the Iowa state Department of Transportation. State and Federal institutions are the largest employers in Ames.
Small
farm near Ames
Prof. John V. Atanasoff and his graduate student, Clifford Berry, are now credited with the creation of the first true electronic digital computer in the basement of the physics department during the years 1937-1942. The Atanasoff/Berry computer used binary arithmetic circuits, regenerative memory, and logic circuits. These seminal ideas were communicated by Atanasoff to John Mauchly during a visit to Iowa State in the 1940s who then used them in the design of the better-known ENIAC built some years later.
Other area employers include a 3M (http://www.3m.com) manufacturing plant; Sauer-Danfoss, a hydraulics manufacturer; Barilla, a pasta manufacturer; Pella (http://www.pella.com), a window manufacturer; and Ball, a manufacturer of canning jars and plastic bottles.
As of the 2000 Census, there are 50,731 people, 18,085 households, and 8,970 families residing in the city. The population density is 908.1/km² (2,352.3/mi²). There are 18,757 housing units at an average density of 335.7/km² (869.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 87.34% White, 7.70% Asian, 2.65% African American, 1.98% Hispanic American or Latino of any race, 0.15% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.76% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ames, Iowa".
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