Alleman, IA

Alleman sits in northern Polk County between Ankeny and Ames, a small city in Lincoln Township that belongs to the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro. Its modern identity arrived in 1973, when it incorporated as Polk County's newest city, but the name reaches back to John Lewis Alleman, the son of early settler Peter, or Pierre, Alleman. The city occupies a rural-looking edge of the metro, with farm fields and long roads meeting newer homes and regional growth.

ATTRAshton B Crew / CC BY 3.0

North Polk schools are a major part of the town's daily map. Alleman holds the high school, middle school, central elementary school, bus barn, and district office, putting much of the district's activity in one small community. Grain storage adds another strong landmark: Heartland Cooperative's facility can hold 774,000 bushels, and the city's four tall communications towers rise above the surrounding fields. Ankeny and Ames are close enough for larger errands, but Alleman keeps its own city hall, school buildings, cooperative activity, and small-town routines. It is a place where education, agriculture, and metro growth meet at the same intersection.