Iowa – Iowa's capital is Des Moines

(Pronounced eye-ow-wuh and duh-moyn)

To remember the capital of the US state Iowa, use the following mnemonic:

I owe her (Iowa) double my coins (Des Moines) by the end of the week.

Interesting facts about Des Moines:

- Giant Concrete Gnome: The city is home to a wonderfully bizarre twenty-foot-tall concrete garden gnome named Elmer, who stands proudly in a local amusement park wearing a massive red hat and holding a fishing pole.

- Underground Skywalk System: Des Moines boasts one of the largest interconnected pedestrian skywalk systems in the world, allowing residents to walk for miles across downtown buildings without ever stepping foot outside in the winter snow.

- Pizza Tradition: The city takes its local pizza history very seriously, famously serving up square-cut tavern-style pizza loaded with a unique, heavily spiced sauce and a legendary blanket of bubbling cheese that stretches for miles.