Norwalk, Iowa

Norwalk, Iowa
—  City  —
Location of Norwalk, Iowa
Coordinates: 41°29′0″N 93°40′43″W
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Counties	Polk, Warren
Area
• Total	11.09 sq mi (28.72 km2)
• Land	10.74 sq mi (27.82 km2)
• Water	0.35 sq mi (0.91 km2)
Elevation	945 ft (288 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	8,945
• Estimate (2011)	9,044
• Density	832.9/sq mi (321.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	50211
Area code(s)	515
FIPS code	19-57675
GNIS feature ID	0459658
Website	City of Norwalk

Norwalk is a city in Polk and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 8,945 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located just south of the Des Moines International Airport.

History

One of them, Samuel Crow, settled near the North River. The first construction on the site that is now Norwalk began with a log cabin built by Samuel Snyder. The following year more families settled in the little town known as Pyra.

A post office was established June 18, 1856. George W. Swan laid out the town and erected a hotel. Mr. Swan, who was born in Norwalk, Conneticut, and was associated with a newspaper in Norwalk, Ohio, changed the town's name to Norwalk

The first railroad into town was constructed in 1882 a narrow gauge line from Des Moines to Cainsville, Missouri. In the 1890's the railroad was acquired by a subsidiary of the Burlington Railroad and was widened to standard gauge. Its primary use was for shipping the farmers' livestock to various markets. The line was abandoned in 1947, after a flood had serverly damaged the North River bridge.

Incorporated

Norwalk was incorporated in 1900 with Adam Stiffler serving as its first mayor. At the time, the town was one square mile in size. Phone service began in 1903. Since then many additions have been made. The first was the triangle formed by Highway 28, High Road and Cherry Parkway on November 11, 1969. The second was the section north of town, developed as a residential area. It includes the Norwalk United Methodist Church and the Regency Nursing Home. The next large annexation was part of the Howard Hughes farm March 9, 1972. On November 15, 1973, the Casady farm on Cumming Road was annexed. There has been no development on that property. The next annexation was the max Willison farm on the east side of Norwalk. This tract, annexed on September 29, 1977, was developed as Windflower, a residential housing project. On December 19, 1977, the Ray Emery farm west of the city was annexed and on November 20, 1985, the Holland farm on the north side of Norwalk was annexed. This extended the city limits to the country store along the east side of Highway 28.

Lakewood Annexation

On April 1, 1989, the neighborhoods of Lakewood and Echo Valley Estates were annexed into Norwalk. The original Lakewood development was started in 1965 around the man-made Lake Colchester. The south shore of the lake is home to nearly 600 residences and the north side is in the process of being planned for development in 2001 and beyond. The north shore, owned by the Gillotti family, could host an equal or greater number of residential units including commercial and office space.

Echo Valley began in the early 1970s, and while the existing area is filled up, the surrounding ground is proposed for commercial, office and residential uses by the owners, Coppolla Properties. A portion is already annexed in and more is to follow.

The City has worked with neighborhood groups to protect the residents of the north side of Norwalk with the relocations of Iowa 5, Iowa 28 and Runway 5-23 at the Des Moines International Airport. Many of these improvements are still on schedule to be completed by the end of 2001.

Other recent annexations of note include: the Larry Hughes property at the corner of North Avenue and R57; the Willard Freese property on the west North Avenue as well as ground owned by Orville Crowley. The Hughes site is the home of Countryside Golf Course which has nine bent grass holes completed, and nine under construction. Also new in 2002 will be a clubhouse.

The most recent annexation consisted of 320 acres owned by Colonial Meadows LLC. The company, formed by the Ghrist family, is a local development utilizing a town center concept versus the town square concept found in many older communities. The development will be the site of a variety of housing, commercial and office space needs for the south Metro/Norwalk area.

The “Legacy”, a new golf course community incorporating the existing Colonial Meadows development, will present Norwalk with 18 new PGA caliber golf holes, 400+ home sites, and a potential tantalizing array of commercial opportunities for Norwalk. The effort is a partnership of the Colonial Meadows group and Hubbell Realty.

Another major housing development, Rolling Green, is under way across from the Countryside Golf Course and will consist of some 250 plus homes. Sharon Heights has 35 potential lots as well.

Finally, the City has incorporated 35 acres of NBC ground into recreational fields for soccer, baseball and softball into a complete complex to serve the needs of the community. In addition the City is marketing the remaining ground as part of its business complex (the only development in Norwalk that the City has authorized tax abatement and tax increment financing for as a joint incentive). It truly is the “Norwalk Business Park.”

• Provided by Norwalk Chamber of Commerce.

Sports

Football – School history record is listed at 233-212-3 52 % win percentage. The old and torn down football field was named after Norwalk’s longest termed coach, Dave Mineart (202-98-3). “Mineart Field” is the name of the field today, however the newly built stadium is officially named “Warrior Stadium” Norwalk has been to the state playoffs only a handful of times, most recently, and has only once made it to the final bracket, not placing.

Baseball – Norwalk Baseball was included in an article of Sports Illustrated in 2009 after 2 pitchers threw no-hitters in both games of a double header against South Tama County June 17, 2009. pitcher Matt Dermody struck out all 18 batters in a six inning win, and Kole Klocko struck out 10 batters in five innings (1 walk – 4th inning) . This means the pitchers faced a combined 33 batters and struck out 28 of them. Dermody also added a home run in both games, and Klocko added a double in each.

Norwalk has 5 state tournament appearances 1982, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2009 while beating Dyersville 1982 and Storm Lake 2009 for state championships.

Softball – State Qualifier 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 (No other information found)

Boys Basketball – Norwalk has 5 state tournament appearances. 1972, 1980, 2004, 2009, 2011. Their lone championship appearance came in 2009 as they fell to Sioux City Bishop Heelan. 42-77 All-Tournament Team Selections- Adam Thorson 2004, Alex Dorr – 2009, Jake Logan – 2011

Girls Basketball- Norwalk won a state championship at some point in their history (Source: Trophy in Warrior Gym entry way) and qualified for multiple state tournament appearances (Specifically in the 2000’s). They also won the state championship in 2006 being led by University of Iowa graduate Kelsey Cermak and Hannah Noel (2006 All-tournament team captain). Jill Martin of Norwalk holds the record for most points scored in an Iowa high school girls basketball game with 47. She is a Drake Graduate.

Bowling – Norwalk Boys finished in 3rd place in class 1A during the 2009-2010 season

Wrestling – Norwalk finished in 4th place as a team in 1971 and 1974. Individual top 3 are as follows: Mike McAnich 1974 Champion 185 Class 1A // Marty Bussamas 1974 Champion 138 Class 1A // Dan Beerman 1990 Champion 125 Class 2A // Tony Daugherty 1991 Champion 140 Class 2A //Brad Horton 1994 Champion 152 Class 2A // Dustin Bussamass 2000 Runner Up 140 Class 2A // Dustin Bussamass 2001 Runner Up 140 Class 2A // Kelly Miller 2006 3rd Place 145 Class 3A

Soccer – Norwalk Boys have an impressive number of times in the state tournament since the programs founding in 2002. 2004 Class 1A Runner Up (Xavier) 2005 1A Qualified, out in first round 2006 Class 1A Runner Up (Xavier) 2007 1A Champion (Denison-Schleswig) 2008 1A Runner Up (Dubuque Wahlert) 2010 2A Qualified, out in first round 2011 2A Runner Up (Xavier) 2012 2A Runner Up. (Dubuque Wahlert)

-->No other large amounts of information could be found pertaining to Norwalk sports. I do know however that Norwalk does have Champions in Track (Jenny Clark Long Jump, 100 Meter Dash 2006 or 7?), One mens and one womens doubles tennis teams have been in the state championship, and others.

Random Facts

If you have attended an event at Norwalk High School you have probably driven in on Cherry Parkway. This street was decimated by a tornado June 23, 2007. Power lines snapped, windows were shattered in homes and Casey's General Store, huge trees were uprooted, several homes/garages were badly damaged and propane tanks ruptured.

In 2011 the Norwalk School district acted out a 20 million dollar renovation project that added several new sights to the Norwalk schools. Not only did they change the official school logo, they added a brand new turf stadium featuring Iowa High School football's largest video monitor scoreboard, a new 1,000 seat auditorium, fully renovated the tennis courts adding five more courts, added a new gym at Lakewood Elementary, and renovated the playground at Oviatt Elementary.

Norwalk's "Rosco's" which opened in 2010 was selected in 2012 and 2013 for CityView's "Best Burgers In Iowa" contest.

Norwalk holds the unofficial record for the largest amount of rainfall in a 24-hour period for any town in Iowa, with more than 9 inches falling June 9–10, 2011.

Two Norwalk teachers have received Iowa Teacher of the Year awards since the award was founded in 1964. Andy Mogle (Family Consumer Science) won the award in 2008 for his advanced culinary programs which successfully allows students to run a cafe, known as "Warrior Cafe", out of the high school Culinary room. The quality of food produced makes this not only an elite program for the school itself, but makes it one of a kind in the state of Iowa. In 2012 Charity Campbell (Physical Education) won the award for helping create a mentoring program for first-year teachers in the Norwalk school district. She trains other Norwalk teachers to use activities that help students focus in the classroom. In 2010, her P.E. program was named an observation school through PE4Life, a national nonprofit organization that strives to improve children’s health and wellness through quality physical education.

Norwalk's darker history includes an above average number of murders per density. This also includes two mass killings. Mrs. G.R. McAnich killed five of her seven children and then turned the gun on herself in 1937. In 1993, Rick Forsyth murdered Jolene Forsyth, three of her children and two children she was baby-sitting at her home.

In addition, Norwalk has several unsolved "cold" cases including Janet Lafratte, infants Tamara & Shane Lass, Arlys Ponce, and most recently, Bill & Kay Wood.

Geography

Norwalk's longitude and latitude coordinates in decimal form are 41.483403, -93.678515.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.09 square miles (28.72 km²), of which, 10.74 square miles (27.82 km²) is land and 0.35 square miles (0.91 km²) is water.

Demographics

Historical populations
Year	Pop.	±%
1900	287	—
1910	315	+9.8%
1920	331	+5.1%
1930	336	+1.5%
1940	377	+12.2%
1950	435	+15.4%
1960	1,328	+205.3%
1970	1,745	+31.4%
1980	2,676	+53.4%
1990	5,726	+114.0%
2000	6,884	+20.2%
2010	8,945	+29.9%
Source:"American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau.  and Iowa Data Center

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 8,945 people, 3,261 households, and 2,472 families residing in the city. The population density was 832.9 inhabitants per square mile (321.6 /km²). There were 3,450 housing units at an average density of 321.2 per square mile (124.0 /km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.9% White, 0.5% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.5% of the population.

There were 3,261 households out of which 43.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 24.2% were non-families. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.13.

The median age in the city was 34.3 years. 30.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.6% were from 25 to 44; 24.6% were from 45 to 64; and 8.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,884 people, 2,344 households, and 1,903 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,049.2 people per square mile (405.2/km²). There were 2,382 housing units at an average density of 363.0 per square mile (140.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.75% White, 0.23% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.34% of the population.

There were 2,344 households out of which 49.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were non-families. 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.0% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $58,933, and the median income for a family was $64,653. Males had a median income of $37,571 versus $30,455 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,895. About 1.8% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Joel Hanrahan, pitcher in Major League Baseball
• Jason Momoa, played Ronon Dex in Stargate Atlantis, Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, and Conan the Barbarian
• Brandon Routh, played Superman in Superman Returns

Trivia

The Minneapolis-based band We Are the Willows has a song on their first full-length album A Collection Of Sounds And Something Like The Plague titled "Norwalk, Iowa".

External links

• Norwalk Community Web Site
• City of Norwalk
• Norwalk Chamber of Commerce
• Norwalk Community School District
• City-Data Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Norwalk
• [1] Norwalk Christian Church, Dayna Kinkade, senior pastor