History of Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa, about 30 miles north of Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines in Story County, Iowa|Story County. It is the principal city of the 'Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Story County, Iowa and which, when combined with the 'Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area', comprises the larger 'Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area'. As of the United States 2000 Census|2000 Census, the city population was 50,731. Ames is the home of Iowa State University, with leading Engineering, Science and Agriculture colleges. Every four years, it is also the site of an important straw poll in the United States Republican Party|Republican party President of the United States|presidential nomination process (see Politics, below).
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