Editing West Des Moines, Iowa (section)

===1950 to the present===
In 1950, West Des Moines had a population of 5,615, but the city grew as many new housing subdivisions were built. West Des Moines annexed the neighboring community of Clover Hills in 1950, the town of Ashawa, a former Rock Island railroad stop, in 1957, and the town of Commerce, along the [[Raccoon River]], in 1960. City government also grew, and when the venerable city hall could not keep up with the city's expansion, the city opened a new municipal building in 1954. With the influx of students, the school district's ever-expanding borders continually compromised classroom capacity. Children attended school in former homes near Phenix, with classes in hallways and living rooms. Space was even rented from the new Catholic grade school. In 1959 alone, 150–200 new homes were built, adding to the population's growth. The construction of [[Interstate 35]], [[Interstate 80]], and [[Interstate 235 (Iowa)|Interstate 235]] in the 1960s brought more people and businesses to West Des Moines. This construction also caused the Des Moines Golf and Country Club to sell its location along Ashworth Road and 8th Street and then move to its current location in Dallas County.<ref name=DMGolfCC/> In 1966, [[Dowling Catholic High School|Dowling Catholic High School/St. Joseph Educational Center]] purchased {{convert|55|acre|adj=on}} from the Des Moines Golf and Country Club and, subsequently, moved from Des Moines and opened at its current location, 1400 Buffalo Road, in the fall of 1972.<ref name=Dowling>{{cite web| title = Dowling: History | url = http://www.dowlingcatholic.org/history | work = [[Dowling Catholic High School|Dowling Catholic]] website | access-date = December 14, 2015}}</ref> Several retail and office complexes opened along the I-235 corridor after the freeway's completion, including [[Valley West Mall]], which opened in 1975. West Des Moines' population jumped from 11,964 in 1960 to 31,702 in 1990.

West Des Moines expanded into Dallas County during the 1990s and 2000s, once again placing the premier golf courses of the Des Moines Golf and Country Club in its city limits and punctuated by the opening of one of the best golf courses in Iowa at the Glen Oaks Country Club{{efn|Both the golf courses at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club and at the Glen Oaks Country Club have been ranked consistently in the top ten golf courses in Iowa. In 2011, the course at Glen Oaks was named the #1 golf course in the State of Iowa by Golf Digest.<ref name="#1IowaGolf2011">{{cite web | title = Glen Oaks Country Club: About Us | url = http://www.glenoakscc.com/about-us | work = Glen Oaks Country Club website | access-date = December 14, 2015}}</ref><ref name=GolfDigestRank2015>{{cite web | title = Iowa: Best in State Rankings | url = http://www.golfdigest.com/story/iowa-best-in-state-rankings | work = [[Golf Digest]] | date = August 25, 2015 | access-date = December 14, 2015}}</ref>}} along with the West Glen Town Center and the largest in the state of Iowa, [[Jordan Creek Town Center|Jordan Creek Town Center and shopping mall]] in 2004. Major commercial construction is underway around the area, including the opening of many additional hotels, shopping centers, and office buildings, including a new [[Wells Fargo]] corporate campus. In 2005, West Des Moines annexed land in Warren County for the first time. Seeing the land to the south of Des Moines as extremely valuable, especially with the completion of a major "South-Belt Freeway" system, the cities of [[Norwalk, Iowa|Norwalk]] and West Des Moines are actively competing for land in the northern part of Warren County. From 1990 to 2015, West Des Moines is the fastest growing city in Iowa according to the landmass.

During the 1990s, a new city/school campus opened near the intersection of South 35th Street and Mills Civic Parkway. West Des Moines' new [[police station]] opened in April 1992. This was followed by the opening of a new [[public library]] in 1996; the library served as a temporary home for West Des Moines' [[city hall]] until a new building was dedicated in late 2002. The campus also features a new stadium for [[Valley High School (Des Moines, Iowa)|Valley High School]] that also opened in 2002. On the same property, the West Des Moines School district operates Valley Southwoods, a freshman high school with over 600 students that opened in 1996. Turning the West Des Moines Community Schools into a two high school district was not acceptable. In 2004, August Hillside Elementary opened on the former site of Hillside Junior High and Old Valley Stadium, which was demolished in 2001. In 2012, Clegg Park Elementary was renovated and opened as the new Walnut Creek Campus which is the district's alternative high school. Major renovation and additions were completed at Valley High in 2007 and again in 2015.<ref name=WDMCS_history/>