form of government with a city manager appointed by the city council. The council consists of the mayor, two at-large members, and three members from each of the city's three wards. The mayor and all council members serve four-year terms. Rick Messerschmidt served as the interim mayor of the city following former mayor Eugene Meyer's resignation in January 2007; On April 17, Steve Gaer was elected mayor during a special election and held that position until Russ Trimble was elected Mayor in November 2021. Tom Hadden is the city manager of West Des Moines. Geography West Des Moines is located at (41.573739, −93.750359). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water. West Des Moines' location in the Raccoon River valley has left parts of the city, particularly the Valley Junction area, prone to flooding. After the Great Flood of 1993, a floodwall was constructed along Walnut Creek (near the boundary with Des Moines) to protect that area. Climate West Des Moines has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa). Street numbering While nearby Clive, Urbandale, and Windsor Heights use the same street numbers for north–south streets that Des Moines uses, West Des Moines uses its own street numbering system. Thus, 86th Street in Clive and Urbandale becomes 22nd Street in West Des Moines. Iowa Highway 28, which forms most of the boundary between Des Moines and West Des Moines, is 63rd Street in Des Moines but 1st Street in West Des Moines. Many of the east–west streets share the same name with Des Moines, although the numbering of these east–west streets starts over in West Des Moines. Demographics The median income for a household in the city was $54,139, and the median income for a family was $70,600 (in a 2008 estimate, these figures had risen to $61,256 and $83,800 respectively, in 2008 inflation-adjusted dollars). Males had a median income of $45,185 versus $31,555 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,405. 2.8% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under the age of 18 and 3.0% of those 65 and older. 2020 census As of the census of 2020, there were 68,723 people residing in the city, an increase of 21.4% from 2010. The population density was 1,455 inhabitants per square mile. The