"Urban beauty"? Since when is urinated-on cement considered attractive?
The Capitol building is nice, but there’s nothing in the flood plain that’s particularly beautiful, especially this time of year.
At one time, Des Moines was a manufacturing hub for farm equipment. It then moved into banking and insurance, but lost all the manufacturing. It certainly hasn’t ever been “vibrant”, even when compared to neighboring cities such as KC, St. Louis, Chicago or Minneapolis.