Altoona is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States, and part of the Des Moines metropolitan area.

[3] It is home to the Adventureland amusement park and Prairie Meadows horse racing track and casino.

The land was originally surveyed in 1847 and put up for sale by the US government in 1848, but it took six years to sell.

[citation needed] The Davises hired surveyor Julian B. Bausman to lay out the city.

Altoona is named for the Latin word for "high," altus, after surveyor Julian B. Bausman discovered Altoona was the highest point on the Des Moines Valley Railroad between Des Moines and Keokuk.

[5] In addition to serving as Altoona's first mayor, Francis English was the town doctor.

[8] The only other mayor of Altoona to have a park dedicated to him is Sam Wise, noted for paving the streets of Altoona, and building a sewer system that was advanced for its time and allowed for future expansion.

United Mine Workers of America Local 407 was organized in Altoona in 1897, and by 1902, it had 61 members.

Facebook asked local company RPM Access to build and operate a wind farm that will put more energy into the system than the data center will consume.

[12] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 9.35 square miles (24.22 km2), all land.

Altoona (along with nearby Runnells, Mitchellville, and parts of Pleasant Hill and Des Moines) is part of the Southeast Polk Community School District, and its students attend Southeast Polk High School.

The town is home to four of the district's eight elementary schools: Altoona, Centennial, Clay, and Willowbrook.

The Altoona Elementary building also was the town's high school until it joined the Southeast Polk consolidation in 1962.

Routes 17 and 99 provide bus service connecting the city to the region.