On July 26, 1849, in a disused barracks of Fort Des Moines, Barlow Granger printed off the first copies of the Iowa Star, the newspaper that would become today’s Des Moines Register. That was 175 years ago, and Des Moines wasn’t incorporated as a city yet. The town of Fort Des Moines had about 500 people, and the 1850 census would count only 193,000 residents in all of Iowa. But Granger believed his neighbors hungered to know the news of the day, and he was committed to delivering it. That belief holds true for today’s Des Moines Register staff, which is dedicated to delivering accurate, trustworthy information to the 210,000 residents of today’s Des Moines and the 3.2 million people of Iowa. Throughout July, we’ll celebrate the Register’s 175th anniversary with special coverage highlighting the newspaper’s history and sharing news of other longtime businesses and nonprofit educational and cultural institutions that have shaped the fabric of life in Iowa. Tap the link in our bio to...