You live in Des Moines, and know construction is percolating all over downtown — and the region, for that matter. But here’s a little anecdote for you to share. Last weekend, the Business Record hosted about 150 business journal editors and publishers from all over the country for the annual conference of the Alliance of Area Business Publications (AABP) — our industry trade group. It’s not uncommon for Des Moines to exceed the expectations of visitors — we hear that story all the time — and Des Moines, as usual, didn’t disappoint. But everyone — and I mean everyone I talked to — was shocked to see how much construction was going on in the city. In nearly every conversation I had, people commented on the number of cranes and at how unexpected it was for Des Moines to have a downtown as vibrant, tall and populated as it is. These are editors and publishers from cities like Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, among others, and they’ll be taking that impression of Des Moines back to their respective business communities. Yes, their reactions might show that parts of the country still think we’re some cow town in a cornfield, but the reaction to the construction volume wasn’t based solely on low expectations. Many commented that there was visibly more construction activity in Des Moines than in their home markets.