A retirement party is planned for Clyde Evans, West Des Moines’ community and economic development director who is retiring in July after working for the city for 32 years. The celebration will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. July 11 at the MidAmerican Energy Company Recplex, 6500 Grand Ave. A program begins at 6 p.m. During Evans’ tenure in West Des Moines, the city’s population has more than doubled to over 71,600 residents. Jordan Creek Town Center, Iowa’s largest shopping complex, opened in the city in 2004. Microsoft Inc. is completing five data center farms in the city. Several large companies, including Wells Fargo, have developed corporate campuses in West Des Moines. Since 1992, the city has issued over 37,000 building permits valued at nearly $11 billion. In three years – 2016, 2021 and 2022 – the value of permits issued totaled over $1 billion. To read more about Evans, click here.