Van Meter is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States, situated along the Raccoon River. The population was 1,484 at the time of the 2020 census. Van Meter is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Van Meter was laid out as a town in 1869. The city was named for Jacob Rhodes Van Meter and his family, Dutch settlers from Meteren, the Netherlands. Van Meter was incorporated on December 29, 1877.
thumb|Rock Island Depot, Van Meter, Iowa
The Van Meter Visitor
In September and October 1903, there were multiple instances of people claiming to have seen a winged, bat-like creature in and around Van Meter. The roughly nine-foot-tall being, which has since been dubbed the Van Meter Visitor, was reported to be able to shoot light from the horn situated on its forehead and be unaffected by bullets. Clarence Dunn, one of the witnesses, had even made a plaster cast of three-toed footprints it left behind. A smaller, similar being sometimes accompanied it. After a community-led confrontation, the being disappeared after about four days, supposedly into the nearby coal mine. Claims of witnessing bat-like creatures or phenomena have continued, including into the 2010s.
Geography
thumb|right|Van Meter Safety Center (left) and library (right)
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Van Meter is situated west of Des Moines, just south of Interstate 80.