Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has named Des Moines among its “10 Best Cities for the Next Decade,” the publishing company announced this morning. Des Moines was ranked No. 7 on the list, whose top three picks were Austin, Texas; Seattke and Washington, D.C. Other Midwestern cities on the list were Rochester, Minn., and Topeka, Kan., at the sixth and 10th spots, respectively. “Des Moines is making strides to lure back young Iowans and attract global talent by developing its downtown and promoting jobs available in the many industries that flourish there,” Kiplinger’s said in the article. “Other big draws include low-cost housing, the city’s reputation for family-friendliness, and easy commutes. Agricultural companies such as Pioneer Hi-Bred International create job opportunities as well as finance giant Wells Fargo and Meredith publishing.” This year’s picks will be profiled in the magazine’s July issue, which will be on newsstands in June and is online now at Kiplinger’s website.

As exciting as it was, it brings the same amount of disappointment. Irish rock band U2 had decided to show three-dimensional images created by Ames-based Visual Medical Solutions LLC’s BodyViz software during the group’s performance at the Glastonbury Festival in June. But the band announced Tuesday that it is postponing its world tour until next year after lead singer Bono was injured during rehearsal. “That was very exciting and this is equally disappointing, but maybe they will use it somewhere else,” said Jim Oliver, professor of mechanical engineering at Iowa State University’s Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC) and a co-founder of Visual Medical Solutions. The images produced for U2 showed visuals of a beating heart to go with the theme of the song “Even Better Than the Real Thing.”

Money invested in early-childhood education earns solid returns, J. Barry Griswell, president of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, told a congressional panel yesterday. Testifying before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee chaired by Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, Griswell said that every dollar spent in Iowa on universal, quality preschool will yield $8.40 by 2050 in decreased spending on other state programs, higher pay for individuals and savings from reduced crime. The hearing was the last of 10 in a series intended to inform lawmakers about a new version of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Standard & Poor’s announced that Newton-based Iowa Telecommunications Services Inc. will be moved off its S&P SmallCap 600 index following the end of trading Friday. The change is a result of Iowa Telecom’s pending acquisition by Windstream Corp., based in Little Rock, Ark. Electronics manufacturer OSI Systems Inc will replace Iowa Telecom on the index.