Yea, ticket prices do appear to be a hefty sum considering the distance between Iowa/NY. I'm going to keep my third eye open and see if any flights dip down around the $200 mark in the forthcoming weeks.
It's because Des Moines is a gay airport and prices go up quickly. I actually could go to this one. I might talk to my room mate, because his brother goes to school in Rochester. We could drive and split gas.