Iowa () is a
state in the
Midwestern
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
region of the United States, bordered by the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
to the east and the
Missouri River and
Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states:
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
to the northeast,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
to the east and southeast,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
to the south,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
to the west,
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
to the northwest, and
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
to the north.
During the 18th and early 19th centuries, Iowa was a part of
French Louisiana and
Spanish Louisiana; its
state flag is patterned after the
flag of France
The national flag of France (french: link=no, drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the ''Tricolour'' (), although the flag of Irelan ...
. After the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
, people laid the foundation for an agriculture-based economy in the heart of the
Corn Belt. In the latter half of the 20th century, Iowa's agricultural economy transitioned to a diversified economy of advanced manufacturing, processing,
financial services
Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...
,
information technology
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...
,
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
, and
green energy production.
Iowa is the
26th most extensive in total area and the
31st most populous of the
50 U.S. states, with a population of 3,190,369, according to the
2020 census. The state's
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
,
most populous city
The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the city proper, cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or th ...
, and largest
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
fully located within the state is
Des Moines
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
. A portion of the larger
Omaha, Nebraska, metropolitan area extends into three counties of southwest Iowa.
Iowa has been listed as one of the safest U.S. states to live in.
Etymology
Iowa derives its name from the
Ioway
The Iowa, also known as Ioway, and the Bah-Kho-Je or Báxoje (English: grey snow; Chiwere: Báxoje ich'é) are a Native American Siouan people. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and ...
people, a
Chiwere-speaking
Siouan Nation who were once part of the
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as ''Hotúŋe'' in the neighboring indigenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iow ...
Confederation that inhabited the area now corresponding to several Midwest states. The Ioway were one of the many
Native American nations whose territory comprised the future state of Iowa before the time of European colonization.
History
Prehistory
![Iowa archaeology edgewater](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Iowa_archaeology_edgewater.JPG)
When
American Indians first arrived in what is now Iowa more than 13,000 years ago, they were hunters and gatherers living in a
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
glacial landscape. By the time European explorers and traders visited Iowa, American Indians were largely settled farmers with complex economic, social, and political systems. This transformation happened gradually. During the
Archaic period (10,500 to 2,800 years ago),
American Indians adapted to local environments and ecosystems, slowly becoming more sedentary as populations increased.
More than 3,000 years ago, during the
Late Archaic period, American Indians in Iowa began utilizing domesticated plants. The subsequent
Woodland period
In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 Common Era, BCE to European con ...
saw an increased reliance on agriculture and social complexity, with increased use of mounds, ceramics, and specialized subsistence. During the Late Prehistoric period (beginning about AD 900) increased use of maize and social changes led to social flourishing and nucleated settlements.
The arrival of European trade goods and diseases in the Protohistoric period led to dramatic population shifts and economic and social upheaval, with the arrival of new tribes and early European explorers and traders. There were numerous Indian tribes living in Iowa at the time of early European exploration. Tribes which were probably descendants of the prehistoric
Oneota include the
Dakota,
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as ''Hotúŋe'' in the neighboring indigenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iow ...
,
Ioway
The Iowa, also known as Ioway, and the Bah-Kho-Je or Báxoje (English: grey snow; Chiwere: Báxoje ich'é) are a Native American Siouan people. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and ...
, and
Otoe
The Otoe (Chiwere: Jiwére) are a Native American people of the Midwestern United States. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa, Missouria, and Ho-Chunk tribes.
Historically, t ...
. Tribes which arrived in Iowa in the late prehistoric or protohistoric periods include the
Illiniwek,
Meskwaki,
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
, and
Sauk.
[Alex, Lynn M. (2000) ''Iowa's Archaeological Past.'' University of Iowa Press, Iowa City.]
Early colonization and trade, 1673–1808
![Iowa 1718](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Iowa_1718.jpg)
The first known European explorers to document Iowa were
Jacques Marquette
Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Igna ...
and
Louis Jolliet who traveled the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
in 1673 documenting several Indigenous villages on the Iowa side.
The area of Iowa was claimed for France and remained a French territory until 1763. The French, before their impending defeat in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, transferred ownership to their ally, Spain. Spain practiced very loose control over the Iowa region, granting trading licenses to French and British traders, who established trading posts along the
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
and
Des Moines Rivers.
Iowa was part of a territory known as
''La Louisiane'' or
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, and European traders were interested in lead and furs obtained by Indigenous people. The
Sauk and
Meskwaki effectively controlled trade on the Mississippi in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Among the early traders on the Mississippi were
Julien Dubuque
Julien Dubuque (January 1762 – 24 March 1810) was a Canadian of Norman origin from the area of Champlain, Quebec who arrived near what now is known as Dubuque, Iowa, which was named after him. He was one of the first European men to settle in t ...
,
Robert de la Salle
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, and
Paul Marin.
Along the
Missouri River at least five French and English trading houses were built before 1808.
In 1800,
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
took control of Louisiana from Spain in a
treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations
An international organization or international o ...
.
After the 1803
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
, Congress divided the Louisiana Purchase into two parts—the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana, with present-day Iowa falling in the latter. The
Indiana Territory was created in 1800 to exercise jurisdiction over this portion of the District;
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
was its first governor. Much of Iowa was mapped by
Zebulon Pike
Zebulon Montgomery Pike (January 5, 1779 – April 27, 1813) was an American brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado was named. As a U.S. Army officer he led two expeditions under authority of President Thomas Jefferson th ...
in 1805, but it was not until the construction of
Fort Madison
Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...
in 1808 that the U.S. established tenuous military control over the region.
War of 1812 and unstable U.S. control
Fort Madison
Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...
was built to control trade and establish U.S. dominance over the Upper Mississippi, but it was poorly designed and disliked by the Sauk and Fox, many of whom allied with the British, who had not abandoned claims to the territory.
Fort Madison
Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...
was defeated by British-supported Indigenous people in 1813 during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, and
Fort Shelby in
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, also fell to the British.
Black Hawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to:
Animals
* Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856
* Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus''
* Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii''
* Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus ur ...
took part in the siege of Fort Madison. Another small military outpost was established along the Mississippi River in present-day
Bellevue. This poorly situated stockade was similarly attacked by hundreds of Indigenous people in 1813, but was successfully defended and later abandoned until settlers returned to the area in the mid-1830s.
After the war, the U.S. re-established control of the region through the construction of
Fort Armstrong
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
,
Fort Snelling
Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...
in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, and
Fort Atkinson in
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
.
Indian removal, 1814–1832
The United States encouraged settlement of the east side of the Mississippi and removal of Indians to the west. A disputed
1804 treaty between
Quashquame and
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
(then governor of the
Indiana Territory) that surrendered much of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
to the U.S. enraged many Sauk and led to the 1832
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...
.
The
Sauk and
Meskwaki sold their land in the
Mississippi Valley
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
during 1832 in the
Black Hawk Purchase
The Black Hawk Purchase, also known as the Forty-Mile Strip or Scott's Purchase, extended along the West side of the Mississippi River from the north boundary of Missouri North to the Upper Iowa River in the northeast corner of Iowa. It was fif ...
and sold their remaining land in Iowa in 1842, most of them moving to a reservation in Kansas.
Many Meskwaki later returned to Iowa and settled near
Tama, Iowa
Tama is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,130 at the time of the 2020 census.
Tama is situated two miles south of Toledo, the county seat. The two towns are close enough to have nearly grown together over the year ...
; the
Meskwaki Settlement remains to this day. In 1856 the Iowa Legislature passed an unprecedented act allowing the Meskawki to purchase the land. However, in contrast to the unprecedented act of the Iowa Legislature, the United States Federal Government, through the use of Treaties, forced the
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as ''Hotúŋe'' in the neighboring indigenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iow ...
from Iowa in 1848, and forced the
Dakota from Iowa by 1858. Western Iowa around modern
Council Bluffs was used as an Indian Reservation for members of the
Council of Three Fires.
U.S. settlement and statehood, 1832–1860
![Bellevue, Iowa in 1848](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Bellevue%2C_Iowa_in_1848.png)
The first American settlers officially moved to Iowa in June 1833.
Primarily, they were families from
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, and
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
who settled along the western banks of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, founding the modern day cities of
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
and
Bellevue.
On July 4, 1838, the
U.S. Congress established the
Territory of Iowa. President
Martin Van Buren appointed
Robert Lucas governor of the territory, which at the time had 22 counties and a population of 23,242.
Almost immediately after achieving territorial status, a clamor arose for statehood. On December 28, 1846, Iowa became the 29th state in the Union when President
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
signed Iowa's admission bill into law. Once admitted to the Union, the state's boundary issues resolved, and most of its land purchased from Natives, Iowa set its direction to development and organized campaigns for settlers and investors, boasting the young frontier state's rich farmlands, fine citizens, free and open society, and good government.
Iowa has a long tradition of state and county fairs. The first and second
Iowa State Fair
The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa in August.
It began in 1854 and has been held on the Iowa State Fairgrounds since 1886. It is based in the state capital Des Moines, Iowa over an 11 day period in August. With ...
s were held in the more developed eastern part of the state at
Fairfield. The first fair was held October 25–27, 1854, at a cost of around $323. Thereafter, the fair moved to locations closer to the center of the state and in 1886 found a permanent home in Des Moines. The State Fair has been held annually since then, except for a few exceptions: 1898 due to the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
and the
World's Fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
being held in nearby
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
; from 1942 to 1945, due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, as the fairgrounds were being used as an army supply depot; and in 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...
.
Civil War, 1861–1865
Iowa supported the Union during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, voting heavily for
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, though there was an antiwar "
Copperhead
Copperhead may refer to:
Snakes
* ''Agkistrodon contortrix'', or copperhead, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America
* ''Austrelaps'', or Australian copperhead, a genus of venomous elapids found in southern Australia and Tas ...
" movement in the state, caused partially by a drop in crop prices caused by the war. There were no battles in the state, although the
Battle of Athens, Missouri, 1861, was fought just across the Des Moines River from
Croton, Iowa
Croton is an unincorporated community in southwestern Lee County, Iowa, United States. The Des Moines River flows past the southwest side of the community along the Iowa-Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United St ...
, and shots from the battle landed in Iowa. Iowa sent large supplies of food to the armies and the eastern cities.
[Iowa Official Register, Volume No. 60, page 315]
Much of Iowa's support for the Union can be attributed to
Samuel J. Kirkwood
Samuel Jordan Kirkwood (December 20, 1813 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician who twice served as governor of Iowa, twice as a U.S. Senator from Iowa, and as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
Early life and career
Samuel Jordan ...
, its first wartime governor. Of a total population of 675,000, about 116,000 men were subjected to military duty. Iowa contributed proportionately more men to Civil War military service than did any other state, north or south, sending more than 75,000 volunteers to the armed forces, over one-sixth of whom were killed before the
Confederates surrendered at
Appomattox.
Most fought in the great campaigns in the
Mississippi Valley
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
and in the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
. Iowa troops fought at Wilson's Creek in
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
,
Pea Ridge in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Rossville Gap as well as Vicksburg, Iuka, and Corinth. They served with the Army of the Potomac in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and fought under Union General
Philip Sheridan
General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close as ...
in the
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...
. Many died and were buried at Andersonville. They marched on General
Nathaniel Banks' ill-starred expedition to the Red River. Twenty-seven
Iowans
This is a list of notable people who were born in or closely associated with the American state of Iowa. People not born in Iowa are marked with §.
A
* Dudley W. Adams, horticulturalist
* John T. Adams, former Republican committee head ...
have been awarded the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government, which was first awarded in the Civil War.
Iowa had several brigadier generals and four major generals—
Grenville Mellen Dodge
Grenville Mellen Dodge (April 12, 1831 – January 3, 1916) was a Union Army officer on the frontier and a pioneering figure in military intelligence during the Civil War, who served as Ulysses S. Grant's intelligence chief in the Western The ...
,
Samuel R. Curtis
Samuel Ryan Curtis (February 3, 1805 – December 26, 1866) was an American military officer and one of the first Republicans elected to Congress. He was most famous for his role as a Union Army general in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the ...
,
Francis J. Herron
Francis Jay Herron (February 17, 1837 – January 8, 1902) was an American soldier who was a Union general during the American Civil War.
Biography
Francis J. Herron attended the Western University of Pennsylvania, but left at the age of six ...
, and
Frederick Steele—and saw many of its generals go on to state and national prominence following the war.
Agricultural expansion, 1865–1930
Following the Civil War, Iowa's population continued to grow dramatically, from 674,913 people in 1860 to 1,624,615 in 1880. The American Civil War briefly brought higher profits.
In 1917, the United States entered World War I and farmers as well as all Iowans experienced a wartime economy. For farmers, the change was significant. Since the beginning of the war in 1914, Iowa farmers had experienced economic prosperity, which lasted until the end of the war.
In the economic sector, Iowa also has undergone considerable change. Beginning with the first industries developed in the 1830s, which were mainly for processing materials grown in the area, Iowa has experienced a gradual increase in the number of business and manufacturing operations.
Depression, World War II and manufacturing, 1930–1985
The transition from an agricultural economy to a mixed economy happened slowly. The
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and World War II accelerated the shift away from
smallholder farming to larger farms, and began a trend of urbanization. The period after World War II witnessed a particular increase in manufacturing operations.
In 1975, Governor Robert D. Ray petitioned President Ford to allow Iowa to accept and resettle
Tai Dam
The Tai Dam (Tai Dam: , lo, ໄຕດຳ, th, ไทดำ) are an ethnic minority predominantly from China, northwest Vietnam, Laos, Thailand. They are part of the Tai peoples and ethnically similar to the Thai from Thailand, the Lao from Laos ...
refugees fleeing the Indochina War. An exception was required for this resettlement as State Dept policy at the time forbid resettlement of large groups of refugees in concentrated communities; an exception was ultimately granted and 1200 Tai Dam were resettled in Iowa. Since then Iowa has accepted thousands of refugees from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Bhutan, and Burma.
The
farm crisis
A farm crisis describes times of agricultural recession, low crop prices and low farm incomes. The most recent US farm crisis occurred during the 1980s.
Crisis of the 1920s and 1930s
A farm crisis began in the 1920s, commonly believed to be a ...
of the 1980s caused a major recession in Iowa, causing poverty not seen since the Depression. The crisis spurred a major, decade-long population decline.
[Population Trends: The Changing Face of Iowa]
State.ia.us
Reemergence as a mixed economy, 1985–present
After bottoming out in the 1980s, Iowa's economy began to reduce its dependence on agriculture. By the early 21st century, it was characterized by a mix of manufacturing, biotechnology, finance and insurance services, and government services.
[''Iowa Industries'', Iowa Workforce Development]
Iowalifechanging.com
The population of Iowa has increased at a slower rate than the U.S. as a whole since at least the
1900 census,
though Iowa now has a predominantly urban population.
[Iowa Data Center, 2000 Census]
Iowadatacenter.org
The Iowa Economic Development Authority, created in 2011 has replaced the Iowa Department of Economic Development and its annual reports are a source of economic information.
Geography
Boundaries
![Iowa topography](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Iowa_topography.jpg)
Iowa is bordered by the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
on the east along with the
Missouri River and the
Big Sioux River on the west. The northern boundary is a line along 43 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude. The southern border is the
Des Moines River and a not-quite-straight line along approximately 40 degrees 35 minutes north, as decided by the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
in ''
Missouri v. Iowa'' (1849) after a standoff between
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
and Iowa known as the
Honey War
The Honey War was a bloodless territorial dispute in 1839 between Iowa Territory and Missouri over their border.
The dispute over a strip running the entire length of the border, caused by unclear wording in the Missouri Constitution on bounda ...
.
Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are formed almost entirely by rivers.
Carter Lake, Iowa
Carter Lake is a city in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. A suburb of Omaha, Nebraska, it sits surrounding the south and west sides of the region's major airport, Eppley Airfield. It is separated from the rest of Iowa by the Missouri ...
, is the only city in the state located west of the Missouri River.
Iowa has 99
counties, but 100
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
s because
Lee County has two. The state capital,
Des Moines
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
, is in
Polk County.
Geology and terrain
![Desoto Lake1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Desoto_Lake1.jpg)
Iowa's bedrock geology generally decreases in age from east to west. In northwest Iowa,
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
bedrock can be 74 million years old; in eastern Iowa
Cambrian
The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...
bedrock dates to c. 500 million years ago. The oldest radiometrically dated bedrock in the state is the 2.9 billion year old
Otter Creek Layered Mafic Complex
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes weas ...
.
Precambrian
The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...
rock is exposed only in the northwest of the state.
Iowa can be divided into eight
landform
A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, ...
s based on
glaciation
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
,
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
s,
topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
, and river drainage.
Loess
Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits.
Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...
hills lie along the western border of the state, some of which are several hundred feet thick. Northeast Iowa along the
Upper Mississippi River
The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, at the confluence of its main tributary, the Missouri River.
History
In terms of geologic and hydrographic history, the Upper ...
is part of the
Driftless Area, consisting of steep hills and valleys which appear as mountainous.
Several natural lakes exist, most notably
Spirit Lake,
West Okoboji Lake, and
East Okoboji Lake in northwest Iowa (''see
Iowa Great Lakes
The Iowa Great Lakes, often referred to as ''Okoboji'', is a group of natural lakes in northwestern Iowa in the United States. There are seven lakes in the region totaling with the three principal lakes of the group being Big Spirit Lake, West ...
''). To the east lies
Clear Lake. Man-made lakes include Lake Odessa,
Saylorville Lake,
Lake Red Rock,
Coralville Lake
Coralville Lake is an artificial lake in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, formed by the Coralville Dam, a dam built from 1949 to 1958 on the Iowa River upstream from the city of Coralville, Iowa.
History
After widespread flooding in the Unit ...
, Lake MacBride, and Rathbun Lake. Before European settlement, 4 to 6 million acres of the state was covered with wetlands, about 95% of these wetlands have been drained.
Ecology and environment
Iowa's natural vegetation is
tallgrass prairie and
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
in upland areas, with dense forest and wetlands in flood plains and protected river valleys, and pothole wetlands in northern prairie areas.
Most of Iowa is used for agriculture; crops cover 60% of the state, grasslands (mostly pasture and hay with some prairie and wetland) cover 30%, and forests cover 7%; urban areas and water cover another 1% each.
The southern part of Iowa is categorized as the
Central forest-grasslands transition ecoregion. The Northern, drier part of Iowa is categorized as part of the
Central tall grasslands
The Central tall grasslands are a prairie ecoregion of the Midwestern United States, part of the North American Great Plains.
Setting
This ecoeregion covers a large area of southern Minnesota, most of Iowa, and a narrow strip from the southeas ...
.
There is a dearth of natural areas in Iowa; less than 1% of the tallgrass prairie that once covered most of Iowa remains intact; only about 5% of the state's prairie pothole wetlands remain, and most of the original forest has been lost. Iowa ranked 49th of U.S. states in public land holdings. Threatened or endangered animals in Iowa include the
interior least tern
The least tern (''Sternula antillarum'') is a species of tern that breeds in North America and locally in northern South America. It is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the little tern of the Old World. Oth ...
,
piping plover
The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead from e ...
,
Indiana bat,
pallid sturgeon
The pallid sturgeon (''Scaphirhynchus albus'') is an endangered species of ray-finned fish, endemic to the waters of the Missouri and lower Mississippi river basins of the United States. It may have even reached the St. Croix River before colo ...
, the
Iowa Pleistocene land snail,
Higgins' eye pearly mussel, and the
Topeka shiner
The Topeka shiner (''Notropis topeka'') is a North American species of cyprinid freshwater fish.
The Topeka shiner is a type of minnow that does not grow longer than a few inches. This minnow is a shiny silver color its main physical characteris ...
. Endangered or threatened plants include
western prairie fringed orchid
''Platanthera praeclara'', known as the western prairie fringed orchid and the Great Plains white fringed orchid, is a rare and threatened species of orchid native to North America.
Distribution
Historically, ''Platanthera praeclara'' was found ...
,
eastern prairie fringed orchid
''Platanthera leucophaea'', commonly known as the prairie white fringed orchid or eastern prairie fringed orchid, is a rare species of orchid native to North America. It is listed as a threatened species in the United States on September 28, 19 ...
,
Mead's milkweed
''Asclepias meadii'' is a rare species of milkweed known by the common name Mead's milkweed. It is native to the American Midwest, where it was probably once quite widespread in the tallgrass prairie. Today much of the Midwest has been fragmente ...
,
prairie bush clover
''Lespedeza leptostachya'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names prairie lespedeza and prairie bush-clover. It occurs in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. The flowers are creamy-white to ...
, and
northern wild monkshood
''Aconitum noveboracense'', also known as northern blue monkshood or northern wild monkshood, is a flowering plant belonging to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). Members of its genus (''Aconitum'') are also known as wolfsbane.
The United ...
.
The explosion in the number of high-density livestock facilities in Iowa has led to increased rural water contamination and a decline in air quality.
Other factors negatively affecting Iowa's environment include the extensive use of older coal-fired power plants,
fertilizer and pesticide runoff from crop production,
and diminishment of the
Jordan Aquifer
The geography of Iowa includes the study of bedrock, landforms, rivers, geology, paleontology and urbanisation of the U.S. state of Iowa. The state covers an area of 56,272.81 sq mi (145,746 km2).
Bedrock features
Iowa's bedrock geology ge ...
.
Climate
![Iowa rainfall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Iowa_rainfall.jpg)
Iowa has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
throughout the state (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Dfa'') with extremes of both heat and cold. The average annual temperature at Des Moines is ; for some locations in the north, such as Mason City, the figure is about , while
Keokuk, on the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, averages . Snowfall is common, with
Des Moines
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
getting about 26 days of snowfall a year, and other places, such as
Shenandoah getting about 11 days of snowfall in a year.
Spring ushers in the beginning of the
severe weather season. Iowa averages about 50 days of
thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
activity per year.
[US Thunderstorm distribution](_blank)
src.noaa.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2008. The 30-year annual average of tornadoes in Iowa is 47.
In
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, twelve people were killed by tornadoes in Iowa, making it the deadliest year since
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
and also the second most tornadoes in a year with 105, matching the total from 2001.
Iowa summers are known for heat and humidity, with daytime temperatures sometimes near and occasionally exceeding . Average winters in the state have been known to drop well below freezing, even dropping below . Iowa's all-time hottest temperature of was recorded at Keokuk on July 20, 1934, during a nationwide heat wave; the all-time lowest temperature of was recorded in
Washta
Washta is a city in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 209 at the time of the 2020 census. It is called "The Coldest Spot in Iowa", recording a temperature of without wind chill on January 12, 1912.
Washta's name dates back ...
on January 12, 1912.
Iowa has a relatively smooth gradient of varying
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
across the state, with areas in the southeast of the state receiving an average of over of rain annually, and the northwest of the state receiving less than . The pattern of precipitation across Iowa is seasonal, with more rain falling in the summer months. Virtually statewide, the driest month is January or February, and the wettest month is June, owing to frequent showers and thunderstorms, some of which produce hail, damaging winds and/or tornadoes. In Des Moines, roughly in the center of the state, over two-thirds of the of rain falls from April through September, and about half the average annual precipitation falls from May through August, peaking in June.
Settlements
Iowa's population is more urban than rural, with 61 percent living in urban areas in 2000, a trend that began in the early 20th century.
Urban counties in Iowa grew 8.5% from 2000 to 2008, while rural counties declined by 4.2%. The shift from rural to urban has caused population increases in more urbanized counties such as
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Johnson
Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...
,
Linn Linn may refer to:
People
* Linn (surname)
* Linn (given name)
* Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990)
Places Germany
* Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...
,
Polk
Polk may refer to:
People
* James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States
* Polk (name), other people with the name
Places
*Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois
* Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Polk, Missouri ...
, and
Scott
Scott may refer to:
Places Canada
* Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec
* Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380
* Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...
, at the expense of more rural counties.
Iowa, in common with other Midwestern states (especially
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
,
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
, and
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
), is feeling the brunt of
rural flight
Rural flight (or rural exodus) is the migratory pattern of peoples from rural areas into urban areas. It is urbanization seen from the rural perspective.
In industrializing economies like Britain in the eighteenth century or East Asia in the ...
, although Iowa has been gaining population since approximately 1990. Some smaller communities, such as
Denison and
Storm Lake, have mitigated this population loss through gains in immigrant laborers.
Another demographic problem for Iowa is the
brain drain, in which educated young adults leave the state in search of better prospects in higher education or employment. During the 1990s, Iowa had the second highest exodus rate for single, educated young adults, second only to North Dakota.
Demographics
Population
The
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
determined the population of Iowa was 3,190,369 on April 1, 2020, a 4.73% increase since the
2010 United States census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
.
Of the residents of Iowa, 70.8% were born in Iowa, 23.6% were born in a different U.S. state, 0.6% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 5% were foreign born.
Immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 29,386 people, while migration within the country produced a net loss of 41,140 people. 6.5% of Iowa's population were reported as under the age of five, 22.6% under 18, and 14.7% were 65 or older. Males made up approximately 49.6% of the population. The population density of the state is 52.7 people per square mile. As of the
2010 census, the
center of population
In demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to different geogr ...
of Iowa is in
Marshall County, near
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
As of the 2010 census, the population of Iowa was 3,046,355. The gender makeup of the state was 49.5% male and 50.5% female. 23.9% of the population were under the age of 18; 61.2% were between the ages of 18 and 64; and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older.
![Iowa 2020 Population Density](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Iowa_2020_Population_Density.png)
According to the 2016
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
, 5.6% of Iowa's population were of
Hispanic or Latino
''Hispanic'' and ''Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States C ...
origin (of any race):
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
(4.3%),
Puerto Rican (0.2%),
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
(0.1%), and other Hispanic or Latino origin (1.0%).
The five largest ancestry groups were:
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
(35.1%),
Irish (13.5%),
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
(8.2%),
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
(5.8%), and
Norwegian (5.0%).
Birth data
![Rural flight2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Rural_flight2.jpg)
''Note: Births in table don't add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.''
* Since 2016, data for births of
White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one ''Hispanic'' group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
Religion
![Amana Colonies](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Amana_Colonies.JPG)
A 2014 survey by
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
found 60% of Iowans are
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, while 18% are
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, and 1% are of non-Christian religions. 21% responded with non-religious, and 1% did not answer.
A survey from the
Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) in 2010 found that the largest Protestant denominations were the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
with 235,190 adherents and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
with 229,557. The largest non-Protestant religion was
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
with 503,080 adherents. The state has a great number of
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
denominations. The
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...
had almost 290 congregations and 51,380 members followed by the
Reformed Church in America
The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a Mainline Protestant, mainline Reformed tradition, Reformed Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 152,317 members. From its beginning in 1628 unti ...
with 80 churches and 40,000 members, and the
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...
had 180 churches and 39,000 members.
The study ''Religious Congregations & Membership: 2000'' found in the southernmost two tiers of Iowa counties and in other counties in the center of the state, the largest religious group was the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
; in the northeast part of the state, including
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
and
Linn Linn may refer to:
People
* Linn (surname)
* Linn (given name)
* Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990)
Places Germany
* Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...
counties (where
Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...
is located), the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
was the largest; and in ten counties, including three in the northern tier, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
was the largest. The study also found rapid growth in Evangelical Christian denominations. Dubuque is home to the
Archdiocese of Dubuque
The Archdiocese of Dubuque ( la, Archidiœcesis Dubuquensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States.
It includes all the Iowa counti ...
, which serves as the
ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...
for all three other dioceses in the state and for all the Catholics in the entire state of Iowa.
Historically, religious sects and orders who desired to live apart from the rest of society established themselves in Iowa, such as the
Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...
and
Mennonite
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
near
Kalona
Kalona is a city in Washington County, Iowa. It is part of the Iowa City metropolitan area. The population was 2,630 at the time of the 2020 census. Kalona is the second-largest city in Washington County.
History
Amish settlement in what is now ...
and in other parts of eastern Iowa such as
Davis County Davis County is or was the name of the following counties in the United States:
*Davis County, Iowa, named in honor of Garrett Davis, a Congressman from Kentucky
*Davis County, Utah, named for Daniel C. Davis, captain in the Mormon Battalion
*Cass ...
and
Buchanan County. Other religious sects and orders living apart include
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
around
West Branch West Branch may refer to:
Communities
* West Branch, Iowa, city in Cedar and Johnson counties
* West Branch, Michigan, city in Ogemaw County
* West Branch, New Brunswick, in the Local Service District of Weldford Parish
* West Branch River John, i ...
and
Le Grand, German
Pietists
Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...
who founded the
Amana Colonies
The Amana Colonies are seven villages on located in Iowa County in east-central Iowa, United States: Amana (or Main Amana, German: ''Haupt-Amana''), East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead. The villages ...
, followers of
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a ...
who founded
Maharishi Vedic City
Maharishi Vedic City (MVC) is a city in Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 277 at the time of the 2020 census. The city was incorporated in 2001 as "Vedic City" but then officially changed its name to "Maharishi Vedic City ...
, and
Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...
monks and nuns at the
New Melleray and
Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbies near
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
.
about 6,000 Jews live in Iowa, with about 3,000 of them in Des Moines.
Language
English is the most common language in Iowa, being the sole language spoken by 91.1% of the population. One of the less common languages spoken is sign language and indigenous speaking. The total amount of sign language spoken is about 2.5% of the general population as of 2017. With indigenous speaking, it is about 0.5% of the population.
William Labov and colleagues, in the monumental ''Atlas of North American English'' found the English spoken in Iowa divides into multiple linguistic regions. Natives of northern Iowa—including
Sioux City
Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...
,
Fort Dodge
Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Cen ...
, and the
Waterloo
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat
* Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place.
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Antarctica
*King George Island (S ...
region—tend to speak the dialect linguists call
North Central American English, which is also found in
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, and
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. Natives of central and southern Iowa—including such cities as
Council Bluffs,
Davenport
Davenport may refer to:
Places Australia
*Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality
* Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia
**Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta
**District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...
, Des Moines, and
Iowa City
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
—tend to speak the
North Midland dialect also found in eastern Nebraska, central Illinois, and central Indiana. Natives of East-Central Iowa—including cities such as
Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...
,
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
, and
Clinton
Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...
tend to speak with the
Northern Cities Vowel Shift, a dialect that extends from this area and east across the
Great Lakes Region.
After English, Spanish is the second-most-common language spoken in Iowa, with 120,000 people in Iowa of Hispanic or Latino origin and 47,000 people born in Latin America. The third-most-common language is German, spoken by 17,000 people in Iowa; two notable German dialects used in Iowa include
Amana German
Amana German (german: Amana-Deutsch or ) is a dialect of West Central German that is still spoken by several hundred people in the Amana Colonies in Iowa.
The Amana Colonies were founded in 1856 by Inspirationalists of German origin who came fro ...
spoken around the
Amana Colonies
The Amana Colonies are seven villages on located in Iowa County in east-central Iowa, United States: Amana (or Main Amana, German: ''Haupt-Amana''), East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead. The villages ...
, and
Pennsylvania German
The Pennsylvania Dutch (Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spea ...
, spoken among the
Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...
in Iowa. The
Babel Proclamation
The Babel Proclamation was issued by Iowa's Governor William L. Harding on May 23, 1918. It forbade the speaking of any language besides English in public. The proclamation was controversial, supported by many established English-speaking Iowan ...
of 1918 banned the speaking of German in public. Around
Pella, residents of Dutch descent once spoke the
Pella Dutch dialect
Pella Dutch, also known as Iowa Dutch, is a dialect of the Dutch language spoken in Pella, Iowa. It is a subdialect of South Guelderish.
Pella Dutch's origins began with the migration of a group of 800 Dutch settlers under the leadership of Dom ...
.
Attractions
Central Iowa
Ames
Ames may refer to:
Places United States
* Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas
* Ames, Colorado
* Ames, Illinois
* Ames, Indiana
* Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name
* Ames, Kansas
* Ames, Nebraska
* Ames, New York
* Ames, Oklah ...
is the home of
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
, the
Iowa State Center
The Iowa State Center is located just southeast of Iowa State University's central campus in Ames, Iowa. It is a complex of cultural and athletic venues. The Center consists of the following: Hilton Coliseum, Stephens Auditorium, Fisher Theater ...
, and
Reiman Gardens
Reiman Gardens (pronounced Rye-Men) is a university-owned public garden located immediately south of Jack Trice Stadium on the Iowa State University (ISU) campus in Ames, Iowa. Reiman Gardens is a year-round garden with events, programs, lect ...
.
Des Moines is the largest city and metropolitan area in Iowa and the state's political and economic center. It is home to the
Iowa State Capitol
The Iowa State Capitol, commonly called the Iowa Statehouse, is in Iowa's capital city, Des Moines. As the seat of the Iowa General Assembly, the building houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, and the ...
, the
State Historical Society of Iowa Museum,
Drake University
Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States.
Hi ...
,
Des Moines Art Center,
Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden,
Principal Riverwalk
Principal Riverwalk is a recreational park district along the banks of the Des Moines River in Des Moines, Iowa. After eight years of work, it was completed in January 2013.
Funded by the city of Des Moines, Principal Financial and the Iowa stat ...
, the
Iowa State Fair
The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa in August.
It began in 1854 and has been held on the Iowa State Fairgrounds since 1886. It is based in the state capital Des Moines, Iowa over an 11 day period in August. With ...
,
Terrace Hill
Terrace Hill, also known as Hubbell Mansion, Benjamin F. Allen House or the Iowa Governor's Mansion, is the official residence of the governor of Iowa, United States. Located at 2300 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, it is an example of Second Empire ...
, and the
World Food Prize. Nearby attractions include
Adventureland and
Prairie Meadows Racetrack
Prairie Meadows is a Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racetrack casino located in Altoona, Iowa, United States.
History and information
In 1984, Prairie Meadows received a license from the Iowa Racing and Gaming commission to operate a horse racing ...
Casino in
Altoona,
Living History Farms
Living History Farms is a 500-acre open-air museum located in Urbandale, Iowa, United States. The museum's mission is to educate visitors and demonstrate the past 300 years of Iowa's agricultural history. As its name implies, the museum follows ...
in
Urbandale, Trainland USA in
Colfax, and the
Iowa Speedway and Valle Drive-In in
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
.
Boone hosts the biennial
Farm Progress Show
Farm Progress is the publisher of 22 farming and ranching magazines. The company dates back nearly 200 years. Farm Progress Companies is owned by Informa.
Farm Progress has the oldest known continuously published magazine, ''Prairie Farmer'', whi ...
and is home to the
Mamie Doud Eisenhower museum, the
Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad, and
Ledges State Park
Ledges State Park is a state park of Iowa, USA, located approximately south of the city of Boone. The park contains a sandstone gorge carved by Pea's Creek, a tributary of the Des Moines River. The gorge is deep in places, with concretions ju ...
.
The
Meskwaki Settlement west of
Tama is the only American Indian settlement in Iowa and is host to a large annual
Pow-wow
A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an ...
.
Madison County is known for its covered bridges. Also in Madison County is the
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
Birthplace Museum is in
Winterset.
Other communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
,
Indianola Indianola may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Indianola, California (disambiguation)
** Indianola (Eureka), California
* Indianola, Florida
* Indianola, Georgia
* Indianola, Illinois
* Indianola, Iowa
* Indianola, Kansas, a former settleme ...
,
Pella,
Knoxville,
Marshalltown
Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...
,
Perry, and
Story City.
Eastern Iowa
Iowa City
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
is home to the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
, which includes the
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...
, and the
Old Capitol building. Because of the extraordinary history in the teaching and sponsoring of creative writing that emanated from the
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...
and related programs, Iowa City was the first American city designated by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
as a "
City of Literature" in the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Creative Cities Network.
The
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
The Herbert Hoover National Historic Site is a unit of the National Park System in West Branch, Iowa, United States. The buildings and grounds are managed by the National Park Service to commemorate the life of Herbert Hoover, the 31st president ...
and
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum are in
West Branch West Branch may refer to:
Communities
* West Branch, Iowa, city in Cedar and Johnson counties
* West Branch, Michigan, city in Ogemaw County
* West Branch, New Brunswick, in the Local Service District of Weldford Parish
* West Branch River John, i ...
.
The
Amana Colonies
The Amana Colonies are seven villages on located in Iowa County in east-central Iowa, United States: Amana (or Main Amana, German: ''Haupt-Amana''), East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead. The villages ...
are a group of settlements of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
Pietists
Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...
comprising seven villages listed as
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
s.
The
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art is a museum in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. The museum is privately owned and was established in 1905. The museum acquired the old Cedar Rapids Public Library building after the library moved into a new ...
has collections of paintings by
Grant Wood
Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891 February 12, 1942) was an American painter and representative of Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for '' American Gothic'' (193 ...
and
Marvin Cone
Marvin Dorwart Cone (October 21, 1891 – May 18, 1965) was an American painter in the Regionalism (art), regionalist style.Walch, Timothy (2009)"Cone, Marvin Dorwart" ''The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa''. University of Iowa Press
Cone was b ...
.
Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...
is also home to the
National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library
The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) is a museum and library of Czech and Slovak history and culture located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the United States. Established in 1974, the museum and library moved to its present site in 19 ...
and Iowa's only
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...
Site,
Brucemore
Brucemore, a park-like, estate in the heart of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the site of a Queen Anne-style mansion, formal gardens, a children's garden, night garden, pond, orchard, and woodland. Built between 1884 and 1886 by Caroline Sinclair, wido ...
mansion.
Davenport
Davenport may refer to:
Places Australia
*Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality
* Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia
**Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta
**District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...
boasts the
Figge Art Museum
The Figge Art Museum is an art museum in Davenport, Iowa. The Figge, as it is commonly known, has an encyclopedic collection and serves as the major art museum for the eastern Iowa and western Illinois region. The Figge works closely with sever ...
,
River Music Experience
The River Music Experience is a multi-use music facility and 501(c)3 non-profit organization located on the first two floors of the historic Redstone Building in downtown Davenport, Iowa.
The stated purpose of the River Music Experience is ...
,
Putnam Museum
The Putnam Museum and Science Center, formerly Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, is a museum of history and natural science and a science center in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The museum was founded in 1867, and was one of the first mus ...
,
Davenport Skybridge
The Davenport Skybridge is a pedestrian cable-stayed bridge that spans River Drive (Highway 67) in downtown Davenport, Iowa. It connects LeClaire Park to a courtyard and parking ramp on 2nd Street, located near the River Music Experience. T ...
,
Quad City Symphony Orchestra
The Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) is a United States symphony orchestra based in Davenport, Iowa, and representing the Quad Cities area. The current music director and conductor is Mark Russell Smith. Established in 1916, the orchestra has ...
,
Ballet Quad Cities
Ballet Quad Cities is a ballet company located in Rock Island, Illinois. It was founded in 1996 by Joedy Cook. The company performs both classical and contemporary dance at various venues in the greater Quad Cities region of Illinois and Iowa.
...
, and plays host to the annual
Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival
Davenport, Iowa's annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival commemorates Bix Beiderbecke, a famous jazz cornetist, pianist, and composer who was born in Davenport in 1903. It is one of the largest jazz festivals in the United States. It is h ...
, and the
Quad City Air Show
The Quad City Airshow was an annual event at the Davenport Municipal Airport in Davenport, Iowa and was the largest airshow in the state of Iowa.
Performers and performances
The Quad City Airshow was hosted at the Davenport Municipal Airport si ...
, which is the largest airshow in the state.
Other communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include
West Liberty,
Fairfield,
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
,
Mount Pleasant,
Fort Madison
Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...
,
LeClaire,
Mount Vernon,
Ottumwa,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
, and
Wilton.
Along Interstate 80 near
Walcott lies the world's largest truck stop,
Iowa 80
Iowa 80 is the world's largest truck stop, located along Interstate 80 off exit 284 in Walcott, Iowa. It sits on a plot of land, three times larger than an average truckstop, and it receives 5,000 visitors daily. Iowa 80 features a main b ...
.
Western Iowa
Some of the most dramatic scenery in Iowa is found in the unique
Loess Hills
The Loess Hills are a formation of wind-deposited loess soil in the westernmost parts of Iowa and Missouri, and the easternmost parts of Nebraska and Kansas, along the Missouri River.
Geology
The Loess (, , or ) Hills are generally located bet ...
which are found along Iowa's western border.
Sioux City
Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...
is the largest city in western Iowa and is found on the convergence of the
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
,
Floyd, and
Big Sioux Rivers. The
Sioux City Metropolitan Area encompasses areas in three states: Iowa,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
, and
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
. Sioux City boasts a revitalized downtown and includes attractions such as the
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and ro ...
,
Sergeant Floyd Monument
The Sergeant Floyd Monument is a monument on the Missouri River at Floyd's Bluff in Sioux City, Iowa, US. The monument honors Charles Floyd (explorer), Charles Floyd, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, who died on the upstream voyage i ...
,
Sergeant Floyd
Charles Floyd (1782 – August 20, 1804) was an American explorer, a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, and the quartermaster of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. A native of Kentucky, he was a son of Robert Clark Floyd, a nephew of ...
River Museum, the
Tyson Events Center
The Fleet Farm Arena, formerly Gateway Arena, is a multi-purpose arena inside Tyson Events Center, located in Sioux City, Iowa and sponsored by Tyson Foods and Fleet Farm. The arena is commonly referred to as Tyson Events Center for marketing pur ...
,
Southern Hills Mall
Southern Hills Mall is an enclosed regional shopping mall in Sioux City, Iowa. The mall draws approximately 6 million visitors each year, primarily from the Siouxland region of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The mall's anchor stores are JCPenne ...
, the
Orpheum Theater, and more. The historic downtown area is also filled with multiple restaurants, bars, and other entertainment venues. Sioux City is home to two higher education institutions,
Morningside College and
Briar Cliff University
Briar Cliff University is a private Franciscan university in Sioux City, Iowa.
History
In March 1929, Mother Mary Dominica Wieneke, Major Superior of the Sisters of Saint Francis of Dubuque, Iowa, along with the Most Rev. Edmond Heelan, Bishop ...
.
Le Mars is in the northeastern part of the
Sioux City Metropolitan Area and is the self-proclaimed "Ice Cream Capital of the World". Le Mars is home to
Wells Enterprises, one of the largest ice cream manufacturers in the world. Attractions in Le Mars include the Wells Visitor Center and Ice Cream Parlor, Archie's Wayside (steak house), Bob's Drive Inn,
Tonsfeldt Round Barn
The Tonsfeldt Round Barn is a historic building located on the Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth County Fairgrounds in LeMars, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1918 to house H.P. Tonsfeldt's purebread Polled Hereford cattle, and prize bull, on h ...
, Plymouth County Fairgrounds, Plymouth County Museum, and
Plymouth County Courthouse. Le Mars hosts multiple ice cream-themed community events each year.
Council Bluffs, part of the
Omaha (Nebr.) Metropolitan Area and a hub of southwest Iowa sits at the base of the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway. With three casino resorts, the city also includes such cultural attractions as the Western Hills Trails Center,
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
Museum, the
Grenville M. Dodge House
The Grenville M. Dodge House is a historic house museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States. This Second Empire mansion, built in 1869, was the home of Grenville M. Dodge (1831-1916), a Union Army general, politician, and a major figure in ...
,
The Black Angel, and the
Lewis and Clark
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
Monument, with clear views of the
Downtown Omaha
Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, U.S. state of Nebraska. The boundaries are Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha's 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and ...
skyline found throughout the city.
![Wpdms usgs iowa great lakes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wpdms_usgs_iowa_great_lakes.jpg)
The
Iowa Great Lakes
The Iowa Great Lakes, often referred to as ''Okoboji'', is a group of natural lakes in northwestern Iowa in the United States. There are seven lakes in the region totaling with the three principal lakes of the group being Big Spirit Lake, West ...
is made up of multiple small towns, such as
Spirit Lake,
Arnolds Park
Arnolds Park is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,110 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 1,162 population in the 2000 census.
Geography
Arnolds Park is located at (43.365636, -95.129805).
According to th ...
,
Milford Milford may refer to:
Place names Canada
* Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia
* Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia
* Milford, Ontario
England
* Milford, Derbyshire
* Milford, Devon, a place in Devon
* Milford on Sea, Hampshire
* Milford, Shro ...
, and
Okoboji
Okoboji is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, Dickinson County, Iowa, United States, along the eastern shore of West Okoboji Lake in the Iowa Great Lakes region. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 768.
Ge ...
. Multiple resorts and other tourist attractions are found in and around these towns surrounding the popular lakes. Arnolds Park, one of the oldest amusement parks in the country, is located on Lake Okoboji in
Arnolds Park
Arnolds Park is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,110 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 1,162 population in the 2000 census.
Geography
Arnolds Park is located at (43.365636, -95.129805).
According to th ...
.
The Sanford Museum and Planetarium in
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
,
Grotto of the Redemption
The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption is a religious shrine in West Bend, Iowa, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City. A conglomeration of nine grottos depicting scenes in the life of Jesus, it contains a large collection of minerals a ...
in
West Bend,
The Danish Immigrant Museum
The Museum of Danish America (formerly the Danish Immigrant Museum) is a national museum located in Elk Horn, Iowa. Its mission is to "celebrate Danish roots and American dreams."
History
In 1979, two professors from Dana College proposed to th ...
in
Elk Horn, and the Fort Museum and Frontier Village in
Fort Dodge
Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Cen ...
are other regional destinations.
Every year in early May, the city of
Orange City holds the annual Tulip Festival, a celebration of the strong Dutch heritage in the region.
Northwest Iowa is home to some of the largest concentrations of
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
farms in the world. Other western communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include
Storm Lake,
Spencer,
Glenwood,
Carroll,
Harlan
Harlan is a given name and a surname which may refer to:
Surname
*Bob Harlan (born 1936 Robert E. Harlan), American football executive
*Bruce Harlan (1926–1959), American Olympic diver
*Byron B. Harlan (1886–1949), American politician
*Byron G ...
,
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
,
Red Oak,
Denison,
Creston,
Mount Ayr,
Sac City, and
Walnut.
Northeast and Northern Iowa
![FloatingSauna](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/FloatingSauna.jpg)
The
Driftless Area of northeast Iowa has many steep hills and deep valleys, checkered with forest and terraced fields.
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves more than 200 prehistoric mounds built by pre-Columbian
Mound Builder cultures, mostly in the first millennium CE, during the later part of the Woodland period of pre-Columbian North America.
Numerous ...
in
Allamakee and
Clayton Counties has the largest assemblage of animal-shaped prehistoric mounds in the world.
Waterloo
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat
* Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place.
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Antarctica
*King George Island (S ...
is home of the
Grout Museum
The Grout Museum District – named after Henry W. Grout – is a set of museums in Waterloo, Iowa. The District consist of the Grout Museum of History & Science, Bluedorn Science Imaginarium, Rensselaer Russell House Museum, Snowden House and ...
and
Lost Island Theme Park
Lost Island Theme Park is a theme park in Waterloo, Iowa. The park includes five themed lands, which feature numerous attractions; including three roller coasters. Lost Island Theme Park is owned by the Bertch family, who operate the Lost Island ...
and is headquarters of the
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA), also known as America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership is one of 49 federally designated National Heritage Areas in the nation and is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. Through t ...
.
Cedar Falls is home of the
University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...
.
Dubuque
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
is a regional tourist destination with attractions such as the
National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium
The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium is a museum located in Dubuque, Iowa, USA. The museum is a property of the Dubuque County Historical Society, which also operates the Mathias Ham Historic Site. The museum has two buildings on it ...
and the
Port of Dubuque
The Port of Dubuque (also known as the Ice Harbor, 4th Street Peninsula, or the Riverfront) is the section of downtown Dubuque, Iowa that lies immediately adjacent to the Mississippi River. The area was among the first areas settled in what woul ...
.
Dyersville
Dyersville is a city in eastern Delaware County and western Dubuque County in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is part of the Dubuque, Iowa, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,477 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 4,035 in 200 ...
is home to the famed ''
Field of Dreams'' baseball diamond.
Maquoketa Caves State Park
Maquoketa Caves State Park is a state park of Iowa, United States, located in Jackson County. It stands northwest of the city of Maquoketa. In 1991 on the east side of the park were listed as a historic district on the National Register of Histo ...
, near
Maquoketa, contains more caves than any other state park.
Fort Atkinson State Preserve
Fort Atkinson State Preserve is a state preserve of Iowa, USA, containing the remnants of Fort Atkinson, a U.S. Army frontier post created to keep the peace between various Native American tribes as well as prevent white settlers from encroachin ...
in
Fort Atkinson has the remains of an original 1840s
Dragoon
Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...
fortification.
Fort Dodge
Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Cen ...
is home of The Fort historical museum and the Blanden Art Museum, and host Frontiers Days which celebrate the town history.
Other communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include
Decorah
Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. Route 52, and is the largest communi ...
,
McGregor
McGregor may refer to:
People
* McGregor (surname)
* Clan MacGregor, a Scottish highland clan
* McGregor W. Scott (born 1962), U.S. attorney
Characters
* Mr. McGregor, a fictional character from Peter Rabbit
Places
in Canada:
* McGregor Lake, ...
,
Mason City,
Elkader,
Bellevue,
Guttenberg,
Algona,
Spillville,
Charles City
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
, and
Independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
.
Statewide
Iowa Historic Bike Ride RAGBRAI, the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, attracts thousands of bicyclists and support personnel. It has crossed the state on various routes each year since 1973. Iowa is home to more than 70 wineries, and hosts five regional wine tasting trails. Many Iowa communities hold farmers' markets during warmer months; these are typically weekly events, but larger cities can host multiple markets.
Economy
![Iowa products 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Iowa_products_2009.jpg)
* In 2016, the total employment of the state's population was 1,354,487, and the total number of employer establishments was 81,563.
CNBC's list of "Top States for Business in 2010" has recognized Iowa as the sixth best state in the nation. Scored in 10 individual categories, Iowa was ranked first when it came to the "Cost of Doing Business"; this includes all taxes, utility costs, and other costs associated with doing business. Iowa was also ranked 10th in "Economy", 12th in "Business Friendliness", 16th in "Education", 17th in both "Cost of Living" and "Quality of Life", 20th in "Workforce", 29th in "Technology and Innovation", 32nd in "Transportation" and the lowest ranking was 36th in "Access to Capital".
While Iowa is often viewed as a farming state, agriculture is a relatively small portion of the state's diversified economy, with manufacturing, biotechnology, finance and insurance services, and government services contributing substantially to Iowa's economy.
This economic diversity has helped Iowa weather the
late 2000s recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...
better than most states, with unemployment substantially lower than the rest of the nation.
If the economy is measured by gross domestic product, in 2005 Iowa's GDP was about $124 billion. If measured by gross state product, for 2005 it was $113.5 billion.
Its per capita income for 2006 was $23,340.
On July 2, 2009,
Standard & Poor's
S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is con ...
rated the state of Iowa's credit as AAA (the highest of its credit ratings, held by only 11 U.S. state governments).
As of September 2021, the state's unemployment rate is 4.0%.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the largest sector of Iowa's economy, with $20.8 billion (21%) of Iowa's 2003 gross state product. Major manufacturing sectors include food processing, heavy machinery, and agricultural chemicals. Sixteen percent of Iowa's workforce is dedicated to manufacturing.
Food processing is the largest component of manufacturing. Besides processed food, industrial outputs include machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, publishing, and primary metals. Companies with direct or indirect processing facilities in Iowa include
ConAgra Foods
Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...
,
Wells Blue Bunny,
Barilla,
Heinz
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...
, Tone's Spices,
General Mills
General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
, and
Quaker Oats
The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001.
History Precursor miller companies
In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. S ...
. Meatpacker
Tyson Foods has 11 locations, second only to its headquarter state Arkansas.
Major non-food manufacturing firms with production facilities in Iowa include
3M,
Arconic,
Amana Corporation
The Amana Corporation is an American brand of household appliances. It was founded in 1934 by George Foerstner as The Electrical Equipment Co. in Middle Amana, Iowa, to manufacture commercial walk-in coolers. The business was later owned by the A ...
,
Emerson Electric,
The HON Company,
SSAB,
John Deere
Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...
,
Lennox Manufacturing,
Pella Corporation,
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
,
Vermeer Company
Vermeer Corporation is a manufacturer of industrial and agricultural equipment. The privately held company distributes products globally from seven production facilities and offices in Pella, Iowa, United States and multiple locations worldwide. Fo ...
, and
Winnebago Industries.
Agriculture
![maytag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Maytag.jpg)
Though industrial-scale, commodity agriculture predominates in much of the state, Iowa has seen growth in the
organic farming sector. Iowa ranks fifth in the nation in total number of organic farms. In 2016, there were approximately 732 organic farms in the state, an increase of about 5% from the previous year, and 103,136 organic acres, an increase of 9,429 from the previous year. Iowa has also seen an increase in demand for local, sustainably-grown food. Northeast Iowa, part of the
Driftless Area, has led the state in development of its regional
food system
The term food system describes the interconnected systems and processes that influence nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients ...
and grows and consumes more local food than any other region in Iowa.
Iowa's Driftless Region is also home to the nationally recognized
Seed Savers Exchange, a non-profit
seed bank housed at an 890-acre heritage farm near
Decorah
Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. Route 52, and is the largest communi ...
, in the northeast corner of the state. The largest nongovernmental seed bank of its kind in the United States, Seed Savers Exchange safeguards more than 20,000 varieties of rare, heirloom seeds.
![Wall Mural, Mt Ayr, IA Post Office, 1998](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Wall_Mural%2C_Mt_Ayr%2C_IA_Post_Office%2C_1998.jpg)
As of 2007, the direct production and sale of conventional agricultural commodities contributed only about 3.5% of Iowa's gross state product. In 2002 the impact of the indirect role of agriculture in Iowa's economy, including agriculture-affiliated business, was calculated at 16.4% in terms of value added and 24.3% in terms of total output. This was lower than the economic impact of non-farm manufacturing, which accounted for 22.4% of total value added and 26.5% of total output. Iowa's main conventional agricultural commodities are
hogs,
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
,
soybean
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...
s,
oats, cattle, eggs, and dairy products. Iowa is the nation's largest producer of
ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
and
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
and some years is the largest grower of soybeans. In 2008, the 92,600 farms in Iowa produced 19% of the nation's corn, 17% of the soybeans, 30% of the hogs, and 14% of the eggs.
major Iowa agricultural product processors include
Archer Daniels Midland
The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, commonly known as ADM, is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation founded in 1902 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 plants and 42 ...
,
Cargill, Inc.
Cargill, Incorporated, is a privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865, it is the largest privately held corporation in the United States in ter ...
, Diamond V Mills, and
Quaker Oats
The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001.
History Precursor miller companies
In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. S ...
.
Health insurance
As of 2014, there were 16 organizations offering
health insurance
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
products in Iowa, per the State of Iowa Insurance Division.
Iowa was fourth out of ten states with the biggest drop in competition levels of health insurance between 2010 and 2011, per the 2013 annual report on the level of competition in the health insurance industry by the
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016.
The AMA's state ...
using 2011 data from HealthLeaders-Interstudy, the most comprehensive source of data on enrollment in
health maintenance organization (HMO),
preferred provider organization
In U.S. health insurance, a preferred provider organization (PPO), sometimes referred to as a participating provider organization or preferred provider option, is a managed care organization of medical doctors, hospitals, and other health care ...
(PPO),
point-of-service
A point of service plan is a type of managed care health insurance plan in the United States. It combines characteristics of the health maintenance organization (HMO) and the preferred provider organization (PPO).
The POS is based on a managed ...
(POS) and
consumer-driven health care
Consumer-driven healthcare (CDHC), or consumer-driven health plans (CDHP) refers to a type of health insurance plan that allows employers and/or employees to utilize pretax money to help pay for medical expenses not covered by their health plan. ...
plans.
According to the AMA annual report from 2007
Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is a mutual insurance in the United States with more than two million members in Iowa and South Dakota. It is the dominant health insurance in Iowa. It is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Associ ...
had provided 71% of the state's health insurance.
The Iowa Insurance Division "Annual report to the Iowa Governor and the Iowa Legislature" from November 2014 looked at the 95% of health insurers by premium, which are 10 companies. It found Wellmark Inc. to dominate the three health insurance markets it examined (individual, small group and large group) at 52–67%.
Wellmark HealthPlan of Iowa and Wellmark Inc had the highest risk-based capital percentages of all 10 providers at 1158% and 1132%, respectively.
[ Rising RBC is an indication of profits.][
]
Other sectors
Iowa has a strong financial and insurance sector, with approximately 6,100 firms, including AEGON, Nationwide Group, Aviva USA, Farm Bureau Financial Services, Voya Financial
Voya Financial is an American financial, retirement, investment and insurance company based in New York City. Voya began as ING U.S., the United States operating subsidiary of ING Group, which was spun off in 2013 and established independent fina ...
, Marsh Affinity Group, MetLife
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, wi ...
, Principal Financial Group
Principal Financial Group is an American global financial investment management and insurance company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Business operations
Four segments comprise the company: Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal G ...
, Principal Capital Management, Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
, and University of Iowa Community Credit Union.
Iowa is host to at least two business incubators, Iowa State University Research Park and the BioVentures Center at the University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
. The Research Park hosts about 50 companies, among them NewLink Genetics, which develops cancer immunotherapeutics, and the U.S. animal health
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...
division of Boehringer Ingelheim
C.H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. is the parent company of the Boehringer Ingelheim group, which was founded in 1885 by Albert Boehringer in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany. As of 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical ...
, Vetmedica.[
]Ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
production consumes about a third of Iowa's corn production, and renewable fuels account for eight percent of the state's gross domestic product. A total of 39 ethanol plants produced of fuel in 2009.
Renewable energy has become a major economic force in northern and western Iowa, with wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
electrical generation increasing exponentially since 1990. In 2019, wind power in Iowa
Making up over 55% of the state's generated electricity in 2021, wind power is the largest source of electricity generation in Iowa. In 2020, over 34 billion kWh of electrical energy was generated by wind power. As of Q3 2020, Iowa has over 10, ...
accounted for 42% of electrical energy produced, and 10,201 megawatts of generating capacity had been installed at the end of the year. Iowa ranked first of U.S. states in percentage of total power generated by wind and second in wind generating capacity behind Texas. Major producers of turbines and components in Iowa include Acciona Energy of West Branch West Branch may refer to:
Communities
* West Branch, Iowa, city in Cedar and Johnson counties
* West Branch, Michigan, city in Ogemaw County
* West Branch, New Brunswick, in the Local Service District of Weldford Parish
* West Branch River John, i ...
, TPI Composites of Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
, and Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
Energy of Fort Madison
Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...
.
In 2016, Iowa was the headquarters for three of the top 2,000 companies for revenue. They include Principal Financial
Principal Financial Group is an American global financial investment management and insurance company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Business operations
Four segments comprise the company: Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal G ...
, Rockwell Collins
Rockwell Collins was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio Comp ...
, and American Equity Investment
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
. Iowa is also headquarters to other companies including Hy-Vee
Hy-Vee, Inc. () is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets in the Midwestern and Southern United States, with more than 280 locations in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and soon Indiana, Kentucky, ...
, Pella Corporation, Vermeer Company
Vermeer Corporation is a manufacturer of industrial and agricultural equipment. The privately held company distributes products globally from seven production facilities and offices in Pella, Iowa, United States and multiple locations worldwide. Fo ...
, Kum & Go
Kum & Go is a convenience store chain primarily located in the Midwestern United States. The company, started by William A. Krause and Tony S. Gentle, based in Des Moines, Iowa, operates 400 stores in 13 states—primarily in its home state of I ...
gas stations, Von Maur, Pioneer Hi-Bred
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. is a U.S.-based producer of seeds for agriculture. They are a major producer of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), including genetically modified crops with insect and herbicide resistance.
As of 2019, Pi ...
, and Fareway
Fareway Stores, Inc. is a Midwest grocery store chain based in Boone, Iowa. It operates 131 grocery store locations in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region o ...
.
Taxation
Tax is collected by the Iowa Department of Revenue.
Iowa imposes taxes on net state income of individuals, estates, and trusts. There are nine income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
brackets, ranging from 0.36% to 8.98%, as well as four corporate income tax brackets ranging from 6%to 12%, giving Iowa the country's highest marginal corporate tax rate. The state sales tax
A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...
rate is 6%, with non-prepared food having no tax. Iowa has one local option sales tax that may be imposed by counties after an election. Property tax is levied on the taxable value of real property. Iowa has more than 2,000 taxing authorities. Most property is taxed by more than one taxing authority. The tax rate differs in each locality and is a composite of county, city or rural township, school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
and special levies. Iowa allows its residents to deduct their federal income taxes from their state income taxes.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Iowa was one of the leading states in the high school movement, and continues to be among the top educational performers today.
The four-year graduation rate for high schoolers was 91.3% in 2017. Iowa's schools are credited with the highest graduation rate in the nation as of 2019. Iowa has 333 school districts, 1,329 school buildings and has the 14th lowest student-to-teacher ratio of 14.2. Teacher pay is ranked 22nd, with the average salary being $55,647.
transportation spending is a significant part of the budgets of rural school districts as many are geographically large and must transport students across vast distances. This reduces the amount of money spent on other aspects of the districts.
The state's oldest functioning school building is located in Bellevue in the historic Jackson County Courthouse which has been in continuous use as a school since 1848.
Colleges and universities
The Iowa Board of Regents
The Board of Regents, State of Iowa (commonly referred to as the Iowa Board of Regents) is the 9-member governing body overseeing the three public universities in the state of Iowa: the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University ...
is composed of nine citizen volunteers appointed by the governor to provide policymaking, coordination, and oversight of the state's three public universities, two special K–12 schools, and affiliated centers.
The special K–12 schools include the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs and the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School
The Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School was a state-operated school for the blind. It was replaced by the Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Vinton, Iowa, hosted the school and continued as host of the state agency t ...
in Vinton. Both Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
and The University of Iowa are research universities with The University of Iowa also being a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. In addition to the three state universities, Iowa has multiple private colleges and universities.
Transportation
Interstate highways
Iowa has four primary interstate highways
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
. Interstate 29 (I-29) travels along the state's western edge through Council Bluffs and Sioux City
Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...
. I-35
Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...
travels from the Missouri state line to the Minnesota state line through the state's center, including Des Moines. I-74
}
Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange ...
begins at I-80 just northeast of Davenport
Davenport may refer to:
Places Australia
*Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality
* Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia
**Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta
**District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...
. I-80 travels from the Nebraska state line to the Illinois state line through the center of the state, including Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Iowa City
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
, and the Quad Cities. I-380 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway, which travels from I-80 near Iowa City through Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...
ending in Waterloo
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat
* Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place.
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Antarctica
*King George Island (S ...
and is part of the Avenue of the Saints highway. Iowa is among the few jurisdictions where municipalities install speed cameras on interstate highways providing a substantial revenue source from out of state drivers.
Airports with scheduled flights
Iowa is served by several regional airports including the Des Moines International Airport
Des Moines International Airport is a commercial service airport 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines, the capital of Iowa.
The airport's 2,600 acre campus includes two runways, 46 buildings, 7 parking facilities, and ...
, the Eastern Iowa Airport
Eastern Iowa Airport is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wright Brothers Boulevard on the south edge of town, west of Interstate 380. CID covers .
Airline service
The airport has been served almost entirely by regional jets, but also sees De ...
, in Cedar Rapids, Quad City International Airport
Quad Cities International Airport is a public airport in Rock Island County, Illinois, three miles (5 km) south of Moline, partly in Blackhawk Township and partly in Coal Valley Township. In 2012 it was named "Illinois Primary Airport o ...
, in Moline, Illinois
Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline, Illinois, East M ...
, and Eppley Airfield
Eppley Airfield , also known as Omaha Airport, is an airport in the midwestern United States, located northeast of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. On the west bank of the Missouri River in Douglas County, it is the largest airport in Nebraska, with ...
, in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
. Smaller airports in the state include the Davenport Municipal Airport (Iowa)
Davenport Municipal Airport is a general aviation airport located about north of downtown Davenport, a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. The airport, which dates back to 1948, has been home to the Quad City Air Show since 1987.
The ...
, Dubuque Regional Airport
Dubuque Regional Airport is a regional airport located eight miles south of Dubuque, in Dubuque County, Iowa. On U.S. Highway 61, the airport is owned by the city of Dubuque and is operated as a department of the city government. The city coun ...
, Fort Dodge Regional Airport
Fort Dodge Regional Airport is a city owned public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) north of the central business district of Fort Dodge, a city in Webster County, Iowa, United States. It is mostly used for general av ...
, Mason City Municipal Airport, Sioux Gateway Airport, Southeast Iowa Regional Airport
Southeast Iowa Regional Airport is a public airport located two miles southwest of Burlington, in Des Moines County, Iowa. It is owned by the Southeast Iowa Regional Airport Authority which includes representatives from the city of Burlington, th ...
, and Waterloo Regional Airport
Waterloo Regional Airport ( Livingston Betsworth Field) is four miles (6 km) northwest of Waterloo, in Black Hawk County, Iowa. It is used for general aviation and sees one airline.
Overview
The airport has two gates and one jet bridge. D ...
.
Railroads
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's ''California Zephyr
The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overal ...
'' serves southern Iowa with stops in Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Osceola, and Creston along its route between Chicago and Emeryville, California
Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, with a border on the shore of San Francisco Bay. The resident population was 12,905 as o ...
. Fort Madison
Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...
is served by Amtrak's ''Southwest Chief
The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and Southwest via Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Flagstaff ...
'', running between Chicago and Los Angeles. Both trains currently run tri-weekly and are expected to return to daily service in June.
Public Transit
Iowa is served by a number of local transit providers including Bettendorf Transit
Bettendorf Transit is the operator of public transportation in Scott County, Iowa. Bus service began in the city in 1974, with the municipality contracted with Moline for the creation of one intercity line. In 1980, fixed route service began, and ...
, Cambus
Cambus is an American public transport bus system, primarily serving the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City, Iowa. The service is intended to provide transportation for students, faculty, and staff around the main campus, University of Iowa R ...
, Cedar Rapids Transit
Cedar Rapids Transit, stylized as CR Transit, is the primary provider of mass transportation in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Prior to 2008, the Cedar Rapids public transportation system was known as Environmental Alternative for a Greater Lifestyle (EAGL) f ...
, Coralville Transit
Coralville Transit is an American public transit system serving Coralville, Iowa, as well as providing service into downtown Iowa City via the University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public resea ...
, Cyride, Davenport Citibus
Davenport CitiBus is the transit agency serving Davenport, Iowa. USA. CitiBus has a total of twenty-one vehicles and covers approximately of the city. CitiBus connects with both Bettendorf Transit and the Illinois Quad Cities mass transit syste ...
, Des Moines Area Regional Transit
Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) operates mass transit service in Greater Des Moines. It is the largest public transit agency operating in the state of Iowa.
History
DART was founded in 1973 as the Des Moines Metropolitan Transit ...
, Iowa City Transit
Iowa City Transit is an American public transit system serving Iowa City, Iowa. The service provides several routes serving various areas of the city as well as University Heights, originating and terminating at the Iowa City Downtown Interchange ...
, The Jule
The Jule, formerly known as KeyLine Transit, is the operator of public transport, mass transit within the Dubuque, Iowa, City of Dubuque, Iowa. The Jule offers transit bus routes throughout the city, Tourist trolley, trolley-replica transportation ...
, MET Transit, Omaha Metro Transit, Ottumwa Transit Authority, Quad Cities MetroLINK
The Quad Cities MetroLINK, officially the Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District, provides mass transportation for the Illinois half of the Quad Cities metro area. Both Iowa cities that make up the region have their own systems, but ...
and Sioux City Transit
Sioux City Transit, is the primary provider of mass transportation in Woodbury County, Iowa. Ten routes operate from Monday through Saturday. Via Route 9, a connection can also be made with the suburb of South Sioux City, Nebraska across the Misso ...
.
Intercity bus service in the state is provided by Burlington Trailways and Jefferson Lines
Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in the United States. Their current operations expands over 14 states throughout the Midwest.
Background
The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Minn ...
.
Law and government
State
, the 43rd and current Governor of Iowa
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
is Kim Reynolds
Kimberly Kay Reynolds (née Strawn; born August 4, 1959) is an American politician serving as the 43rd governor of Iowa since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Reynolds served as the 46th lieutenant governor of Iowa from 2011 to 2017.
Bef ...
(R). Other statewide elected officials are:
* Adam Gregg
Adam Gregg (born April 26, 1983) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 47th lieutenant governor of Iowa. He has held this position since 2019. Gregg previously served as Acting Lieutenant Governor from 2017 to 2019. A member of the ...
(R), Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
* Paul Pate
Paul Danny Pate Jr. (born May 1, 1958) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 32nd and current Secretary of State of Iowa since 2015, previously holding the office from 1995 to 1999. Pate is the Past President of the National As ...
(R), Secretary of State
* Rob Sand
Robert Sand (born August 12, 1982) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 33rd Iowa State Auditor since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Sand was assistant attorney general of Iowa from 2010 to 2017. In 2018, he ...
(D), Auditor of State
* Michael Fitzgerald (D), Treasurer of State
* Mike Naig
Mike Naig (born March 2, 1978) is an American politician in the state of Iowa. A Republican, he is the current Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. He became the deputy secretary of agriculture in September 2013. After the resignation of Bill Northey, ...
(R), Secretary of Agriculture
The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments.
The department includes several organi ...
* Tom Miller Tom Miller may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Tom Miller (broadcaster) (1940–1993), American radio personality and emcee
* Tom Miller (artist) (1945–2000), American artist
*Tom Miller (travel writer) (born 1947), travel writer from Tucson
* ...
(D), Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
The Code of Iowa
The Code of Iowa contains the statutory laws of the U.S. state of Iowa. The Iowa Legislative Service Bureau is a non-partisan governmental agency that organizes, updates, and publishes the Iowa Code. It is republished in full every odd year, and is ...
contains Iowa's statutory laws. It is periodically updated by the Iowa Legislative Service Bureau, with a new edition published in odd-numbered years and a supplement published in even-numbered years.
Iowa is an alcohol monopoly or alcoholic beverage control state.
National
The two U.S. Senators:
* Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States sen ...
(R), in office since 1981
* Joni Ernst
Joni Kay Ernst (née Culver; born July 1, 1970) is an American former military officer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Iowa since 2015. A member of the ...
(R), in office since 2015
The four U.S. Representatives:
* Ashley Hinson
Ashley Elizabeth Hinson (born June 27, 1983) is an American politician and journalist serving as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district since 2021. Her district comprises much of the northeast quadrant of the state, includi ...
(R), First district
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
* Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks (born September 6, 1955) is an American physician and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Miller-Meeks served as Iowa sta ...
(R), Second district
* Cindy Axne
Cynthia Lynne Axne (née Wadle; born April 20, 1965) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she narrowly defeated incumbent Republican David Y ...
(D), Third district
* Randy Feenstra
Randall Lee Feenstra (born January 14, 1969) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 4th congressional district. The district covers much of the northwestern quadrant of the state, including Sioux ...
(R), Fourth district
After the 2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
and the resulting redistricting, Iowa lost one seat in Congress, falling to four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Incumbent U.S. Representatives Leonard Boswell
Leonard Leroy Boswell (January 10, 1934 – August 17, 2018) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1997 to 2013, a district based in Des Moines. A member of the Democratic Party, he was defeated for reelectio ...
(D) and Tom Latham (R) ran against each other in 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
in the third congressional district which had new boundaries; Latham won and retired after the 2014 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2014.
* 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014
Africa
* 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014
* 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014
* 2014 Comorian presi ...
. King represented the old fifth congressional district.
Political parties
In Iowa, the term "political party" refers to political organizations which have received two percent or more of the votes cast for president or governor in the "last preceding general election". Iowa recognizes three political parties—the Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
*Republican Party (Liberia)
* Republican Part ...
, the Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, and the Libertarian Party
Active parties by country
Defunct parties by country
Organizations associated with Libertarian parties
See also
* Liberal parties by country
* List of libertarian organizations
* Lists of political parties
* Outline of libertarianism ...
. The Libertarian Party obtained official political party status in 2017 as a result of presidential candidate Gary Johnson
Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...
receiving 3.8% of the Iowa vote in the 2016 general election. Third parties, officially termed "nonparty political organizations", can appear on the ballot as well. Four of these have had candidates on the ballot in Iowa since 2004 for various positions: the Constitution Party, the Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
, the Pirate Party
Pirate Party is a label adopted by Political party, political parties around the world. Pirate parties support Civil and political rights, civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively Participatory democracy, partici ...
, and the Socialist Workers Party.
Voter trends
As a result of the 2010 elections, each party controlled one house of the Iowa General Assembly
The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Repres ...
: the House had a Republican majority, while the Senate had a Democratic majority. As a result of the 2016 elections, Republicans gained control of the Senate. Incumbent Democratic governor Chet Culver was defeated in 2010 by Republican Terry Branstad
Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa fro ...
, who had served as governor from 1983 to 1999. On December 14, 2015, Branstad became the longest serving governor in U.S. history, serving (at that time) 20 years, 11 months, and 3days; eclipsing George Clinton, who served 21 years until 1804. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds succeeded him on May 24, 2017, following Branstad's appointment as U.S. Ambassador to China.
Presidential caucus
The state gets considerable attention every four years because the Iowa caucus, gatherings of voters to select delegates to the state conventions, is the first presidential caucus in the country. The caucuses, held in January or February of the election year, involve people gathering in homes or public places and choosing their candidates, rather than casting secret ballots as is done in a presidential primary
The presidential primary elections and caucuses held in the various U.S. state, states, the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, and territories of the United States form part of the nominating process of candidates for United States preside ...
election.
Along with the New Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire presidential primary is the first in a series of nationwide party primary elections and the second party contest (the first being the Iowa caucuses) held in the United States every four years as part of the process of choosi ...
the following week, Iowa's caucuses have become the starting points for choosing the two major-party candidates for president. The national and international media give Iowa and New Hampshire extensive attention, which gives Iowa voters leverage. In 2007 presidential campaign spending was the seventh highest in the country.
Civil rights
In a 2020 study, Iowa was ranked as the 24th easiest state for citizens to vote in.
Racial equality
In the 19th century Iowa was among the earliest states to enact prohibitions against race discrimination, especially in education, but was slow to achieve full integration in the 20th century. In the first decision of the Iowa Supreme Court
The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices.
The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 E ...
—''In Re the Matter of Ralph'', decided July 1839—the Court rejected slavery in a decision that found a slave named Ralph became free when he stepped on Iowa soil, 26 years before the end of the Civil War. The state did away with racial barriers to marriage in 1851, more than 100 years before the U.S. Supreme Court would ban Anti-miscegenation laws, miscegenation statutes nationwide.[Gay marriage and Iowa: Why's everyone so surprised?](_blank)
, Chicago Tribune, April 10, 2009
The Iowa Supreme Court decided ''Clark v. The board of directors'' in 1868, ruling that racially segregated "separate but equal" schools had no place in Iowa, 85 years before ''Brown v. Board of Education''. By 1875, a number of additional court rulings effectively ended segregation in Iowa schools. Social and housing discrimination continued against Blacks at state universities until the 1950s. The Court heard ''Coger v. The North Western Union Packet Co.'' in 1873, ruling against racial discrimination in public accommodations 91 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision.
In 1884, the Iowa Civil Rights Act apparently outlawed discrimination by businesses, reading: "All persons within this state shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, restaurants, chophouses, eating houses, lunch counters, and all other places where refreshments are served, public conveyances, barber shops, bathhouses, theaters, and all other places of amusement." However, the courts chose to narrowly apply this act, allowing de facto discrimination to continue. Racial discrimination at public businesses was not deemed illegal until 1949, when the court ruled in ''State of Iowa v. Katz'' that businesses had to serve customers regardless of race; the case began when Edna Griffin was denied service at a Des Moines drugstore. Full racial civil rights were codified under the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965.
Women's rights
As with racial equality, Iowa was a vanguard in women's rights in the mid-19th century, but did not allow women the right to vote until the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1920, Iowa legislature being one of the ratifying votes. In 1847, the University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
became the first public university in the U.S. to admit men and women on an equal basis. In 1869, Iowa became the first state in the union to admit women to the practice of law, with the Court ruling women may not be denied the right to practice law in Iowa and admitting Arabella A. Mansfield to the practice of law. Several attempts to grant full voting rights to Iowa women were defeated between 1870 and 1919. In 1894 women were given "partial suffrage", which allowed them to vote on issues, but not for candidates. It was not until the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment that women had full suffrage in Iowa. Although Iowa supported the Federal Equal Rights Amendment, in 1980 and 1992 Iowa voters rejected an Equal Rights Amendment to the state constitution. Iowa added the word "women" to the Iowa Constitution in 1998. After the amendment, it reads: "All men and women are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights—among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness."
In May 2018 Iowa signed into law one of the country's most restrictive abortion bans: the requirement that a doctor cannot perform an abortion if they can detect a fetal heartbeat, which in many cases would restrict abortions pregnancies less than six weeks old. It was struck down in January 2019, when an Iowa state judge ruled that the "fetal heartbeat" law was unconstitutional.
LGBT rights
The state's law criminalizing same-sex sexual activity was repealed in June 1976, 27 years before ''Lawrence v. Texas''. In 2007, the Iowa Legislature added "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the protected classes listed in the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
On April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court decided ''Varnum v. Brien'', holding in a unanimous decision, the state's law forbidding same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. This made Iowa the third state in the U.S. and first in the Midwest to permit same-sex marriage.
Culture
Arts
The Clint Eastwood movie The Bridges of Madison County (film), ''The Bridges of Madison County'', based on the popular novel of the same name, took place and was filmed in Madison County. What's Eating Gilbert Grape, based on the Peter Hedges novel of the same name, is set in the fictional Iowa town of Endora. Hedges was born in West Des Moines.
Des Moines is home to members of the famous metal band Slipknot (band), Slipknot. The state is mentioned in the band's songs, and the album Iowa (album), Iowa is named after the state.
Sports
The state has four major college teams playing in NCAA Division I for all sports. In football, Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
and the University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), whereas the University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...
and Drake University
Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States.
Hi ...
compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Although Iowa has no professional major league sports teams, Iowa has minor league sports teams in baseball, basketball, hockey, and other sports.
The following table shows the Iowa sports teams with average attendance over 8,000. All the following teams are NCAA Division I football, basketball, or wrestling teams:
College sports
The state has four NCAA Division I college teams. In Division I (NCAA), NCAA FBS, the University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
Iowa Hawkeyes, Hawkeyes play in the Big Ten Conference and the Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
Iowa State Cyclones, Cyclones compete in the Big 12 Conference. The two intrastate rivals compete annually for the Cy-Hawk Trophy as part of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
In Collegiate wrestling, wrestling, the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling, Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones wrestling, Iowa State Cyclones have won a combined total of over 30 team NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, NCAA Division I titles. The Northern Iowa Panthers wrestling, Northern Iowa and Cornell College wrestling teams have also each won one NCAA Division I wrestling team title.
In Football Championship Subdivision, NCAA FCS, the University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...
Northern Iowa Panthers, Panthers play at the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference (despite the similar names, the conferences are administratively separate), whereas the Drake University
Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States.
Hi ...
Drake Bulldogs, Bulldogs play at the Missouri Valley Conference in most sports and Pioneer Football League, Pioneer League for football.
Baseball
Des Moines is home to the Iowa Cubs, a Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A Minor League Baseball team of the International League and affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Iowa has two High-A minor league teams in the High-A Central: the Cedar Rapids Kernels and the Quad Cities River Bandits. The Sioux City Explorers are part of the American Association of Professional Baseball.
Ice hockey
Des Moines is home to the Iowa Wild, who are affiliated with the Minnesota Wild and are members of the American Hockey League. Coralville, Iowa, Coralville has an ECHL team called the Iowa Heartlanders as the 2021–22 season.
The United States Hockey League has five teams in Iowa: the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Sioux City Musketeers, Waterloo Black Hawks, Des Moines Buccaneers, and the Dubuque Fighting Saints. The North Iowa Bulls of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) and the Mason City Toros of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) both play in Mason City.
Soccer
*The Des Moines Menace of the USL League Two play their home games at Drake Stadium (Drake University) in Des Moines, Iowa.
*The Drake Bulldogs have a Drake Bulldogs men's soccer, men's and women's soccer team.
*the Cedar Rapids Inferno Soccer Club of the Midwest Premier League play their home games at Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex at Mount Mercy University
*the Iowa Raptors FC of the USL League Two play their home games at K. Raymond Clark Field at Coe College
*Union Dubuque F.C. of the Midwest Premier League
Other sports
Iowa has two professional basketball teams. The Iowa Wolves, an NBA G League team that plays in Des Moines, is owned and affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association, NBA. The Sioux City Hornets play in the American Basketball Association (2000–present), American Basketball Association.
Iowa has three professional football teams. The Sioux City Bandits play in the Champions Indoor Football league. The Iowa Barnstormers play in the Indoor Football League at Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines), Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The Cedar Rapids Titans play in the Indoor Football League at the U.S. Cellular Center (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), U.S. Cellular Center.
The Iowa Speedway oval track has hosted auto racing championships such as the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Truck Series since 2006. Also, the Knoxville Raceway dirt track hosts the Knoxville Nationals, one of the classic sprint car racing events.
The John Deere Classic is a PGA Tour golf event held in the Quad Cities since 1971. The Principal Charity Classic is a Champions Tour event since 2001. The Des Moines Golf and Country Club hosted the 1999 U.S. Senior Open and the 2017 Solheim Cup.
Sister jurisdictions
Iowa has ten official partner jurisdictions:
* Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan (1960)
* Yucatán (state), Yucatán, Mexico (1964)
* Hebei, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China (1983)
* Terengganu, Malaysia (1987)
* Taiwan, Republic of China (1989)
* Stavropol Krai, USSR/Russia (1989)
* Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine (1996)
* Veneto, Veneto Region, Italy (1997)
* Kosovo, Republic of Kosovo (2013)
See also
* Index of Iowa-related articles
* Outline of Iowa
Notes
References
External links
*
State Data Center of Iowa
population, housing, business and government statistics
Iowa Travel and Tourism Division
Iowa State Facts from USDA
Energy Data & Statistics for Iowa—U.S. Department of Energy
Iowa State Databases
Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Iowa state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association.
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{{coord, 42, -94, dim:300000_region:US-IA_type:adm1st, name=State of Iowa, display=title
Iowa,
States of the United States
Midwestern United States
States and territories established in 1846
1846 establishments in Iowa,
Contiguous United States