Iowa

State of Iowa

Flag of Iowa Seal of Iowa
State nickname: The Hawkeye State
Official languages	English
Capital	Des Moines
Largest city	Des Moines
Governor	Thomas Vilsack (D)
Senators	Chuck Grassley (R) Tom Harkin (D)
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 26th 145,743 km² 0.71
Population  - Total (2000)  - Density	Ranked 30th 2,926,324 20.22/km² (33rd)
Admission into Union	December 28, 1846 (29th)
Time Zone	Central: UTC-6/DST-5
Coordinates  - Latitude  - Longitude  - Width  - Length	40°36'N to 43°30'N 89°5'W to 96°31'W 320 km 500 km
Elevation  - Highest point  - Mean  - Lowest point	509 m 335 m 146 m
Abbreviations  - USPS  - ISO 3166-2	IA US-IA
Web site	www.iowa.gov

Iowa is the 29th state of the United States, having joined the Union on December 28, 1846. The official name of the state is the "State of Iowa", and the U.S. Post Office abbreviation for the state is IA.

The state is named for the Native American Iowa people.

Bales of hay on a farm near Ames, Iowa.

History

Main article: History of Iowa.

Highlights:

• French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette are believed to be the first Europeans to visit Iowa. They described Iowa as lush, green, and fertile.
• Iowa has been home to approximately 17 different tribes. Today, only the Meskwaki tribe, living in Tama County, is left in Iowa.
• The first white settlers officially moved to Iowa in June 1833. Primarily, they were families from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia.
• Iowa became the 29^th state in the union on December 28, 1846.
• The Chicago and North Western Railway reached Council Bluffs in 1867. Council Bluffs was designated the eastern terminus for the Union Pacific Railroad. The completion of five major railroads across Iowa brought major economic changes as well as travel opportunities.
• During the American Civil War, more than 75,000 Iowans participated in the war, 13,001 of whom died. A small battle fought at Athens, MO in 1861 resulted in a few shots landing in Croton, Iowa; a raid into Davis and Van Buren counties by Confederate guerrillas was stopped by Home Guards in October 1864. Iowa had a higher percentage of soldiers serve in the Civil War, per capita, than any other state in the Union, with nearly 60% of eligible males serving.
• The Iowa General Assembly passed a women's suffrage amendment in 1870.
• Iowa saw a large increase in farming of beef, corn, and pork during World War I, but farmers saw economic hardships after the war. These hardships were the result of the removal of war-time farm subsidies. Total recovery did not happen until the 1940s.
• Iowa had been a large supporter of alcohol prohibition.
• The Farm Crisis of the 1980's saw a major decline of family farms in Iowa and around the Midwest, and was marked by a sharp drop in the state's rural population.
• Although Iowa's primary industry is agriculture, it also produces refrigerators, washing machines, fountain pens, farm implements, and food products that are shipped around the world.
• Iowa is also a major producer of ethanol.
• Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, was born in West Branch, Iowa. He is also buried there.
• American film actor John Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa in 1907.
• Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, worked at Davenport, Iowa's radio station, WOC, as a sports announcer for University of Iowa games in 1932. In 1933 he became the chief sports announcer for WOC's sister station in Des Moines, WHO.

Geography

Iowa neighbors

Iowa map

Iowa counties

See List of counties in Iowa, List of cities in Iowa, List of townships in Iowa and List of Iowa rivers

Iowa is bordered by Minnesota on the north, Nebraska and South Dakota on the west, Missouri on the south, and Wisconsin and Illinois on the east.

The Mississippi River forms the eastern boundary of the state. The boundary along the west is formed by the Missouri River south of Sioux City and by the Big Sioux River north of Sioux City. There are many natural lakes in the state, most notably Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake in northwest Iowa (see Iowa Great Lakes). Man-made lakes include Lake Odessa[1], Saylorville Lake, Lake Red Rock, and Rathbun Lake.

The topography of the state is gently rolling plains. Loess hills lie along the western border of the state. Some of these are several hundred feet thick. In the northeast along the Mississippi River is a section of the Driftless Zone, which in Iowa consists of low rugged hills covered with conifers—a landscape not usually associated with this state.

The point of lowest elevation (146 m) is Keokuk in southeastern Iowa. The point of highest elevation (509 m) is Hawkeye Point, located in a feedlot north of Sibley in northwest Iowa. The mean elevation of the state is 335 m. Considering the size of the state (145,743 km²), there is very little elevation difference.

Iowa has 99 counties. The state capital, Des Moines, is located in Polk County (#60).

National parks, etc.

• Effigy Mounds National Monument
• Herbert Hoover National Historical Site

Climate

Iowa experiences a highly continental climate, with extremes of both heat and cold being present. The average annual temperature at Des Moines is 50.0° F (10.0° C); for some locations in the north the figure is under 45°, while Keokuk, on the Mississippi River, averages 52.1°. Winters are brisk and snowfall common, the capital receiving an average of 36.3 inches per season. Spring ushers in the beginning of the severe weather season, as well as bringing increased precipitation and warming temperatures. The Iowan summer is known for heat and humidity, with daytime temperatures sometimes exceeding 100° F (37.8° C).

Interstate highways

These are the interstate highways that go through Iowa:

• 29, 35, 74, 80, 129, 235, 280, 380, 480, 680

US highways

These are the United States highways that go through Iowa:

• 6, 18, 20, 30, 34, 52, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71, 75, 77, 136, 151, 169, 218, 275

Animals

These are some of the wild animals that can be found in Iowa:

Iowa is home of 49 endangered & 35 threatened animal species as well as 64 endangered & 89 threatened plant species [2].

Economy

Iowa state quarter by Grant Wood

The state's total gross state product for 2003 was $103 billion. Its per capita income for 2003 was $28,340. Iowa's main agricultural outputs are hogs, corn, soybeans, oats, cattle and dairy products. Its industrial outputs are food processing, machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, publishing and primary metals. Iowa produces the nation's largest amount of ethanol. Des Moines also serves as a center for the insurance industry.

Demographics

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2004, Iowa's population was estimated to be 2,954,451 people. This includes about 97,000 foreign-born (3.3%).

The racial makeup of the state is:

• 92.6% White non-Hispanic
• 2.1% Black
• 2.8% Hispanic
• 1.3% Asian
• 0.3% Native American
• 1.1% Mixed race

The five largest ancestry groups in Iowa are: German (35.7%), Irish (13.5%), English (9.5%), American (6.6%), Norwegian (5.7%).

Iowans are mostly of Northern European origin. There are large numbers of German-Americans in the state (1 in 3 Iowans answered that they were of German ancestry on the 2000 Census), as well as people of British, Scandinavian, and Dutch ancestry, among others.

6.4% of Iowa's population were reported as under 5, 25.1% under 18, and 14.9% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.9% of the population.

"Rural flight"

Iowa, in common with other Great Plains states (especially Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota), is feeling the brunt of falling populations. 89% of the total number of cities in those states have fewer than 3000 people; hundreds have fewer than 1000. Between 1996 and 2004, almost half a million people, nearly half with college degrees, left the six states. "Rural flight" as it is called has led to offers of free land and tax breaks as enticements to newcomers.

Religion

Most Iowans are Protestant Christians, with Lutheranism being the largest single Protestant denomination, followed by Methodist. The state has the second largest population of Reformed Christians, both RCA and CRC.

The religious affiliations of the people of Iowa are:

• Christian – 86%
  • Protestant – 62%
    • Lutheran – 17%
    • Methodist – 14%
    • Baptist – 5%
    • Presbyterian – 3%
    • Reformed – 2%
    • Congregational/United Church of Christ – 2%
    • Other Protestant or general Protestant – 19%
  • Roman Catholic – 23%
  • Other Christian – 1%
• Other Religions – <1%
• Non-Religious – 14%

Important cities and towns

Education

Iowa has a strong emphasis on education, which is shown in standardized testing scores. In 2003, Iowa had the second highest average SAT scores by state, and tied for second highest average ACT scores in states where more than 20% of graduates were tested. The national office of ACT is in Iowa City, and the ITBS and ITED testing programs used in many states are provided by the University of Iowa.

An overhaul of the current education system is being discussed. One of the suggested ideas is switching from 180 days to a year-round school system. [3]

State universities

• Iowa State University
• University of Iowa
• University of Northern Iowa

Independent colleges and universities

Community colleges

Professional business and technical colleges and universities

Law and government

Current sample Iowa license plate.

The state capital is Des Moines. The current Governor is Tom Vilsack (Democrat) and the two U.S. Senators:

• Chuck Grassley (R)
• Tom Harkin (D)

The five U.S. Congressmen:

• Jim Leach (R)
• Jim Nussle (R)
• Steve King (R)
• Tom Latham (R)
• Leonard Boswell (D)

The Code of Iowa contains the statutory laws of the State of Iowa. The Iowa Legislative Service Bureau is a non-partisan governmental agency that is responsible for organizing, updating and publishing the Iowa Code. The Iowa Code is republished in full in odd years (i.e., 1999, 2001, 2003, etc..) and is supplemented in even years.

Iowa has a liberal populist tradition but now is fairly evenly divided between the two major political parties. The state supported Democrats in the presidential contests from 1988 through 2000. It was one of only two states that supported Democrat Al Gore that switched to supporting George W. Bush in 2004. Bush narrowly won the state's 7 electoral votes by a margin of 0.7 percentage points with 49.9% of the vote. Democratic strength is concentrated in the eastern region of the state and in Des Moines.

See List of Governors of Iowa, Iowa General Assembly, and Iowa State Capitol

Iowa caucus

The state gets considerable attention every four years because of its first in the nation presidential caucus, a gathering of voters which, along with the New Hampshire primary a week later, has become the starting gun for choosing the two major-party candidates for U.S. president. The caucus, held in January of the election year, involves people gathering in homes or public places and choosing their candidate, rather than casting secret ballots, as is done in a primary election.

U.S. senators from Iowa

List of United States Senators who have represented Iowa: