Iowa
Iowa | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Admitted to the Union | December 28, 1846 (29th) |
| Capital | Des Moines |
| Largest city | Des Moines |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Thomas Vilsack (D) |
| • Upper house | {{{Upperhouse}}} |
| • Lower house | {{{Lowerhouse}}} |
| U.S. senators | Chuck Grassley (R) Tom Harkin (D) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2,926,324 |
| • Density | 52.4/sq mi (20.22/km2) |
| Language | |
| • Official language | English |
| Latitude | 40°36'N to 43°30'N |
| Longitude | 89°5'W to 96°31'W |
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.
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 remains.
- The first American settlers officially moved to Iowa in June 1833. Primarily, they were families from Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri.
- Iowa became the 29th 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 (mostly by disease). 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.
- 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.
- The Farm Crisis of the 1980's saw a major decline of family farms in Iowa and around the Midwest, and it 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.
Historical Reference
- Bergman, Marvin, ed. Iowa History Reader (1996) essays by scholars.
- Ross, Earl D. Iowa Agriculture: An Historical Survey (1951)
- Sage, Leland. A History of Iowa (1974)
- Schwieder, Dorothy. Iowa: The Middle Land (1996) excellent scholarly history
- Wall, Joseph Frazier. Iowa: A Bicentennial History (1978)
Famous Iowans
- Buffalo Bill was born William Frederick Cody near Le Claire, Iowa in 1846.
- Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, was born in West Branch, Iowa in 1874. He is also buried there.
- Admiral William D. Leahy was born in Hampton, Iowa in 1875.
- American statistician George Gallup, inventor of the Gallup poll, was born in Jefferson, Iowa in 1901.
- Film actor John Wayne was born as Marion Morrison in Winterset, Iowa in 1907.
- Scientist James Van Allen was born in Mount Pleasant, Iowa in 1914.
- Television personality Johnny Carson was born in Carson, Iowa in 1925.
- Slipknot, an alternative metal/nu metal band, was formed in Des Moines.
Geography
- 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 several 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.
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:
US highways
These are the United States highways that go through Iowa:
Animals
These are some of the wild animals that can be found in Iowa:
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Iowa is home of 49 endangered & 35 threatened animal species as well as 64 endangered & 89 threatened plant species [2].
Economy
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
| Historical populations | |
|---|---|
| Census year |
Population |
| 1840 | 43,112 |
| 1850 | 192,214 |
| 1860 | 674,913 |
| 1870 | 1,194,020 |
| 1880 | 1,624,615 |
| 1890 | 1,912,297 |
| 1900 | 2,231,853 |
| 1910 | 2,224,771 |
| 1920 | 2,404,021 |
| 1930 | 2,470,939 |
| 1940 | 2,538,268 |
| 1950 | 2,621,073 |
| 1960 | 2,757,537 |
| 1970 | 2,824,376 |
| 1980 | 2,913,808 |
| 1990 | 2,776,755 |
| 2000 | 2,926,324 |
As of 2005, Iowa has an estimated population of 2,966,334, which is an increase of 13,430, or 0.5%, from the prior year and an increase of 39,952, or 1.4%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 53,706 people (that is 197,163 births minus 143,457 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 11,754 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 29,386 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 41,140 people.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2004, Iowa's population included 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%
- Protestant – 62%
- Other Religions – <1%
- Non-Religious – 14%
Important cities and towns
| Population > 100,000 (urbanized area) | Population > 10,000 (urbanized area) | ||
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| Other Cities | |||
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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
Independent colleges and universities
Community colleges
Professional business and technical colleges and universities
Law and government
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.
Iowa Presidential caucus
The state gets considerable attention every four years because of its first in the nation presidential caucus, a gathering of voters to select delegates to the state convention. Along with the New Hampshire primary a week later, it has become the starting gun for choosing the two major-party candidates for 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. The national and international media give Iowa (and New Hampshire) about half of all the attention accorded the national candidate selection process, which gives the voters enormous leverage. A candidate can skip Iowa without much risk, but those who enter the caucus must expend enormous effort to reach every voter in each of the 99 counties.
U.S. senators from Iowa
List of United States Senators who have represented Iowa:
Professional sports teams
The Minor League baseball teams are:
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The Minor League hockey teams are:
The Minor League soccer teams are:
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External links
- http://www.iowa.gov/
- Iowa News.
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Iowa Code online at Iowa General Assembly
- Iowa Newspapers
- Midwest Regional Climate Center (climate statistics)
- Article on oppressive Iowa law.
Sources
- Iowa: Facts, Map and State Symbols - EnchantedLearning.com
- State Symbols
- The Graduate Center, CUNY: Research Studies: American Religious Identification Survey