| State of Iowa | |
| Coordinates | 42°NB, 93°WL |
| General | |
| Surface | 145.743 km² (0,7% water) |
| Residents | 3.062.309 (21,2 inhabitants/km²) |
| Capital city | Monks |
| Politics | |
| Governor | Kim Reynolds (R) |
| Other | |
| Time zone | Central Standard Time (UTC−6) |
| Joined | 28 december 1846 |
| Nickname | Hawkeye State |
| ISO 3166-2 | US-IA |
| Website | iowa.gov |
According to JIBIN123.COM, Iowa is a state of the United States. The standard abbreviation for the “Hawkeye State”, as it is nicknamed, is IA. The state capital is Des Moines, which is roughly in the center of the state.
History
The area now called Iowa was originally settled by Native American tribes like the Ioway, also known as Iowa. After that, the region was long in the hands of the French as part of Louisiana (New France). For this reason, among others, the river Des Moines has a French name. For several decades at the end of the 18th century , Spain owned the area. France eventually sold much of the territory west of the Mississippi to the United States through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which also included the territory of Iowa.
In 1808, Fort Madison was built in the southwest of the area. In 1832, the Black Hawk War was fought between the US military on the one hand and Meskwakihaki, Sauk and Kickapoo on the other. About 1833, the first settlers came to the area and founded the towns of Dubuque and Bellevue on the west side of the Mississippi. In 1838 the Iowa Territory was created which was much larger than the current state. On December 28, 1846Iowa became the 29th state of the United States under President Martin Van Buren.
At first, the state was more or less ignored by most settlers. They merely passed through, thinking that the vast grasslands were not fertile. However, the land turned out to be so and after the construction of railway lines from 1860, the state became an important agricultural area. During the American Civil War, Iowa was part of the Union. In the election that preceded it, the state chose Abraham Lincoln, but at the same time, the Copperheads enjoyed a large following. These were the politicians who, although on the side of the north, did not want war. There was no fighting in the state but just over the border in Missouriduring the Battle of Athens. During and after the civil war the population would grow strongly. from some 600,000 in 1860 to 1,600,000 in 1880.
The agricultural sector would thrive for half a century, but after the First World War, the economic downturn set in, leaving many smaller farmers unable to keep their heads above water. There was industrialization in the agricultural sector. This effect was reinforced during the crisis of the 1930s and in the farm crisis of the 1980s.
Geography
The state of Iowa covers 145,743 km², of which 0.71 % is water. Iowa falls under the Central time zone. Iowa is bordered to the north by the state of Minnesota, to the west by South Dakota and Nebraska, to the east by Wisconsin and Illinois, and to the south by Missouri.
The eastern border is defined by the Mississippi. The western border is formed by the Missouri and the Big Sioux River that flows into it. The Des Moines River runs right through the state and the capital, forming a small portion of the southern border.
Iowa is quite flat. The highest point is 509 m. To the northwest are the Iowa Great Lakes, a group of three lakes.
Administrative division
According to COUNTRYAAH, Iowa is divided into 99 counties.
| County | Inhabitants 1 July, 2007 |
County Seat | Inhabitants 1 July, 2007 |
| Adair | 7624 | Greenfield | 1923 |
| Adams | 4096 | Corning | 1615 |
| Allamakee | 14.610 | Waukon | 3954 |
| Appanoose | 13.019 | Centerville | 5513 |
| Audubon | 6072 | Audubon | 2124 |
| Benton | 26.546 | Vinton | 5106 |
| Black Hawk | 127.446 | Waterloo | 66.387 |
| Boone | 26.391 | Boone | 12.633 |
| Bremer | 23.734 | Waverly | 9269 |
| Buchanan | 20.927 | Independence | 6101 |
| Buena Vista | 19.776 | Storm Lake | 9706 |
| Butler | 14.660 | Allison | 944 |
| Calhoun | 9987 | Rockwell City | 2007 |
| Carroll | 20.923 | Carroll | 10.000 |
| Cass | 13.884 | Atlantic | 6782 |
| Cedar | 17.990 | Tipton | 3023 |
| Cerro Gordo | 44.016 | Mason City | 27.505 |
| Cherokee | 11.686 | Cherokee | 4786 |
| Chickasaw | 12.215 | New Hampton | 3466 |
| Clarke | 8995 | Osceola | 4705 |
| Clay | 16.689 | Spencer | 10.994 |
| Clayton | 17.685 | Elkader | 1328 |
| Clinton | 49.051 | Clinton | 26.616 |
| Crawford | 16.579 | Denison | 7273 |
| Dallas | 57.288 | Adel | 4098 |
| Davis | 8572 | Bloomfield | 2576 |
| Decatur | 8409 | Leon | 1873 |
| Delaware | 17.459 | Manchester | 4898 |
| Des Moines | 40.701 | Burlington | 25.382 |
| Dickinson | 16.696 | Spirit Lake | 4646 |
| Dubuque | 92.359 | Dubuque | 57.313 |
| Emmet | 10.414 | Estherville | 6287 |
| Fayette | 20.433 | West Union | 2448 |
| Floyd | 16.306 | Charles City | 7546 |
| Franklin | 10.568 | Hampton | 4165 |
| Fremont | 7571 | Sidney | 1161 |
| Greene | 9505 | Jefferson | 4230 |
| Grundy | 12.149 | Grundy Center | 2525 |
| Guthrie | 11.053 | Guthrie Center | 1541 |
| Hamilton | 15.596 | Webster City | 7783 |
| Hancock | 11.379 | Garner | 2936 |
| Hardin | 17.551 | Eldora | 2766 |
| Harrison | 15.409 | Logan | 1438 |
| Henry | 20.123 | Mount Pleasant | 8776 |
| Howard | 9545 | Cresco | 3750 |
| Humboldt | 9615 | Dakota City | 820 |
| Ida | 6940 | Ida Grove | 2081 |
| Iowa | 15.912 | Marengo | 2525 |
| Jackson | 20.035 | Maquoketa | 5917 |
| Jasper | 36.748 | Newton | 15.166 |
| Jefferson | 15.618 | Fairfield | 9163 |
| Johnson | 125.692 | Iowa City | 67.062 |
| Jones | 20.402 | Anamosa | 5721 |
| Keokuk | 10.770 | Sigourney | 2096 |
| Kossuth | 15.605 | Algona | 5361 |
| Lee | 35.619 | Fort Madison Keokuk |
10.897 10.487 |
| Linn | 205.836 | Cedar Rapids | 126.396 |
| Louisa | 11.795 | Wapello | 2025 |
| Lucas | 9421 | Chariton | 4468 |
| Lyon | 11.266 | Rock Rapids | 2488 |
| Madison | 15.416 | Winterset | 4845 |
| Mahaska | 22.280 | Oskaloosa | 11.034 |
| Marion | 32.775 | Knoxville | 7325 |
| Marshall | 39.316 | Marshalltown | 25.815 |
| Mills | 15.180 | Glenwood | 5649 |
| Mitchell | 10.738 | Osage | 3428 |
| Monona | 9131 | Onawa | 2790 |
| Monroe | 7586 | Albia | 3563 |
| Montgomery | 11.002 | Red Oak | 5754 |
| Muscatine | 42.423 | Muscatine | 22.420 |
| O’Brien | 14.062 | Primghar | 818 |
| Osceola | 6468 | Sibley | 2624 |
| Page | 15.874 | Clarinda | 5519 |
| Palo Alto | 9442 | Emmetsburg | 3651 |
| Plymouth | 24.373 | Le Mars | 9185 |
| Pocahontas | 7686 | Pocahontas | 1821 |
| Polk | 418.339 | Des Moines | 196.998 |
| Pottawattamie | 89.409 | Council Bluffs | 59.921 |
| Poweshiek | 18.672 | Montezuma | 1384 |
| Ringgold | 5152 | Mount Ayr | 1735 |
| Sac | 10.385 | Sac City | 2154 |
| Scott | 162.687 | Davenport | 98.975 |
| Shelby | 12.313 | Harlan | 5068 |
| Sioux | 32.351 | Orange City | 5872 |
| Story | 84.752 | Nevada | 6644 |
| Tama | 17.855 | Toledo | 2685 |
| Taylor | 6397 | Bedford | 1476 |
| Union | 12.146 | Creston | 7492 |
| Van Buren | 7690 | Keosauqua | 1072 |
| Wapello | 35.551 | Ottumwa | 24.531 |
| Warren | 44.503 | Indianola | 14.405 |
| Washington | 21.346 | Washington | 7230 |
| Wayne | 6292 | Corydon | 1471 |
| Webster | 38.587 | Fort Dodge | 25.230 |
| Winnebago | 10.961 | Forest City | 4126 |
| Winneshiek | 20.909 | Decorah | 7944 |
| Woodbury | 102.287 | Sioux City | 82.864 |
| Worth | 7685 | Northwood | 2017 |
| Wright | 13.064 | Clarion | 2749 |
Politics
Bernie Sanders speaks during a so-called Straw poll at the 2015 Iowa State Fair in preparation for the caucuses.
The executive branch of the state is headed by a governor, who is directly elected by the voters in the state. In 2011, Terry Branstad of the Republican Party was elected governor of the state of Iowa. He also held that position between 1983 and 1999. In May 2017, Branstad resigned from his position to become US ambassador to China. He was succeeded by fellow party member and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, making Iowa’s first female governor.
The legislature is made up of the Iowa House of Representatives (Iowa House of Representatives) with 100 members and the Iowa Senate (Iowa Senate) with 50 members. Republicans have had a majority in both houses since the November 2016 election.
Since 1972, the Iowa caucuses have been the starting point for the primaries of the United States presidential election. Because this is the first state to vote for potential candidates, these candidates are willing to make additional commitments to the state’s population. After all, they can make a good or bad start here. These caucuses are also controversial because they follow a complicated procedure that sparked controversy during the 2020 election.
Culture
One of the covered bridges in Madison County
Grant Wood was a painter born in Iowa and returned after living in various places in Europe. Once back he developed his own variation on realism. His best known work is American Gothic.
There are six 19th-century wooden covered bridges in Madison County. These served as the setting in the 1992 film The Bridges of Madison County. Another well-known movie that plays in the state is What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. The Amana Colonies are seven villages, founded in the 19th century by German Pietists where people lived as communes until the 1930s.
The RAGBRAI has been organized every year since 1973. This is a massive, non-competitive bike ride across the state from west to east, from the Big Sioux River or the Missouri to the Mississippi.
Demography and Economics
Iowa had a population of 2,926,324 (20 per km²), of which about 61% of the population lives in urban areas. The largest cities are capital Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. Furthermore, part of the metropolitan area of the city of Omaha in Nebraska extends into western Iowa.
The gross product of the state in 2001 was $91 billion. More than 35% of the population is of German descent, followed by Irish (13.5%).
Located in the middle of the Corn Belt, Iowa is the largest producer of corn that is not only sold as food but also made into biofuel and plastic. The state has a large number of farms that are classified as large. There is also a lot of organic farming. The state is home to the Seed Savers Exchange, where ancient cultivars of various fruits and vegetables are grown to preserve for posterity.
Winnebago Industries, a manufacturer of motorhomes, is located in Forest City. From 1966 they released a model that was highly competitively priced and therefore accessible to a large audience. From that moment on, a new trend was set in holidays.
Language
English is spoken by 94% of the people. After this, Spanish is the most widely spoken language among the 120,000 Latinos. About 17,000 people speak German, mainly in the area around the Amana Colonies, where a special dialect is spoken. The Amish community speaks Pennsylvania German.
