Iowa (State)

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.

Flag of Iowa