Iowa – The Ethanol And Food Capital Of The World (From The United States Series)
Statehood:
Located in the American Heartland, and bordered by the Mississippi River, the Missouri River, the Big Sioux River, the Des Moines River, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Illinois, Iowa became the 29th State on December 28, 1846, and is well known as the “Food Capital of the World” because of its agriculturally-based economy in the Corn Belt, level farmlands, and deep fertile soils.
History:
In 1673 the French were the first European explorers to reach Iowa, then transferred ownership of the land to Spain before losing the French and Indian War, and Iowa became part of the Louisiana Territory. In 1803 the United States gained Iowa and established control with the 1808 building of Fort Madison, originally known as Fort Belleview, on the Upper Mississippi River, that was abandoned and burned by the United States military. Fort Madison now contains a replica of the original fort, the Fort Madison Toll Bridge, the last double swing-span bridge on the Mississippi River, the Fort Madison Commercial Historic District, the site of the War of 1812 battle between the Sauk Indians led by Black Hawk and United States troops, and the first American military cemetary in the Upper Midwest.
Name:
Taken from the Iowa River, and first used around 1676 to describe the Ioway Indian tribe, the State of Iowa’s name had many early spellings including “Aiaouia,” “Ayoes,” and “Aiauway”.
Geography:
Commonly considered flatland most of Iowa’s geology consists of rolling hills, the deep river valleys of the Driftless Zone, the Baringer Slough wetlands with muskrats, pelicans, deer, and other species of animals, tallgrass prairies, savannas, dense forests, flood plains, the Jordan Aquifer, Iowa’s largest groundwater source, and Hawkeye Point, three miles south of Minnesota, the highest elevation in the State of Iowa at 1,670 feet.
Native American Indians:
Pleistocene Indians who became farmers with complex economic systems are believed to be the modern inhabitants of the area that became Iowa. Other Native American Indian tribes that have lived in the State included the Oneota, the Ho-Chuck, the Dakota, the Otoe, the Illiniwek, the Meskwaki, the Sauk, the Omaha, the Fox, the Winnebago, the Missouria, the Sac, the Chippewa, the Ottawa, the Peoria, the Ponca, the Potawatomi, the Sioux, and the Ioway.
Civil War:
Iowa’s involvement in the Civil War included providing colossal supplies of food to the Union Army, and 116,000 fighting men who faught at Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Chattanooga, Shiloh, Missionary Ridge, Chickamauga, Vicksburg, Rossville Gap, Red River, Corinth, Luka, Andersonville, and in the Shenandoah Valley.
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National Parks:
National Parks found in Iowa include the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site with the 1874 cottage where he was born, a blacksmith shop, the West Branch Schoolhouse, the Friends Meetinghouse, the Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, and the gravesites of Hoover and his wife. Other National Park locations found in the State include the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area found in thirty-six northeastern Iowa counties, and the Effigy Mounds National Monument with two hundred Prehistoric American Indian mound sites along the Mississippi River, many of which are shaped like various animals.
State Parks:
State Parks in Iowa include the Backbone State Park in Dundee, Iowa’s oldest Situation Park, the Beeds Lake Location Park in Hampton, the Bellevue Position Park on the Mississippi River in Dubuque, the Big Creek State Park in Polk City, the Badger Creek State Park in Van Meter, the Sunless Hawk Station Park in Lake View, the Cedar Rock State Park in Independence, the Clear Lake State Park in Ventura, the Dolliver Memorial State Park in Lehigh, the Elk Rock State Park in Knoxville, the Elinor Bedell State Park in Spirit Lake, Iowa’s newest State Park, the Fort Atkinson State Park in Fort Atkinson, the Fort Defiance State Park in Estherville, the Geode Station Park in Danville, the George Wyth Memorial State Park in Waterloo, the Green Valley Situation Park in Creston, the Gull Point Position Park in Milford, the Lacey-Keosauqea State Park in Keosauqea, the Lake Ahquabi State Park in Indianola, the Lake Anita Place Park in Anita, the Lake Darling State Park in Brighton, the Lake MacBride State Park in Solon, the Lake of Three Fires State Park in Bedford, the Lake Wapello State Park in Drakesville, the Lake Manawa State Park in Council Bluffs, the Ledges State Park in Madrid, the Lewis and Clark State Park in Onawa, the Maquoketa Caves State Park in Maquoketa, the Nine Eagles State Park in Davis City, the Pikes Peak State Park in McGregor, the Prairie Rose State Park in Harlan, the Rock Creek State Park in Kellogg, the Walnut Woods State Park in Des Moines, the Okamanpeedan State Park in Dolliver, the Red Haw Status Park in Chariton, Viking Lake Space Park in Stanton, the Wildcat Den State Park in Muscatine, the Stone Area Park in Sioux City, and the Yellow River State Forest and Park in Marquette.
Iowa also contains fifteen County-managed Position Parks including the Cold Springs State Park in Lewis, the Crystal Lake State Game Management Station in Forest City, the Eagle Lake Spot Park in Britt, the Echo Valley Plot Park in Elgin, the Mill Creek State Park in Paulina, the Oak Grove Status Park in Hawarden, the Oakland Mills State Park in Mount Pleasant, the Pammel State Park in Winterset, the Sharon Bluffs Status Park in Centerville, the Spring Lake Space Park in Jefferson, the Swan Lake State Park in Carroll, the Henry Woods State Park in Clarksville, the Lake Cornelia Residence Park in Clarion, the Frank A. Gotch State Park in Humboldt, and the Kearny State Park in Emmetsburg.
Lakes:
Major lakes found in the State of Iowa include Lake Greenfield, Meadow Lake, Mormon Trail Lake, Five Island Lake, Nodaway Lake, Lake Orient, Lake Binder, Lake Icaria, Big Lake, Lake Butler, Saylorville Lake, Duck Lake, Gimmel Lake, Joyce Lake, Mud Hen Lake, Lake Taylor, Iowa Lake, Rittenhouse Lake, Lake Sundown, Rathbun Lake, Ice House Lake, Hannen Lake, Lake Fisher, Lake Meyer, Railroad Lake, Lost Lake, Fontana Lake, Lake Oelwein, Gustafson Lake, Puny Storm Lake, Pickerel Lake, Estimable Lake, Lake Considine, Pond Creek Lake, Brushy Creek Lake, Artesian Lake, Goose Lake, Swan Lake, Lake Anita, Mud Lake, Round Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Mill Creek Lake, Pilot Lake, Badger Lake, Bays Branch Lake, Delwein Lake, East Lake Okoboji, West Lake Okoboji, Spirit Lake, Alice Lake, Easter Lake, Lake MacBride, Miami Lake, Lake Ponderosa, Red Rock Lake, Otter Creek Lake, Red Haw Lake, Viking Lake, Lake Wilderness, and many more.
Rivers:
Major rivers in Iowa include the Des Moines River, the Mississippi River, the Missouri River, the Bear Creek River, the Big Sioux River, the Blue Earth River, the Boone River, the Boyer River, the Iowa River, the Chariton River, the English River, the Fabius River, the Floyd River, the Grand River, the Itsy-bitsy Maquoketa River, the Rock River, the Little Sioux River, the Maple River, the Nishnabotna River, the Nodaway River, the North River, the Ocheyedan River, the Platte River, the Raccoon River, the Shell Rock River, the Skunk River, the Soldier River, the South River, the Trout Run River, the Yellow River, the Volga River, the Wapsipinicon River, the Winnebago River, the Cedar River, and the Turkey River.
Industries:
Heavily affected by the Great Depression and World War Two major industries that have been located in Iowa include railroads, manufacturing, refrigerators, washing machines, fountain pens, biotechnology, finance, green energy, insurance, ethanol, and agriculture including hogs, cattle, corn, eggs, soybeans, and dairy products. Major Corporations that have been located in the Dwelling include Con-Agra Foods, Wells Blue Bunny, Wonder Bread, Hostess, Heinz, Barilla, Quaker Oats, General Mills, Alcoa, 3M, Electrolux, Frigidaire, John Deere, Maytag, Lennox Manufacturing, Rockwell Collins, Winnebago, the Archer Daniels Midland Company, Hy-Vee, the Monsanto Biotechnological Company, the Nationwide Insurance Group, Farm Bureau Financial Services, MetLife, the Principal Financial Group, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Wells Fargo, Fort Dodge Animal Health, the Roche Applied Science Company, Seimens Energy, Casey’s General Stores, the Vermeer Manufacturing Company, Amtrak, the Pioneer Hi-Bred Company, the Fenelon Place Elevator Company, and more.
Endangered Species:
Endangered species found in the State of Iowa include Indiana Bats, Piping Plovers, Pallid Sturgeons, Interior Least Terns, Higgins Eye Pearly Mussels, Topeka Shiners, Iowa Pleistocene Land Snails, and Bald Eagles.
Attractions:
Dividable into three main cultural regions major Iowa Attractions include the State of Iowa Historical Museum, the Science Center of Iowa, the Des Moines Botanical Gardens, the Des Moines Art Center, the Iowa State Fair, the Annual Drake Outdoor Track and Field Competitions, an event that has occurred for more than one hundred years, the World Food Festival, the Adventureland Amusement Park, the Living History Farms, the Brunnier Art Museum, the twelve definite Reiman Garden Areas and Butterfly Wings, the Covered Bridges of Madison County, the Meskwaki Indian Settlement and Pow-Wow, the John Wayne Birthplace Museum, the Old Capital Building, Iowa’s original capital, the Landlocked Film Festival, the seven Amana German Pietists Colonies, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, the Brucemore Queen Anne Mansion, the Figge Art Museum, the River Music Experience, the Putnam Museum, the Davenport Skybridge over the Mississippi River, the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, the Iowa Great Lakes consisting of Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake, Iowa’s largest natural lakes, the Sanford Museum and Planetarium, the Grotto of the Redemption, considered the “world’s most complete man-made collection of minerals, fossils, shells, and petrifications in one place,” with more than one hundred thousand visitors each year, the Danish Immigrant Museum, the Fort Dodge Museum and Frontier Village, the Sergeant Charles Floyd Monument from the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the first designated United States National Historic Landmark, the Loess Hills National Scenic Bypass, the Western Hills Trail Center, the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, the Grout Museum, the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, the Maquoketa Caves Position Park, the Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, the Battle Hill Museum of Natural History, the Buddy Holly Crash Site, Mother Goose Land, the Blank Park Zoo, the Better Homes and Gardens Test Garden, the Mines of Spain Recreation Area, the Sundown Mountain Ski Spot, the Fenelon Set Elevator Company’s World’s Steepest, Shortest Scenic Railroad, the Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark, the Indian Creek Nature Center, the Festival of Trees, the Fejervary Park and Zoo, the Devonian Fossil Gorge, the Pottawattamie County Squirrel Cage Jail and Museum, the Railswest Railroad Museum, Lake Manawa Beach, the Ice Cave Situation Preserve, the Amana Woolen Mill, the Clear Lake Fire Museum, the National Farm Toy Museum, the Chief War Eagle Monument, the International Wrestling Institute and Museum, the Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum, the Mamie Dowd Eisenhower Birthplace, Music Man Square, the Family Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Ice Cream Capital of the World Visitors Center, Spook Cave, the Camp Algona POW Museum that housed more than ten thousand German prisoners of war during World War Two, the Glen Miller Birthplace, the Whiterock Conservancy, the Antique Car Museum of Iowa, the Iowa Gold Star Museum, the Desoto National Wildlife Refuge, the Airpower Museum, the Living Heritage Tree Museum, the National Hobo Museum, the Prairie Farmer Recreational Saunter, Crescent Mountain, the Backbone Space Park, the Springbrook Position Park, the Iowa Arboretum, the Fun Valley Motocross Area, the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge Prairie Learning Center, the Lewelling Quaker Museum, and many more.
Des Moines:
With a name meaning “River of the Monks,” and known as Fort Des Moines when it was founded in 1843, Des Moines is the capital and most heavily populated city in the State of Iowa.
Known as the “Number One Spot For US Insurance Companies,” and “The Hartford of the West,” Des Moines has been the home of the Considerable Financial Group, Blue Spoiled and Blue Shield, the Meredith Company, Wells Fargo, the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Companies, the Pioneer Hi-Bred Company, the Allied Insurance Company, the EMC Insurance Companies, Aviva Insurance, and the American Republic Insurance Company.
The home of the Iowa Presidential Caucuses Des Moines is the first major electorial event in nominating Presidential candidates of the United States.
Des Moines was ranked fourth by Forbes Magazine on their 2007 list of Best Places For Business, and Number Nine on the 2008 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine’s list of Best Cities.
Des Moines contains Late Prehistoric villages near the Raccoon and Des Moines River junction dating between 1330 to 1700 and was the site of several Prehistoric American Indian mounds.
Skyscrapers found in Des Moines have included the 1924 Equitable Building, the 1973 Financial Center Building, the 1974 Raun Center, the 1979 Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, the 1979 Des Moines Botanical Center, the 1981 Marriott Hotel, the 1985 Hub Tower, the 1985 Plaza Building, the 1985 Polk County Convention Complex, the 1987 State of Iowa Historical Museum, the 1991 Vital Financial Group Tower, Iowa’s tallest building, and the 2006 Skywalk System connecting most of the city’s main downtown buildings.
The home of major Corporations including the Firestone Agricultural Tire Company, Qwest Communications, John Deere, the Mercy Medical Center, Raun Transportation, and the MidAmerican Energy Company, coal mining, finances, manufacturing, medicine, and publishing have been major industries found in Des Moines since it was incorporated on September 22, 1851.
Major Des Moines area Attractions include the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, Jazz In July, the Des Moines Art Center, the Salisbury House and Gardens, the PappaJohn Sculpture Park, the Temple For Performing Arts, the Iowa Place Capital Complex, the Set of Iowa Historical Museum, the Des Moines Botanical Center, the Blank Park Zoo, the Great Ape Trust Research Facility, the Adventureland Amusement Park, the Des Moines Art Festival, the Iowa State Fair, the World Food Festival, the ArtFest Midwest, the Festival of Trees and Lights, the Rib America Festival, the Des Moines Police Museum, the Site Historical Society of Iowa, Terrace Hill, the residence of the Governor of Iowa, and the Wells Fargo Arena.
Cedar Rapids:
Cedar Rapids is found on the banks of the Cedar River north of Iowa City and is one of a few world cities with governmental offices on a municipal island.
Known as the “City of Five Seasons,” and the setting for the popular Musical entitled The Pajama Game, Cedar Rapids is an arts and cultural center for eastern Iowa.
Named for the red cedar trees that grow on the banks of the Cedar River, and first settled in 1838, Cedar Rapids is located in what was Fox and Sac Indian territory.
Incorporated January 15, 1849, and expanded by annexing Kingston in 1870, Cedar Rapids growth exploded with the building of the Sinclair Meatpacking Company.
Originally known as Columbus, Cedar Rapids is the largest corn processing city in the world and has been the home of such major Corporations as Cargill Incorporated, the largest privately owned business in the United States, General Mills, Quaker Oats, Archer Daniels Midland, Nordstrom, and Rockwell Collins.
The June 8, 2008 Iowa Flood involving the State’s eastern rivers, and known as “Iowa’s Katrina,” damaged most of Cedar Rapids, and exceeded the city’s 500 Year Flood Plain, placing 1300 blocks of the town under water when the Cedar River crested at about 31 feet on June 14, 2008, resulting in the planned destruction of three hundred homes.
Major Cedar Rapids area Attractions include the National Czech and Slovak Museum, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the Grant Wood Studio at 5 Turner Alley, the Paramount Theater, the Brucemore Estate, and the African-American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa.
Davenport:
Established May 14, 1836, after the signing of the treaty ending the Black Hawk War, Davenport is located along the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa, in the Quad Cities Region, and is prone to frequent floodings.
Davenport hosts several popularly well known music festivals including the Mississippi Valley Fair, the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, and the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival.
Incorporated January 25, 1839 the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River was built between Davenport, Iowa and Rock Island, Illinois by the Rock Island Railroad in 1856.
Davenport was Iowa’s first military headquarters before the start of the Civil War.
Forbes Magazine ranked Davenport the 2009 Second Best Metropolitan Area For Cost of Living and Money Magazine ranked the city the Number Sixteen Most Affordable Housing In The Country.
Major Davenport area Attractions include the Figge Art Museum, the Davenport Skybridge, the River Music Experience, the Freight House Entertainment Venue, the 1867 Putnum Museum, the Vast Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, the Credit Island Park, the Vander Veer Botanical Park, the Bix Fest Music Festival, the Bix Seven Mile Road Accelerate, and the Annual Sturgis on the River Motorcycle Gathering.
Sioux City:
Sioux City is found on the head of the Missouri River, and along with the areas of northwestern Iowa, northeastern Nebraska, and southeastern South Dakota, is commonly referred to as Siouxland.
Sioux City was the 2005 recipient of the Iowa Great Places Designation and was ranked by Site Magazine as the 2009 Top Economic Development Community In The United States For Communities With Populations Between 50,000 and 200,000 people.
Major Sioux City site Attractions include the Stone State Park, the Loess Hills, the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center, the Saturday In The Park Music Festival, the Orpheum Theater, the largest historic theater in Iowa, the Sergeant Floyd Monument of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with its one hundred foot tall obelisk, the Sioux City Public Museum, the Sioux City Art Center, and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
Waterloo:
Located on the Cedar River, and originally known as Prairie Rapids Crossing, Waterloo was first settled in 1845 and renamed on December 29, 1851.
The home of such Companies as the Illinois Central Railroad, the Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Company, the Rath Packing Company, and the Maytag-Mason Motor Company, manufacturing, railroads, transportation, cattle, agriculture, and wholesaling have been major industries found in Waterloo.
Major Waterloo area Attractions include the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum, the National Cattle Congress, the John Deere Tractor Assembly Plant, the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, the Grout Museum, the Sullivan Iowa Veterans Museum, the Lost Island Waterpark, and the Cedar Trail Network of Paved Bike Paths.
Series:
The United States Series I am writing here on associatedcontent.com provides an indepth scrutinize at all fifty States that make up this GREAT Country of ours and their five largest cities.
The current list of Articles for the United States Series I have published to date includes:
So This Is Sweet Home Alabama
Alaska – The Land of the Midnight Sun
Arizona – The Valley of the Sun
Arkansas – People of the South Wind
California – The Golden Gate, Earthquakes, and Grizzly Bears
Colorful Colorado – The Rocky Mountains, Skiing, and High Technology
Connecticut – The Land of Genuine Habits
Delaware – The Small Wonder
Florida – The Snowbirds R Us State
Georgia – Goobers, Peaches, and Buzzards
Hawaii – Luaus, Pineapples, and Beaches
Idaho – The Gem of the Mountains and Potatoes State
Illinois – Mining, Factories, and Labor Unions
Indiana – Land of Steel and Ducks
Bleeding Kansas America’s Flattest State
Kentucky – The Land of Tomorrow
Louisiana – The Child of the Mississippi
Maine – Lobsters, Lighthouses, and Black Bears
Maryland – The “Oh Say Can You See” State
Massachusetts – The Cradle of Liberty
Michigan – The Automotive State
Minnesota – The Bread and Butter State
Comments are always welcome so let me know what you think about these Articles.
Sources:
This article was compiled from several websites that provide much more information on Iowa including:
seedesmoines.com, cedar-rapids.com, cityofdavenportiowa.com, visitsiouxcity.org, and cityofwaterlooiowa.com.
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