document_title: French colonization of the Americas

question_text: why did french explorers go to north america

text: French colonization of the Americas

text: North America[edit]

text: Background[edit]

text: The French first came to the New World as explorers, seeking a route to the Ocean and wealth. Major French exploration of North America began under the rule of Francis I, King of France. In 1524, Francis sent Italian-born Giovanni da Verrazzano to explore the region between Florida and Newfoundland for a route to the Pacific Ocean. Verrazzano gave the names Francesca and Nova Gallia to that land between New Spain and English Newfoundland, thus promoting French interests.[1]

text: Colonization[edit]

text: In 1534, Francis I of France sent Jacques Cartier on the first of three voyages to explore the coast of Newfoundland and the St. Lawrence River. He founded New France by planting a cross on the shore of the Gaspé Peninsula. The French subsequently tried to establish several colonies throughout North America that failed, due to weather, disease, or conflict with other European powers. Cartier attempted to create the first permanent European settlement in North America at Cap-Rouge (Quebec City) in 1541 with 400 settlers but the settlement was abandoned the next year after bad weather and attacks from Native Americans in the area. A small group of French troops were left on Parris Island, South Carolina in 1562 to build Charlesfort, but left after a year when they were not resupplied by France. Fort Caroline established in present-day Jacksonville, Florida, in 1564, lasted only a year before being destroyed by the Spanish from St. Augustine. An attempt to settle convicts on Sable Island off Nova Scotia in 1598 failed after a short time. In 1599, a sixteen-person trading post was established in Tadoussac (in present-day Quebec), of which only five men survived the first winter. In 1604[2] Pierre Du Gua de Monts and Samuel de Champlain founded a short-lived French colony, the first in Acadia, on Saint Croix Island, presently part of the state of Maine, which was much plagued by illness, perhaps scurvy.  The following year the settlement was moved to Port Royal, located in present-day Nova Scotia.

text: Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec (1608) and explored the Great Lakes. In 1634, Jean Nicolet founded La Baye des Puants (present-day Green Bay), which is one of the oldest permanent European settlements in America. In 1634, Sieur de Laviolette founded Trois-Rivières. In 1642, Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, founded Fort Ville-Marie which is now known as Montreal. Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette founded Sault Sainte Marie (1668) and Saint Ignace (1671) and explored the Mississippi River. At the end of the 17th century, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established a network of forts going from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River. Fort Saint Louis was established in Texas in 1685, but was gone by 1688. Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit (modern-day Detroit) in 1701 and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville founded La Nouvelle Orléans (New Orleans) in 1718. Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville founded Baton Rouge in 1719.

text: The French were eager to explore North America but New France remained largely unpopulated. Due to the lack of women, intermarriages between French and Indians were frequent, giving rise to the Métis people. Relations between the French and Indians were usually peaceful. As the 19th-century historian Francis Parkman stated:

text: "Spanish civilization crushed the Indian; English civilization scorned and neglected him; French civilization embraced and cherished him"

text: To boost the French population, Cardinal Richelieu issued an act declaring that Indians converted to Catholicism were considered as "natural Frenchmen" by the Ordonnance of 1627:

text: "The descendants of the French who are accustomed to this country [New France], together with all the Indians who will be brought to the knowledge of the faith and will profess it, shall be deemed and renowned natural Frenchmen, and as such may come to live in France when they want, and acquire, donate, and succeed and accept donations and legacies, just as true French subjects, without being required to take no letters of declaration of naturalization."[5]

text: Louis XIV also tried to increase the population by sending approximately 800 young women nicknamed the "King's Daughters". However, the low density of population in New France remained a very persistent problem. At the beginning of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the British population in North America outnumbered the French 20 to 1. France fought a total of six colonial wars in North America (see the four French and Indian Wars as well as Father Rale's War and Father Le Loutre's War).[6]

text: French Florida[edit]

text: In 1562, Charles IX, under the leadership of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny sent Jean Ribault and a group of Huguenot settlers in an attempt to colonize the Atlantic coast and found a colony on a territory which will take the name of the French Florida. They discovered the probe and Port Royal Island, which will be called by Parris Island in South Carolina, on which he built a fort named Charlesfort. The group, led by René Goulaine de Laudonnière, moved to the south where they founded the Fort Caroline on the Saint John's river in Florida on June 22, 1564.[7]

text: This irritated the Spanish who claimed Florida and opposed the Protestant settlers for religious reasons. In 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés led a group of Spaniards and founded Saint Augustine, 60 kilometers south of Fort Caroline. Fearing a Spanish attack, Ribault planned to move the colony but a storm suddenly destroyed his fleet. On 20 September 1565 the Spaniards, commanded by Menéndez de Avilés, attacked and massacred all the Fort Caroline occupants including Jean Ribault.[8]

text: Canada and Acadia[edit]

text: The French interest in Canada focused first on fishing off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. However, at the beginning of the 17th century, France was more interested in fur from North America. The fur trading post of Tadoussac was founded in 1600. Four years later, Champlain made his first trip to Canada in a trade mission for fur. Although he had no formal mandate on this trip, he sketched a map of the St. Lawrence River and in writing, on his return to France, a report entitled Savages[9] (relation of his stay in a tribe of Montagnais near Tadoussac).

text: Champlain needed to report his findings to Henry IV. He participated in another expedition to New France in the spring of 1604, conducted by Pierre Du Gua de Monts. It helped the foundation of a settlement on Saint Croix Island, the first French settlement in the New World, which would be given up the following winter. The expedition then founded the colony of Port-Royal.

text: In 1608, Champlain founded a fur post that would become the city of Quebec, which would become the capital of New France. In Quebec, Champlain forged alliances between France and the Huron and Ottawa against their traditional enemies, the Iroquois. Champlain and other French travelers then continued to explore North America, with canoes made from Birch bark, to move quickly through the Great Lakes and their tributaries. In 1634, the Normand explorer Jean Nicolet pushed his exploration to the West up to Wisconsin.[10]

text: Following the capitulation of Quebec by the Kirke brothers, the British occupied the city of Quebec and Canada from 1629 to 1632. Samuel de Champlain was taken prisoner and there followed the bankruptcy of the Company of One Hundred Associates. Following the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France took possession of the colony in 1632. The city of Trois-Rivières was founded in 1634. In 1642, the Angevin Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière founded Ville-Marie (later Montreal) which was at that time, a fort as protection against Iroquois attacks (the first great Iroquois war lasted from 1642 to 1667).

text: Despite this rapid expansion, the colony developed very slowly. The Iroquois wars and diseases were the leading causes of death in the French colony. In 1663 when Louis XIV provided the Royal Government, the population of New France was only 2500 European inhabitants. That year, to increase the population, Louis XIV sent between 800 and 900 'King's Daughters' to become the wives of French settlers. The population of New France reached subsequently 7000 in 1674 and 15000 in 1689.[11][12]

text: From 1689 to 1713, the French settlers were faced with almost incessant war during the  French and Indian Wars. From 1689 to 1697, they fought the British in the Nine Years' War. The war against the Iroquois continued even after the Treaty of Rijswijk until 1701, when the two parties agreed on peace. Then, the war against the English took over in the War of the Spanish Succession. In 1690 and 1711, Quebec City had successfully resisted the attacks of the English navy and then British army. Nevertheless, the British took advantage of the second war. With the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, France ceded to Britain Acadia (with a population of 1700 people), Newfoundland and Hudson Bay. Under the Sovereign Council, the population of the colony grew faster. However, the population growth was far inferior to that of the British Thirteen Colonies to the south. In the middle of the 18th century, New France accounted for 60,000 people while the British colonies had more than one million people. This placed the colony at a great military disadvantage against the British. The war between the colonies resumed in 1744, lasting until 1748. A final and decisive war began in 1754. The Canadiens and the French were helped by numerous alliances with Native Americans, but they were usually outnumbered on the battlefield.[13]

text: Louisiana[edit]

text: On May 17, 1673, explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette began exploring the Mississippi River, known to the Sioux as does Tongo, or to the Miami-Illinois as  missisipioui (the great river). They reached the mouth of the Arkansas and then up the river, after learning that it flowed into the Gulf of Mexico and not to the California Sea (Pacific Ocean).[14]

text: In 1682, the Normand Cavelier de la Salle and the Italian Henri de Tonti came down the Mississippi to its Delta. They left from Fort Crevecoeur on the Illinois River, along with 23 French and 18 Native Americans.  In April 1682, they arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi; they planted a cross and a column bearing the arms of the king of France. La Salle returned to France and won over the Secretary of State of the Navy to give him the command of Louisiana. He believed that it was close to New Spain by drawing a map on which the Mississippi seemed much further west than its actual rate. He set up a maritime expedition with four ships and 320 emigrants, but it ended in disaster when he failed to find the Mississippi Delta and was killed in 1687.[15]

text: In 1698, Pierre LeMoyne d'Iberville left La Rochelle and explored the area around the mouth of the Mississippi. He stopped between Isle-aux-Chats (now Cat Island) and Isle Surgeres (renamed Isle-aux-Vascular or Ship Island) on February 13, 1699 and continued his explorations to the mainland, with his brother Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville to Biloxi. He built a precarious fort, called 'Maurepas' (later 'Old Biloxi'), before returning to France. He returned twice in the Gulf of Mexico and established a fort at Mobile in 1702.

text: From 1699 to 1702, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville was governor of Louisiana. His brother succeeded him in that post from 1702 to 1713. He was again governor from 1716 to 1724 and again 1733 to 1743. In 1718, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville commanded a French expedition in Louisiana. He founded the city of New Orleans, in homage to Regent Duke of Orleans. The architect Adrian de Pauger drew the orthogonal plane of the Old Square.

text: The Mississippi Bubble[edit]

text: In 1718, there were only 700 Europeans in Louisiana. The Mississippi Company arranged for ships to bring 800 more, who landed in Louisiana in 1718, doubling the European population. John Law encouraged Germans, particularly Germans of the Alsatian region who had recently fallen under French rule, and the Swiss to emigrate.

text: Prisoners were set free in Paris in September 1719 onwards, under the condition that they marry prostitutes and go with them to Louisiana. The newly married couples were chained together and taken to the port of embarkation. In May 1720, after complaints from the Mississippi Company and the concessioners about this class of French immigrants, the French government prohibited such deportations. However, there was a third shipment of prisoners in 1721.[16]

text: Dissolution[edit]

text: The last French and Indian War resulted in the dissolution of New France, with Canada going to Great Britain and Louisiana going to Spain. Only the islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon are still in French hands.

text: In 1802 Spain returned Louisiana to France, but Napoleon sold it to the United States in 1803. The French left many toponyms (Illinois, Vermont, Bayous...) and ethnonyms (Sioux, Coeur d'Alene, Nez Percé...) in North America.

text: West Indies[edit]

text: A major French settlement lay on the island of Hispaniola, where France established the colony of Saint-Domingue on the western third of the island[17] in 1664. Nicknamed the "Pearl of the Antilles", Saint-Domingue became the richest colony in the Caribbean due to slave plantation production of sugar cane. It had the highest slave mortality rate in the western hemisphere.[18] A 1791 slave revolt, the only ever successful slave revolt, began the Haitian Revolution, led to freedom for the colony's slaves in 1794 and, a decade later, complete independence for the country, which renamed itself Haiti. France briefly also ruled the eastern portion of the island, which is now the Dominican Republic.

text: During the 17th and 18th centuries, France ruled much of the Lesser Antilles at various times. Islands that came under French rule during part or all of this time include Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, Martinique, St. Barthélemy, St. Croix, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. Vincent and Tobago. Control of many of these islands was contested between the French, the British and the Dutch; in the case of St. Martin, the island was divided in two, a situation that persists to this day. Great Britain captured some of France's islands during the Seven Years' War[19] and the Napoleonic Wars. Following the latter conflict, France retained control of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Marie-Galante, St. Barthélemy, and its portion of St. Martin; all remain part of France today. Guadeloupe (including Marie-Galante and other nearby islands) and Martinique each is an overseas department of France, while St. Barthélemy and St. Martin each became an overseas collectivity of France in 2007.

text: South America[edit]

text: This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Wording, and the need to add more relevant wikilinks to newly added material Please help improve this section if you can. (April 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Brazil[edit]

text:
France Antarctique (formerly also spelled France antartique) was a French colony south of the Equator, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which existed between 1555 and 1567, and had control over the coast from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio. The colony quickly became a haven for the Huguenots, and was ultimately destroyed by the Portuguese in 1567.
On November 1, 1555, French vice-admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon (1510–1575), a Catholic knight of the Order of Malta, who later would help the Huguenots to find a refuge against persecution, led a small fleet of two ships and 600 soldiers and colonists, and took possession of the small island of  Serigipe  in the Guanabara  Bay, in front of present-day Rio de Janeiro, where they built a fort named Fort Coligny. The fort was named in honor of Gaspard de Coligny (then a Catholic statesman, who about a year later would become a Huguenot), an admiral who supported the expedition and would use the colony in order to protect his co-religionists.
To the still largely undeveloped mainland village, Villegaignon gave the name of Henriville, in honour of Henry II, the King of France, who also knew of and approved the expedition, and had provided the fleet for the trip. Villegaignon secured his position by making an alliance with the Tamoio and Tupinambá Indians of the region, who were fighting the Portuguese.

text: 1557 Calvinist arrival[edit]

text:
Unchallenged by the Portuguese, who initially took little notice of his landing, Villegaignon endeavoured to expand the colony by calling for more colonists in 1556. He sent one of his ships, the Grande Roberge, to Honfleur, entrusted with letters to King Henry II, Gaspard de Coligny and according to some accounts, the Protestant leader John Calvin.
After one ship was sent to France to ask for additional support, three ships were financed and prepared by the king of France and put under the command of Sieur De Bois le Comte, a nephew of Villegagnon. They were joined by 14 Calvinists from Geneva, led by Philippe de Corguilleray, including theologians Pierre Richier and Guillaume Chartrier. The new colonists, numbering around 300, included 5 young women to be wed, 10 boys to be trained as translators, as well as 14 Calvinists sent by Calvin, and also Jean de Léry, who would later write an account of the colony. They arrived in March 1557. The relief fleet was composed of:
The Petite Roberge, with 80 soldiers and sailors was led by Vice Admiral Sieur De Bois le Comte.
The Grande Roberge, with about 120 on board, captained by Sieur de Sainte-Marie dit l'Espine.
The Rosée, with about 90 people, led by Captain Rosée.
Doctrinal disputes arose between Villegagnon and the Calvinists, especially in relation to the Eucharist, and in October 1557 the Calvinists were banished from Coligny island as a result. They settled among the Tupinamba until January 1558, when some of them managed to return to France by ship together with Jean de Léry, and five others chose to return to Coligny island where three of them were drowned by Villegagnon for refusing to recant.

text: Portuguese intervention[edit]

text:
In 1560 Mem de Sá, the new Governor-General of Brazil, received from the Portuguese government the command to expel the French. With a fleet of 26 warships and 2,000 soldiers, on 15 March 1560, he attacked and destroyed Fort Coligny within three days, but was unable to drive off their inhabitants and defenders, because they escaped to the mainland with the help of the Native Brazilians, where they continued to live and to work. Admiral Villegaignon had returned to France in 1558, disgusted with the religious tension that existed between French Protestants and Catholics, who had come also with the second group (see French Wars of Religion).
Urged by two influential Jesuit priests who had come to Brazil with Mem de Sá, named José de Anchieta and Manuel da Nóbrega, and who had played a big role in pacifying the Tamoios, Mem de Sá ordered his nephew, Estácio de Sá to assemble a new attack force. Estácio de Sá founded the city of Rio de Janeiro on March 1, 1565, and fought the Frenchmen for two more years. Helped by a military reinforcement sent by his uncle, on January 20, 1567, he imposed final defeat on the French forces and decisively expelled them from Brazil, but died a month later from wounds inflicted in the battle. Coligny's and Villegaignon's dream had lasted a mere 12 years.

text: Equinoctial France[edit]

text:
Equinoctial France was the contemporary name given to the colonization efforts of France in the 17th century in South America, around the line of Equator, before "tropical" had fully gained its modern meaning: Equinoctial means in Latin "of equal nights", i.e., on the Equator, where the duration of days and nights is nearly the same year round.
The French colonial empire in the New World also included New France (Nouvelle France) in North America, particularly in what is today the province of Quebec, Canada, and for a very short period (12 years) also Antarctic France (France Antarctique, in French), in present-day Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. All of these settlements were in violation of the papal bull of 1493, which divided the New World between Spain and Portugal. This division was later defined more exactly by the Treaty of Tordesillas.

text: History of France Équinoxiale[edit]

text:
France Équinoxiale started in 1612, when a French expedition departed from Cancale, Brittany, France, under the command of Daniel de la Touche, Seigneur de la Ravardière, and François de Razilly, admiral. Carrying 500 colonists, it arrived in the Northern coast of what is today the Brazilian state of Maranhão. De la Ravardière had discovered the region in 1604 but the death of the king postponed his plans to start its colonization.
The colonists soon founded a village, which was named "Saint-Louis", in honor of the French king Louis IX. This later became São Luís in Portuguese,[1] the only Brazilian state capital founded by France. On 8 September, Capuchin friars prayed the first mass, and the soldiers started building a fortress. An important difference in relation to France Antarctique is that this new colony was not motivated by escape from religious persecutions to Protestants (see French Wars of Religion). The colony did not last long. A Portuguese army assembled in the Captaincy of Pernambuco, under the command of Alexandre de Moura, was able to mount a military expedition, which defeated and expelled the French colonists in 1615, less than four years after their arrival in the land. Thus, it repeated the disaster spelt for the colonists of France Antarctique, in 1567. A few years later, in 1620, Portuguese and Brazilian colonists arrived in number and São Luís started to develop, with an economy based mostly in sugar cane and slavery.

text: French traders and colonists tried again to settle a France Équinoxiale further North, in what is today French Guiana, in 1626, 1635 (when the capital, Cayenne, was founded) and 1643. Twice a Compagnie de la France Équinoxiale was founded, in 1643 and 1645, but both foundered as a result of misfortune and mismanagement. It was only after 1674, when the colony came under the direct control of the French crown and a competent Governor took office, that France Équinoxiale became a reality. To this day, French Guiana is a department of France.[20]

text: French Guiana was first settled by the French in 1604, although its earliest settlements were abandoned in the face of hostilities from the indigenous population and tropical diseases. The settlement of Cayenne was established in 1643, but was abandoned. It was re-established in the 1660s. Except for brief occupations by the English and Dutch in the 17th century, and by the Portuguese in the 19th century, Guiana has remained under French rule ever since. From 1851 to 1951 it was the site of a notorious penal colony, Devil's Island (Île du Diable). Since 1946, French Guiana has been an overseas department of France.[21]


document_title: Iowa

question_text: who was president when iowa became a state

question_tokens: who was president when iowa became a state

root

text: Iowa

text: Etymology

text: Iowa derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many Native American tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration.[13]

tag: p

text: Geography

text: Boundaries

text: Iowa is bordered by the Mississippi River on the east; the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west; the northern boundary is a line along 43 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude.[14][note 1] The southern border is the Des Moines River and a not-quite-straight line along approximately 40 degrees 35 minutes north, as decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in Missouri v. Iowa (1849) after a standoff between Missouri and Iowa known as the Honey War.[15][16]

text: Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are formed entirely by rivers.[17]

text: Iowa has 99 counties, but 100 county seats because Lee County has two. The state capital, Des Moines, is in Polk County.[18]

text: Geology and terrain

text: Iowa's bedrock geology generally increases in age from west to east. In northwest Iowa, Cretaceous bedrock can be 74 million years old; in eastern Iowa Cambrian bedrock dates to c. 500 million years ago.[19]

text: Iowa is generally not flat; most of the state consists of rolling hills. Iowa can be divided into eight landforms based on glaciation, soils, topography, and river drainage.[20] Loess hills lie along the western border of the state, some of which are several hundred feet thick.[21] Northeast Iowa along the Mississippi River is part of the Driftless Zone, consisting of steep hills and valleys which appear almost mountainous.

text: Several natural lakes exist, most notably Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake in northwest Iowa (see Iowa Great Lakes). To the east lies Clear Lake. Man-made lakes include Lake Odessa,[22] Saylorville Lake, Lake Red Rock, Coralville Lake, Lake MacBride, and Rathbun Lake. The state's northwest area has many remnants of the once common wetlands, such as Barringer Slough.

text: Ecology and environment

text: Iowa's natural vegetation is tallgrass prairie and savanna in upland areas, with dense forest and wetlands in flood plains and protected river valleys, and pothole wetlands in northern prairie areas.[20] Most of Iowa is used for agriculture; crops cover 60% of the state, grasslands (mostly pasture and hay with some prairie and wetland) cover 30%, and forests cover 7%; urban areas and water cover another 1% each.[23]

text: There is a dearth of natural areas in Iowa; less than 1% of the tallgrass prairie that once covered most of Iowa remains intact; only about 5% of the state's prairie pothole wetlands remain, and most of the original forest has been lost.[24] As of 2005[update] Iowa ranked 49th of U.S. states in public land holdings.[25] Threatened or endangered animals in Iowa include the interior least tern, piping plover, Indiana bat, pallid sturgeon, the Iowa Pleistocene land snail, Higgins' eye pearly mussel, and the Topeka shiner.[26] Endangered or threatened plants include western prairie fringed orchid, eastern prairie fringed orchid, Mead's milkweed, prairie bush clover, and northern wild monkshood.[27]

text: The explosion in the number of high-density livestock facilities in Iowa has led to increased rural water contamination and a decline in air quality.[28] Other factors negatively affecting Iowa's environment include the extensive use of older coal-fired power plants,[29] fertilizer and pesticide runoff from crop production,[30] and diminishment of the Jordan Aquifer.[31]

text: Climate

text: Iowa has a humid continental climate throughout the state (Köppen climate classification Dfa) with extremes of both heat and cold. The average annual temperature at Des Moines is 50 °F (10 °C); for some locations in the north the figure is under 45 °F (7 °C), while Keokuk, on the Mississippi River, averages 52 °F (11 °C). Winters are often harsh and snowfall is common.

text: Spring ushers in the beginning of the severe weather season. Iowa averages about 50 days of thunderstorm activity per year.[32] The 30 year annual average Tornadoes in Iowa is 47.[33] In 2008, twelve people were killed by tornadoes in Iowa, making it the deadliest year since 1968 and also the second most tornadoes in a year with 105, matching the total from 2001.[34]

text: Iowa summers are known for heat and humidity, with daytime temperatures sometimes near 90 °F (32 °C) and occasionally exceeding 100 °F (38 °C). Average winters in the state have been known to drop well below freezing, even dropping below −18 °F (−28 °C). Iowa's all-time hottest temperature of 118 °F (48 °C) was recorded at Keokuk on July 20, 1934; the all-time lowest temperature of −47 °F (−44 °C) was recorded at Elkader on February 3, 1996.

text:
Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various Iowa cities (°F)[35]

City
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Davenport[36]
30/13
36/19
48/29
61/41
72/52
81/63
85/68
83/66
76/57
65/45
48/32
35/20

Des Moines[37]
31/14
36/19
49/30
62/41
72/52
82/62
86/67
84/65
76/55
63/43
48/31
34/18

Keokuk[38]
34/17
39/21
50/30
63/42
73/52
83/62
87/67
85/65
78/56
66/44
51/33
33/21

Mason City[39]
24/6
29/12
41/23
57/35
69/46
79/57
82/61
80/58
73/49
60/37
43/25
28/11

Sioux City[40]
31/10
35/15
47/26
62/37
73/49
82/59
86/63
83/63
76/51
63/38
46/25
32/13

text: Iowa has a relatively smooth gradient of varying precipitation across the state, with areas in the southeast of the state receiving an average of over 38 inches (97 cm) of rain annually, and the northwest of the state receiving less than 28 inches (71 cm).[41] The pattern of precipitation across Iowa is seasonal, with more rain falling in the summer months. In Des Moines, roughly in the center of the state, over two-thirds of the 34.72 inches (88.2 cm) of rain falls from April through September, and about half of the average annual precipitation falls from May through August.[42]

text: Prehistory

text: When American Indians first arrived in what is now Iowa more than 13,000 years ago, they were hunters and gatherers living in a Pleistocene glacial landscape. By the time European explorers and traders visited Iowa, American Indians were largely settled farmers with complex economic, social, and political systems. This transformation happened gradually. During the Archaic period (10,500–2,800 years ago), American Indians adapted to local environments and ecosystems, slowly becoming more sedentary as populations increased.[43]

text: More than 3,000 years ago, during the Late Archaic period, American Indians in Iowa began utilizing domesticated plants. The subsequent Woodland period saw an increased reliance on agriculture and social complexity, with increased use of mounds, ceramics, and specialized subsistence. During the Late Prehistoric period (beginning about AD 900) increased use of maize and social changes led to social flourishing and nucleated settlements.[43]

text: The arrival of European trade goods and diseases in the Protohistoric period led to dramatic population shifts and economic and social upheaval, with the arrival of new tribes and early European explorers and traders. There were numerous Indian tribes living in Iowa at the time of early European exploration. Tribes which were probably descendants of the prehistoric Oneota include the Dakota, Ho-Chunk, Ioway, and Otoe. Tribes which arrived in Iowa in the late prehistoric or protohistoric periods include the Illiniwek, Meskwaki, Omaha, and Sauk.[43]

text: History

text: Early exploration and trade, 1673–1808

text: The first known European explorers to document Iowa were Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet who traveled the Mississippi River in 1673 documenting several Indian villages on the Iowa side.[44][45] The area of Iowa was claimed for France and remained a French territory until 1763. The French, before their impending defeat in the French and Indian War, transferred ownership to their ally, Spain.[46] Spain practiced very loose control over the Iowa region, granting trading licenses to French and British traders, who established trading posts along the Mississippi and Des Moines Rivers.[44]

text: Iowa was part of a territory known as La Louisiane or Louisiana, and European traders were interested in lead and furs obtained by Indians. The Sauk and Meskwaki effectively controlled trade on the Mississippi in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Among the early traders on the Mississippi were Julien Dubuque, Robert La Salle, and Paul Marin.[44] Along the Missouri River at least five French and English trading houses were built before 1808.[47] In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte took control of Louisiana from Spain in a treaty.

text: After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Congress divided the Louisiana Purchase into two parts—the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana. The latter, of which in was placed. Iowa was placed under United States jurisdiction of the Territory of Indiana, with William Henry Harrison. Much of Iowa was mapped by Zebulon Pike in 1805,[48] but it was not until the construction of Fort Madison in 1808 that the U.S. established tenuous military control over the region.[49]

text: War of 1812 and unstable U.S. control

text: Fort Madison was built to control trade and establish U.S. dominance over the Upper Mississippi, but it was poorly designed and disliked by the Sauk and Ho-Chunk, many of whom allied with the British, who had not abandoned claims to the territory.[49][50] Fort Madison was defeated by British-supported Indians in 1813 during the War of 1812, and Fort Shelby in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, also fell to the British. Black Hawk took part in the siege of Fort Madison.[51][52]

text: After the war, the U.S. re-established control of the region through the construction of Fort Armstrong, Fort Snelling in Minnesota, and Fort Atkinson in Nebraska.[53]

text: Trade and Indian removal, 1814–1832

text: The U.S. encouraged settlement of the east side of the Mississippi and removal of Indians to the west. Trade continued in furs and lead, but disease and forced population movement decimated Indian cultures and economies. A disputed 1804 treaty between Quashquame and William Henry Harrison that surrendered much of Illinois to the U.S. enraged many Sauk and led to the 1832 Black Hawk War. As punishment for the uprising, and as part of a larger settlement strategy, treaties were subsequently designed to remove all Indians from Iowa.

text: The Sauk and Meskwaki were pushed out of the Mississippi valley in 1832, out of the Iowa River valley in 1843, and out of Iowa altogether in 1846. Many Meskwaki later returned to Iowa and settled near Tama, Iowa; the Meskwaki Settlement remains to this day. In 1856 the Iowa Legislature passed an unprecedented act allowing the Meskawki to purchase the land; Indians were not usually permitted to do so. The Ho-Chunk were removed from Iowa in 1850, and the Dakota were removed by the late 1850s. Western Iowa around modern Council Bluffs was used as a way station for other tribes being moved west, including the Potawatomi.

text: U.S. settlement and statehood, 1832–1860

text: The first American settlers officially moved to Iowa in June 1833.[54] Primarily, they were families from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia.[54] On July 4, 1838, the U.S. Congress established the Territory of Iowa. President Martin Van Buren appointed Robert Lucas governor of the territory, which at the time had 22 counties and a population of 23,242.[55]

text: Almost immediately after achieving territorial status, a clamor arose for statehood. On December 28, 1846, Iowa became the 29th state in the Union when President James K. Polk signed Iowa's admission bill into law. Once admitted to the Union, the state's boundary issues resolved, and most of its land purchased from the Indians, Iowa set its direction to development and organized campaigns for settlers and investors, boasting the young frontier state's rich farmlands, fine citizens, free and open society, and good government.[56]

text: Iowa has a long tradition of state and county fairs. The first and second Iowa State Fairs were held in the more developed eastern part of the state at Fairfield. The first fair was held October 25–27, 1854, at a cost of around $323. Thereafter, the fair moved to locations closer to the center of the state and in 1886 found a permanent home in Des Moines. The State Fair has been held every year since except for the year 1898 due to the Spanish–American War and the World's Fair being held in nearby Omaha, Nebraska. The fair was also a World War II wartime casualty from 1942–1945, as the fairgrounds were being used as an army supply depot.[57]

text: Civil War, 1861–1865

text: Iowa supported the Union during the Civil War, voting heavily for Abraham Lincoln, though there was a strong antiwar "Copperhead" movement among settlers of southern origins and among Catholics.[citation needed] There were no battles in the state, although the battle of Athens, Missouri, 1861, was fought just across the Des Moines River from Croton, Iowa, and shots from the battle landed in Iowa. Iowa sent large supplies of food to the armies and the eastern cities.[58]

text: Much of Iowa's support for the Union can be attributed to Samuel J. Kirkwood, its first wartime governor. Of a total population of 675,000, about 116,000 men were subjected to military duty. Iowa contributed proportionately more men to Civil War military service than did any other state, north or south, sending more than 75,000 volunteers to the armed forces, over one-sixth of whom were killed before the Confederates surrendered at Appomattox.[58]

text: Most fought in the great campaigns in the Mississippi Valley and in the South.[59] Iowa troops fought at Wilson's Creek in Missouri, Pea Ridge in Arkansas, Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Rossville Gap as well as Vicksburg, Iuka, and Corinth. They served with the Army of the Potomac in Virginia and fought under Union General Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley. Many died and were buried at Andersonville. They marched on General Nathaniel Banks' ill-starred expedition to the Red River. Twenty-seven Iowans have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government, which was first awarded in the Civil War.[60]

text: Iowa had several brigadier generals and four major generals—Grenville Mellen Dodge, Samuel R. Curtis, Francis J. Herron, and Frederick Steele—and saw many of its generals go on to state and national prominence following the war.[58]

text: Agricultural expansion, 1865–1930

text: Following the Civil War, Iowa's population continued to grow dramatically, from 674,913 people in 1860 to 1,194,020 in 1880. The introduction of railroads in the 1859s and 1860s transformed Iowa into a major agricultural producer.

text: In 1917, the United States entered World War I and farmers as well as all Iowans experienced a wartime economy. For farmers, the change was significant. Since the beginning of the war in 1914, Iowa farmers had experienced economic prosperity. In the economic sector, Iowa also has undergone considerable change. Beginning with the first farm-related industries developed in the 1870s, Iowa has experienced a gradual increase in the number of business and manufacturing operations.

text: Depression, World War II, and the rise of manufacturing, 1930–1985

text: The transition from an agricultural economy to a mixed economy happened slowly. The Great Depression and World War II accelerated the shift away from smallholder farming to larger farms, and began a trend of urbanization. The period since World War II has witnessed a particular increase in manufacturing operations. While agriculture continued to be the state's dominant industry, Iowans also produce a wide variety of products including refrigerators, washing machines, fountain pens, farm implements, and food products.

text: The Farm Crisis of the 1980s caused a major recession in Iowa, causing poverty not seen since the Depression.[61] The crisis spurred a major, decade-long population decline.[62]

text: Reemergence as a mixed economy, 1985–present

text: After bottoming out in the 1980s, Iowa's economy began to become increasingly less dependent on agriculture, and by the early 21st century was characterized by a mix of manufacturing, biotechnology, finance and insurance services, and government services.[63] The population of Iowa has increased at a faster rate than the U.S. as a whole,[62] and Iowa now has a predominantly urban population.[64] The Iowa Economic Development Authority, created in 2011 has replaced the Iowa Department of Economic Development and its annual reports are a source of economic information.[65]

text: Demographics

text: Population

text:
Historical population

Census
Pop.

%±

1840
43,112

—

1850
192,214

345.8%

1860
674,913

251.1%

1870
1,194,020

76.9%

1880
1,624,615

36.1%

1890
1,912,297

17.7%

1900
2,231,853

16.7%

1910
2,224,771

−0.3%

1920
2,404,021

8.1%

1930
2,470,939

2.8%

1940
2,538,268

2.7%

1950
2,621,073

3.3%

1960
2,757,537

5.2%

1970
2,824,376

2.4%

1980
2,913,808

3.2%

1990
2,776,755

−4.7%

2000
2,926,324

5.4%

2010
3,046,355

4.1%

Est. 2017
3,145,711

3.3%

Source: 1910–2010[66]
2015 estimate[67]

text: The United States Census Bureau estimates the population of Iowa was 3,123,899 on July 1, 2015, a 2.55% increase since the 2010 Census.[67]

text: Of the residents of Iowa, 72.2% were born in Iowa, 23.2% were born in a different US state, 0.5% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 4.1% were foreign born.[68]

text: Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 29,386 people, while migration within the country produced a net loss of 41,140 people. 6.5% of Iowa's population were reported as under the age of five, 22.6% under 18, and 14.7% were 65 or older. Males made up approximately 49.6% of the population.[69] The population density of the state is 52.7 people per square mile.[70] The center of population of Iowa is in Marshall County, in the city of Marshalltown.[69]

text: As of the 2010 Census, the population of Iowa was 3,046,355. The gender makeup of the state was 49.5% male and 50.5% female. 23.9% of the population were under the age of 18; 61.2% were between the ages of 18 and 64; and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older.[71]

text: The racial makeup of Iowa as of the 2010 Census was:[71]

text:
White: 91.3% (88.7% non-Hispanic)
Black or African American: 2.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.4%
Asian: 1.7%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
Other race: 1.8%
Two or more races: 1.8%

tag: ul

text:
Iowa Racial Breakdown of Population

[hide]Racial composition
1990[72]
2000[73]
2010[74]

White
96.6%
93.9%
91.3%

Black or African American
1.7%
2.1%
2.9%

American Indian and Alaska Native
0.3%
0.3%
0.4%

Asian
0.9%
1.3%
1.7%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
–
–
0.1%

Other race
0.5%
1.3%
1.8%

Two or more races
–
1.1%
1.8%

text: Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.0% of the population in 2010: 3.8% were of Mexican, 0.2% Puerto Rican, about 0.0% Cuban, and 0.9% other Hispanic or Latino origin. According to the 2010–2015 American Community Survey, the largest ancestry groups were German (35.9%), Irish (13.7%), English (8.5%), American (6.2%), and Norwegian (5.2%).[75]

text: Settlement

text: Iowa's population is more urban than rural, with 61 percent living in urban areas in 2000, a trend that began in the early 20th century.[64] Urban counties in Iowa grew 8.5% from 2000 to 2008, while rural counties declined by 4.2%.[77] The shift from rural to urban has caused population increases in more urbanized counties such as Dallas, Johnson, Linn, Polk, and Scott, at the expense of more rural counties.[78]

text: Iowa, in common with other Midwestern states (especially Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota), is feeling the brunt of rural flight, although Iowa has been gaining population since approximately 1990. Some smaller communities, such as Denison and Storm Lake, have mitigated this population loss through gains in immigrant laborers.[79]

text: Another demographic problem for Iowa is the brain drain, in which educated young adults leave the state in search of better prospects in higher education or employment. During the 1990s, Iowa had the second highest exodus rate for single, educated young adults, second only to North Dakota.[80] Significant loss of educated young people contributes to economic stagnation and the loss of services for remaining citizens.

text:
Iowa's largest cities and their surrounding areas
Recorded by the United States Census Bureau

Rank
City
2014 city population[81]
2010 city population[82]
Change
Metropolitan Statistical Area
2016 metro population
2010 metro population
2016 metro change

1
Des Moines
209,220
203,433
7000284467121853390♠+2.84%
Des Moines–West Des Moines
634,725
569,633
7001114270065112099♠+11.43%

2
Cedar Rapids
129,195
126,326
7000227110808542980♠+2.27%
Cedar Rapids
267,799
257,940
7000382220671473990♠+3.82%

3
Davenport
104,589
99,685
7000491949641370320♠+4.92%
Quad Cities
386,630
379,090
7000198897359466090♠+1.99%

4
Sioux City
82,517
82,684
3000798026220308640♠−0.20%
Sioux City
168,806
168,563
6999144159750360400♠+0.14%

5
Iowa City
73,415
67,862
7000818278270607999♠+8.18%
Iowa City
168,828
152,586
7001106444890094770♠+10.64%

6
Waterloo
68,364
68,406
3001386018770283320♠−0.06%
Waterloo–Cedar Falls
169,993
167,819
7000129544330498930♠+1.30%

7
Council Bluffs
62,245
62,230
6998241041298409070♠+0.02%
Omaha–Council Bluffs
924,129
865,350
7000679251170046800♠+6.79%

8
West Des Moines
63,325
56,609
7001118638379056330♠+11.86%
Des Moines–West Des Moines
611,549

9
Ames
63,266
58,965
7000729415755108960♠+7.29%
Ames
97,090
89,542
7000842956378012550♠+8.43%

10
Dubuque
58,436
57,637
7000138626229678850♠+1.39%
Dubuque
96,370
93,653
7000290113504105580♠+2.90%

11
Ankeny
53,801
45,582
7001180312404019130♠+18.03%
Des Moines–West Des Moines
611,549

12
Urbandale
43,150
39,463
7000934292881940040♠+9.34%
Des Moines–West Des Moines
611,549

13
Cedar Falls
40,859
39,260
7000407284768211919♠+4.07%
Waterloo–Cedar Falls
169,993

14
Bettendorf
36,822
33,217
7001108528765391220♠+10.85%
Quad Cities
386,630

15
Marion
36,774
34,768
7000576967326277040♠+5.77%
Cedar Rapids
267,799

text: Birth data

text: Note: Births in table don't add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.

text:
Live Births by Single Race/Ethnicity of Mother

Race
2013[84]
2014[85]
2015[86]
2016[87]

White:
35,240 (90.1%)
35,528 (89.5%)
35,279 (89.3%)
...

> Non-Hispanic White
32,302 (82.6%)
32,423 (81.7%)
32,028 (81.1%)
31,376 (79.6%)

Black
2,232 (5.7%)
2,467 (6.2%)
2,597 (6.6%)
2,467 (6.3%)

Asian
1,353 (3.5%)
1,408 (3.5%)
1,364 (3.4%)
1,270 (3.2%)

American Indian
269 (0.7%)
284 (0.7%)
242 (0.6%)
147 (0.4%)

Hispanic (of any race)
3,175 (8.1%)
3,315 (8.3%)
3,418 (8.6%)
3,473 (8.8%)

Total Iowa
39,094 (100%)
39,687 (100%)
39,482 (100%)
39,403 (100%)

text: Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

text: Religion

text:
Religion in Iowa (2014)[88]

religion

percent

Protestant

60%

No religion

21%

Catholic

18%

Muslim

1%

No answer

1%

text: A 2001 survey from the City University of New York found 52% of Iowans are Protestant, while 23% are Catholic, and other religions made up 6%. 13% responded with non-religious, and 5% did not answer.[89] A survey from the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) in 2010 found that the largest Protestant denominations were the United Methodist Church with 235,190 adherents and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 229,557. The largest non Protestant religion was Catholicism with 503,080 adherents. The state has a great number of Reformed denominations. The Presbyterian Church (USA) had almost 290 congregations and 51,380 members followed by the Reformed Church in America with 80 churches and 40,000 members, and the United Church of Christ had 180 churches and 39,000 members.[90]

text: The study Religious Congregations & Membership: 2000[91] found in the southernmost two tiers of Iowa counties and in other counties in the center of the state, the largest religious group was the United Methodist Church; in the northeast part of the state, including Dubuque and Linn counties (where Cedar Rapids is located), the Catholic Church was the largest; and in ten counties, including three in the northern tier, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was the largest. The study also found rapid growth in Evangelical Christian denominations. Dubuque is home to the Archdiocese of Dubuque, which serves as the ecclesiastical province for all 3 other dioceses in the state and for all the Catholics in the entire state of Iowa.

text: Historically, religious sects and orders who desired to live apart from the rest of society established themselves in Iowa, such as the Amish and Mennonite near Kalona and in other parts of eastern Iowa such as Davis County and Buchanan County.[92] Other religious sects and orders living apart include Quakers around West Branch and Le Grand, German Pietists who founded the Amana Colonies, followers of Transcendental Meditation who founded Maharishi Vedic City, and Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance monks and nuns at the New Melleray and Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbies near Dubuque.

text: As of 2016[update] about 6,000 Jews live in Iowa, with about 3000 of them in Des Moines.[93]

text: Language

text: English is the most common language used in Iowa, used by 94% of the population.[94] William Labov and colleagues, in the monumental Atlas of North American English[95] found the English spoken in Iowa divides into multiple linguistic regions. Natives of northern Iowa – including Sioux City, Fort Dodge, and the Waterloo region – tend to speak the dialect linguists call North Central American English, which is also found in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Natives of central and southern Iowa – including such cities as Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, and Iowa City – tend to speak the North Midland dialect also found in eastern Nebraska, central Illinois, and central Indiana.[96] Natives of East-Central Iowa – including cities such as Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Clinton tend to speak with the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, a dialect that extends from this area and east across the Great Lakes Region.[97]

text: After English, Spanish is the second-most-common language spoken in Iowa, with 120,000 people in Iowa of Hispanic or Latino origin[98] and 47,000 people born in Hispanic America.[99] The third-most-common language is German, spoken by 17,000 people in Iowa;[94] two notable German dialects used in Iowa include Amana German spoken around the Amana Colonies, and Pennsylvania German, spoken among the Amish in Iowa. The Babel Proclamation of 1918 banned the speaking of German in public. Around Pella, residents of Dutch descent once spoke the Pella Dutch dialect.

text: No other language is spoken by more than 0.5 percent of the Iowa population.[94] The only indigenous language used regularly in Iowa is Meskwaki, used around the Meskwaki Settlement.[100]

text: Attractions

text: Central Iowa

text: Des Moines is the largest city in Iowa and the state's political and economic center. It is home to the Iowa State Capitol, the State Historical Society of Iowa Museum, Drake University, Des Moines Art Center, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, Principal Riverwalk, the Iowa State Fair, Terrace Hill, and the World Food Prize. Nearby attractions include Adventureland and Prairie Meadows Racetrack Casino in Altoona, Living History Farms in Urbandale, Trainland USA in Colfax, and the Iowa Speedway and Valle Drive-In in Newton.

text: Ames is the home of Iowa State University, the Iowa State Center, and Reiman Gardens.

text: Boone hosts the biennial Farm Progress Show and is home to the Mamie Doud Eisenhower museum, the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad, and Ledges State Park.

text: The Meskwaki Settlement west of Tama is the only American Indian settlement in Iowa and is host to a large annual Pow-wow.

text: The Clint Eastwood movie The Bridges of Madison County, based on the popular novel of the same name, took place and was filmed in Madison County. Also in Madison County is the John Wayne Birthplace Museum in Winterset.

text: Other communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include Newton, Indianola, Pella, Knoxville, Marshalltown, Perry, and Story City.

text: Eastern Iowa

text: Iowa City is home to the University of Iowa, which includes the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and the Old Capitol building. Because of the extraordinary history in the teaching and sponsoring of creative writing that emanated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and related programs, Iowa City was the first American city designated by the United Nations as a "City of Literature" in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

text: The Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum are in West Branch.

text: The Amana Colonies are a group of settlements of German Pietists comprising seven villages listed as National Historic Landmarks.

text: The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art has collections of paintings by Grant Wood and Marvin Cone. Cedar Rapids is also home to the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library and Iowa's only National Trust for Historic Preservation Site, Brucemore mansion.

text: Davenport boasts the Figge Art Museum, River Music Experience, Putnam Museum, Davenport Skybridge, Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Quad Cities, and plays host to the annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, and the Quad City Air Show, which is the largest airshow in the state.

text: Other communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include West Liberty, Fairfield, Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Fort Madison, LeClaire, Mount Vernon, Ottumwa, Washington, and Wilton.

text: Along Interstate 80 near Walcott, Iowa lies the world's largest truck stop, Iowa 80.

text: Western Iowa

text: Some of the most dramatic scenery in Iowa is found in the unique Loess Hills. The Iowa Great Lakes include several resort areas such as Spirit Lake, Arnolds Park, and the Okoboji Lakes. The Sanford Museum and Planetarium in Cherokee, Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Arnolds Park Amusement Park (one of the oldest amusement parks in the country) in Arnolds Park, The Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn, and the Fort Museum and Frontier Village in Fort Dodge are regional destinations.

text: Every year in early May, the city of Orange City holds the annual Tulip Festival, a celebration of the strong Dutch heritage in the region.[101]

text: Sioux City boasts a revitalized downtown, attractions include the Sergeant Floyd Monument, Sergeant Floyd River Museum, and the Orpheum Theater.

text: Council Bluffs, the major city of southwest Iowa, sits at the base of the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway. With three casino resorts, the city also includes such cultural attractions as the Western Hills Trails Center, Union Pacific Railroad Museum, the Grenville M. Dodge House, and the Lewis and Clark Monument.

text: Northwest Iowa is home to some of the largest concentrations of wind turbine farms in the world. Other western communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include Storm Lake, Spencer, Le Mars, Glenwood, Carroll, Atlantic, Red Oak, Denison, Creston, Mount Ayr, Sac City, and Walnut.

text: Northeast and Northern Iowa

text: The Driftless Area of northeast Iowa has many steep hills and deep valleys, checkered with forest and terraced fields. Effigy Mounds National Monument in Allamakee and Clayton Counties has the largest assemblage of animal-shaped prehistoric mounds in the world.

text: Waterloo is home of the Grout Museum and is headquarters of the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area. Cedar Falls is home of the University of Northern Iowa.

text: Dubuque is a regional tourist destination with attractions such as the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium and the Port of Dubuque.

text: Dyersville is home to the famed Field of Dreams baseball diamond. Maquoketa Caves State Park, near Maquoketa, contains more caves than any other state park.

text: Fort Atkinson State Preserve in Fort Atkinson has the remains of an original 1840s Dragoon fortification.

text: Fort Dodge is home of The Fort historical museum and the Blanden Art Museum, and host Frontiers Days which celebrate the town history.

text: Other communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include Decorah, McGregor, Mason City, Elkader, Guttenberg, Algona, Spillville, Charles City, and Independence.

text: Statewide

text: RAGBRAI – the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa – attracts thousands of bicyclists and support personnel. It has crossed the state on various routes each year since 1973. Iowa is home to more than 70 wineries,[102] and hosts five regional wine tasting trails.[103] Many Iowa communities hold farmers' markets during warmer months; these are typically weekly events, but larger cities can host multiple markets.[104]

text: Economy

text: CNBC's list of "Top States for Business in 2010" has recognized Iowa as the sixth best state in the nation. Scored in 10 individual categories, Iowa was ranked 1st when it came to the "Cost of Doing Business"; this includes all taxes, utility costs, and other costs associated with doing business. Iowa was also ranked 10th in "Economy", 12th in "Business Friendliness", 16th in "Education", 17th in both "Cost of Living" and "Quality of Life", 20th in "Workforce", 29th in "Technology and Innovation", 32nd in "Transportation" and the lowest ranking was 36th in "Access to Capital".[105]

text: While Iowa is often viewed as a farming state, in reality agriculture is a small portion of a diversified economy, with manufacturing, biotechnology, finance and insurance services, and government services contributing substantially to Iowa's economy.[63] This economic diversity has helped Iowa weather the late 2000s recession better than most states, with unemployment substantially lower than the rest of the nation.[107][108]

text: If the economy is measured by gross domestic product, in 2005 Iowa's GDP was about US $124 billion.[109] If measured by gross state product, for 2005 it was US $113.5 billion.[110] Its per capita income for 2006 was US $23,340.[110]

text: On July 2, 2009, Standard and Poor's rated the state of Iowa's credit as AAA (the highest of its credit ratings, held by only 11 U.S. state governments).[111]

text: As of December 2015, the state's unemployment rate is 3.4%.[112]

text: Manufacturing

text: Manufacturing is the largest sector of Iowa's economy, with $20.8 billion (21%) of Iowa's 2003 gross state product. Major manufacturing sectors include food processing, heavy machinery, and agricultural chemicals. Sixteen percent of Iowa's workforce is dedicated to manufacturing.[63]

text: Food processing is the largest component of manufacturing. Besides processed food, industrial outputs include machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, publishing, and primary metals. Companies with direct or indirect processing facilities in Iowa include ConAgra Foods, Wells Blue Bunny, Barilla, Heinz, Tone's Spices, General Mills, and Quaker Oats. Meatpacker Tyson Foods has 11 locations, second only to its headquarter state Arkansas.[113]

text: Major non-food manufacturing firms with production facilities in Iowa include 3M, ALCOA, Amana Corporation, Dexter Apache Holdings, Inc., Electrolux/Frigidaire, Emerson Process Management, Fisher Controls International, Hagie Manufacturing Company, HON Industries, The HON Company, SSAB, John Deere, Lennox Manufacturing, Maytag Corporation, Pella Corporation, Procter & Gamble, Rockwell Collins, Terex, Vermeer Company, and Winnebago Industries.[citation needed]

text: Agriculture

text: Directly and indirectly, agriculture has been a major component of Iowa's economy. As of 2007 the direct production and sale of raw agricultural products contributed only about 3.5% of Iowa's gross state product.[114] In 2002 the impact of the indirect role of agriculture in Iowa's economy, including agriculture-affiliated business, was calculated at 16.4% in terms of value added and 24.3% in terms of total output. This was lower than the economic impact of non-farm manufacturing, which accounted for 22.4% of total value added and 26.5% of total output.[115] Iowa's main agricultural products are hogs, corn, soybeans, oats, cattle, eggs, and dairy products. Iowa is the nation's largest producer of ethanol and corn and some years is the largest grower of soybeans. In 2008, the 92,600 farms in Iowa produced 19% of the nation's corn, 17% of the soybeans, 30% of the hogs, and 14% of the eggs.[116]

text: As of 2009[update] major Iowa agricultural product processors include Archer Daniels Midland, Ajinomoto, Cargill, Inc., Diamond V Mills, Garst Seed Company, Heartland Pork Enterprises, Hy-Vee, Monsanto Company, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, and Quaker Oats.[118][citation needed]

text: Health insurance

text: As of 2014, there were 16 organizations offering health insurance products in Iowa, per the State of Iowa Insurance Division.[119] Iowa was the 4th out of 10 states with the biggest drop in competition levels of health insurance between 2010 and 2011, per the 2013 annual report on the level of competition in the health insurance industry by the American Medical Association[120] using 2011 data from HealthLeaders-Interstudy, the most comprehensive source of data on enrollment in health maintenance organization (HMO), preferred provider organization (PPO), point-of-service (POS) and consumer-driven health care plans.[121] According to the AMA annual report from 2007 Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield had provided 71% of the state's health insurance.[122]

text: The Iowa Insurance Division "Annual report to the Iowa Governor and the Iowa Legislature" from November 2014 looked at the 95% of health insurers by premium, which are 10 companies. It found Wellmark Inc. to dominate the 3 health insurance markets it examined (individual, small group and large group) at 52-67%.[123]:2 Wellmark HealthPlan of Iowa and Wellmark Inc had the highest risk-based capital percentages of all 10 providers at 1158% and 1132%, respectively.[123]:31 Rising RBC is an indication of profits.[123]:31

text: Other sectors

text: Iowa has a strong financial and insurance sector, with approximately 6,100 firms,[63] including AEGON, Nationwide Group, Aviva USA, Farm Bureau Financial Services, Voya Financial, Marsh Affinity Group, MetLife, Principal Financial Group, Principal Capital Management, Wells Fargo, and Wells Fargo Financial Services.

text: Iowa is host to at least two business incubators, Iowa State University Research Park and the BioVentures Center at the University of Iowa.[124] The Research Park hosts about 50 companies, among them NewLink Genetics, which develops cancer immunotherapeutics, and the U.S. animal health division of Boehringer Ingelheim, Vetmedica.[124]

text: Ethanol production consumes approximately one-third of Iowa's corn production, and renewable fuels account for 8% of the state's gross domestic product. A total of 39 ethanol plants produced 3.1 billion US gallons (12,000,000 m3) of fuel in 2009.[125]

text: Renewable energy has become a major economic force in northern and western Iowa, with wind turbine electrical generation increasing exponentally since 1990.[11] In 2010, wind power in Iowa accounted for 15.4% of electrical energy produced, and 3675 megawatts of generating capacity had been installed at the end of the year.[126] Iowa ranked first of U.S. states in percentage of total power generated by wind and second in wind generating capacity behind Texas.[126] Major producers of turbines and components in Iowa include Acciona Energy of West Branch, TPI Composites of Newton, and Siemens Energy of Fort Madison.

text: In 2016, Iowa was the headquarters for three of the top 2,000 companies for revenue.[127] They include Principal Financial, Rockwell Collins, and American Equity Investment.[128][129][130] Iowa is also headquarters to other companies including Hy-Vee, Pella Corporation, Vermeer Company, Kum & Go gas stations, Von Maur, Pioneer Hi-Bred, and Fareway.[131][132][133][134][135][136][137]

text: Taxation

text: Iowa imposes taxes on net state income of individuals, estates, and trusts. There are nine income tax brackets, ranging from 0.36% to 8.98%, as well as four corporate income tax brackets ranging from 6-12%, giving Iowa the country's highest marginal corporate tax rate.[138] The state sales tax rate is 6%, with non-prepared food having no tax.[139] Iowa has one local option sales tax that may be imposed by counties after an election.[140] Property tax is levied on the taxable value of real property. Iowa has more than 2,000 taxing authorities. Most property is taxed by more than one taxing authority. The tax rate differs in each locality and is a composite of county, city or rural township, school district and special levies. Iowa allows its residents to deduct their federal income taxes from their state income taxes.[141]

text: Transportation

text: Interstate highways

text: Iowa has four primary interstate highways. Interstate 29 (I-29) travels along the state's western edge through Council Bluffs and Sioux City. I-35 travels from the Missouri state line to the Minnesota state line through the state's center, including Des Moines. I-74 begins at I-80 just northeast of Davenport. I-80 travels from the Nebraska state line to the Illinois state line through the center of the state, including Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Iowa City, and the Quad Cities. I-380 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway, which travels from I-80 near Iowa City through Cedar Rapids ending in Waterloo and is part of the Avenue of the Saints highway. Iowa is among the few jurisdictions where municipalities install speed cameras on interstate highways providing a substantial revenue source from out of state drivers.[142]

text: Airports with scheduled flights

text: Iowa is served by several regional airports including the Des Moines International Airport, the Eastern Iowa Airport, in Cedar Rapids, Quad City International Airport, in Moline, Illinois, and Eppley Airfield, in Omaha, Nebraska. Smaller airports in the state include the Davenport Municipal Airport (Iowa), Dubuque Regional Airport, Fort Dodge Regional Airport, Mason City Municipal Airport, Sioux Gateway Airport, Southeast Iowa Regional Airport, and Waterloo Regional Airport.[citation needed]

text: Railroads

text: Amtrak's California Zephyr serves the south of Iowa with stops at Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Osceola, and Creston on its daily route between Chicago and Emeryville, California (across the bay from San Francisco). Fort Madison is served by Amtrak's Southwest Chief, running daily between Chicago and Los Angeles.[citation needed]

text: Law and government

text: State

text: As of 2017[update] the Governor of Iowa is Kim Reynolds (R).

text: Other statewide elected officials are:

text:
Adam Gregg (R) – Lieutenant Governor
Paul Pate (R) – Secretary of State
Mary Mosiman (R) – Auditor of State
Michael Fitzgerald (D) – Treasurer of State
Bill Northey (R) – Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Miller (D) – Attorney General

text: The Code of Iowa contains Iowa's statutory laws. It is periodically updated by the Iowa Legislative Service Bureau, with a new edition published in odd-numbered years and a supplement published in even-numbered years.

text: Iowa is an alcohol monopoly or alcoholic beverage control state.

text: National

text: The two U.S. Senators:

text:
Chuck Grassley (R), in office since 1981
Joni Ernst (R), in office since 2015

text: The four U.S. Congressmen:

text:
Rod Blum (R) – First district
Dave Loebsack (D) – Second district
David Young (R) – Third district
Steve King (R) – Fourth district

text: After the 2010 census and the resulting redistricting, Iowa lost one seat, falling to 4 seats in the House of Representatives. Incumbent congressmen Leonard Boswell (D) and Tom Latham (R) ran against each other in the new Third district; Latham won. Steve King represented the old Fifth district.

text: Political parties

text: In Iowa, the term "political party" refers to political organizations which have received two percent or more of the votes cast for president or governor in the "last preceding general election".[143] Iowa recognizes two political parties – the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Third parties, officially termed "nonparty political organizations", can appear on the ballot as well. Five of these have had candidates on the ballot in Iowa since 2004 for various positions: the Constitution Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, the Pirate Party, and the Socialist Workers Party.[144][145]

text: Voter trends

text:
Presidential elections results

Year
Republican
Democratic

2016
51.15% 800,983
41.74% 653,669

2012
46.18% 730,617
51.99% 822,544

2008
44.74% 677,508
54.04% 818,240

2004
49.92% 751,957
49.28% 741,898

2000
48.22% 634,373
48.60% 638,517

1996
39.92% 492,644
50.31% 620,258

1992
37.33% 504,890
43.35% 586,353

1988
44.8% 545,355
55.1% 670,557

1984
53.32% 703,088
45.97% 605,620

text: As a result of the 2010 elections, each party controlled one house of the Iowa General Assembly: the House had a Republican majority, while the Senate had a Democratic majority. As a result of the 2016 elections, Republicans gained control of the Senate. Incumbent Democratic governor Chet Culver was defeated in 2010 by Republican Terry Branstad, who had served as governor from 1983 to 1999. On December 14, 2015, Branstad became the longest serving governor in U.S. history, serving (at that time) 20 years, 11 months, and 3 days; eclipsing George Clinton, who served 21 years until 1804.[146] Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds succeeded him on May 24, 2017, following Branstad's appointment as U.S. Ambassador to China.

text: As of February 1, 2016, there were 2,095,639 registered voters.[147]

text: Presidential caucus

text: The state gets considerable attention every four years because the Iowa caucus, gatherings of voters to select delegates to the state conventions, is the first presidential caucus in the country. The caucuses, held in January or February of the election year, involve people gathering in homes or public places and choosing their candidates, rather than casting secret ballots as is done in a presidential primary election.[citation needed] Along with the New Hampshire primary the following week, Iowa's caucuses have become the starting points for choosing the two major-party candidates for president.[148] The national and international media give Iowa and New Hampshire extensive attention, which gives Iowa voters leverage.[149] Those who enter the caucus race often expend enormous effort to reach voters in each of Iowa's 99 counties.[citation needed]

text: Civil rights

text: In the 19th century Iowa was among the earliest states to enact prohibitions against race discrimination, especially in education, but was slow to achieve full integration in the 20th century. In the very first decision of the Supreme Court of Iowa–In Re the Matter of Ralph,[150] decided July 1839–the Court rejected slavery in a decision that found a slave named Ralph became free when he stepped on Iowa soil, 26 years before the end of the Civil War.[151] The state did away with racial barriers to marriage in 1851, more than 100 years before the U.S. Supreme Court would ban miscegenation statutes nationwide.[152]

text: The Iowa Supreme Court decided Clark v. The Board of Directors[153] in 1868, ruling that racially segregated "separate but equal" schools had no place in Iowa, 85 years before Brown v. Board of Education.[151] By 1875, a number of additional court rulings effectively ended segregation in Iowa schools.[154] Social and housing discrimination continued against Blacks at state universities until the 1950s.[155] The Court heard Coger v. The North Western Union Packet Co.[156] in 1873, ruling against racial discrimination in public accommodations 91 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision.[151]

text: In 1884, the Iowa Civil Rights Act apparently outlawed discrimination by businesses, reading: "All persons within this state shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, restaurants, chophouses, eating houses, lunch counters, and all other places where refreshments are served, public conveyances, barber shops, bathhouses, theaters, and all other places of amusement." However, the courts chose to narrowly apply this act, allowing de facto discrimination to continue.[157] Racial discrimination at public businesses was not deemed illegal until 1949, when the court ruled in State of Iowa v. Katz that businesses had to serve customers regardless of race; the case began when Edna Griffin was denied service at a Des Moines drugstore.[158] Full racial civil rights were codified under the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965.[159]

text: As with racial equality, Iowa was a vanguard in women's rights in the mid-19th century, but was slow to give women the right to vote. In 1847, the University of Iowa became the first public university in the U.S. to admit men and women on an equal basis.[160] In 1869, Iowa became the first state in the union to admit women to the practice of law, with the Court ruling women may not be denied the right to practice law in Iowa and admitting Arabella A. Mansfield to the practice of law.[151] Several attempts to grant full voting rights to Iowa women were defeated between 1870 and 1919. In 1894 women were given "partial suffrage", which allowed them to vote on issues, but not for candidates. It was not until the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1920 that women had full suffrage in Iowa.[161] Although Iowa supported the Federal Equal Rights Amendment, in 1980 and 1992 Iowa voters rejected an Equal Rights Amendment to the state constitution.[162] Iowa did add the word "women" to the Iowa Constitution in 1998. After Amendment, it reads: "All men and women are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights – among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness." [163]

text: In the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement, court decisions in Iowa clarified and expanded citizens' rights. The landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) confirmed the right of students to express political views. The state's law criminalizing same-sex sexual activity was repealed in June 1976, 27 years before Lawrence v. Texas.

text: On April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court decided Varnum v. Brien,[164] holding in a unanimous decision,[165] the state's law forbidding same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. This made Iowa the third state in the U.S. and first in the Midwest to permit same-sex marriage.[166] [167] (See LGBT rights in Iowa.)

text: Sister jurisdictions

text: Iowa has nine official partner jurisdictions:[168]

text:
Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan (1960)
 Yucatán, Mexico (1964)
 Hebei Province, People's Republic of China (1983)
 Terengganu, Malaysia (1987)
 Taiwan, Republic of China (1989)
 Stavropol Krai, USSR/Russia (1989)
 Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine (1996)
 Veneto Region, Italy (1997)
 Republic of Kosovo (2013)

text: Education

text: Primary and secondary schools

text: Iowa is often credited with the start of the high school movement in the U.S. Around 1910, secondary schools as we know them today were established across the state, which was unprecedented at the time. As the high school movement gathered pace and went beyond Iowa, there was clear evidence of how more time spent in school led to greater income.[citation needed]

text: The four-year graduation rate for high schoolers was 90% in 2015.[169] The state has the top graduation rate in the nation.[170] Iowa has 365 school districts,[171] and has the 12th lowest student-to-teacher ratio of 13.8.[172] Teacher pay is ranked 42nd, with the average salary being $39,284.[172]

text: The Iowa State Board of Education works with the Iowa Department of Education to provide oversight, supervision, and support for the state's education system that includes all public elementary and secondary schools, nonpublic schools that receive state accreditation, area education agencies, community colleges, and teacher preparation programs. The State Board consists of ten members: nine voting members who are appointed by the governor for six-year terms and subject to Senate confirmation; and one nonvoting student member who serves a one-year term, also appointed by the governor. The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners is an autonomous board in control of teacher licensure standards and professional discipline; it has a majority of licensed teachers as members and is the oldest state educational board.[citation needed]

text: Colleges and universities

text: The Iowa Board of Regents is composed of nine citizen volunteers appointed by the governor to provide policymaking, coordination, and oversight of the state's public universities, two special K-12 schools, and affiliated centers.

text: Iowa's three public universities include:

text:
Iowa State University, Ames
University of Iowa, Iowa City
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls

text: The special K-12 schools include the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs and the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton. Both Iowa State University and the University of Iowa are major research institutions and members of the prestigious Association of American Universities. In addition to the three state universities, Iowa has multiple private colleges and universities.

text: Private colleges and universities include:

text:
Buena Vista University, Storm Lake
Clarke University, Dubuque
Des Moines University, Des Moines
Divine Word College, Epworth
Drake University, Des Moines
Emmaus Bible College, Dubuque
Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary, Ankeny
Graceland University, Lamoni
Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Pleasant
Kaplan University, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Mason City, and Urbandale
Loras College, Dubuque
Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield
Mount Mercy University, Cedar Rapids
Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport
Saint Ambrose University, Davenport
University of Dubuque, Dubuque
Upper Iowa University, Fayette
Waldorf College, Forest City
William Penn University, Oskaloosa

text: Private liberal arts colleges include:

text:
Ashford University, Clinton
Briar Cliff University, Sioux City
Central College, Pella
Coe College, Cedar Rapids
Cornell College, Mount Vernon
Dordt College, Sioux Center
Grand View University, Des Moines
Grinnell College, Grinnell
Loras College, Dubuque
Luther College, Decorah
Morningside College, Sioux City
Northwestern College, Orange City
Simpson College, Indianola
Wartburg College, Waverly

text: Culture

text: Arts

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2017)

text: Sports

text: The state has four major college teams playing in Division I for all sports. In football, Iowa State University and the University of Iowa compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), whereas the University of Northern Iowa and Drake University compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Although Iowa has no professional major league sports teams, Iowa has minor league sports teams in baseball, basketball, hockey, and other sports.

text: The following table shows the Iowa sports teams with average attendance over 8,000. All of the following teams are NCAA Division I football, basketball, or wrestling teams:[173][174][175][176]

text:
Iowa sports teams (attendance > 8,000)

Team
Location
Attendance

Iowa Hawkeyes football
Iowa City
67,512

Iowa State Cyclones football
Ames
52,197

Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
Iowa City
14,976

Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball
Ames
14,192

Northern Iowa Panthers football
Cedar Falls
12,490

Iowa State Cyclones women's basketball
Ames
9,289

Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling
Iowa City
8,358

text: College sports

text: The state has four NCAA Division I college teams. In NCAA FBS, the University of Iowa Hawkeyes play in the Big Ten Conference and the Iowa State University Cyclones compete in the Big 12 Conference. The two intrastate rivals compete annually for the Cy-Hawk Trophy as part of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.

text: In NCAA FCS, the University of Northern Iowa Panthers play at the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference (despite the similar names, the conferences are administratively separate), whereas the Drake University Bulldogs play at the Missouri Valley Conference in most sports and Pioneer League for football.

text: Baseball

text: Des Moines is home to the Iowa Cubs, a Class AAA team in the Pacific Coast League and affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Iowa has four Class A minor league teams in the Midwest League: the Burlington Bees, Cedar Rapids Kernels, Clinton LumberKings, and the Quad Cities River Bandits. The Sioux City Explorers are part of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

text: Ice hockey

text: Des Moines is home to the Iowa Wild, who are affiliated with the Minnesota Wild and are members of the American Hockey League.

text: The United States Hockey League has five teams in Iowa: the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Sioux City Musketeers, Waterloo Black Hawks, Des Moines Buccaneers, and the Dubuque Fighting Saints. The North Iowa Bulls play in the North American 3 Hockey League in Mason City.

text: Soccer

text: The Des Moines Menace of the USL Premier Development League play their home games at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, Iowa. Starting in the 2015-16 season of the Major Arena Soccer League, the Cedar Rapids Rampage plays in the U.S. Cellular Center. As well as the Cedar Rapids Rampage United plays at Kingston Stadium.

text: Other sports

text: Iowa has two professional basketball teams. The Iowa Wolves, an NBA G League team that plays in Des Moines, is owned and affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA. The Sioux City Hornets play in the American Basketball Association.

text: Iowa has three professional football teams. The Sioux City Bandits play in the Champions Indoor Football league. The Iowa Barnstormers play in the Indoor Football League at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The Cedar Rapids Titans play in the Indoor Football League at the U.S. Cellular Center.

text: The Iowa Speedway oval track has hosted auto racing championships such as the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Truck Series since 2006. Also, the Knoxville Raceway dirt track hosts the Knoxville Nationals, one of the classic sprint car racing events.

text: The John Deere Classic is a PGA Tour golf event held in the Quad Cities since 1971. The Principal Charity Classic is a Champions Tour event since 2001. The Des Moines Golf and Country Club hosted the 1999 U.S. Senior Open and has scheduled the 2017 Solheim Cup.

text: Notable Iowans

text: Iowa was the birthplace of U.S. President Herbert Hoover, Vice President Henry A. Wallace, and two first ladies, Lou Henry Hoover and Mamie Eisenhower. Other national leaders who lived in Iowa include President Ronald Reagan, President Richard Nixon, John L. Lewis, Harry Hopkins, Carrie Chapman Catt, Jefferson Davis, Chief Black Hawk, and John Brown.

text: Five Nobel Prize winners hail from Iowa: Norman Borlaug, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize; Thomas Cech, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Alan J. Heeger, also a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry; John Mott, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize; and Stanley B. Prusiner, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Other notable scientists who worked or were born in Iowa include astronomer and space pioneer James A. Van Allen, ecologist Aldo Leopold, computer pioneer John Vincent Atanasoff, inventor and plant scientist George Washington Carver, geochemist Clair Cameron Patterson, and Intel founder Robert Noyce.

text: Notable writers, artists, and news personalities from Iowa include Bill Bryson, Corey Taylor, George Gallup, Susan Glaspell, Mauricio Lasansky, Tomas Lasansky, Harry Reasoner, Phil Stong, and Grant Wood.

text: Musicians, actors, and entertainers from Iowa include Tom Arnold, Julia Michaels, Bix Beiderbecke, Johnny Carson, Tionne Watkins of TLC (group), Buffalo Bill Cody, Simon Estes, Nathan Jonas Jordison, Corey Taylor, Shawn Crahan, William Frawley, Charlie Haden, Ashton Kutcher, Cloris Leachman, Glenn Miller, Kate Mulgrew, Eric Christian Olsen, Donna Reed, George Reeves, Brandon Routh, Jean Seberg, John Wayne, Brooks Wheelan, Andy Williams, Meredith Willson, and Elijah Wood.

text: Olympic gold medal winning athletes from Iowa include Tom Brands, Dan Gable, Shawn Johnson, and Cael Sanderson. Iowa athletes inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame include Cap Anson, Fred Clarke, and Bob Feller. In college football, Jay Berwanger was the first winner of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy in 1935, later renamed the Heisman Trophy and won by Nile Kinnick in 1939. In professional football, Kurt Warner was the Super Bowl XXXIV MVP winner and a two-time NFL MVP award winner. Frank Gotch was a World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, Zach Johnson won the 2007 Masters Golf Tournament and the 2015 British Open, and Jeremy Hellickson won the 2011 American League Rookie of the Year award pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays. Former WWE Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, is from Davenport, IA. The first UFC Welterweight Champion and a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, Pat Miletich, was born in Daventport.