Iowa State Information
The State of Iowa is the 29th state of the United States of America, joining the union on the 28th of December 1846. The state was nicknamed as the Hawkeye State, probably after the highest point of elevation in the land, which is the Hawkeye Point. Others would trace the nickname after the Black Hawk, a native chief that led the Black Hawk War in 1832.
State Symbols
Nickname: Hawkeye State
Bird: Eastern Goldfinch
Flower: Wild Rose
Tree: Oak
Colors: Red, White and Blue
Motto: Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain
Abbreviation: IA
Origin of State’s Name
Iowa has been home to about 17 Native American tribes. One of these tribes is the Iowa from which the name of the state was allegedly taken.
Capital and Other Major Cities
The state capital is Des Moines, which is located in Polk County. Other major cities in the state includes:
- Iowa City, once capital of the state and home of the University of Iowa
- Cedar Falls, home of the University of Northern Iowa
- Fayette, home of the Upper Iowa University
- Council Bluffs
Geography
The state of Iowa is a midsize state bordered on two sides by rivers. On the east of Iowa is Wisconsin and Illinois, which is separated from it by the Mississippi River. Far to the west is Nebraska and South Dakota, which in turn are separated from the state by the Missouri River and Big Sioux River, respectively. On the north of Iowa is the state of Minnesota while Missouri lies on its east.
Iowa’s landscape is a low and gently rolling plain with some low sloping hills on the sides. Once a large and great grassland, Iowa is home to a number of prairie reserves, although these reserves are but a small fraction of the enormous grasslands of Iowa’s past.
The state also houses a number of natural lakes, most popular of which are the Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake and the East Okoboji Lake. Aside from these natural lakes, there are also man-made lakes like the Saylorville Lake and the Lake Red Rock.
The highest point of elevation in Iowa is the Hawkeye Point (509 m) and the lowest point of elevation is the Keokuk (146) in southeast Iowa. But considering the size of the state, which measures at 145, 743 sq. km., the difference between the two elevation points is not really very significant.
Population
In 2003, Iowa’s population was approximated at 2,944,062 people. The population is dominated by a white and non-Hispanic majority (92.6%), with only a few Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans occupying the lands.
By religion, 23% of the population are Catholics, 16% are Lutherans, and 13% are Methodist. The rest of the population belongs to other religions and sects, including Baptists, Presbyterians, Protestants, Pentecostals, Evangelicals and others.
The population of Iowa has seen a continuous decline. This is especially true in the 1980s when the decline in population was rated at 4.7% due to out migration. This is probably a result of Iowa’s susceptibility to economic recessions due to the unstable nature of agricultural prices.
Economy
Iowa is a chief agricultural state of the United States of America, owning some of the most fertile farmlands in the world. The major produce of the state’s fertile croplands is corn, although other grains and agricultural land products like soybeans, hay and oats are also harvested in abundance. The state is also a well-known raising ground for corn-fed hogs and cattle. In recent years, Iowa has registered the second highest farm income of any state in the US.
The chief industry of the state is food processing, which is expected because the state produces a lot of farm food products. Other manufactures include machineries, electric equipments, chemical products, publishing and primary metals. Iowa is also the country’s largest producer of ethanol and its capital serves as a center for the insurance industry.
Famous People
With a population that is continually declining rather than increasing, one wouldn’t expect Iowa to have a lot of famous people. Nonetheless, this great agricultural state has produced a number of personalities that it can surely be proud of. Among the famous people born and raised in Iowa are:
- Buffalo Bill Cody
- John L. Lewis, labor leader
- Billy Sunday, baseball player – evangelist
- James Wilson, U.S. secretary of agriculture for 16 years
- Herbert C. Hoover
- Harry L. Hopkins
- Notable members of the Wallace family, including Henry Wallace, Henry Cantwell Wallace, and Henry Agard Wallace
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