Portal:Iowa

The Iowa Portal

Iowa (/ˈaɪ.əwə/ ^ⓘ EYE-ə-wə) is a landlocked state in the upper Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the east and southeast, Missouri to the south, Nebraska to the west, South Dakota to the northwest, and Minnesota to the north. Iowa is the 26th largest in total area and the 31st most populous of the 50 U.S. states, with a population of 3.19 million. The state's capital, most populous city, and largest metropolitan area fully located within the state is Des Moines.

During the 18th and early 19th centuries, Iowa was a part of French Louisiana and Spanish Louisiana; its state flag is patterned after the flag of France. After the Louisiana Purchase, pioneers laid the foundation for an agriculture-based economy in the heart of the Corn Belt. In the latter half of the 20th century, Iowa's agricultural economy began to transition to a diversified economy of advanced manufacturing, processing, financial services, information technology, biotechnology, and green energy production.

Politically, Iowa is notable for the Iowa Caucuses, an influential event in national politics, as well as its high levels of voter turnout and foundational leadership in civil rights including early adoption or support of black suffrage. (Full article...)

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Official portrait, 2021

Thomas James Vilsack (/ˈvɪlsæk/; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician. He served as the 30th and 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2009 to 2017, during the Barack Obama administration, and again from 2021 to 2025 during the Joe Biden administration. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 40th Governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007.

On November 30, 2006, he formally launched his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2008 election, but ended his bid on February 23, 2007. President-elect Barack Obama announced Vilsack's selection to be Secretary of Agriculture on December 17, 2008. His nomination was unanimously confirmed on January 20, 2009 by the United States Senate . Until his resignation on January 13, 2017, one week prior to the end of Obama's second term as president, he had been the only member of the U.S. Cabinet who had served since the day Obama took office. (Full article...)

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... that the Quad Cities forecast office of the National Weather Service has been directly struck by both an F1 tornado and a historic derecho?
... that Iowa government social worker Catherine G. Williams started out as a tap dancer?
... that an Iowa TV station, in one fell swoop, fired nearly a third of its staff and canceled a children's show that had been on the air for 32 years?
... that for 19 years Tonya Burns had the only retired jersey number in Iowa State women's basketball history?
... that an Iowa TV station was paid for by surplus Manhattan Project funds?
... that a historical society celebrated the 50th anniversary of its acquisition of Armstrong House by hosting a murder mystery?

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General images

The following are images from various Iowa-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Howes Building, in Clinton County (from National Register of Historic Places listings in Iowa)
Image 2Farm in rural Northwest Iowa (from Iowa)
Image 3Amana Colonies were founded by German Pietists (from Iowa)
Image 4Population age comparison between rural Pocahontas County and urban Polk County, illustrating the flight of young adults (red) to urban centers in Iowa (from Iowa)
Image 5Iowa Territorial Seal (from Iowa)
Image 6Phil Hoffman House, in Mahaska County (from National Register of Historic Places listings in Iowa)
Image 7Köppen climate types of Iowa, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Iowa)
Image 8Iowa in 1718 with the modern state area highlighted (from Iowa)
Image 9Iowa annual rainfall, in inches; as of 2009 (from Iowa)
Image 10Palmer Chiropractic College in Davenport is the first school of chiropractic in the world. (from Iowa)
Image 11Snake Alley, in Des Moines County (from National Register of Historic Places listings in Iowa)
Image 12Fourth Street Historic District, in Woodbury County (from National Register of Historic Places listings in Iowa)
Image 13Excavation of the 3,800-year-old Edgewater Park Site (from Iowa)
Image 14Iowa gross state products by industry, 2009 (from Iowa)
Image 15The Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing at Iowa State University, Ames (from Iowa)
Image 16Harvesting corn in Jones County (from Iowa)
Image 17Ethnic origins in Iowa (from Iowa)
Image 18A Christian cross on a hill in Iowa (from Iowa)
Image 19Modern Woodmen Park is home to the Quad Cities baseball team (from Iowa)
Image 20Iowa 2020 Population Density map (from Iowa)
Image 21Samuel J. Kirkwood, founder of the Iowa Republican Party, abolitionist, and Iowa's Civil War Governor (from Iowa)

Map of counties in Iowa by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census

Non-Hispanic White

50–60%

60–70%

70–80%

80–90%

90%+

(from Iowa)

Image 23Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State University (from Iowa)
Image 24Loess Hills east of Mondamin (from Iowa)
Image 25View of Grotto of the Redemption's Lower Arcade: Small Stations of the Cross, West Bend (from Iowa)
Image 26Bellevue along the Mississippi, 1848 (from Iowa)
Image 27Merchants' National Bank in Poweshiek County, designed by Louis Sullivan (from National Register of Historic Places listings in Iowa)
Image 28The Union Block building in Mount Pleasant, scene of early civil rights and women's rights activities (from Iowa)
Image 29Lock and Dam No. 14 Historic District, in Scott County (from National Register of Historic Places listings in Iowa)
Image 30Topography of Iowa, with counties and major streams (from Iowa)
Image 31Mural in Mt. Ayr Post Office, "The Corn Parade" by Orr C. Fischer, which was commissioned as part of the New Deal (from Iowa)
Image 32Central Iowa cornfield and dairy in June (from Iowa)
Image 33Iowa's major interstates, larger cities, and counties (from Iowa)
Image 34Grotto of the Redemption, in Palo Alto County (from National Register of Historic Places listings in Iowa)

State Facts

State of Iowa

Date admitted to Union: December 28, 1846 (29th State)
Demonym: Iowan
Capital: Des Moines
Elected state officers:
- Governor: Kim Reynolds (R)
- Lieutenant Governor: Adam Gregg (R)
- Secretary of State: Paul Pate (R)
- Auditor: Rob Sand (D)
- Treasurer: Roby Smith (R)
- Secretary of Agriculture: Mike Naig (R)
- Attorney General: Brenna Bird (R)
U.S. Senators:
- Chuck Grassley (R)
- Joni Ernst (R)
U.S. Representatives:

Total area: 56,272 square miles (145,744 km²) (23rd most extensive state)
- Land: 55,869 square miles (144,700 km²)
- Water: 402 square miles (1,041 km²)
Highest elevation: Hawkeye Point 1,670 feet (509 m) (42nd highest state)
Mean elevation: 1,100 feet (335 m) (22nd highest state)
Lowest elevation: Mississippi River 480 feet (146 m) (37th lowest state)
Population (2022 estimate): 3,200,517 (32nd most populous state)
Number of counties: 99 counties
Number of municipalities: 947 municipalities
Time zone: CST=UTC-06, CDT=UTC-05
USPS code: IA
ISO 3166 code: US-IA
Adjacent states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota
State government website: Iowa.gov

State Symbols

State flag:
State seal:
State motto:	Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain
State nickname:	The Hawkeye State
State bird:	Eastern Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
State flower:	Wild Prairie Rose (Rosa pratincola)
State grass:	Bluebunch Wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata)
State tree:	Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
State rock:	Geode
State soil:	Tama
State song:	The Song of Iowa
State tartan:	Iowa State Tartan
Commemorative U.S. coin: