Iowa

Iowa

Flag of Iowa (In Detail) (Full size)
State nickname: "The Hawkeye State"
Other U.S. States
Capital	Des Moines
Largest City	Des Moines
Governor	Thomas Vilsack
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 26th 145,743 km2 0.71%
Population  - Total (2000)  - Density	Ranked 30th 2,926,324 20/km2
Admittance into Union  - Order  - Date	29th December 28, 1846
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Latitude Longitude	40°36'N to 43°30'N 89°5'W to 96°31'W
Width Length Elevation  -Highest  -Mean  -Lowest	320 km 500 km   509 meters 335 meters 146 meters
ISO 3166-2:	US-IA

The state is named for the Native American Iowa people.

Table of contents

1 History 2 Law and Government 3 Geography 4 Economy 5 Demographics 6 Important cities and towns 7 Education 7.1 State universities 7.2 Independent colleges and universities 7.3 Community colleges 7.4 Professional business and technical colleges and universities 8 Professional sports teams 8.5 U.S. senators from Iowa 8.6 Iowa caucus 9 External links

History

• history prior to joining the United States
• First came under U.S. control as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Part of Missouri Territory until Missouri became a state in 1821 when it became unorganized territory. Made part of Territory of Michigan in 1834, then the Territory of Wisconsin in 1836. Territory of Iowa established June 12, 1838, including all of present Iowa and most of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
• Attained statehood in December 28, 1846 (the 29th state).
• major historical events that occurred in state

The state capital is Des Moines. The current Governor is Tom Vilsack (Democrat) and the two U.S. Senators are Chuck Grassley (Republican) and Tom Harkin (Democrat). The five U.S. Congressmen are Jim Leach (Republican), Jim Nussle (Republican), Steve King (Republican), Tom Latham (Republican), and Leonard Boswell (Democrat).

[Note that all the U.S. states have similar legal and political systems, so maybe we only need to mention anything that makes the state distinct]

• List of Governors of Iowa
• legislature -- bicameral: Senate and House
• structure of state judicary
• information on state constitution
• does it have referenda?

Iowa is bordered by Minnesota on the north, Nebraska and South Dakota on the west, Missouri on the south, and Wisconsin and Illinois on the east.

• Physical geography (mountains, rivers, plains, elevation, that sort of thing)
  • Located between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
  • See: List of Iowa rivers

• National parks, etc.
  • Effigy Mounds National Monument
  • Herbert Hoover National Historical Site

Economy

The state's total gross state product for 1999 was $85 billion placing Iowa 30^th in the nation. Its Per Capita Income for 2000 was $26,723. Iowa's main agricultural outputs are hogs, corn, soybeans, oats, cattle and dairy products. Its industrial outputs are food processing, machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, publishing and primary metals.

• State income
• Major industries/products: agriculture, insurance, manufacturing.
• state taxes

• state population: 2,926,324 (2000 census)
• racial/ethnic makeup of state
• religious makeup of state

Education

Iowa has a strong emphasis on education, which is shown in standardized testing scores. In 2003, Iowa had the second highest average SAT scores by state, and tied for second highest average ACT (examination) scores in states where more than 20% of graduates were tested. The national office of ACT is in Iowa City, and the ITBS and ITED testing programs used in many states are provided by the University of Iowa.

State universities

• Iowa State University
• University of Iowa
• University of Northern Iowa

Community colleges

Professional business and technical colleges and universities

Professional sports teams

The Minor League baseball teams are:

Iowa Cubs Cedar Rapids Kernels Burlington Bees

Clinton LumberKings Swing of the Quad Cities Waterloo Bucks

U.S. senators from Iowa

List of United States Senators who have represented Iowa:

(Seat 1):

• Chuck Grassley, Republican, 1981-present
• John Culver, Democrat, 1975-1981
• Harold E. Hughes, Democrat, 1969-1975
• Bourke B. Hickenlooper, Democrat, 1945-1969
• Guy M. Gillette, Democrat, 1936-1945
• Richard Louis Murphy, Democrat, 1933-1936
• Smith W. Brookhart, Republican, 1927-1933
• David W. Stewart, Republican, 1926-1927
• Albert B. Cummins, Republican, 1908-1926
• William B. Allison, Republican, 1873-1908
• James Harlan, Republican, 1867-1873
• Samuel J. Kirkwood, Republican, 1865-1867
• James Harlan, Free Soil and Republican, 1855-1865
• Augustus C. Dodge, Democrat, 1848-1855

• Tom Harkin, Democrat, 1985-present
• Roger Jepsen, Source | Copyright

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