Iowa

**Iowa** () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its name comes from the Iowa River, which was named after the Ioway people, one of the Native American tribes that lived in Iowa. Iowa was a part of New France, but was sold to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Its settlers were mostly farmers: Iowa is part of the Corn Belt and is often known as the "Food Capital of the World." However, Iowa's landscape, culture, and economy are diverse, with the economy changing in the second half of the 20th Century to include many kinds of business.

Iowa has about 3,200,000 people . Its capital and largest city is Des Moines. Iowa became a state on December 28, 1846. It was the 29th state to join the United States. Iowa is divided into 99 counties.

## Geography

Iowa is in the Midwestern United States. To the north of Iowa is Minnesota; to the west are Nebraska and South Dakota; to the south is Missouri; and to the east are Illinois and Wisconsin.

The eastern border of the state is marked by the Mississippi River which runs between Iowa and Illinois. The western border is marked by the Missouri and Big Sioux rivers. The northern border is a line 43 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude. The southern border follows the northern border of Missouri. Iowa and Missouri disagreed about the location of the Iowa-Missouri border. This argument was ended by the Supreme Court of the United States in the 1896 case, _State of Missouri v. State of Iowa_, after a standoff called the Honey War. The border follows the Des Moines River for the far eastern part of the state and is at close to 40 degrees, 35 minutes north for the rest of the state.

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

Most of Iowa is considered to be a plain.

## Law and Government

The government of Iowa has three branches, similar to the federal government of the United States. The executive branch is headed by the governor, currently Kim Reynolds (R) since May 24, 2017. The legislative branch is the Iowa General Assembly, composed of two houses - the Iowa Senate and the Iowa House of Representatives. The judicial branch is headed by the Iowa Supreme Court under the chief justice, currently Susan Christensen .

There are two major political parties in Iowa, the Iowa Democratic Party and the Republican Party of Iowa, as well as several unofficial third parties. The Republican Party controls the government ; the governor is a Republican and the House and Senate both have Republican majorities.

Iowa sends two senators and four representatives to Congress.

Senators:
- Joni Ernst (R)
- Chuck Grassley (R)
Representatives:
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R), First district
- Ashley Hinson (R), Second district
- Zach Nunn (R), Third district
- Randy Feenstra (R), Fourth district

## Economy

There are many farms in Iowa. Iowa is well known for its agriculture. Its main agricultural outputs are hogs, corn, soybeans, oats, cattle, and dairy products. Its industrial outputs include food processing and machinery. Iowa also produces more ethanol fuel than any other U.S. state.

## Related pages

- Colleges and universities in Iowa
- List of cities in Iowa
- List of counties in Iowa
- List of rivers of Iowa

## Infobox (u.s. state)

- **official name**: State of Iowa
- **image flag**: Flag of Iowa.svg
- **name**: Iowa
- **image seal**: Iowa-StateSeal.svg
- **flag link**: Flag of Iowa
- **nickname**: Hawkeye State
- **motto**: _Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain._
- **anthem**: "The Song of Iowa"

- **image map**: Iowa in United States.svg
- **officiallang**: None
- **population demonym**: Iowan
- **largestcity**: capital
- **seat**: Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines
- **largestmetro**: Des Moines metropolitan area
- **area rank**: 26th
- **area total sq mi**: 58,295.81
- **area total km2**: 145,750
- **width mi**: 240
- **width km**: 322
- **length mi**: 310
- **length km**: 499
- **area water percent**: 0.70
- **latitude**: 40° 23′ N to 43° 30′ N
- **longitude**: 90° 8′ W to 96° 38′ W
- **population as of**: 2022
- **population rank**: 31st
- **2010pop**: 3,190,369
- **medianhouseholdincome**: $59,955
- **2000densityus**: 56.1
- **2000density**: 21.69
- **population density rank**: 36th
- **incomerank**: 26th
- **elevation max point**: Hawkeye Point
- **elevation max ft**: 1,671
- **elevation max m**: 509
- **elevation ft**: 1,100
- **elevation m**: 340
- **elevation min point**: Confluence of  and
- **elevation min m**: 146
- **elevation min ft**: 480
- **former**: Iowa Territory
- **admittancedate**: December 27, 1846
- **admittanceorder**: 29th
- **legislature**: Iowa General Assembly
- **upperhouse**: Iowa Senate, Senate
- **lowerhouse**: Iowa House of Representatives, House of Representatives
- **senators**:

- **representative**:

- **timezone1**: Central Time Zone (North America), Central
- **utc offset1**: −06:00
- **timezone1 dst**: Central Daylight Time, CDT
- **utc offset1 dst**: −05:00
- **iso code**: US-IA
- **postal code**: IA
- **website**: www.iowa.gov
- **number of representatives elected to u.s. congress**: 4
- **capital**: Des Moines, Iowa


## Infobox (u.s. state symbols)

- **name**: Iowa
- **flag**: Flag of Iowa.svg
- **seal**: Seal of Iowa.svg
- **bird**: American goldfinchEastern goldfinch
- **flower**: Rosa arkansanaPrairie rose
- **grass**: Pseudoroegneria spicata
- **tree**: Bur oak
- **rock**: Geode
- **route marker**: Iowa 3.svg
- **quarter**: 2004 IA Proof.png
- **quarterreleasedate**: 2004