The State Nicknames Part 5 - Orlando / Florida Guide The State Nicknames Part 5 - Orlando / Florida Guide Search Tweet Never having visited the States before, on our first trip to Florida we were fascinated to see that all the cars had license plates which showed their state of origin. Of course, Florida is a magnet to holidaymakers from all over the USA so on our first visit we pretty soon managed to see numerous different plates, and so started our obsession. We have continued to look for the few plates that we have not seen – and now we only have a couple to go. They are interesting in the pictures they show as well as the state nicknames they display. Take a look yourself and see for yourselves how many different plates you can find. Here are the nicknames of Indiana, Iowa, and Kansas. Indiana Way back in the 1830’s the ‘Hoosier State’ came into general usage. There are many explanations for this nickname, but most are quite illogical, so there is no real answer, although it has been suggested that Hoosier may have been used contemptuously to refer to the people of Indiana. It was once called the ‘Crossroads of America, ’ and the ‘Hospitality State.

’ Iowa Often called the ‘Hawkeye State, ’ this nickname is said to have come from the scout, Hawkeye, in the book Last of the Mohicans, written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is also called the ‘Corn State, ’ and of course this pays tribute to its vast corn crop, as it is one of the leading producer of corn in the USA. Sometiimes referred to as the ‘Land of the Rolling Prairie, ’ Iowa has vast rolling prairies that covered the state. Iowa has warm summers and this combined with wet springs make it the ideal climate for the growing of corn and soyabeans. Kansas Nicknamed the ‘Sunflower State, ’ Kansas has numerous nicknames. With its vast plains and prairies Kansas is the breadbasket of the country, growing more wheat than any other state. Dodge City became home to the largest cattle market in the world, and today cattle, corn, wheat and soyabeans are the basis of its agricultural economy. Sunflowers grow in profusion across the state, and the sunflower is the official state flower, so it is hardly surprising that Kansas took the nickname of this flower for its licence plates.

Kansas has also been known as the ‘Wheat State’ which, of course, refers to it being the number one state for wheat produced and wheat flour milled in 2000. With the geographical centre of the United States being in Kansas in the town of Lebanon, it is not surprising that it is also called ‘Midway, USA. ’ It has also been called ‘The Central State. ’ However, one of its most descriptive nicknames is the ‘Cyclone State’ due to it having weather conditions which are conducive to tornadoes or cyclones, and Kansas certainly does get its fair share of ‘twisters. ’ It also suffered at the hands of another natural disaster when swarms of grasshoppers (Rocky Mountain Locusts) swept into Kansas in 1874 denuding the lush landscapes, so its nickname ‘The Grasshopper State’ is pretty self-explanatory. A more pleasant nickname is ‘Garden of the West’ which refers to its beautiful landscapes and fertile soil. ‘The Squatter State’ is a fascinating reference to the new settlers who flocked into Kansas to establish claims to the land.

These early squatters were from the slave states of Missouri, and an extraordinary number of people from Missouri staked a claim in this new territory. Sadly, Kansas experienced some turbulent years leading up to the civil war, when it became known as ‘Bleeding Kansas’ because of the violent conflicts between anti-slavery and pro-slavery factions. Its modern-day nickname of the ‘Sunflower State’ is certainly a happier title. We aim to provide accurate and useful information, but if you feel anything provided here is not accurate or out of date, please email us with the address of the page concerned and any comments so we can amend as necessary. Page added on: 11 October 2010 Viewed 1553 times since 11 October 2010. There are no photos available for this article at the moment. Villa Owners: Upload A Photo To This Article To upload a photo for consideration, click here . Please only submit photos relevant to this article. Other Articles Viewed The State of Iowa - An Introduction to the Hawkeye State from NETSTATE.COM The State of Iowa Iowa State Capitol, Des Moines Welcome to Iowa, the Hawkeye State.

With its fertile, rolling prairies, Iowa is one of the foremost farming states in the United States. One fifth of the nation's corn harvest is produced in Iowa. Wet springs combined with warm summers create a favorable environment for plantings of corn and soybeans in the state's top-grade farmland. Although agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, Iowa has also encouraged the growth of manufacturing and service industries. If you are going to have large farms, you might as well ensure that you have the right equipment to work those farms, and in that spirit Iowa produced the first gasoline-powered tractor in 1892 (John Froelich, Clayton County). Today, the state claims the largest tractor manufacturing plant in the U.S. THE STATE NAME: The state of Iowa, originally a territory of Wisconsin west of the Mississippi River, was named after the Iowa River. The Iowa River was named after the Iowa Indians who lived in the territory.

The tribal name "Ayuxwa" was spelled by the French as "Ayoua" and by the English as "Ioway." "Ayuxwa" means "one who puts to sleep." James Fenimore Cooper The Hawkeye State This popular nickname for the state of Iowa is said to have come from the scout, Hawkeye, in James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans published in 1826. According to the Iowa State web site, "Two Iowa promoters from Burlington are believed to have popularized the name." The nickname was given approval by "territorial officials" in 1838, twelve years after the book was published and eight years before Iowa became a state. The two men responsible for the promotion of this nickname are thought to be Judge David Rorer of Burlington and the newspaper publisher, James G. Edwards of Fort Madison and, later, Burlington. Burlington had been established in 1833 after the Black Hawk War of 1832. Mr. Edwards changed the name of his Burlington newspaper, The Iowa Patriot , to The Hawk-Eye and Iowa Patriot in tribute to his friend Chief Black Hawk.

Judge Rorer is said to have suggested "The Hawkeye State" after finding the name in The Last of the Mohicans while Mr. Edwards proposed the nickname "Hawk-eyes" in 1838 to "...rescue from oblivian [sic] a momento [sic], at least of the name of the old chief," Black Hawk. Marshall County, Iowa The Corn State This nickname pays tribute to Iowa's corn crop. Iowa leads the country in the production of corn. Iowa has also been called the "Land Where the Tall Corn Grows," in tribute. Land of the Rolling Prairie Iowa has been referred to as the "Land of the Rolling Prairie" because of the vast rolling prairies that covered the state. THE STATE QUARTER: United States Mint Image The Iowa quarter is the fourth of 2004, and the 29th in the 50 State Quarters® Program. On December 28, 1846, Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted into the Union.

The Iowa quarter design features a one-room schoolhouse with a teacher and students planting a tree, and the inscriptions "Foundation in Education" and "Grant Wood." The design is based on "Arbor Day," a painting by Grant Wood, who was born near Anamosa, Iowa. He spent his career as a proponent of small-town values, which he celebrated in the iconic images of small-town plain folk and verdant Midwestern vistas for which he is world-renowned. Iowans have had a commitment to education since the State's earliest days. When Iowa became a state in 1846, it already had a number of rural country schools in each of its counties. Iowa established its first high school in the 1850s, although high schools generally did not become widespread in the United States until after 1900. Private and public colleges also quickly took root in the new State. Although Iowa has long been a leader in agriculture, the State is unique in that it is the only one whose east and west borders are completely formed by rivers - the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. In May 2002, Governor Thomas J.

Vilsack established the 16-member Iowa Quarter Commission, which worked with libraries, banks and credit unions to solicit ideas and concepts for the state quarter design. The Commission received nearly 2,000 submissions, which were narrowed to five candidate themes, including "American Gothic," "Foundation in Education," "Feeding the World," "Sullivan Brothers," and "Beautiful Land." In July 2003, the United States Mint forwarded five approved candidate designs to Governor Vilsack for final recommendation. Three designs were emblematic of the "Feeding the World" theme, and the other two represented the "Young Corn" and "Foundation in Education" concepts. Governor Vilsack chose the "Foundation in Education" design, which was approved by the Secretary of the Treasury on August 26, 2003. For more about the state commemorative quarters, visit this page . This 50 State Quarter Map is a great way to collect and display all 50 State Quarters. Sources... University of Missouri-Kansas City in the School of Education. 28 September 2002 < Carpenter, Allan & Provorse, Carl. .

Mahwah, N.J.: World Almanac Books (An Imprint of K-III Reference Corporation, A K-III Communications Company), 1996. The Hawk Eye Iowa (World Almanac Library of the States) , by Michael E. Martin. 48 pages. Gareth Stevens Publishing (August 2002) Reading level: Grades 4-6. Filled with the most up-to-date information, including the latest Census results. Full-color photos bring to life the story of Iowa. In addition to an in-depth factual profile of Iowa in the form of a state Almanac, this book offers fascinating and lively discussions of the state's history, people, geography, government, economy, culture, and lifestyles. A section on Notable People, a calendar of events, and enough primary source documents, time lines, maps, and other tools to make this unquestionably the best young adult reference material on the USA available anywhere. Iowa Past to Present: The People and the Prairie , by Dorothy Schwieder, Thomas Morain, and Lynn Nielsen. 99 pages. Publisher: University Of Iowa Press (January 1, 2003) Reading level: Grade 5.

A textbook for fifth grade students which traces the history of Iowa from its earliest inhabitants to the coming of modern times.. A Good Day's Work: An Iowa Farm in the Great Depression , by Dwight W. Hoover. 256 pages. Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher (June 25, 2007) Despite beautiful landscapes and bountiful harvests, farming is hard work and always has been. The Great Depression in rural America, which began in the 1920s and lasted until World War II, made it still harder. At a time when tractors were replacing horses and the family farm was giving way to the large, single-crop enterprise, the struggle to survive and modernize in a period of economic scarcity was especially sharp. In A Good Day's Work , Dwight Hoover, who grew up on an Iowa farm in this era, recalls the events of day-to-day life on a single farm, offering detailed descriptions of daily work in each of the year's four seasons. A Good Day's Work is a fascinating if grim reminder of what it was like to be a child with adult responsibilities. Mr. Hoover's unusual memoir recalls the rough edges as well as the happy moments of rural life.

It is an honest re-creation of a world that was vanishing. Iowa, United States | Article about Iowa, United States by The Free Dictionary Iowa, United States | Article about Iowa, United States by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Legal , Wikipedia . Iowa (ī`əwə), midwestern state in the N central United States. It is bounded by the Mississippi River, across which lie Wisconsin and Illinois (E); Missouri (S); Nebraska and South Dakota, from which it is separated by the Missouri and the Big Sioux rivers, respectively (W); and Minnesota (N). Facts and Figures Area, 56,290 sq mi (145,791 sq km). Pop. (2010) 3,046,355, a 4.1% increase since the 2000 census. Capital and largest city, Des Moines. Statehood, Dec. 28, 1846 (29th state). Highest pt., 1,670 ft (509 m), Osceola co.; lowest pt., Mississippi River, 480 ft (146 m).

Nickname, Hawkeye State. Motto, Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain. State bird, Eastern goldfinch. State flower, wild rose. State tree, oak. Abbr., IA Geography Iowa is bordered on two sides by rivers; the Mississippi separates it on the east from Wisconsin and Illinois, and the Missouri and the Big Sioux separate it on the west from Nebraska and South Dakota. The state is bounded on the north by Minnesota and on the south by Missouri. Iowa is an area of rich, rolling plains, interrupted by many rivers. The terrain is low and gently sloping, except for the hills in the unglaciated area of NE Iowa, the steeply sloping bluffs on the banks of the Mississippi, and the moundlike bluffs on the banks of the Missouri. The rivers of the eastern two thirds of Iowa flow to the Mississippi; those of the west flow to the Missouri. The original woodlands, which included black walnut and hickory, were destroyed by lumbering and land clearing in the 19th cent., and present wooded sections are covered only with second or third growths of timber.

Only 0.1% of Iowa, the lowest total in the 50 states, is owned by the federal government. Historically typical of Iowa was the prairie. Covered a little more than a century ago with grass higher than the wheels of the pioneers' prairie schooners, or covered wagons, the prairies gave way to fields of corn and other grains. Wildflowers still brighten the roadsides, but few areas of the original grassland remain, and several prairie preserves have been established. The former habitat of wild turkeys, prairie chickens, and quail, Iowa abounds with migratory geese and ducks and the imported ring-necked pheasant and European partridge, all of which are hunted in the autumn. Des Moines Des Moines , city (1990 pop. 193,187), state capital and seat of Polk co., S central Iowa, at the junction of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers; inc. as Fort Des Moines in 1851, chartered as Des Moines in 1857. ..... Click the link for more information. is the capital and largest city.

Other major cities are Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids, city (1990 pop. 108,751), seat of Linn co., E central Iowa, on the Cedar River; inc. as a city 1856. The second largest city in Iowa, it is named for the surging rapids in the river. ..... Click the link for more information. , Davenport Davenport, city (1990 pop. 95,333), seat of Scott co., E central Iowa, on the Mississippi River; inc. 1836. Bridges connect it with the Illinois cities of Rock Island and Moline; the three communities and neighboring Bettendorf, Iowa, are known as the Quad Cities. ..... Click the link for more information. , and Sioux City Sioux City, city (1990 pop. 80,505), seat of Woodbury co., NW Iowa, at the junction of the Big Sioux and Floyd rivers with the Missouri; inc. 1857. It is a shipping, wholesale trade, and industrial center for an extensive agricultural and livestock area (including nearby states). ..... Click the link for more information. .

Iowa's climate is continental—northwest winds drive the mercury down below 0&degF; (−18&degC;) in winter, and in the summer hot air masses bring oppressive heat; there are violent thunderstorms, hail, and occasional droughts. Floods have periodically inflicted great losses of life and property, necessitating control measures. In the devastating midwestern flood of 1993 all 99 counties of Iowa were declared disaster areas. Overall, the average annual rainfall in Iowa is 31 in. (78.7 cm), and, since most of this falls in summer, soil is often washed away. Iowans have had to fight erosion with modern plowing and planting practices, control of water flow, and reforestation. Still, Iowa has some of the most fertile agricultural land (about 70% of the state's area is cropland) in the world. Economy The deep, porous soil yields corn and other grains in tremendous quantities, and the corn-fed hogs and cattle are nationally known.

In 1997, Iowa led the nation in the production of corn, soybeans, hogs, and pigs, and ranked in the top 10 in the raising of cattle. Other major crops are hay and oats. Iowa has in recent years taken in the second highest farm income of any state. Agriculture also benefits the state's chief industry, food processing, and in Sioux City and Cedar Rapids many factories process farm products. Nonelectrical machinery, farm machinery, tires, appliances, electronic equipment, and chemicals are among the other manufactures. Cement is the most important mineral product; others are stone, sand, gravel, and gypsum. Mineral production is small, however. Communications, finance, and insurance industries are especially important in Des Moines. Government and Higher Education Iowa's constitution was adopted in 1857. The governor is elected for a term of four years. The general assembly, or legislature, has a senate with 50 members and a house of representatives with 100 members. Iowa is represented in the U.S. Congress by two senators and four representatives. The state has six electoral votes.

Terry Branstad, a Republican, served as governor from 1983 through 1998, when Democrat Tom Vilsack was elected. Vilsack was reelected in 2002, and was succeeded by fellow Democrat Chet Culver, elected in 2006. Culver lost to Republican Terry Branstad in 2010; Branstad was reelected in 2014. Among the educational institutions in Iowa are Iowa State Univ. of Science and Technology, at Ames; the Univ. of Iowa, at Iowa City; Grinnell College, at Grinnell; Cornell College, at Mount Vernon; Drake Univ., at Des Moines; Univ. of Northern Iowa, at Cedar Falls; and the Univ. of Dubuque, Loras College, and Clarke College, at Dubuque. History European Incursions into Native Lands In prehistoric times, the Mound Builders Mound Builders, in North American archaeology, name given to those people who built mounds in a large area from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mts. ..... Click the link for more information.

, a farming people, lived in the Iowa area. When Europeans first came to explore the region in the 17th cent., various Native American groups, including the Iowa Iowa , Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages); also called the Ioway. They, with the Missouri, the Omaha, the Oto, and the Ponca, are thought to have once formed part of the ..... Click the link for more information. , reputedly the source of the state's name, occupied the land. The Sac and Fox Sac and Fox, closely related Native Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Sac and Fox culture was of the Eastern Woodlands area with some Plains-area traits (see under Natives, North American). ..... Click the link for more information. also ranged over the land, but it was the combative Sioux Sioux or Dakota, confederation of Native North American tribes, the dominant group of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock, which is divided into several separate branches (see Native American languages). ..... Click the link for more information. who dominated the area.

In 1673 the French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet traveled down the Mississippi River and touched upon the Iowa shores, as did Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, in 1681–82. The areas surrounding the Des Moines and Mississippi rivers were profitable for fur traders, and a number of Iowa towns developed from trading posts. Late in the 18th cent. a French Canadian, Julien Dubuque Dubuque, Julien , 1762–1810, pioneer settler of Iowa, b. Nicolet co., Que. Setting out at a young age for the West, Dubuque reached Prairie du Chien, in what is now Wisconsin, by 1785 and crossed to the Iowa side of the Mississippi, then in Spanish Louisiana. ..... Click the link for more information. , leased land from Native Americans around the Dubuque area and opened lead mines there. After his death they refused to permit others to work the mines, and U.S. troops under Lt. Jefferson Davis protected Native American rights to the land as late as 1830.

However, their hold was doomed after the United States acquired Iowa as part of the Louisiana Purchase Louisiana Purchase, 1803, American acquisition from France of the formerly Spanish region of Louisiana. Reasons for the Purchase The revelation in 1801 of the secret agreement of 1800, whereby Spain retroceded Louisiana to France, aroused uneasiness in the United ..... Click the link for more information. of 1803. In 1832 the Black Hawk War Black Hawk War, conflict between the Sac and Fox and the United States in 1832. After the War of 1812, whites settling the Illinois country exerted pressure on the Native Americans. ..... Click the link for more information. broke out as the Sac and Fox, led by their chief, Black Hawk, fought to regain their former lands in Illinois along the Mississippi River. They were defeated by U.S. troops and were forced to leave the Illinois lands and cede to the United States much of their land along the river on the Iowa side. Within two decades after the Black Hawk War, all Native American lands in the region had been ceded to the United States.

Meanwhile, a great rush of frontiersmen came to settle the prairies and take the mines. Territorial Status Slavery was prohibited in Iowa under the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which excluded it from the lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of lat. 36°30'N. Included in the Missouri Territory prior to 1821, Iowa was subsequently part of Michigan Territory and Wisconsin Territory. By 1838, Iowa Territory was organized, with Burlington as the temporary capital. In the following year, Iowa City became the capital. The Iowans quickly built a rural civilization like that of New England, where many of them had lived. Later, immigrants from Europe, notably Germans, Czechs, Dutch, and Scandinavians, brought their agricultural skills and their own customs to enrich Iowa's rural life, and a group of German Pietists established the Amana Church Society Amana Church Society , corporate name of a group of seven small villages in E central Iowa, clustered around the Iowa River NW of Iowa City; settled 1855 by members of the Ebenezer Society. The society originated in one of the Pietist religious groups of 17th-century Germany. .....

Click the link for more information. , a successful attempt at communal social organization. A system of public schools was set up in 1839, and efforts made soon thereafter resulted in the establishment of a number of colleges and universities. Statehood, Railroads, and Reform Movements Iowa became a state in 1846, and Ansel Briggs was elected as the first governor. In 1857 the capital was moved from Iowa City to Des Moines. In that same year the state adopted its second constitution. Iowa prospered greatly with the beginning of railroad construction, and the rivalry between towns to get the lines was so fierce that the grant of big land tracts to railroad companies was curtailed by legislative act in 1857. Two years earlier the state's first railroad line was completed between Davenport and Muscatine along the eastern border. Before and during the Civil War, Iowans, generally owners of small, independent farms, were naturally sympathetic to the antislavery side, and many fought for the Union. The Underground Railroad, which helped many fugitive slaves escape to free states, was active in Iowa, and the abolitionist John Brown made his headquarters there for a time.

Iowa's farmers prospered after the Civil War, but during the hard times that afflicted the country in the 1870s they found themselves burdened with debts. Feeling oppressed by the currency system, corporations, and high railroad and grain-storage rates, many of Iowa's farmers supported, along with other farmers of the West, the Granger movement Granger movement, American agrarian movement taking its name from the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, an organization founded in 1867 by Oliver H. Kelley and six associates. Its local units were called granges and its members grangers. ..... Click the link for more information. , the Greenback party Greenback party, in U.S. history, political organization formed in the years 1874–76 to promote currency expansion. The members were principally farmers of the West and the South; stricken by the Panic of 1873, they saw salvation in an inflated currency that would wipe out ..... Click the link for more information. , and the Populist party Populist party, in U.S. history, political party formed primarily to express the agrarian protest of the late 19th cent.

In some states the party was known as the People's party. ..... Click the link for more information. . The reform movements had some success in the state. Granger laws were enacted in 1874 and 1876 regulating railroad rates, but these laws were repealed in 1877 under pressure from the railroad companies. By the end of the 19th cent., times improved, and the agrarian movements declined. Farm units grew larger, and mechanization brought great increases in productivity. Modern Iowa Much of Iowa's society may still resemble that depicted in the paintings of Grant Wood Wood, Grant, 1891–1942, American painter, studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and in Paris. In Munich in 1928 he was decisively influenced by German and Flemish primitive painting. ..... Click the link for more information. , an Iowan, but the state's industrial economy as well as other elements of modernization have altered this image. While on a visit to the United States in 1959, Nikita S. Khrushchev, then premier of the Soviet Union, was invited to a farm in Iowa to observe part of the U.S. farm economy.

The volatile nature of agricultural prices combined with a steady decline in manufacturing has made Iowa susceptible to economic recession. This was especially true in the 1980s, when Iowa was second in the United States in outmigration with a 4.7% decline in population. Notable Iowans Among Iowa's colorful native sons were Buffalo Bill Buffalo Bill, 1846–1917, American plainsman, scout, and showman, b. near Davenport, Iowa. His real name was William Frederick Cody. His family moved (1854) to Kansas, and after the death of his father (1857) he set out to earn the family living, working for supply trains ..... Click the link for more information. Cody, labor leader John L. Lewis Lewis, John Llewellyn, 1880–1969, American labor leader, b. Lucas co., Iowa; son of a Welsh immigrant coal miner. He became a miner and after 1906 rose through the union ranks to become president (1920) of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW). ..... Click the link for more information.

, and baseball player–evangelist Billy Sunday Sunday, Billy (William Ashley Sunday), 1863–1935, American evangelist, b. Ames, Iowa, in the era around World War I. A professional baseball player (1883–90), he later worked for the Young Men's Christian Association in Chicago (1891–95) and, during that time, ..... Click the link for more information. . Other public figures associated with the state are James Wilson, U.S. secretary of agriculture for 16 years (1897–1913), and the noted members of the Wallace family—Henry Wallace, Henry Cantwell Wallace, and Henry Agard Wallace. Herbert C. Hoover and Harry L. Hopkins were born in Iowa. Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, which contains Hoover's birthplace, childhood home, and grave, and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library are at West Branch. Bibliography See H. Hahn, Urban-Rural Conflict (1971); M. M. Rosenberg, Iowa on the Eve of the Civil War (1972); R. B.

Talbot, Iowa in the World Economy (1985); O. J. Fargo, ed., Iowa Geography (1988), "History of Iowa" series; D. Schwieder et al., Iowa: Past to Present (1989). Iowa (ī`əwə, –wā'), Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages Native American languages, languages of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere and their descendants. A number of the Native American languages that were spoken at the time of the European arrival in the New World in the late 15th cent. ..... Click the link for more information. ); also called the Ioway. They, with the Missouri, the Omaha, the Oto, and the Ponca, are thought to have once formed part of the Winnebago people in their primal home N of the Great Lakes. Iowa culture was that of the Eastern Woodlands area with some Plains area traits. In 1700 the Iowa, separated from the parent nation, lived in Minnesota. Their population in 1760 was some 1,100.

In 1804, according to Lewis and Clark, the Iowa lived on the Platte River and there were some 800, smallpox having reduced the population. In 1824 they ceded all their lands in Missouri and in 1836 were assigned a reservation in NE Kansas. Some of them later moved to central Oklahoma, and in 1890 land was allotted to them in severalty. In 1990 there were some 1,500 Iowa in the United States. Bibliography See A. B. Skinner, Ethnology of the Ioway Indians (1926). Iowa, river, 329 mi (529 km) long, rising in the lakes of N Iowa and flowing SE to the Mississippi River, SE Iowa; Cedar River (300 mi/483 km long) is its chief tributary. A power dam crosses the gorge at Iowa Falls. The Iowa River has an extensive flood-control system; Coralville Dam and reservoir, N of Iowa City, is the largest unit. Iowa State Information Iowa a state in the midwestern USA between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

Area, 145,800 km. Population, 2,750,000 in 1969, of which 53 percent is urban. Capital, Des Moines. Iowa is one of the states in the so-called corn belt. It is second, after California, in the USA in the value of its farm production. Iowa is flat (mean altitude, 400–500 meters). The soil is fertile, chernozem or chernozem-like. The climate is warm, temperately continental. Precipitation, 700–1,000 millimeters a year. Approximately 70 percent of the state’s territory is arable land, 11–12 percent, meadows and pastures, and approximately seven percent, forests. More than 90 percent of the harvest area is for fodder crops—that is, corn (approximately 50 percent), oats (25 percent), grasses (15–16 percent); the soy bean crops are usually the first or second largest in the USA.

The major goal of animal husbandry is meat: 7.2 million head of horned cattle and 12.5 million hogs were fattened on farms in 1966. Poultry raising, with the production of eggs and meat chickens, is also important. Stock-raising provides approximately 80 percent of agricultural commodity output. Small farms are being ruined: there were 215,000 farms in 1930 and 155,000 farms in 1964. Powerful capitalistic enterprises, which make up approximately one-third of all farms, provide two-thirds of Iowa’s agricultural commodity output. In 1969, 220,000 people—that is, 25 percent of the people not in agriculture—worked in manufacturing. The most developed industries are meat, dairy, and flour; agricultural machinery is built in Iowa. There are defense industries in cities along the Mississippi River—for instance, Dubuque and Davenport. V. P. K IOWA FROM A TO Z A fact about the state of Iowa for each letter of the alphabet. Click on highlighted word for more information.

A IS FOR AGRICULTURE, AMISH, & ARCHEOLOGY Information about AGRICULTURE is provided the The Iowa Department of Agriculture The State Soil is Tama. A State Fair is held in Des Moines and there are many County Fairs . Iowa has 4-H Clubs and Future Farmers of America groups. The National Agriculture Statistic Service has agriculture information about Iowa, and games & puzzles . The Amish way of life largely revolves around working and socializing together as a family and community. Amish Settlements are scattered across Iowa and have lived here since 1846. There are also many Mennonite communities. Iowa celebrates ARCHEOLOGY Month and has archaeology and paleontology events The state has several archeological sites including Effigy Mounds National Monument and Toolesboro Indian Mounds. B IS FOR BEACHES, BIRDS, & BRIDGES Although Iowa is landlocked, there are many BEACHES along lakes and rivers. Iowa has over 400 species of BIRDS and birdwatching is popular. There are several Birding Clubs . Iowa has many BRIDGES including Historic Bridges and Covered Bridges . There are also Railroad Bridges and Toll Bridges .

There are several Suspension Bridges including twin Suspension Bridges on the upper Mississippi. C IS FOR CAPITAL, COMMUNICATION, & COUNTIES The CAPITAL of Iowa is Des Moines .It was incorporated in 1851 as Fort Des Moines and shortened to Des Moines in 1857. It was named after the Des Moines River. The city is a major center for the insurance industry. Knoxville is called the Sprint Car Capital of the World. All forms of COMMUNICATION are available throughout Iowa including newspapers, magazines, radio, television, telephone, and Internet. The state has 9 telephone area codes . There are many Web Cams and Internet service Providers throughout the state. Iowa has 99 COUNTIES . The largest county is Kossuth and Dickinson is the smallest. Polk has the largest population & Adams has the smallest. The term county is the level of local government below the state itself. D IS FOR DAMS & DINOSAUR Iowa has 200 DAMS . The United States Society on Dams is involved in the maintenance, construction, operation, and safety of dams. The state has a Dam Safety Program . Alternate forms of energy are being investigated including hydroelectric power, Solar power, and Wind power.

At one time DINOSAURS lived in Iowa, but the evidence is only a few fossils. The Crinoid has been proposed as the State Fossil. The state has an interesting Paleontology History . E IS FOR EARTHQUAKES, EDUCATION, & EVENTS Iowa has experienced minor EARTHQUAKES . The first recorded quake occurred in 1867 and the most recent in 2004. FEMA provides information about EARTHQUAKES . The Department of EDUCATION oversees public education in Iowa. It is provided free and is compulsory for any child age 6-16. The State also has private schools that are required to comply with state standards and regulations. Information about schools is available from GreatSchools and SchoolBug . Iowa has a variety of Festivals and EVENTS including Arts & Crafts Shows . The state observes State & Federal Holidays. F IS FOR FISH, FLAG, FOOD, & FORESTS Many nearly 150 species of FISH are found in lakes & rivers of Iowa and Channel Catfish . Iowa has several Fish Hatcheries . The Iowa State FLAG consists of three vertical stripes of blue, white, and red.

On the central white stripe is depicted a spreading eagle bearing in its beak blue streamers on which is inscribed the State Motto . There are Municipal Flags and all counties have a flag. The Sac & Fox Nations have a flag. The State Seal was made official in 1847. Iowa has FOOD Festivals, Shows, and Events. The cultivation of corn dates back 2,000 years. The Red Delicious apple was first discovered in Iowa. The state ranks first in the production of pork, corn, and eggs. The Food Bank of Iowa is a private, non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger and reduce food waste. Iowa has 10 State Forests . The State Tree is the Bur Oak . Iowa has many Big Trees, and the Iowa Big Tree Program is designed to locate the largest tree of various specimens in the state. G IS FOR GEOLOGY, GHOST TOWNS, & GLOBAL POSITION The GEOLOGY of Iowa is varied . The US Geological Survey has water programs in Iowa. Several minerals are found in Iowa including quartzite, calcite, galena, gypsum, coal, and copper. The State Rock is the Geode .

NOAA provides information about the topography of the state. The GLOBAL POSITION of Iowa is approximately 42 degrees north and 62 degrees west. The geographic center is in Story . The highest point is Hawkeye_Point and the lowest place is junction of the Mississippi & Des Moines Rivers. Geocaching is a popular game using a global positioning finder, and there are many geocaches in Iowa. Iowa has many GHOST TOWNS . There are a few residents in Jordan and Shipley . Ten people live in Angus . H IS FOR HISTORIC SITES & HISTORY Many places in Iowa are on the National Register of HISTORIC Places . A Queen Anne-style house in Cedar Rapids that was once the home of the Sinclair, Douglas, and Hall families is a National Trust Historic Site . The Effigy Mounds National Mounument preserves three prehistoric sites. The HISTORY of Iowa dates back 10,000 years when Nomadic hunters arrived in the area. Recorded history began in the 1673. Iowa participates in National History Day .

I IS FOR INDUSTRIES, INSECTS, & ISLANDS Iowa has a variety of INDUSTRIES including food processing, machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, printing, and publishing. Trade Shows are held throughout the year. A wide variety of INSECTS are found in Iowa including many species of butterflies & moths . There are a variety of Spiders in the state. The Iowa State University has an Insect Zoo program developed to foster an appreciation of insects found in Iowa and throughout the world. Iowa has nearly 100 ISLANDS . Most are on the Mississippi River and some on other rivers. J IS FOR JAZZ Jazz is popular in Iowa. Iowa city has a Jazz Festival and Jazz Clubs are located throughout the state. Many other musical events are held each year. Opera Companies are located throughout the state. There are also many Bands & Orchestras . K IS FOR KARST & KIDS Iowa has KARST and many caves . Crystal Lake Cave and Spook Cave are Show Caves. Maquoka State Park has more caves than any other State Park in Iowa. Coldwater Cave is the longest cave in the state.

The National Speleological Society has a grotto in the state that provides information about caving. The National Park Service has a Cave and Karst Program . Many aspects of life in Iowa focus on KIDS, and the state has a Kids Page , and the Department of Natural Resources has a Kids Page. NOAA has a Kids Page about the weather. AG in the Classroom has a Kids Page about agriculture in the state. L IS FOR LAKES, LIBRARIES, & LIGHTHOUSE Iowa has many LAKES ponds, and reservoirs. The Iowa Great Lakes are the largest natural lakes in the state. Lake Red Rock is the largest lake in the state. Public and Academic LIBRARIES are located throughout Iowa. Most of them have internet access & special programs, and some have bookmobiles.The State Library is in Des Moines. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library is in West Branch. The Poet Laureate is Robert Dana . Iowa has a landlocked LIGHTHOUSE . M IS FOR MILITARY, MOUNTAINS, & MUSEUMS Camp Dodge in the town of Johnston is the only MILITARY training facility in Iowa. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has project in the state.

The state has both Army and Air National Guard Units . The state has had many Forts . The stockade and detached blockhouse of Fort Madison have been reconstructed in Riverview Park. A museum at Fort Dodge is a replica of the second fort. Fort Defiance is now a State Park Iowa has MOUNTAIN peaks and summits. Sundown Mountain is the only midwest resort granted the National Ski Area Association Award of Excellence. Pikes Peak State Park offers some of the finest view in the upper midwest. MUSEUMS are located throughout Iowa including Art Museums and Historical Museums . N IS FOR NAME & NATIVE AMERICANS The name "Iowa" is a Siouan Indian word. It is a tribal name from the Chiwere language meaning "sleepy ones". The state has several nicknames including Tall Corn State, Hawkeye State, Land of Rolling Prairie, and Cyclone State. Iowas has 3 songs - The Song of Iowa, Iowa State Fight Song, and The Bells of Iowa State. The first residents of Iowa were NATIVE AMERICANS . The state has been home to several Tribes . The state has one Federally recognized Tribe - - The Sac and Fox .

Powwows are often held. Iowa has 2 Indian Casinos . O IS FOR OBSERVATORIES Iowa has 6 OBSERVATORIES and 7 planetariums . Most offer classes as well as programs for the general public. Iowa also has several astronomical societies . Many places observe Astronomy Day. P IS FOR PARKS, POPULATION, & PORTS Iowa has many types of TRAILS including horse and mule trails and celebrates National Trails Day . The state has many Scenic Byways and Roadside Attractions . Iowa has many forms of TRANSPORTATION. The State Department of Transportation maintains highways, bridges, tunnels, and has an Adopt-A-Highway Program . The Federal Highway Administration provides information on traffic and road closures in Iowa. Many Personalized license plates are available. To celebrates its 50th birthday, Matchbox cars issued a car for each state in the order in which it was admitted into the union. The car for Iowa was the Mercedes-Benz Trac 1600 Turbo . U IS FOR UNIVERSITIES & USS IOWA Iowa has many public and private UNIVERSITIES and Colleges. It also has Technical Colleges . Four Ships have been named The USS IOWA .

The 1st USS Iowa was a Monitor but was never commissioned. The 2nd USS Iowa (BB-4) saw action during the Spanish American War. The 3rd USS Iowa (BB53) was a Battleship but construction was cancelled. USS Iowa (BB-61) served in World War II and the Korean War. V IS FOR VEGETATION & VOLCANOES Iowa has a variety of VEGETATION . The State Flower is the Wild Prairie Rose . The Nature Conservancy helps preserve the land in Iowa. Iowa does not have any VOLCANOES but there is evidence of a volcanic past. A 23-mile-diameter circular feature known as the Manson Impact Structure shows a meteor impact 74 million years. Federal Emergency Management Agency has information about volcanoes. W IS FOR WATERFALLS, WEATHER, & WILDLIFE Iowa has several WATERFALLS . The Climatology Bureau provides information about the weather in Iowa. NOAA provides information about the climate in the state. The Environmental Protection Agency provides information about Climate Change . Iowa has a great diversity of WILDLIFE and many Wildlife Refuges and Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers . Some species of wildlife are endangered .

The Nature Conservancy protects lands & water needed for plants & animals to survive. The state has Wildlife Viewing Areas . Iowa participates in the Wildlife Protection Program . X IS FOR XMAS XMAS is the common abbreviation for Christmas and it is celebrated in Iowa much like the rest of the country and around the world . The National Christmas Tree Association has information about Christmas trees. YMCA, & YOUTH HOSTELS YMCA organizations are located throughout Iowa. There are several YOUTH HOSTELS in Iowa. The state also has Elder Hostels. Z IS FOR ZIP CODES, ZONES, & ZOO The use of ZIP CODES began in 1963. Zip codes (go to find state) in Iowa all start with the number *. Iowa | Article about Iowa by The Free Dictionary Iowa | Article about Iowa by The Free Dictionary Related to Iowa: Iowa State Fair Iowa (ī`əwə), midwestern state in the N central United States. It is bounded by the Mississippi River, across which lie Wisconsin and Illinois (E); Missouri (S); Nebraska and South Dakota, from which it is separated by the Missouri and the Big Sioux rivers, respectively (W); and Minnesota (N).

Facts and Figures Area, 56,290 sq mi (145,791 sq km). Pop. (2010) 3,046,355, a 4.1% increase since the 2000 census. Capital and largest city, Des Moines. Statehood, Dec. 28, 1846 (29th state). Highest pt., 1,670 ft (509 m), Osceola co.; lowest pt., Mississippi River, 480 ft (146 m). Nickname, Hawkeye State. Motto, Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain. State bird, Eastern goldfinch. State flower, wild rose. State tree, oak. Abbr., IA Geography Iowa is bordered on two sides by rivers; the Mississippi separates it on the east from Wisconsin and Illinois, and the Missouri and the Big Sioux separate it on the west from Nebraska and South Dakota. The state is bounded on the north by Minnesota and on the south by Missouri. Iowa is an area of rich, rolling plains, interrupted by many rivers.

The terrain is low and gently sloping, except for the hills in the unglaciated area of NE Iowa, the steeply sloping bluffs on the banks of the Mississippi, and the moundlike bluffs on the banks of the Missouri. The rivers of the eastern two thirds of Iowa flow to the Mississippi; those of the west flow to the Missouri. The original woodlands, which included black walnut and hickory, were destroyed by lumbering and land clearing in the 19th cent., and present wooded sections are covered only with second or third growths of timber. Only 0.1% of Iowa, the lowest total in the 50 states, is owned by the federal government. Historically typical of Iowa was the prairie. Covered a little more than a century ago with grass higher than the wheels of the pioneers' prairie schooners, or covered wagons, the prairies gave way to fields of corn and other grains. Wildflowers still brighten the roadsides, but few areas of the original grassland remain, and several prairie preserves have been established.

The former habitat of wild turkeys, prairie chickens, and quail, Iowa abounds with migratory geese and ducks and the imported ring-necked pheasant and European partridge, all of which are hunted in the autumn. Des Moines Des Moines , city (1990 pop. 193,187), state capital and seat of Polk co., S central Iowa, at the junction of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers; inc. as Fort Des Moines in 1851, chartered as Des Moines in 1857. ..... Click the link for more information. is the capital and largest city. Other major cities are Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids, city (1990 pop. 108,751), seat of Linn co., E central Iowa, on the Cedar River; inc. as a city 1856. The second largest city in Iowa, it is named for the surging rapids in the river. ..... Click the link for more information. , Davenport Davenport, city (1990 pop. 95,333), seat of Scott co., E central Iowa, on the Mississippi River; inc.

1836. Bridges connect it with the Illinois cities of Rock Island and Moline; the three communities and neighboring Bettendorf, Iowa, are known as the Quad Cities. ..... Click the link for more information. , and Sioux City Sioux City, city (1990 pop. 80,505), seat of Woodbury co., NW Iowa, at the junction of the Big Sioux and Floyd rivers with the Missouri; inc. 1857. It is a shipping, wholesale trade, and industrial center for an extensive agricultural and livestock area (including nearby states). ..... Click the link for more information. . Iowa's climate is continental—northwest winds drive the mercury down below 0&degF; (−18&degC;) in winter, and in the summer hot air masses bring oppressive heat; there are violent thunderstorms, hail, and occasional droughts. Floods have periodically inflicted great losses of life and property, necessitating control measures. In the devastating midwestern flood of 1993 all 99 counties of Iowa were declared disaster areas. Overall, the average annual rainfall in Iowa is 31 in.

(78.7 cm), and, since most of this falls in summer, soil is often washed away. Iowans have had to fight erosion with modern plowing and planting practices, control of water flow, and reforestation. Still, Iowa has some of the most fertile agricultural land (about 70% of the state's area is cropland) in the world. Economy The deep, porous soil yields corn and other grains in tremendous quantities, and the corn-fed hogs and cattle are nationally known. In 1997, Iowa led the nation in the production of corn, soybeans, hogs, and pigs, and ranked in the top 10 in the raising of cattle. Other major crops are hay and oats. Iowa has in recent years taken in the second highest farm income of any state. Agriculture also benefits the state's chief industry, food processing, and in Sioux City and Cedar Rapids many factories process farm products. Nonelectrical machinery, farm machinery, tires, appliances, electronic equipment, and chemicals are among the other manufactures. Cement is the most important mineral product; others are stone, sand, gravel, and gypsum. Mineral production is small, however.

Communications, finance, and insurance industries are especially important in Des Moines. Government and Higher Education Iowa's constitution was adopted in 1857. The governor is elected for a term of four years. The general assembly, or legislature, has a senate with 50 members and a house of representatives with 100 members. Iowa is represented in the U.S. Congress by two senators and four representatives. The state has six electoral votes. Terry Branstad, a Republican, served as governor from 1983 through 1998, when Democrat Tom Vilsack was elected. Vilsack was reelected in 2002, and was succeeded by fellow Democrat Chet Culver, elected in 2006. Culver lost to Republican Terry Branstad in 2010; Branstad was reelected in 2014. Among the educational institutions in Iowa are Iowa State Univ. of Science and Technology, at Ames; the Univ. of Iowa, at Iowa City; Grinnell College, at Grinnell; Cornell College, at Mount Vernon; Drake Univ., at Des Moines; Univ. of Northern Iowa, at Cedar Falls; and the Univ.

of Dubuque, Loras College, and Clarke College, at Dubuque. History European Incursions into Native Lands In prehistoric times, the Mound Builders Mound Builders, in North American archaeology, name given to those people who built mounds in a large area from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mts. ..... Click the link for more information. , a farming people, lived in the Iowa area. When Europeans first came to explore the region in the 17th cent., various Native American groups, including the Iowa Iowa , Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages); also called the Ioway. They, with the Missouri, the Omaha, the Oto, and the Ponca, are thought to have once formed part of the ..... Click the link for more information. , reputedly the source of the state's name, occupied the land. The Sac and Fox Sac and Fox, closely related Native Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages).

Sac and Fox culture was of the Eastern Woodlands area with some Plains-area traits (see under Natives, North American). ..... Click the link for more information. also ranged over the land, but it was the combative Sioux Sioux or Dakota, confederation of Native North American tribes, the dominant group of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock, which is divided into several separate branches (see Native American languages). ..... Click the link for more information. who dominated the area. In 1673 the French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet traveled down the Mississippi River and touched upon the Iowa shores, as did Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, in 1681–82. The areas surrounding the Des Moines and Mississippi rivers were profitable for fur traders, and a number of Iowa towns developed from trading posts. Late in the 18th cent. a French Canadian, Julien Dubuque Dubuque, Julien , 1762–1810, pioneer settler of Iowa, b. Nicolet co., Que.

Setting out at a young age for the West, Dubuque reached Prairie du Chien, in what is now Wisconsin, by 1785 and crossed to the Iowa side of the Mississippi, then in Spanish Louisiana. ..... Click the link for more information. , leased land from Native Americans around the Dubuque area and opened lead mines there. After his death they refused to permit others to work the mines, and U.S. troops under Lt. Jefferson Davis protected Native American rights to the land as late as 1830. However, their hold was doomed after the United States acquired Iowa as part of the Louisiana Purchase Louisiana Purchase, 1803, American acquisition from France of the formerly Spanish region of Louisiana. Reasons for the Purchase The revelation in 1801 of the secret agreement of 1800, whereby Spain retroceded Louisiana to France, aroused uneasiness in the United ..... Click the link for more information. of 1803. In 1832 the Black Hawk War Black Hawk War, conflict between the Sac and Fox and the United States in 1832.

After the War of 1812, whites settling the Illinois country exerted pressure on the Native Americans. ..... Click the link for more information. broke out as the Sac and Fox, led by their chief, Black Hawk, fought to regain their former lands in Illinois along the Mississippi River. They were defeated by U.S. troops and were forced to leave the Illinois lands and cede to the United States much of their land along the river on the Iowa side. Within two decades after the Black Hawk War, all Native American lands in the region had been ceded to the United States. Meanwhile, a great rush of frontiersmen came to settle the prairies and take the mines. Territorial Status Slavery was prohibited in Iowa under the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which excluded it from the lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of lat. 36°30'N. Included in the Missouri Territory prior to 1821, Iowa was subsequently part of Michigan Territory and Wisconsin Territory. By 1838, Iowa Territory was organized, with Burlington as the temporary capital. In the following year, Iowa City became the capital.

The Iowans quickly built a rural civilization like that of New England, where many of them had lived. Later, immigrants from Europe, notably Germans, Czechs, Dutch, and Scandinavians, brought their agricultural skills and their own customs to enrich Iowa's rural life, and a group of German Pietists established the Amana Church Society Amana Church Society , corporate name of a group of seven small villages in E central Iowa, clustered around the Iowa River NW of Iowa City; settled 1855 by members of the Ebenezer Society. The society originated in one of the Pietist religious groups of 17th-century Germany. ..... Click the link for more information. , a successful attempt at communal social organization. A system of public schools was set up in 1839, and efforts made soon thereafter resulted in the establishment of a number of colleges and universities. Statehood, Railroads, and Reform Movements Iowa became a state in 1846, and Ansel Briggs was elected as the first governor. In 1857 the capital was moved from Iowa City to Des Moines. In that same year the state adopted its second constitution.

Iowa prospered greatly with the beginning of railroad construction, and the rivalry between towns to get the lines was so fierce that the grant of big land tracts to railroad companies was curtailed by legislative act in 1857. Two years earlier the state's first railroad line was completed between Davenport and Muscatine along the eastern border. Before and during the Civil War, Iowans, generally owners of small, independent farms, were naturally sympathetic to the antislavery side, and many fought for the Union. The Underground Railroad, which helped many fugitive slaves escape to free states, was active in Iowa, and the abolitionist John Brown made his headquarters there for a time. Iowa's farmers prospered after the Civil War, but during the hard times that afflicted the country in the 1870s they found themselves burdened with debts. Feeling oppressed by the currency system, corporations, and high railroad and grain-storage rates, many of Iowa's farmers supported, along with other farmers of the West, the Granger movement Granger movement, American agrarian movement taking its name from the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, an organization founded in 1867 by Oliver H.

Kelley and six associates. Its local units were called granges and its members grangers. ..... Click the link for more information. , the Greenback party Greenback party, in U.S. history, political organization formed in the years 1874–76 to promote currency expansion. The members were principally farmers of the West and the South; stricken by the Panic of 1873, they saw salvation in an inflated currency that would wipe out ..... Click the link for more information. , and the Populist party Populist party, in U.S. history, political party formed primarily to express the agrarian protest of the late 19th cent. In some states the party was known as the People's party. ..... Click the link for more information. . The reform movements had some success in the state. Granger laws were enacted in 1874 and 1876 regulating railroad rates, but these laws were repealed in 1877 under pressure from the railroad companies. By the end of the 19th cent., times improved, and the agrarian movements declined. Farm units grew larger, and mechanization brought great increases in productivity.

Modern Iowa Much of Iowa's society may still resemble that depicted in the paintings of Grant Wood Wood, Grant, 1891–1942, American painter, studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and in Paris. In Munich in 1928 he was decisively influenced by German and Flemish primitive painting. ..... Click the link for more information. , an Iowan, but the state's industrial economy as well as other elements of modernization have altered this image. While on a visit to the United States in 1959, Nikita S. Khrushchev, then premier of the Soviet Union, was invited to a farm in Iowa to observe part of the U.S. farm economy. The volatile nature of agricultural prices combined with a steady decline in manufacturing has made Iowa susceptible to economic recession. This was especially true in the 1980s, when Iowa was second in the United States in outmigration with a 4.7% decline in population. Notable Iowans Among Iowa's colorful native sons were Buffalo Bill Buffalo Bill, 1846–1917, American plainsman, scout, and showman, b. near Davenport, Iowa.

His real name was William Frederick Cody. His family moved (1854) to Kansas, and after the death of his father (1857) he set out to earn the family living, working for supply trains ..... Click the link for more information. Cody, labor leader John L. Lewis Lewis, John Llewellyn, 1880–1969, American labor leader, b. Lucas co., Iowa; son of a Welsh immigrant coal miner. He became a miner and after 1906 rose through the union ranks to become president (1920) of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW). ..... Click the link for more information. , and baseball player–evangelist Billy Sunday Sunday, Billy (William Ashley Sunday), 1863–1935, American evangelist, b. Ames, Iowa, in the era around World War I. A professional baseball player (1883–90), he later worked for the Young Men's Christian Association in Chicago (1891–95) and, during that time, ..... Click the link for more information. .

Other public figures associated with the state are James Wilson, U.S. secretary of agriculture for 16 years (1897–1913), and the noted members of the Wallace family—Henry Wallace, Henry Cantwell Wallace, and Henry Agard Wallace. Herbert C. Hoover and Harry L. Hopkins were born in Iowa. Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, which contains Hoover's birthplace, childhood home, and grave, and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library are at West Branch. Bibliography See H. Hahn, Urban-Rural Conflict (1971); M. M. Rosenberg, Iowa on the Eve of the Civil War (1972); R. B. Talbot, Iowa in the World Economy (1985); O. J. Fargo, ed., Iowa Geography (1988), "History of Iowa" series; D. Schwieder et al., Iowa: Past to Present (1989).

Iowa (ī`əwə, –wā'), Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages Native American languages, languages of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere and their descendants. A number of the Native American languages that were spoken at the time of the European arrival in the New World in the late 15th cent. ..... Click the link for more information. ); also called the Ioway. They, with the Missouri, the Omaha, the Oto, and the Ponca, are thought to have once formed part of the Winnebago people in their primal home N of the Great Lakes. Iowa culture was that of the Eastern Woodlands area with some Plains area traits. In 1700 the Iowa, separated from the parent nation, lived in Minnesota. Their population in 1760 was some 1,100. In 1804, according to Lewis and Clark, the Iowa lived on the Platte River and there were some 800, smallpox having reduced the population.

In 1824 they ceded all their lands in Missouri and in 1836 were assigned a reservation in NE Kansas. Some of them later moved to central Oklahoma, and in 1890 land was allotted to them in severalty. In 1990 there were some 1,500 Iowa in the United States. Bibliography See A. B. Skinner, Ethnology of the Ioway Indians (1926). Iowa, river, 329 mi (529 km) long, rising in the lakes of N Iowa and flowing SE to the Mississippi River, SE Iowa; Cedar River (300 mi/483 km long) is its chief tributary. A power dam crosses the gorge at Iowa Falls. The Iowa River has an extensive flood-control system; Coralville Dam and reservoir, N of Iowa City, is the largest unit. Iowa State Information Iowa a state in the midwestern USA between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Area, 145,800 km. Population, 2,750,000 in 1969, of which 53 percent is urban.

Capital, Des Moines. Iowa is one of the states in the so-called corn belt. It is second, after California, in the USA in the value of its farm production. Iowa is flat (mean altitude, 400–500 meters). The soil is fertile, chernozem or chernozem-like. The climate is warm, temperately continental. Precipitation, 700–1,000 millimeters a year. Approximately 70 percent of the state’s territory is arable land, 11–12 percent, meadows and pastures, and approximately seven percent, forests. More than 90 percent of the harvest area is for fodder crops—that is, corn (approximately 50 percent), oats (25 percent), grasses (15–16 percent); the soy bean crops are usually the first or second largest in the USA. The major goal of animal husbandry is meat: 7.2 million head of horned cattle and 12.5 million hogs were fattened on farms in 1966. Poultry raising, with the production of eggs and meat chickens, is also important.

Stock-raising provides approximately 80 percent of agricultural commodity output. Small farms are being ruined: there were 215,000 farms in 1930 and 155,000 farms in 1964. Powerful capitalistic enterprises, which make up approximately one-third of all farms, provide two-thirds of Iowa’s agricultural commodity output. In 1969, 220,000 people—that is, 25 percent of the people not in agriculture—worked in manufacturing. The most developed industries are meat, dairy, and flour; agricultural machinery is built in Iowa. There are defense industries in cities along the Mississippi River—for instance, Dubuque and Davenport. V. P. K The State of Illinois - An Introduction to the Prairie State from NETSTATE.COM The State of Illinois Chicago Skyline Welcome to Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, and the heart of America. Illinois prides itself on both its central location and its representation as the cultural center of the country, a microcosm of America. The state certainly does have everything from small towns and idyllic farms to big cities and industrial might.

Illinois is one of the leading producers of corn and soybeans, but it is also the home of the world's busiest airport and towering skyscrapers With access to the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, and its central location within the states, Illinois is a natural center for transportation. In fact, the state has the greatest concentration of land, water, and air transportation facilities in the entire world. THE STATE NAME: The state of Illinois was named after the Illinois River. The river was named by French explorer Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle in 1679 after the Indians he found living along the banks. Illinois is the French spelling for the Illinois and Peoria Indian word "iliniwok," meaning men or warriors and perhaps referring to members of the Illinois tribe. Soy Bean Field, Hudson The Prairie State This familiar nickname for Illinois dates back at least as far as 1842. Most of the state was once covered with prairie grasses. Today, Illinois continues to pay homage to the prairie.

According to the Illinois Compiled Statutes , Illinois has designated the third full week of September as Illinois Prairie Week "...to be observed throughout the State as a week for holding appropriate events and observances in the public schools and elsewhere to demonstrate the value of preserving and reestablishing native Illinois prairies." Land of Lincoln This name refers to Illinois as the state where Abraham Lincoln began his political career. This name is the Official State Slogan of Illinois, designated in 1955. In the same year, the U.S. Congress granted Illinois a special copyright for exclusive use of the "Land of Lincoln" insignia. Though Lincoln was born in Kentucky and lived in Indiana before moving to Illinois, it was in Illinois where young Abraham Lincoln began his political career with an unsuccessful run for the Illinois General Assembly in 1832. Lincoln eventually was elected to four terms in the Illinois General Assembly and served from 1834-1841. Illinois was also where Lincoln lived when he became President of the United States in 1861. The Corn State An appropriate nickname for a state where corn plays such an important role in the agricultural economy. Illinois is one of the leading producers of corn in the country.

The region of the country referred to as the Corn Belt is centered in Iowa and Illinois. The Garden of the West This old nickname came about because of the rolling prairies of Illinois and the miles of cultivated fields that made Illinois one of the leading producers of corn and later, soy beans, in the United States. A similar term, "The Garden State" was sometimes heard. The Sucker State There are a few of theories about the origin of this interesting nickname. One has it that the name was the result of a comparison between the large number of miners going to and coming from the Galena Lead Mines in 1822 and the fish. According to Malcolm Townsend, in his U.S.: An Index to the United States of America (1890), "An old miner said to them 'Ye put me in [the] mind of suckers, they do go up the river in the spring spawn, and all return down ag'in in the fall.'" Malcolm Townsend talks about another possible origin of the nickname. Evidently, the prairies were filled, in many places by crawfish holes. Travelers were able to suck cool pure water from these holes using long, hollow reeds.

According to Malcolm Townsend, whenever a traveler would happen upon one of these holes, he would cry out "A sucker, a sucker!" Yet another theory, offered by former Governor Thomas Ford in A History of Illinois (1854), has it that this nickname referred to the poor folk of southern Illinois that moved into the state to escape the suppression of wealthy landowners in the southern states. According to Ford, sucker was a reference to the sprouts off the main stem and roots of tobacco plants. These suckers will sap nutrients from the main plant and are stripped off by farmers and thrown away. In the same way, according to Ford, "These poor emigrants from the slave States were jeeringly and derisively called "suckers," because there were asserted to be a burthen upon the people of wealth; and when they removed to Illinois they were supposed to have stripped themselves off from the parent stem and gone away to perish like the "sucker" of the tobacco plant. This name was given to the Illinoisans at the Galena mines by the Missourians." Egypt This nickname referred to the southern end of Illinois.

It is thought that the nickname for this fertile soil around Cairo, Illinois was a reference to the fertile soil or Cairo, Egypt after the Nile has flooded. The nickname may have also been related to the city name as well. THE STATE CITIZENS: People who live in or come from Illinois are called Illinoisians, Illinoisans or Illinoians. Nicknames for Illinoisians have included Sand-hillers, Egyptians and, Suckers. Sand-hillers was probably used to characterize Illinoisians that lived on some of the slopes and broken sandy plains of the state. Egyptians referred to those who lived in the southern part of Illinois. In the western territories, Illinoisians were often referred to as Suckers. 1000+ images about STATE OF IOWA USA on Pinterest | Birds, Parks and Hawkeye Forward Things to do in Iowa Visit the Amana Colonies Tour the Des Moines Botanical Gardens Go to Adventure land Go to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium Go to the Des Moines Art Center Visit Waterloos Lost Island Waterpark Visit the Field … See More

Question: Which US state has nicknames including 'The Cyclone State', 'The Land Of The Rolling Prairies' and 'The Hawkeye State'?
Answer: IOWA