The Iowa Portal

Iowa (/ˈaɪ.əwə/ ⓘ EYE-ə-wə) is a 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. A portion of the larger Omaha, Nebraska, metropolitan area extends into three counties of southwest Iowa. Other metropolitan statistical areas in Iowa include Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Ames, Dubuque, Sioux City, and the Iowa portion of the Quad Cities. Iowa is home to 940 small towns, though its population is increasingly urbanized as small communities and rural areas decline in population.
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, women's rights, and same-sex marriage. Iowa's standard of living is ranked among the best states and it performs highly on metrics such as governance, education, infrastructure, and safety. (Full article...)
Selected article -
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (/ˈbaɪdərbɛk/ BY-dər-bek; March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical approach and purity of tone, with such clarity of sound that one contemporary famously described it like "shooting bullets at a bell”.
His solos on seminal recordings such as "Singin' the Blues" and "I'm Coming, Virginia" (both 1927) demonstrate a gift for extended improvisation that heralded the jazz ballad style, in which jazz solos are an integral part of the composition. Moreover, his use of extended chords and an ability to improvise freely along harmonic as well as melodic lines are echoed in post-WWII developments in jazz. "In a Mist" (1927) is the best known of Beiderbecke's published piano compositions and the only one that he recorded. His piano style reflects both jazz and classical (mainly impressionist) influences. All five of his piano compositions were published by Robbins Music during his lifetime. (Full article...)
Did you know? -
- ... that Green Valley State Park in Iowa, which was dedicated exactly 69 years ago, had multiple species of fish added to its artificial lake in 1974?
- ... that the 801 Grand is the tallest building in the state of Iowa?
- ... that the Iowa Colored Cowboys played softball for audiences of over a thousand people, in an atmosphere similar to a Harlem Globetrotters show?
- ... that an Iowa TV station paid Tom Brokaw, a future anchor of NBC Nightly News, $75 a week to work as a staff announcer and part-time newscaster?
- ... that Vivian Smith was the first black student to earn a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Northern Iowa?
- ... that S. H. M. Byers not only coined the phrase "Sherman's March to the Sea", but also wrote Iowa's state song?
Related Portals
Subcategories
Related WikiProjects
Things you can do
![]() |
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
|
General images
State Facts
- Date admitted to Union: December 28, 1846 (29th State)
- Demonym: Iowan
- Capital: Des Moines
- Elected state officers:
- U.S. Senators:
- Chuck Grassley (R)
- Joni Ernst (R)
- U.S. Representatives:
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R)
- Ashley Hinson (R)
- Zach Nunn (R)
- Randy Feenstra (R)
- Total area: 56,272 square miles (145,744 km2) (23rd most extensive state)
- 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: |
![]() |
Topics
New articles
Rules | Match log | Results page (for watching) | Last updated: 2025-02-20 21:01 (UTC)
Note: The list display can now be customized by each user. See List display personalization for details.
- Hrishikesh Vinod ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Holt Neeson (talk · contribs · new pages (1)) started on 2025-02-19, score: 30
- John Sherwin (Iowa Justice) ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by IowaHistorian1997 (talk · contribs · new pages (1)) started on 2025-02-14, score: 36
- Der Demokrat (Iowa) ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by WorldlyVoice (talk · contribs · new pages (6)) started on 2025-02-18, score: 40
- Judd Lawler ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Vycl1994 (talk · contribs · new pages (7)) started on 2025-02-18, score: 20
- Keshon Gilbert ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Butters.From.SouthPark (talk · contribs · new pages (32)) started on 2025-02-13, score: 40
- 2025 Iowa House of Representatives District 100 special election ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Longestview (talk · contribs · new pages (19)) started on 2025-02-14, score: 40
- Trumbull White ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by LindaGriffithSmith (talk · contribs · new pages (1)) started on 2025-02-12, score: 35
- 2025 Iowa Senate District 35 special election ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Longestview (talk · contribs · new pages (19)) started on 2025-02-14, score: 40
- Curtis Jones (basketball) ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by GPL93 (talk · contribs · new pages (16)) started on 2025-02-12, score: 36
- James Williams (defensive lineman) ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Yankees10 (talk · contribs · new pages (9)) started on 2025-02-12, score: 26
- Moisés Ballesteros ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Yankees10 (talk · contribs · new pages (9)) started on 2025-02-11, score: 30
- 2024–25 Northern Iowa Panthers women's basketball team ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by DWarr13 (talk · contribs · new pages (1)) started on 2025-02-09, score: 35
- Jon Beavers ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by James Allison (talk · contribs · new pages (5)) started on 2025-02-09, score: 20
- 1995 Northern Iowa Panthers football team ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Patriarca12 (talk · contribs · new pages (34)) started on 2025-02-08, score: 36
- Larry Mullins (American football) ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Tassedethe (talk · contribs · new pages (107)) started on 2025-02-08, score: 30
- 1994 Drake Bulldogs football team ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Patriarca12 (talk · contribs · new pages (34)) started on 2025-02-07, score: 26
- Oetit Koswara ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Jeromi Mikhael (talk · contribs · new pages (3)) started on 2025-02-07, score: 40
- Danny Acosta (baseball) ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Dog Bungler (talk · contribs · new pages (3)) started on 2025-02-06, score: 38
- Lou Ayeni ( | talk | history | links | watch | logs | tools) by Butters.From.SouthPark (talk · contribs · new pages (32)) started on 2025-02-03, score: 36
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Collaborators

This portal is maintained by WikiProject Iowa and the following Wikipedians:
- Buaidh (talk · contribs) creator
- Philosopher (talk · contribs)
-
-
-
-
-
Random portal
You must be logged in to post a comment.