Iowa.

All eyes have turned to this squarish-shaped territory known for its landscape of rolling hills & cornfields.

Though it’s not the terrain that has our attention these days—but Iowa’s important role in this year’s presidential election!

 

Being the first presidential caucus in the country, candidates hope to win votes in Iowa and ride a wave of popularity all the way thru the November general election and onward to Pennsylvania Avenue.

 

Seemingly, outside of the states’ role in the whole political process, most of us know little of our nation’s 29th state.

This is the reason for…..My Odd Sock’s salute to Iowa!

 

 

Did You Know…

 

 

Iowa is the only state whose eastern & western borders are formed by rivers…the Mississippi River to the east, while the Missouri River holds the west.

 

Pictured here are Iowans escaping to the free world by crossing the mighty Missou.

 

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The land recognized as Iowa was included as part of the Louisiana Purchase back in 1803.

Unfortunately, a young, naive U.S. didn’t keep the receipt, and thus was unable to return the area back to France.

 

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Over 3.1 million people call Iowa home.

 

Of that figure, only 2.9% are African-American.

 

 

             

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Dyersville, Iowa is home to the baseball diamond made famous in the movie “Field of Dreams.”

 

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Notable Iowans include…..

Former President Herbert Hoover

Scientist George Washington Carver

MS Activist Dan Digmann

 

 

Frontiersman Buffalo Bill Cody

TV host Johnny Carson

Actor John Wayne

 

                           

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Iowa students’ ACT & SAT scores rank among the top five in the nation.

While Iowa has the highest literacy rate (99%) among all states in the U.S.

 

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Iowa is the only state name that begins with two vowels.

 

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Although known for agriculture, the largest sector of Iowa’s economy is manufacturing.  In fact, Iowa was recognized as the 6th best state in the nation for business in a CNBC survey.  Iowa was 1st when it came to the “cost of doing business.”

 

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Des Moines, Iowa’s capital, is the states’ largest city with a population of 203,000.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, the towns of Beaconsfield & LeRoy are the smallest with just 15 residents each.

 

At the left is a picture of a quiet, downtown Beaconsfield.

 

 

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The National Balloon Museum in Indianola, Iowa, chronicles more than 200 years of ballooning history.

 

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Speaking of aviation, the Des Moines International Airport is the busiest airport in Iowa.

 

Here we see an incoming flight…

 

 

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After the celebrated presidential brewhaha on February 1st is complete, Iowa will once again fade away to obscurity for another four-year hybernation.

But thanks to My Odd Sock & this useful information, may you always affectionately remember Iowa, the Hawkeye state.