Welcome to the Deep Dive, the place where we
take your stack of research, the articles, the
statistics, the historical documents, and turn
it into a streamlined, high -definition understanding
of a single topic. Today, we are pointing the
spotlight squarely at the American Midwest, and
we're zeroing in on a state whose identity is,
well, it's often simplified down to just one
crop, corn. Right. And our mission... which you,
the listener, requested, is to get a fast but
genuinely thorough understanding of the state
of Iowa. And we are going to go so much further
than the stereotype. Oh, way beyond the silo.
We're moving into its deep geology, some surprisingly
dynamic demographics, a massive technological
transformation. And honestly, a wildly surprising
legacy in civil rights that predates the rest
of the country by decades in some cases. Exactly.
So what truly makes the Hawkeye State tick? We're
about to find out. And the sources you provided
paint this picture of a place defined by constant,
almost dramatic tension between its history and
its innovation. It's a great way to put it. And
to set the baseline, Iowa's core identity is
really captured in its nickname, the Hawkeye
State, which dates back to the 1830s. And its
motto. I think the motto is incredibly compelling.
It is. Our liberties we prize and our rights
we will maintain. This commitment to individual
liberty, as we're definitely going to see, is
a real through line in its history. Geographically,
too, Iowa is immediately distinctive. Just looking
at it on a map, the entire east -west expanse
is an anomaly. It really is. The foundation of
the state is the Mississippi River on the east.
And the Missouri and Big Sioux River is defining
that entire western boundary. Exactly. Being
bordered almost entirely by these two massive,
historically vital waterways fundamentally shaped
everything. Its settlement, its commerce, even
its soil quality. And while that foundation was,
I mean, absolutely agricultural. The modern reality
is that Iowa's economy has undergone this massive
diversification. A huge pivot into advanced manufacturing,
biotech, and you could argue the most successful
statewide green energy initiative in the entire
country. It's a powerhouse. Before we get to
the wind turbines and the massive data centers,
let's start with a foundational detail that connects
the state to a deep... often forgotten history.
And what's that? Did you know that Iowa's state
flag is actually patterned after the flag of
France? It's a stunning starting point, isn't
it? That single visual detail immediately forces
you to look beyond the American Midwest and acknowledge
its origin as a part of French Louisiana. Which,
of course, dictates where our deep dive must
begin. In the era of indigenous populations and
shifting colonial claims. Okay, let's unpack
this history. We have to start with the name
itself, Iowa. It's not a settler name. No, it's
derived directly from the Iowa River, which in
turn is named after the indigenous Iowa people.
They were a Chihuahua -speaking Sioux Nation.
So this deep dive begins really over 13 ,000
years ago. Correct. When the earliest indigenous
peoples arrived over 13 millennia ago, the landscape
was post -glacial. It was a very different place.
Colder, I imagine. Sparsely vegetated. Exactly.
They began as highly mobile hunter -gatherers,
but their relationship with the land transformed
fundamentally over thousands of years. It moved
through these distinct cultural periods before
European contact changed everything. So if we
look at that long arc of history, how did they
transition from these highly mobile groups to
more settled populations? It happened slowly.
It really mirrored adaptation all across the
central continent. We first have to look at the
long archaic period, which spans from about 10
,500 to 2 ,800 years ago. So we're talking about
a period of almost 8 ,000 years. A massive stretch
of time. And this wasn't a quick change. It was
an era of profound adaptation. People learned
to master the specific local ecosystems of Iowa,
utilizing local plant and animal resources with
incredible efficiency. And that successful adaptation
coupled with, I assume, population expansion.
Right. It eventually facilitated a slow regional
shift toward more sedentary or at least semi
-permanent living. They were still moving, but
less frequently and over smaller areas. And the
real game changer seems to have been the start
of the late prehistoric period. Absolutely. This
starts around 8900. This is the moment when maize
cultivation becomes widespread and crucially
reliable. And that massive reliance on agriculture,
it didn't just change diets. Oh, it changed everything.
It fueled a social flourishing. It allowed for
the energy surplus and the manpower necessary
to form more nucleated settlements, larger fixed
villages. Suggesting increasing social complexity,
organized community life. Precisely. This was
really the peak of many of those regional cultures.
You see more complex earthworks, more trade,
a more settled way of life. But then the sources
mentioned the proto -historic period, and that
sounds like a time of catastrophic change. It
was. It was an era of immense, often brutal volatility.
This is the time when European trade goods, moving
through proxy tribes, began to arrive in the
region. So not the Europeans themselves, just
their goods. At first, yes. But more devastatingly,
European diseases, smallpox, measles, influenza,
things. for which indigenous populations had
no immunity also arrived. And they moved far
faster than the settlers themselves. And the
source material notes this caused just dramatic
population shifts. Massive death rates and overwhelming
social and economic upheaval. Entire villages
were wiped out. Social structures collapsed.
It was a cataclysm. So which indigenous nations
were thriving in the region at this point before
formal colonization really began? There were
numerous tribes present. And they were active
traders. You had the Dakota, the Ho -Chunk, the
Iowa, the Yoto. And later rivals, right? Groups
displaced from the East. Yes, like the Illinois,
the Meskwaki, the Omaha, and the Sauk. Their
settled lives were just profoundly disrupted
by disease and geopolitical maneuvering even
before formal American settlement began. Okay,
so the French claim. The fact that the state
flag has that tricolor pattern suddenly makes
perfect sense because this land was initially
French Louisiana. It was. The first known European
explorers to document the land that would become
Iowa were Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet,
traveling down the Mississippi River in 1673.
And they documented those indigenous villages.
And effectively claimed the entire territory
for the French crown. But this is where the colonial
shell game really begins. Right before France
lost the French and Indian War, they did what?
They transferred ownership to their ally Spain
in 1763. So overnight, it becomes Spanish Louisiana.
How much control did Spain actually exercise
over this massive tract of land, though? Very
little, truthfully. They exercised a very loose
administrative control. Primarily, they just
granted trading licenses. So the real power on
the ground often remained with? French and British
traders. They were the ones who were keenly interested
in extracting lead and furs from the indigenous
peoples. The focus was always extraction, never
mass settlement. And this brings us to one of
the most famous early figures in Iowa history,
Julian Dubuque. Dubuque was one of the most prominent
of these early traders. He ran a significant
and very lucrative lead mining operation from
1785 to 1810 in the area that now bears his name.
But this operation was only possible because
he had the cooperation of the local indigenous
tribes. Right. Absolutely. Primarily the Sauk
and Meskwaki. They effectively controlled all
trade and land access along the upper Mississippi.
His success depended entirely on their consent.
This relatively stable extraction economy was
short -lived, however. Very short -lived. Because
Napoleon Bonaparte reclaimed Louisiana from Spain
in 1800. He basically just took it back. He did,
only to turn around and sell it to the United
States three years later in the Louisiana Purchase
of 1803. And this single transaction, which was
dictated thousands of miles away. Fundamentally
set the stage for all future conflict and the
entire history of the state. It changed everything
for the people living there. So with the Louisiana
Purchase, Iowa falls into what was called the
District of Louisiana and the U .S. immediately
tried to assert control. Right. But the process
was anything but smooth. They sent Zebulon Pike
to map the area in 1805. The first real military
foothold came with the construction of Fort Madison
in 18. And that's when the instability really
ramped up. It did. Driven by the U .S. desire
to dominate the upper Mississippi trade and really
to deter British influence, which was still very
strong among the tribes. But Fort Madison, I
read, was a deeply flawed strategic disaster
almost from day one. It was. How so? The source
material indicates it was just poorly designed.
It was built on a vulnerable site too close to
the river with hills behind it. And crucially,
it was built on land that many indigenous nations...
particularly the Sauk and Meskwaki, vehemently
disputed. They did. This resentment, combined
with the instability of the War of 1812, led
many of those indigenous groups to ally with
the British. And the fort was besieged and defeated.
Defeated in 1813 by British -supported indigenous
forces, and the famous Sauk leader, Black Hawk,
personally participated in that successful siege.
The U .S. garrison had to burn it to the ground
to escape. Wow. That defeat must have shaken
the U .S. strategy considerably. It forced a
total rethink. Their post -war strategy was to
reestablish control not with one vulnerable outpost,
but with a chain of better positioned forts designed
to project power. Like Fort Armstrong, Fort Snelling
in Minnesota. And Fort Atkinson in Nebraska.
The larger overarching strategy was clear. Encourage
rapid American settlement on the east side of
the Mississippi and push indigenous nations westward,
paving the way for removal. And this ushered
in the painful era of forced land sales, which
all culminated in the Black Hawk War. That war
in 1832 was the trigger for the final major land
grabs. And it stemmed from a disputed 1804 treaty
between the SOC leader Quashquaym and William
Henry Harrison. A treaty which many SOC leaders,
including Black Hawk, viewed as completely invalid.
They did because... Quashquam lacked the authority
to sell the land. He wasn't authorized by the
tribal council. But the U .S. government upheld
it anyway. He did. And the consequences were
brutal. The Sauk and Meskwaki were forced to
sell massive tracts of land in the Mississippi
Valley. The famous Black Hawk Purchase Treaty
of 1832. And most were moved to reservations,
primarily in Kansas. Yes. And the Ho -Chunk and
Dakota nations were systematically forced out
over the next 26 years. It's a devastating story
of removal. It is. But you mentioned a truly
unique twist regarding the Meskwaki people that
challenges this entire narrative of Indian removal.
This is one of the most significant and surprising
details in Iowa's history. While many Meskwakis
were forcibly removed to Kansas, a persistent
group eventually returned to Iowa and began settling
near what is now Tama. They just came back on
their own. They did. And what makes this so unique
is what happened next. In 1856, the IRL legislature,
not the federal government, passed an act allowing
the Meskwapi to purchase the land they were living
on. Wait, a state legislature enabled an indigenous
tribe to purchase their own land back, effectively
reversing the federal policy of forced reservations.
That is precisely the significance. It stands
in stark contrast to the federal government's
policy of forcing tribes onto distant... often
inhospitable reservations. So this act created
the Meskwaki settlement. Which remains today
as the only federally recognized tribal land
within Iowa's borders purchased by the tribe
itself. It speaks volumes about the state's very
early, very complicated relationship with land
ownership and sovereignty. A theme we'll see
repeated in the civil rights context. Absolutely.
So with the land now secured for American settlement
following those purchase treaties, the first
official American settlers arrived in June 1833.
Primarily from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York,
they were founding cities like Dubuque and Bellevue
almost immediately, and the Iowa Territory was
established just a few years later in 1838. The
settlement was swift and organized then. Incredibly
swift. The population was booming and the clamor
for statehood was immediate. Iowa became the
29th state on December 28, 1846. And following
statehood, the government immediately launched
these organized, aggressive campaigns to attract
new settlers and investors. Yes, promoting the
rich. deep farmlands and what they promised was
a free and open society and that concept of a
free society carried incredible weight just 15
years later when the civil war began it did and
it really defined iowa's identity in that conflict
iowa was fiercely loyal to the union voting overwhelmingly
for abraham lincoln but we have to note there
was a small vocal anti -war copperhead movement
There was partially fueled by wartime crop price
fluctuations and a general distrust of federal
power in some corners. But it was a fringe phenomenon.
The overwhelming sentiment was abolitionist and
pro -union. And the state's contribution to the
union cause is almost unbelievable, especially
considering how young the state was. This is
a core part of Iowa's national narrative. Iowa
contributed proportionately more soldiers to
the union cause than any other state north or
south. Let's put that into perspective. Okay,
so out of a population of 675 ,000 in 1860, over
75 ,000 men volunteered. That's more than 10
% of the entire population. It is. And think
of the societal cost. Over one -sixth of those
volunteers were killed before the Confederates
surrendered at Appomattox. The impact of that
loss on a young state is just, well, it's impossible
to overstate. And what about the fighting itself?
Did any major battles happen on Iowa soil? Mercifully,
no major battles. The closest the state came
to the violence was in 1861, when shots from
the Battle of Athens, Missouri landed just across
the Des Moines River in Croton, Iowa. So no invasions
or occupations. None. But Iowa's contribution
was through manpower and leadership. It produced
four major generals, including Grenville Dodge,
who became famous for his role in the Transcontinental
Railroad. And 27 Iowans were awarded the Medal
of Honor. Which was a brand new award established
during the conflict. It was a testament to their
bravery. So Iowa transitioned from a frontier
territory, still destabilized by conflict in
the 1830s, to this pillar of the Union effort
in less than 30 years. An incredible transformation.
And that successful effort set the stage for
a massive post -war population boom. The population
nearly tripled between 1860 and 1890. And that
scale of rapid settlement must have fundamentally
changed the environment. almost overnight. That's
a perfect pivot. The massive population influx
you just mentioned directly translates to the
geographic and environmental discussion we're
about to have. Okay, so let's anchor ourselves
geographically. We already mentioned the unique
river boundaries. Right. Again, Iowa is the only
state whose east and west borders are formed
almost entirely by rivers, the Mississippi and
the Missouri Big Sioux. It's defined by water.
And just a quick administrative fun fact for
the listener. Iowa has 99 counties, but 100 county
seats. Why is that? Because Lee County, down
in the southeast corner, is home to both Fort
Madison and Keokuk, and both of them serve as
county seats. It's a historical quirk. But what
truly surprises people, I think, is the terrain
itself. It's not just flat farmland. Not at all.
And we have to focus on the two landforms that
completely shatter that flat state stereotype.
First, the incredibly dramatic Loess Hills along
the western border. I've seen pictures. They
look spectacular. They are a spectacular geological
anomaly. They're composed of this incredibly
thick, wind -deposited silt or loess. So wait,
what is loess exactly? It's basically rock that
was ground into a fine powder by glaciers. After
the glaciers retreated, this powder was left
behind in the river valleys, and the prevailing
westerly winds blew it up into these massive
dunes. So the wind built these hills? Essentially,
yes. Some of these deposits are several hundred
feet deep, creating this distinctive... steep
and dramatic topography that runs parallel to
the Missouri River. It's an unusual formation,
I understand, because locust tends to erode vertically.
Right, which creates these sharp ridge lines
that are incredibly fragile. It's a globally
rare landscape with the only comparable formations
being in China. And then on the other side of
the state, you have the driftless area in the
northeast. Think of the Driftless area as a rocky
island in a sea of ice. It's this spectacular
region along the upper Mississippi with steep
hills, deep river valleys, and sheer bluffs that
appear rugged and almost mountainous. And what
makes it Driftless? It's that this specific pocket
of land was actually bypassed by the massive
continental glaciers that flattened and reshaped
the rest of Iowa. So the glacier just went around
it. They did. And this bypassing left behind
this ancient, rugged, unglaciated landscape with
features that are completely different from the
rolling fields to the west and south. The geology
itself also tells this massive story about the
state's formation, with the bedrock decreasing
in age as you move west. It's a literal timeline
written in stone. The bedrock age decreases systematically
from east to west. So in the east, along the
Mississippi, you find ancient Cambrian bedrock
from about 500 million years ago. And in the
west. You encounter much younger Cretaceous bedrock,
around 74 million years old. But if you dig even
deeper into the pre -Cambrian rocks exposed in
the northwest. The oldest dated bedrock in the
state. The Otter Creek Layered Maphic Complex.
It clocks in at an astonishing 2 .9 billion years
old. 2 .9 billion. So you are literally walking
on billions of years of geological history, from
the formation of continental crust to the age
of the dinosaurs, all within the borders of Iowa.
It's an incredible geological cross -section
of the continent. Okay, let's return to that
population boom we discussed after the Civil
War. When settlers arrived, Iowa was defined
by tall grass, prairie, and savanna. with forests
and wetlands in the river valleys. That's right.
It was a mosaic of different ecosystems. But
that huge influx of people looking to farm fundamentally
changed the land. And the source material contains
some frankly sobering facts about the environmental
loss. These facts are absolutely critical for
understanding modern Iowa's identity and its
current environmental struggles. The intensive
cultivation required by mass agriculture resulted
in one of the most drastic transformations of
any state. So how much of the original landscape
is left? Less than 1 % of the original tallgrass
prairie remains intact. 1 %? Less than 1%. And
perhaps even more devastatingly, approximately
95 % of the original wetlands have been drained.
95%. That has huge implications for water quality,
flood control, and biodiversity. It does. It
fundamentally alters the natural water filtering
and retention systems of the landscape. And this
concentration of land into private cultivated
farmland means that as of 2005, Iowa ranked 49th
among U .S. states in public land holdings. The
vast majority of the state is devoted to agricultural
production, and that inevitably leads to modern
environmental pressures. And the primary pressure
today seems to stem from high density livestock
farming. We've seen this statistic, but it demands
repeating. Hogs outnumber Iowans seven to one.
Over 22 .6 million hogs were counted in 2018.
It is a stunning density, driven by massive confined
animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. And while
that's economically lucrative, this explosion
of large scale livestock facilities requires
complex manure management. It does. And this
is directly led to increased rural water contamination
from nitrates and phosphorus and a measurable
decline in air quality in surrounding areas.
So does that high density ratio mean that air
quality issues and water runoff from fertilizer
and pesticides are just inevitable challenges?
There are massive challenges. Fertilizer and
pesticide runoff contribute heavily to nutrient
loading in the Mississippi River Basin. which
impacts the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. And locally.
Locally, the intensive use of water, combined
with reduced natural infiltration because the
wetlands are gone, is diminishing the crucial
Jordan aquifer. And this is all compounded by
a persistent historical drought. A crisis of
modern memory, yes. As of January 2024, Iowa
had experienced its 187th consecutive week of
at least moderate drought. Which the source notes
is the longest continuous stretch since the 1950s.
Exactly. It affects 96 % of the state's area.
So this confluence of intensive resource extraction,
concentrated livestock management, and climate
instability makes conservation and water management
the defining long -term challenge for the state.
To round out the geography section. Let's talk
about the weather, because if you live in Iowa,
you are signing up for volatility. It sits squarely
in a humid continental climate classified as
Defy. Which is the classic definition of the
Midwest. It's known for dramatic extremes of
both heat and cold, and it can change rapidly.
The average annual temperature in Des Moines
is 50 degrees AMPA or 10 degrees C. But that
statistic is completely misleading because the
variability is so extreme. It really is. And
they get a lot of severe weather, too. Thunderstorms,
tornadoes. Significant severe weather. Iowa averages
about 50 days of thunderstorms. activity annually,
which often leads to hail and powerful winds.
The state averages 47 tornadoes per year based
on a 30 year average as of 2015, making storm
preparedness a constant fact of life. Let's put
those extremes into context. What are the temperature
records? The all time hottest temperature recorded
was a searing 118 degrees F. 48 degrees Z in
Keokuk in 1934, right in the middle of the Dust
Bowl era. And the coldest. A brutal neck -necked
47 degrees F, neck -necked 44 degrees C, recorded
in Ouachita in 1912. That's a 165 -degree swing.
And the precipitation pattern is very seasonal.
Highly seasonal. The driest months are typically
midwinter, January, or February, when the ground
is often frozen. But June is consistently the
wettest month, and that's driven by those frequent...
powerful summer thunderstorms. And that's right
when the crops need it most. Exactly. In Des
Moines, for instance, over two -thirds of the
annual average rainfall falls just between April
and September. Okay, so when people rely on that
visual stereotype, they picture rural farmland.
But the statistics tell us that while the geography
is agricultural, the population is not. The reality
is that Iowa is predominantly urbanized. By the
year 2000, 61 % of the population lived in urban
areas, and that's a trend that began in the early
20th century and has only intensified. The population
lives along the river corridors and in the growing
central metro areas. That's right. And this concentration
leads to the classic Midwestern challenge, rural
flight. It's the central demographic tension.
While urban counties Polk, which is Des Moines,
Dallas, Johnson County, which is Iowa City, Linn
County with Cedar Rapids and Scott County with
Davenport continue to grow rapidly. The rural
counties are consistently declining, and this
is compounded by something often called brain
drain. Let's unpack that term in the context
of Iowa. What does brain drain actually look
like? It's the exodus of the most highly skilled
and educated young adults. These are often people
who get a great education at state universities
like Iowa or Iowa State. But then they leave
the state seeking better employment opportunities
or broader cultural amenities in larger non Midwestern
metros. And Iowa had a serious problem with this
in the 1990s. It did. It had the second highest
exodus rate for single educated young adults,
second only to North Dakota. This demographic
shift has. deep, long -term political implications,
which we will definitely address later. But the
sources indicate that some smaller, struggling
communities have found a way to successfully
push back against that population loss. This
is an excellent counter -narrative. Some smaller
communities, often anchored by large -scale food
processing facilities, have stabilized, and in
some cases, even reversed that decline through
the arrival of immigrant laborers. Denison and
Storm Lake are the two classic examples. They
are. The demographics in the those towns have
been dramatically diversified and the local population
base stabilized by families settling there for
work in the meat packing and food processing
industries. And looking at the sheer pace of
growth in the metro areas, it's all happening
in that central corridor. Absolutely. The Des
Moines West Des Moines Metro is the largest fully
contained within the state. Council Bluffs, of
course, is part of the larger Omaha, Nebraska
metro. But the growth rates in some of the Des
Moines suburbs are staggering. They really are.
And they reflect national trends. Ankeny grew
nearly 49 percent between 2010 and 2020. West
Des Moines grew over 21 percent. These numbers
just highlight where the state's economic vitality
is concentrated. So Iowa's European ancestry
is clear. But let's look at the breakdown. German
is the largest group, making up over a third
of the state. German ancestry accounts for 35
.1%, followed by Irish at 13 .5%, and English
at 8 .2%. And you can see this heritage reflected
in these distinct cultural settlements across
the state that are still very active today. Such
as the strong Dutch communities in Pella in Orange
City. Right, with their tulip festivals and distinct
architecture. The Norwegian heritage centered
around Decorah, and the Czech and Slovak roots
prominent in cities like Cedar Rapids and Iowa
City. These communities often maintain specific
cultural traditions, festivals, and foodways
that give the towns a really unique character.
Yes, and we also noted a significant historical
inflection point for the African -American population
in the early 20th century, particularly driven
by military necessity. That was the establishment
of the Colored Officers Training Camp at Fort
Des Moines in 1917 during World War I. A completely
unique institution at the time. It was. And this
facility brought a significant and permanent
increase in the African -American population
to the Des Moines area. Many of those families
chose to remain after the war, contributing to
the substantial black populations that grew in
Des Moines, Waterloo and Davenport in the early
21st century. So that military history is a foundational
part of the state's modern racial diversity.
It absolutely is. And looking at modern immigration,
the source material shows that the diversification
is now global. Top origins in 2018 included Mexico,
India, Vietnam, China and Thailand. And this
influx is driving a major shift in the state's
racial composition. The shift recorded between
the 2010 and 2020 census is quite stark. The
white non -Hispanic population decreased from
91 .3 percent to 82 .7 percent. Right. But the
most telling number, illustrating a diversifying
society, is the huge increase in the segment
identifying as two or more races. That jumped
from 1 .8 % to 5 .6%. That's a huge leap. It
is. And it reflects increasing intermarriage
and a more complex understanding of identity,
even in a state often perceived as homogenous.
Now for our aha moment on culture. If you were
to blindfold a linguist and drop them into a
conversation in Des Moines, they might expect
uniform Midwestern English. But linguists actually
identify three distinct linguistic regions within
the state where different dialects are colliding.
It's a convergence zone for dialectology, and
it's fascinating. So in northern Iowa, around
Sioux City and Waterloo. What do they speak?
They tend to speak North Central American English,
which is shared with Minnesota and the Dakotas.
This dialect sometimes features slightly more
raised vowel sounds, a bit of that upper Midwest
flavor. And then Central and Southern Iowa, including
the major metropolitan areas like Des Moines
and Iowa City. They fall into the North Midland
dialect, which is characterized by a slightly
flatter, more generalized American accent. It's
shared with central Illinois and Indiana. But
here is where it gets really interesting. East
Central Iowa, encompassing Cedar Rapids and Dubuque,
often exhibits traits of the northern city's
vowel shift. That's the dialect associated with
cities further east, like Chicago and Buffalo,
right? Precisely. It's defined by a shifting
of vowel sounds. For example, the A sound in
a word like bag becomes higher and can sometimes
be perceived as sounding like beg. The fact that
Iowa contains all three of these major dialect
groups speaks to the complex, staggered history
of its settlement. People came from the upper
Midwest, the East Coast, and the Ohio Valley,
and they brought their accents with them. And
beyond English, Spanish is the second most common
language. with about 120 ,000 speakers reflecting
that recent immigration boom. And German is still
the third, spoken by about 17 ,000 people. And
that includes the highly distinct Amana German
and the Pennsylvania German used by the Amish
communities. And those German speakers have a
dramatic and painful piece of history we have
to recall. The 1918 Babel Proclamation. During
the height of anti -German sentiment in World
War I, the state governor issued this proclamation,
which actually banned the speaking of German
and all foreign languages in public, on the phone,
and in schools and churches. It was a severe
measure of wartime cultural suppression. It was.
Shifting to religion, Iowans are predominantly
Protestant at 60%, followed by Catholic at 18%.
The Catholic Church is the largest single non
-Protestant group, reflecting centuries of immigration
patterns. And historically, Iowa has been a magnet
for groups seeking separation and unique communal
life. This is where the state's motto, Our Liberties
We Prize, really manifests in social structure.
You see this with the Amish and Mennonites near
Kelowna. The German pietists who founded the
national historic landmark Amanic Colonies, which
was a unique communal society for nearly a century.
And even the followers of Transcendental Meditation,
who established the highly unique Maharishi Vidic
City. It's a history rich with attempts to build
specific, intentional communities. Now we arrive
at the biggest correction we can make to the
popular image of Iowa. The stereotype is 100
% farming. But the truth, supported by your sources,
is that agriculture is actually a relatively
small portion of the state's economy. This is
the essential takeaway we want you to have. Iowa
is a diversified industrial power. While farming
is central to its culture and its landscape,
the largest sector of Iowa's economy, by a significant
margin, is manufacturing. Let's look at the numbers.
In 2003, manufacturing accounted for $20 .8 billion,
or 21 % of the gross state product. For context,
the direct production and sale of agricultural
commodities contributed only about 3 .5 % of
the gross state product in 2007. That is a staggering
contrast. So what exactly is Iowa manufacturing
beyond just processing corn? Well, food processing
is the largest component because Iowa is a massive
producer of raw inputs. Major national names
like Tyson Foods, Quaker Oats, and General Mills
have huge facilities there. But the other critical
sectors are heavy machinery, chemicals, and durable
goods. John Deere, for example. So this diverse
output of sophisticated machinery and processed
goods is the real engine of this. state. It is.
And this diversification provided economic resilience,
which is crucial for stability, especially during
national downturns. The Great Recession in the
late 2000s, for instance. Absolutely. The breadth
of their manufacturing base, combined with the
strength of other sectors like finance and insurance,
helped Iowa weather that recession far better
than most states whose economies were heavily
dependent on housing or the automotive sector.
And that stability was reflected in their credit
rating. It was. Iowa received the highest credit
rating, AAA. from Standard & Poor's in 2009,
a rating held by only a handful of U .S. states
at the time. Okay, let's concede that even if
it's not the largest sector, agriculture is still
a commodity powerhouse. Iowa remains a national
leader. It leads the nation. It often ranks first
in the production of corn, soybeans and ethanol.
These commodities serve not just the U .S., but
the world, fueling everything from livestock
to alternative energy. And of course, the hogs.
And the hogs. Iowa produces 30 percent of the
nation's hogs, maintaining that striking ratio
of seven hogs for every person in the state.
Let's pause on that statistic one more time.
Seven to one. That density is just hard to fathom.
It underlines the sheer scale of the food production
machine. And yet, not all agriculture is industrial
scale. We need to highlight the growth in high
-value, specialized farming. Like organic farming.
Yes. The organic farming sector is growing rapidly.
Iowa ranks fifth nationally in the total number
of organic farms. And Northeast Iowa has become
particularly recognized as a leader in local
food system development, focusing on direct -to
-consumer and regional sales. And the importance
of the Seed Savers Exchange near Decorah can't
be overstated in the context of global food security.
The Seed Savers Exchange is a critical, nationally
recognized nonprofit seed bank. It is the largest
non -governmental seed bank of its kind in the
United States. And it safeguards over 20 ,000
varieties of rare heirloom seeds. In a world
of increasing agricultural homogenization, preserving
that genetic diversity is vital for future food
stability. It makes this little corner of Iowa
globally important. Yeah, let's pivot to green
energy, where Iowa isn't just leading, it's...
dominating in terms of This is arguably the state's
greatest modern success story. In 2019, wind
power generated a monumental 42 percent of Iowa's
total electrical energy. 42 percent. That is
incredible, making it the highest percentage
in the U .S. How did they achieve that level
of saturation? It's a combination of geography.
They are centrally located and very windy and
smart long term policy. Iowa pioneered property
tax exemptions for wind farms and was one of
the earliest adopters of strong renewable energy
standards. a friendly business environment for
it. They did. And this encouraged major producers
of turbines and components like Axiona Energy
and Siemens Energy to set up facilities there,
which in turn reinforces the manufacturing base.
They built the infrastructure and the investment
followed. And this massive domestically produced
green energy base is now fueling the growth of
the digital economy. It's the perfect synergy.
Iowa is rapidly transforming into a major data
center hub precisely because it offers inexpensive,
reliable, and increasingly green energy. And
tech giants need massive amounts of power for
those server farms. Exactly. Google has facilities
in Council Bluffs and Cedar Rapids. Apple chose
Waukee. Meta is in Altoona. And Microsoft has
six data centers in West Des Moines. So this
high -tech digital economy growth, powered by
green energy, provides a stunning contrast to
the state's traditional... agricultural image.
It really does. And beyond manufacturing and
tech, the financial and insurance sector is also
a critical, longstanding component of Iowa's
economic strength. A strong and mature sector.
Very. It hosts roughly 6 ,100 firms. Major national
and international companies like Principal Financial
Group, Nationwide Group and Wells Fargo have
significant operational centers here, contributing
substantially to the state's stable economic
footprint. Finally, we need to cover the taxation
quirk, which makes Iowa stand out nationally.
This is unusual. Iowa is famous for having one
of the country's highest marginal corporate tax
rates, reaching up to 12 percent. Which sounds
very high. It does. However, there is a major
benefit for residents that offsets income liability.
Iowa is one of the very few states that allows
residents to deduct their federal income taxes
from their state income taxes. So you can subtract
what you paid to the federal government from
your state income. Correct. And this unique mechanism
offers significant relief, particularly to middle
and upper income wage earners, making the state
income tax system less burdensome than that top
marginal rate might initially suggest. OK, the
final two sections. deal with Iowa's influence
on the national stage and its foundational, yet
often overlooked, civil rights history. This
is where the tension between tradition and progress
truly manifests. It is. And Iowa's national political
significance is undeniable, driven entirely by
one thing. the presidential caucuses. That influential
first presidential caucus in the country held
early in the election year, usually January or
February. It gives Iowa voters this outsized
national leverage. And it forces candidates to
engage in hyper local retail politics. It elevates
the concerns of Iowa citizens because candidates
have to physically visit diners and town halls
in every one of the 99 counties. They're vetted
on a personal level by a small, dedicated electorate.
And it forces candidates to hone their message
and their organizational strength very early.
It disproportionately focuses national media
attention on a state that demographically does
not represent the national average. But while
Iowa holds that powerful first in the nation
position, the state's internal politics have
undergone a dramatic ideological shift in recent
years. That is the core modern political dynamic.
Historically, Iowa was famously politically balanced,
a swing state capable of going either Democratic
or Republican in national elections. Right. However,
by 2024, state politics are largely dominated
by the Republican Party. And this shift is strongly
linked to the Democrat. factors we dissected
earlier. The continuing exodus of younger, often
more Democratic -leaning, educated people to
urbanized states, combined with a significant
ideological and demographic homogenization of
rural voters remaining within the state. And
currently, Iowa formally recognizes three political
parties, Republican, Democratic, and the Libertarian
Party, which gained official status in 2017.
Okay, now this is where we uncover the truly
surprising history, a history of profound progressivism
that utterly contradicts the state's often quiet
national profile. In the 19th century, Iowa was
a dramatic vanguard for racial equality. It often
set constitutional and legal precedents decades
before the national consensus. Let's detail these
court cases and dates because their sequence
and timing are absolutely stunning. Starting
with slavery in 1839. just three years after
the territory was organized. In 1839, the Iowa
Supreme Court delivered its first major decision
in re the matter of Ralph. What was the case
about? Ralph was a slave who was allowed to work
in Iowa to earn money for his freedom. But his
owner decided to reclaim him and had him arrested.
And the court? The court ruled decisively, using
the principle of habeas corpus, that no man in
this territory can be deprived of his liberty.
This decision explicitly rejected slavery on
Iowa soil, declaring Ralph free the moment he
stepped into Iowa. And this happened a full 26
years before the Civil War ended and the 13th
Amendment was ratified. An abolitionist legal
stance established decades before the national
standard. It's remarkable. What about racial
barriers to marriage? Iowa ended racial barriers
to marriage in 1851. 1851. That is over 100 years
before the U .S. Supreme Court banned miscegenation
statutes nationwide in the 1967 case Loving v.
Virginia. Again, just dramatically ahead of the
curve. And in education, Iowa predated the landmark
Brown v. Board of Education by nearly a century.
In Clark v. The Board of Directors, in 1868,
the Iowa Supreme Court ruled decisively against
segregated, separate, but equal schools. 85 years
before the National Brown ruling. Yes. And the
ruling was powerful and far -reaching. It effectively
ended legal segregation in Iowa schools by 1875.
This quick, decisive judicial action established
Iowa as an educational leader. And public accommodations.
Same story. In 1873, the court ruled in Cogar
v. the Northwestern Union Packet Coast against
racial discrimination in public accommodations.
This established the right of black citizens
to equal access to steamboats and other public
services. And that was 91 years before the U
.S. Supreme Court made the same decision nationally
through the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That is
an incredible record of judicial progressivism
in the 19th century. But the source material
indicates that despite these early legal victories,
discrimination continued through the mid -20th
century. How did de facto discrimination persist
if it was outlawed so early? That is the crucial
layer of complexity. The 1884 Iowa Civil Rights
Act outlawed discrimination by businesses, but
courts often applied the law too narrowly, creating
loopholes that allowed discrimination to persist
through indirect means. So it wasn't until 1949,
with the highly public case of state of Iowa
VCATs, that the state definitively closed those
loopholes. And this case was triggered when Edna
Griffin was famously denied service at a Des
Moines drugstore counter. Her successful legal
challenge reaffirmed that racial discrimination
in public businesses was unequivocally illegal
under state law. And full rights were finally
codified under the 1965 Iowa Civil Rights Act.
Correct. Iowa was also a leader in women's rights
in the mid -19th century. The University of Iowa,
founded in 1847, was the first public university
in the U .S. to admit men and women equally.
And in 1869... Iowa was the first state to admit
the woman to the practice of law when Arabella
A. Mansfield passed the bar exam and was granted
the right. Although full suffrage wasn't achieved
until the National 19th Amendment ratification
in 1920, Iowa women did gain partial suffrage.
Allowing them to vote on municipal and bond issues
as early as 1894. This incredible established
legacy of protection and judicial activism makes
the recent shifts regarding LGBTQ plus rights
all the more jarring. because it represents a
dramatic break from that history. It creates
a stark modern contradiction. In line with its
progressive history, Iowa repealed laws criminalizing
same -sex sexual activity way back in 1976. Long
before the national standard. Right. And in 2009,
the Iowa Supreme Court delivered the landmark
Varnum v. Bryan decision unanimously legalizing
same -sex marriage. This made Iowa the third
state in the country and the first state in the
Midwest to do so. Continuing that vanguard tradition.
It did. But we see that historical impulse reversing
today. We do. The most recent data reveals a
sharp pivot away from protection. In 2025, the
Iowa legislature became the first U .S. state
to remove gender identity protections from a
state anti -discrimination law. Protections that
had been codified back in 2007. This is a dramatic
reversal of the state's historical role as a
civil rights pioneer, and it reflects the modern
political and demographic shifts we discussed
earlier. Iowa's cultural landscape is also far
richer than its rural image suggests, particularly
its literary scene. Iowa City has an extraordinary
global reputation, largely thanks to one famous
institution. We are talking about the Iowa Writers
Workshop at the University of Iowa, founded in
1936. Its influence on American literature is
massive. It's produced dozens of Pulitzer and
Poet Laureate winners. It has. And the workshop's
reputation is so profound that Iowa City was
named the first American city to be designated
a city of literature by UNESCO, part of their
Creative Cities Network. What other major cultural
hallmarks stand out, especially outside the literary
world? You have the Amana Colonies, a national
historic landmark comprised of seven villages
originally founded by German pietists who practiced
communal living for decades. It's a living history
museum of communal life and craftsmanship. And
in popular culture, you have the Clint Eastwood
film The Bridges of Madison County, showcasing
the state's picturesque rural scenery. And then
on the complete opposite end of the spectrum,
the heavy metal band Slipknot, who are from Des
Moines, named their second album, Iowa, reflecting
a darker, more industrial sensibility of the
state. Let's hit some key attractions across
the state for the listener. What should they
know about central Iowa around the Capitol? Central
Iowa is Des Moines, home to the stunning Iowa
State Capitol building and the historic governor's
mansion, Terrace Hill. But the center of gravity
for state culture is arguably the massive annual
Iowa State Fair. Right. And nearby, Ames hosts
Iowa State University and the beautiful Ryman
Gardens. And just southwest, Madison County is
famous for its historic covered bridges and the
John Wayne Birthplace Museum in Winterset. The
Meskwaki settlement near Tama also hosts a large
annual powwow celebrating their unique heritage.
Moving east around Iowa City and the Quad Cities.
This is the intellectual corridor. You have the
University of Iowa and the old Capitol building
in Iowa City. In West Branch, you find the Herbert
Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Davenport
has the Fig Art Museum. And hosts the annual
Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival. And for
something truly unique, there's the Iowa 80 truck
stop near Walcott along Interstate 80. It's self
-proclaimed as the world's largest. And it's
massive. A city unto itself. And Western and
Northern Iowa off. for that dramatic scenery
we discussed earlier. Western Iowa is defined
by the spectacular Loess Hills and Sioux City
sits on the convergence of three rivers. Lamar's,
which is in that metro area, is the self -proclaimed
ice cream capital of the world and home to Wells
Enterprises, a massive ice cream manufacturer.
And Northeast Iowa, the Driftless area. It's
home to the Effigy Mounds National Monument,
which features the largest collection of animal
-shaped prehistoric mounds globally. And of course,
the iconic Field of Dreams baseball diamond.
is a major pilgrimage site in Dyersville. Finally,
let's talk sports. Iowa is a serious college
sports state, boasting four NCAA Division I teams.
The rivalry is fierce. The biggest rivalry, of
course, is the annual competition for the CyHawk
trophy between the University of Iowa Hawkeyes
in the Big Ten Conference and the Iowa State
University Cyclones in the Big 12. Those games
dominate the state's attention. They absolutely
do. But their truest national dominance, where
they have built a historical dynasty, is in wrestling.
Unquestionably. Iowa is the global epicenter
of wrestling talent. The Iowa Hawkeyes and the
Iowa State Cyclones have won a combined total
of over 30 NCAA Division I team wrestling titles.
They are a national powerhouse responsible for
training generations of Olympians and world champions.
And for motorsports fans, Iowa also has a strong
racing presence. Iowa Speedway in Newton hosts
major auto racing championships like the IndyCar
Series and NASCAR. And for dirt track fans, the
Knoxville Raceway hosts the Knoxville Nationals,
which is one of the classic sprint car racing
events globally, drawing competitors. editors,
and fans from around the world. So after this
deep dive into your sources, the most crucial
takeaway for me is that Iowa is infinitely more
complex than its farming image suggests. Absolutely.
We've analyzed a state with geological foundations
spanning nearly 3 billion years, whose terrain
ranges from wind -deposited Loess Hills to unglaciated
mountainous terrain. It's a state whose largest
economic sector is manufacturing, not agriculture.
Right. and a state that is a massive leader in
green energy, producing 42 % of its electricity
from wind, powering major hubs for data centers
hosting Google, Apple, and Microsoft. And perhaps
most surprisingly, a state that was a constitutional
and civil rights leader in the 19th century,
pioneering anti -slavery law, desegregating schools,
and banning racial barriers to marriage decades
ahead of the rest of the nation. The central
tension defining the state today is precisely
that clash. The persistence of a strong rural
traditional identity against the rapid growth
of diversified high -tech urban centers and the
associated political shifts. That is the core
dynamic. It is the constant friction of innovation
meeting tradition, of global economy meeting
local identity. And the struggle to determine
if Iowa's progressive legal history will endure.
Which leads us to a final provocative thought
for you to consider. Given Iowa's established
historical leadership in protecting marginalized
groups, its early bans on slavery, its fight
against segregated schools, and its early legalization
of same -sex marriage, how will its current political
environment, specifically being the first U .S.
state to remove a protected class, gender identity,
from state anti -discrimination law in 2025,
shape its legacy and identity moving forward?
Is this a temporary detour or a permanent departure
from its pioneering history? That is a question
worth exploring. That tension, that contrast
between historical vanguard progressivism and
modern legislative conservatism truly defines
the Hawkeye State right now. It certainly does.
Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into
Iowa. We'll see you next time.